As we remember this remarkable and warm lady where her talents seemed endless - Dot Miles was widely regarded as the pioneer of BSL poetry, she was not only a poet, she was a playwright, performer, scholar, teacher and passionate activist.
While working at the BDA, she compiled the first teaching manual for BSL tutors and became involved in setting up the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP - now known as Signature Deaf today).
Dorothy didn’t stop there, working as a self-employed writer, lecturer and performer and becoming involved in promotion of sign language teaching and training of tutors and deaf theatre.
She was involved in setting up and then teaching on the British Sign Language Tutor Training Course – the first university course for training deaf people to become BSL tutors. She also wrote the best-selling BBC book "BSL – A Beginner’s Guide", which was published to complement the television series.
Dorothy “Dot” Miles - The Mother of Sign Poetry
19 August 1931 – 30 January 1993
