How I Got Here: Kathy Kenny, lead choices advisor, Deaf Choices UK

From concerts to the classroom

I trained as a classical musician at Goldsmiths, University of London, and had always imagined I would make a career out of performing. But I opted for something with a bit more financial stability and swapped the concert scene for the classroom. I thought I’d teach music so I could at least pull my “real passion” into my work, while performing outside of my day job. Honestly, I was totally unprepared for just how much being a teacher would suit me. Falling into teaching marked the start of a 20-year career working with children and now I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. Music is my passion, but improving the lives of children is what gets me up every day.

An unexpected education

In the early 2000s, my personal and professional life changed forever. Megan, my second child, was born with cerebral palsy and heart problems, which meant she had more complex needs than most children from the outset. But then, when she was 18 months old, doctors discovered she was also profoundly deaf. That’s a relatively late diagnosis for a child born with deafness and meant we had already lost valuable time to build her early understanding of language. We had been plunged into another world we had little prior knowledge of, and it took time to truly understand the complexities of raising a deaf child as hearing parents.

When Megan had her cochlear implants fitted at age three I naively hoped her hearing would improve overnight, like putting on prescription glasses and having perfect vision. That wasn’t the case. We learned British Sign Language (BSL) but were also keen to make sure she could access the English language like any other child.

Career shaped by circumstances

Thankfully, we were later referred to Deaf Choices UK, who taught us about Cued Speech – a lipreading support system that makes spoken language visible. It struck me immediately how valuable it would be in helping Megan to access the English language.

I returned to teaching when my children were settled in education and worked as a music specialist in different schools. But by the time Megan was 13, she was no longer making the kind of progress we had hoped, so I chose to home school her. This experience taught me a about the kind of environment and support children like Megan need to thrive. A few years later, she returned to mainstream education for college, helped by a communication support worker using a combination of BSL and cueing.

Coming full circle

Fast-forward to now and my daughter is living independently. We couldn’t be more proud, but we also know this wouldn’t be possible without the resources we had access to as a family. In 2017, an opportunity came up to work with the very charity that had helped Megan to cue, Deaf Choices UK, and I was thrilled to join the team.

Some nine in 10 deaf children are born to hearing parents. Each set of parents is then faced with a series of decisions that can feel overwhelming. Having support from someone who has lived through a similar situation can really help to demystify the options available. It’s an absolute privilege to be that person.

As lead choices advisor, I spend half of my time in schools advising and training teachers and the other half visiting families in their own homes helping them to navigate their own unique circumstances. It’s the perfect blend of my professional expertise and personal experience.

Top three career tips

1. Understand the problem – whether it’s through first-hand exposure, research or learning from those with lived experience, get as familiar as possible with the issues you want to address.

2. Embrace your unique perspective – we’re all shaped by our own life experiences, so don’t be afraid to let your personal insights and instincts inform your work life.

3. Be creative – no two children are the same, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to engaging them. Let yourself be inspired by their individuality.