More About Bilby Publishing

Who is Bilby Publishing and what do they do?

Bilby Publishing and Consulting Pty. Ltd. produce, publish, distribute and retail Sign Language Resources. We have done so for over 10 years and are the only Publishing and Distribution House in Australia dedicated to Sign Language Resources.

With a background in Information Technology, but a need for sign language, Bilby Publishings founders (Chris and Lee Bilby) have used their graphic design, programming and AUSLAN knowledge to produce Sign Language Resources, with a specific focus on teaching young children and assisting babies through to adults Sign Language.

Bilby Publishing started producing sign language resources based on the needs of the Bilby children. After speaking to hundreds of people; professionals, support workers, parents and the "hearing impaired" themselves the Bilby's realised that they were not the only ones who needed resources.

"We have found other parents, and many isolated Disability Organisations; producing their own resources, each struggling to distribute them themsleves. We have brought them together into one distribution point." Lee Bilby

Read more about why we do what we do (link is to more information at the base of this page)
Or look at Bilby Publishing in the Media (links to a new page)

Who Do We Work With?
We work with and represent over 25 seperate Authors. Some are organisations, others schools; a number are members of the Deaf Community, and some are parents or professions with knowledge and experience to share.

The list is constantly growing; but here are short bio's of some of the authors of products Bilby Publishing represent:

• Deaf Can Do
  Formally known as The Royal Deaf Society of South Australia, Deaf Can Do and Bilby Publishing have been working together to distribute their course material for well over 6 years.
  
  They have been teaching AUSLAN for many many years and understand that, while studying sign language in a classroom environment is prefered, there are many Australians who, for reasons of distance and work and family obligations find it impossible to attend a class. Over the years both DeafSA and Bilby Publishing have received many enquiries from people who would love to learn AUSLAN but have been unable to attend a course. DeafSA brought us the solution! ...look at their products now
  
  
• The Kerwin's
  James Kerwin is profoundly deaf and well respected within the Deaf community. He currently works for NABS (National Auslan Booking Service) as a communications consultant. He communicates primarily in Auslan; however he is also well respected for his English literacy and compedency. His mother Marie is a dedecated parent who works effortlessly to support Auslan adoption whereever she can. She is also immenently respected for her multimedia skills, which have been utlised in projects like A Time To Sign, and Something To Sign About
  ...look at their products now
  
  
• Carol O'Reily
  Carol was born deaf in 1940. Her father, Dr. Fredrick Wilkie Smith was an eminent Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist in Sydney. Although Carol was a member of the NSW Deaf Sopciety, communication was 'oral' and via lip reading. It was no until Carol left Sydney to visit the Melbourne Deaf community that she was first introduced to signed communication. Excited by the notion she quickly learned sign language and made many friends within the Deaf community. She traveled to London, where she met her husband (Paddy O'Reily), who was also deaf. They had two children, who both grew up multilingual (learning Irish Sign, Auslan and English). She is an active member of the Deaf community, and amongst many active positions she was a Director on the Board of the Australian Association of the Deaf, Secretary for the Queensland Association of the Deaf and the President of the Queensland Theatre of the Deaf. Carol is also credited with gaining the seeding and recurrent funding to establish the FNQ Deaf Interpreting Service in Cairns. As you have probable already worked out, Carol is not one to sit still. She has gone on to help establish the Aboriginal and Islander Deaf Dance group, and attend many national and international Congress and Conferences for the Deaf. ...look at her book (Deaf Australian Story) now
  
  
• Lisa Mills
  Deaf since birth and fluent in both spoken English and British Sign Language, Lisa Mills is a highly renowned visual theatre director for deaf and hearing youth in the UK and for deaf youth in developing countries such as Africa and India. She is also a trainer in Deaf Awareness, Sign Language and nonverbal communication for community and corporate groups. ...look at her book (Look At Me) now
  
  
• Latrobe Univercity
  Latrobe University have been offering Auslan studies for many decades. Through their experience and expertise they have been able to develop a large range of resources to assist people learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language). We were proud to be asked to represent them some years ago and continue to work with them today.
  ...look at their products now
  
  
• Deafness Foundation
  A not-for-profit umbrella organisation raising funds to support the Deaf and hearing impaired through research, prevention, education, early detection and technology. The products they produce help raise much needed funds for this important work. ...look at their products now
  
  
• Dorothy O'Brien
  Dorothy is a para-professional Auslan interpreter and deafness consultant, who set to documenting inspirational stories for parents tackling the daunting task of making choices for their deaf child...her book is an excellent read. ...look at her book now
  
  
• Nigel Coates, the Australian Theatre of the Deaf and Thomas Patterson School
  These guys got together a great number of years ago now to put together the most wonderful stories in Auslan I have ever seen. Bilby Publishing is very proud and pleased to work exclusively with the resulting products (Toddies Tales 1 and 2) to distribute them nationally now on DVD....look at the DVD's now
  
  
• The Victorian College for the Deaf
  It's been over five years now that Bilby Publishing has been able to work with the Victorian College on sign language resources, but also on other fund raising projects. The join venture DVD 'Grandma Leaps the Antarctic' was very exciting, as it was the first Visual Story to be released in Australia....read all about it now
  
  
• Royal Institute for The Deaf and Blind (RIDBC)-Renwick Centre
  We have worked with RIDBC since 2008 to help them distribute Trevor Johnson' Signs of Australia; and the Survival Guide To Auslan; as well as their 'Technical Signs' dictionary.
  ...look at their products now (page also includes more information about Trevor Johnson and Adam Schembri)
  
  
• Deaf Children Australia
  Deaf Children Australia is a national not-for-profit advocacy group based in Melbourne. From time to time they have been able to utilise the skills and expertise of their staff to produce resources to help people learning Auslan. Bilby Publishing distribute these products for Deaf Children Australia.
  ...look at their products now
  
  
• Adam Hills
  One of Australia’s most talented and well-traveled comedians, Adam has begun performang live with an Auslan interpreter, Leanne Beer (Auslan Interpreter). "My use of a signer came about many years ago when I was hosting a disability arts conference in Adelaide that had a signer. The headlining comedian (Steady Eddie) was running late, so I was asked to do some of my act. The deaf people laughed a lot, and the hearing people laughed at the signs. And so did I. Ever since then I have used a signer for the occasional performance, and regularly in Edinburgh, Melbourne and Adelaide Festivals."
  ...look at their products now
  
  
• Lucia Smith
  Lucia is a Speech Therapist who works with children with a large spectrim of speech limiting conditions. Through this work she was introduced to Auslan and now finds it a vital tool in her practice. Her ongoing work in school based intevension lead her to develop 'Sign Language for Schools', which Bilby Publishing helped turn into an interactive CDROM, which we now distribute....look at 'Sign Language' for Schools now
  
  
• Claire Cooper
  Claire is an Auslan interpreter in Mildura whose work saw her meet many parents, new to Auslan, and struggling to learn it for teir children. This motivated her to deveop a range of resources to help support parents at the begining stages of sign acquisision....look at her products now
  
  
• Elizabeth Chrysostomou
  Elizabeth is Deaf and works as a teacher in Melbourne (mainstream school). She has worked as a teacher both here and in Greece, where she was first called to develop a Sign Language Game for both Deaf and Hearing Adults and Children to enjoy. After having first developed the game in Greece she then translated it into Auslan and introduced it here in Australia...but how to distribute it? Bilby Publishing stepped in and took over exclusive distribution for her ...look her game now
  
  

Are you an author?
We are open to new products to distribute, if you know of one, then please Contact Us


Can you help sell products?
We are always looking for people to help sell our products. Whether you run workshops or playgroups, have a large circle of friends or a table at a public event, wish to run a fundraiser or have a shop, we would also like to hear from you.

Why has Bilby Publishing has commited itself to the development of Australian Sign Language resources that help young children, their carers and teachers gain greater access to resources in sign language?

In brief, Bilby Publishing was established by Chris and Lee Bilby some years ago. Both the Bilby's children needed sign language, for different reasons, and put simply the Bilby's were dismayed at what limited resources were available and how expensive those resources could be!

At first Lee Bilby designed the Alphabet and Color posters for their eldest son, over eight years ago. With time these posters became available through Deafness Resources Australia and demand for cards grew. So we developed the alphabet and flash cards. These have all recently recieved a dramatic face lift, and are now available in Northern, Southern and Signed English editions.

As IT and multi media programmers we were surprised that the need to spend hours at the photocopier producing resources for children continued. So Sign With Me was developed. Now everyone can produce resources relevant to their own personal needs! No photocopier required! Yet, there was still something....on-line access to updated, shared images. As on-line open source image bank that everyone could use. That's what was needed. So we developed SignSwap.com.au. An on-line reference site that allows everyone access to images of AUSTRALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE. Plus anyone can download the template and create their own images, or request an image at any time. We are already working on developing a Sign With Me 2 that will let you import images as they become available and SHARE YOUR DATABASE AND IMAGE BANK with anyone you want.

Why do we support sign so strongly?
When Dy, the Bilby's eldest son was diagnosid with a sever to profound hearing loss the Bilby's began researching.....

Now with two children the Bilby's continue to research the effectiveness of Signed and Oral communication, when educating deaf, hearing impaired, autisic, downes, cerebal palsy, speech disbrasic and otherwise speech impaired children.

Research from around the world contiunes to conclude that deaf non-signing children within "oral only" households experience significantly higher levels of communication problems that utimatly interfere with learning and social development.

"Every deaf child, whatever the level of his/her hearing loss, should have the right to grow up bilingual. By knowing and using both a sign language and an oral language (in its written and, when possible, in its spoken modality), the child will attain his/her full cognitive, linguistic and social capabilities." François Grosjean, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, The right of deaf child to grow bilingual

We intend to publish a full compelation of our research soon. You can view some papers on-line via our links page. In breif, as a result of our research and own experience, we advocate Bilingual education. That is an approach to educating deaf children which utilises both sign language and written/spoken english. We have no doubts that, if deaf children are to recieve equal value and comprehension within the class room as their hearing peers; and as a result equal opportunities within the workplace, it is esencial that sign be the primary means of communication.

Read the Research
We have recorded a list of links that we have found helpful in researching these issues and get in touch with related organisations.