Working with deaf children: key resources and training for professionals
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Professionals working with disadvantaged children can access a raft of resources to support young people with hearing loss and their families.
Figures from the RIND estimate that there are around 50,000 deaf children in the UK.
According to the Elizabeth Foundation, every year, more than 1,000 babies are born with severe to profound deafness and many more babies born with mild to moderate deafness
There are around 7,200 children under five with severe to profound deafness.
Anita Grover, chief executive of charity Auditory Verbal UK, warns that without access to early intervention support children face “the prospect of lower academic achievement, lower employment, and are at higher risk of poor mental health, bullying and social exclusion”.
Hearing loss in the UK: Key facts and figures
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Around 50,000 children are deaf
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More than 1,000 deaf babies are born each year
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There are two types of hearing loss: sensorineural deafness and conductive deafness
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Support available includes the use of technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, using British Sign Language and lip reading, speech therapy available on the NHS and specialist therapy such as auditory verbal therapy.
Charities and organisations supporting deaf young people and their families have produced numerous resources for professionals working with children with hearing loss, including:
Advice and guidance
The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) has an advice and guidance helpline for professionals looking for information on topics such as diagnosis, education, early years, special educational needs, welfare benefits and other financial support.
It also has a web page dedicated to advice for professionals including early years, primary and secondary education, social care and safeguarding.
Professionals working with young children can join the NDCS early years networking group.
Training
NDCS offers training for professionals working with deaf children on topics including supporting deaf children in the early years and supporting families raising a deaf child. Training is offered through interactive workshops, online learning and webinars.
Free online information sessions for professionals are also offered by NDCS on topics such as including deaf young people in decision making.
Charity Auditory Verbal UK offers an accredited training programme in auditory verbal therapy which is used to help deaf children learn to listen and speak in countries including Australia and New Zealand. The programme is open to qualified teachers of the deaf, audiologists and speech and language therapists who have undergone three years of post-graduate training.
The Elizabeth Foundation, which provides education services to deaf children, hosts visits to its site for professionals working with deaf young people looking to “discuss relevant issues regarding early diagnosis, early support and early intervention.”
CYP Now resources
