Early years impact
Thanks to our generous supporters, we’re able to be there for deaf children and their families during those vital early years.
Family Sign Language
With support from The Access Foundation, Cadbury Fingers and the Department for Communities Northern Ireland, we continued to develop our free Family Sign Language courses for families with deaf children aged 0 to 5. At these sessions, families learned everyday signs specific to their UK nation, to support communication with their child at home.
We delivered 16 online courses and two in-person events, reaching 600 people. This was a 31% increase on last year.
“The Family Sign Language course has been amazing and has taught us the basic signs needed to help my daughter with her communication. We learnt so many signs that are now incorporated into our daily routines.”
Vicky is mum to Darcie (3), who’s profoundly deaf.
600 people took part in our Family Sign Language courses and sessions.
Online events
Our free online events bring parents and carers of deaf children together to get support from experts and learn from the experiences of other families. Our events cover a range of topics, including education and deaf identity.
Our events calendar also includes an online series called New to Hearing Loss. These sessions help families to understand the support available to them right from the start. 93% of parents said they felt better supported after attending a session.
93% of parents who attended our New to Hearing Loss events felt better supported.
Welsh Teacher of the Deaf petition
A Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) is a teacher with an extra qualification to work with deaf children, supporting their progress from the moment deafness is identified.
In Wales, the number of ToDs has fallen by 17% since 2011. So, we’ve been supporting Ros Hannam, a mother of two deaf children, with her petition asking the Welsh Government to increase the number of ToDs.
The petition closed on 13 April 2024 with 1,431 signatures. The Welsh Parliament will discuss Ros’s petition in November 2024, and we’ll continue working with her to make sure the Government takes action.