Dear Sir/Madam,
 
As a parent of a teenage Deaf son and the hearing daughter of Deaf 
parents, I oppose the exemption sought by the Cinema Industry 
regarding captioning for the next 2.5 years.
 
Language acquisition is a key developmental factor for young Deaf and 
hearing impaired children. Subtitles/captioning provide excellent 
opportunities for language development.  In my parents generation 
there were no subtitles/captioning on any movies (except for foreign 
films). My son has grown up with subtitles/captioning and his 
language acquisition is akin to his hearing peers. My 77 year old 
mother is now glued to the TV watching every and any program with 
subtitles/captioning, as she was starved of knowledge and the story 
line all her life. Something hearing people take for granted because, 
before subtitles/captioning, the TV was a box of moving mouths. I 
remember as a young child when TV first was invented I asked my 
Deaf father, "Who is that man talking on the TV?"  My father had to 
reply, "I don't know". There was no visual clue on the advertising that 
there was a voice over accompanying the advertisement.
 
Members of the Deaf  community are not alone in being 
disadvantaged if the Cinema Industry is successful with it's 
exemption, there are many others in the community. For example,  
the hearing impaired who have lost their hearing due to age, illness or 
choice (loud rock concerts), recipients  of the cochlear implant who 
choose to use subtitles/captioning to enhance their experience at the 
cinema,  and members of the community who have lost their hearing 
due to an accident. 
 
These people are disadvantaged enough, socially and physiologically, 
don't widen the gap more than what it already is. 
 
Regards, 
Marion Burrows 
Chandlers Corner Auto Centre