Deaf Children & Families

The Deaf Services Children and Families team provides support and information for families where there are issues related to deafness. We are able to work with children from birth to age 17 who are identified as children in need under the Children Act. This includes children who are born deaf, those who have acquired deafness and also the hearing children of Deaf parents. We have knowledge and experience of working with both D/deaf adults and children, and we have specialist communication skills.

We have a responsibility to promote children's welfare, which includes supporting relatives to enable children to stay with their own families.

What we can do

• Assess for equipment to enable independence
• Register deaf children
• Group and individual work with children
• Contribute to educational assessments of children with special education needs
• Counsel families where there is a diagnosis of deafness and promote a positive image of being deaf
• Work with parents to develop communication and behavioural management skills
• Assist families and individuals to get support from other agencies or services
• Support Deaf parents to ensure equality of access to other service for their child
• Provide information and advice on deaf-related issues
• Support applications for Disability Living