OASIS

The short answer is ‘yes’, if you are an adult with a hearing loss. Read the following to learn more…

Age

We usually state that the group is for people aged between 19 and 40 but this is just a guideline. As we sometimes end up in a pub or licensed café, members must be at least over 18. We say up to 40 just because of the type of activities we have. If you are over 40 and the events fit in with your lifestyle, come along anyway! We would be pleased to meet you.

Communication

Although many members sign to some degree, from finger-spelling to conversational Auslan, the dominant method of communication is spoken English. We are tolerant of all communication modes as long as everyone in the group can understand.

The idea is inclusion, not another form of exclusion.

Location

OASIS is based in Melbourne and have our activities in the Melbourne area. If you are willing to travel to get to an activity, you will be welcomed. If you are from further afield and are genuinely interested in being involved, well, we do like some geographic diversity to stimulate some conversation! This obviously applies in particular to to our online forum. You may also be interested in the Say What Club, a virtual community along similar lines, based in the USA.