User:Jomilne10/sandbox

Joanne Milne
Born 15th July 1974.

Author, disability rights advocate, public speaker and Usher syndrome awareness campaigner.

Worked alongside deafblind charities, and others in the non-profit sector for most of her adult life, now a wife and mother of two, continuing to campaign for better recognition of Usher syndrome.

Born profoundly deaf, diagnosed with Usher syndrome in 1990, a rare genetic disorder - the leading cause of deafblindness.

2014 a Youtube video depicting Joanne's cochlear implants first switch on went viral and was featured in Google's yearly review in video.

Joanne appeared on the BBC6Music Lauren Laverne Breakfast show Memory Tape feature of significant firsts in music that Jo should hear.

Irish band Bell X-1 were inspired to write the song; Take Your Sweet Time, about Jo and seeing the Youtube video.

Television appearances since, have hoped to raise awareness of Usher syndrome in the UK and Europe including on; BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, STV, Al Jazeera, SKY News, RTL.

Talk shows including; This Morning, BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, Loose Women and RTL Late Night, focused on living with Usher syndrome, Jo's challenges, hopes and future projects.

2015 a film was made in Japan of Jo's life story, and she has featured on several media platforms including national newspapers and online content, which continue.

Breaking the Silence biography published 2015 by Hodder and Stoughton in the UK and in Japan under Tatsumi Publishing.

Royal Television Award winning BBC Documentary, The Gift of Hearing featured Jo distributing hearing aids to children in Bangladesh.

Havas Lynx featured Jo in their Healthcare Heroes campaign in 2017.

2018 Joanne founded the registered charity CureUsher, a scientific research based charity dedicated to finding a cure for Usher syndrome.

2020 Jo launches an Usher syndrome awareness ribbon, featuring distinctive red stripes and chequers on a white background. Jo also helps to distribute clear facemasks in the UK, enabling lip reading - made and donated by her friend Amina Khan in Bangladesh.

2021 'Let's Talk Usher' campaign launched to further help raise awareness of Usher syndrome.