Young Ambassador: James Curtis Expand Born with profound bilateral hearing loss, James, is an inspirational advocate for deaf children and young people. After three years of Auditory Verbal Therapy as a young child, James listens and talks on a par with his hearing peers and excels at mainstream school. As a young ambassador for Auditory VerbalUK, James passionately shares his personal experiences to increase awareness of deafness, challenge stereotypes and raise the expectations of what deaf children can achieve. From speaking at schools to presenting at large fundraising events, James continues to demonstrate that there are no barriers to what deaf children can accomplish. Read more about James here.
Young Ambassador: Jess Curtis Expand My name is Jess Curtis and my brother James was born with profound bilateral hearing loss. James started therapy with the founder of AVUK Jacqueline Stokes in her kitchen in Oxford before the charity even existed. Since the evolution of AVUK, I helped with the set up of the London office by donating my toys and books and helping to clean the new offices and start it up when I was very young. I have advocated for AVUK on many occasions by giving school assemblies and nominating the charity to be the recipients of funding. My most recent contribution was when I raised money by challenging myself to trek to the Base-camp of Mount Everest. Through this I also had the opportunity to raise the profile of the charity.
Young Ambassador: Max Stroemer Expand My name is Maxwell Stroemer and in July of 2000, I was diagnosed with bilateral profound hearing loss. I am a high school student at the Zurich International School, serving as President of the Student Council and acting as the Co-Captain for the Debate Team. Being deaf, I value the power of public speaking as a means to inspire. Moreover, I am fascinated by History and Politics and will welcome any conversation on current events. I also enjoy alpine skiing and playing rugby. My time with AVUK started at age two and I am grateful for the developmental support that this organisation provided me with; particularly from the late Jaqueline Stokes. When I ask myself what life would be like had I been born without my disability, I have never once resented the fact that I am deaf. I believe that those who embrace their challenges and disabilities have an edge on life because they are able to see, feel and sense things that others simply aren’t. This understanding has empowered me and given me the very courage to write and share my story with audiences and interested readers. As I said in a TED Talk that I delivered at a symposium in Zurich during March of 2017, “everyone has their own type of hearing impairment and if they’re lucky, they’ll have their own type of hearing aid too.” Please find the link to the TEDx Talk here (https://vimeo.com/221600931) Please find the link to the Opinion Article here (http://ablemagazine.co.uk/normal/)
Young Ambassador: Beatrice Cadman Expand Beatrice was born profoundly deaf and her hearing loss was identified by the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme. When Beatrice was 16 months old, she started the programme at Auditory VerbalUK with her parents. Beatrice soon began to speak and graduated from Auditory VerbalUK when she was five years old. Beatrice enjoys spending time with her sister and brother and loves to play hockey – she has recently been invited to train with the Cambridgeshire county hockey team. Beatrice gave a speech at our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in June 2016. You can watch her speech by clicking here.
Young Ambassador: Nideeshwaran Chandrasekar Expand Nideesh was diagnosed with a hearing loss at 12 months old, in India. After moving to the UK, he started receiving support from Auditory VerbalUK when he was four years old. Nideesh received his first cochlear implant when he was three years old and his second implant when he was six. Nideesh graduated from Auditory VerbalUK before his sixth birthday. Nideesh is currently at a mainstream grammar school and his favourite hobby is swimming. Nideesh spoke at our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in June 2016. You can watch his speech by clicking here.
Parent ambassadors: Dominic and Shamim Byrne Expand Dominic and Shamim Byrne live in Nottinghamshire with their daughter, Sarosha, who was born in 2000: “There was no hearing screening at birth at that time and we didn’t know Sarosha had a profound bilateral sensorineural loss until she was around nine months old. She got a unilateral cochlear implant at 23 months of age and a second CI just before she was seven. We started auditory verbal therapy (AVT) at about 12 months and continued until Sarosha was nearly four. It’s been fantastic and we’ve got so much to be grateful to AVUK for. “Outcomes have been really good. Sarosha started school with better than age-appropriate listening and speech. Thanks to AVT and the CI, she had more than closed the gap between her and her hearing peers, and she started at local mainstream primary school without any particular special needs. She’s now in her mid-teens, on course to get good exam results and is beginning to weigh up her university options. AVT didn’t end when we stopped regular sessions. The support and awareness it gave us has meant we’ve been well-equipped to help Sarosha get the listening environment she needs throughout education”.
Parent ambassador: Giulia Bove Expand Giulia’s son Max was born in 2014. Max has a severe to profound hearing loss and received cochlear implants just after his first birthday. Max is currently enrolled on our Auditory Verbal programme at Auditory VerbalUK. Giulia became a Trustee of Auditory VerbalUK in 2016. The family in based in Ealing, London. If you would like to request to speak with Giulia about her experience, please email [email protected]g
Parent ambassador: Katie Brewer Expand Katie is one of our parent ambassadors and her son is profoundly deaf. Katie was instrumental in our partnership with Garden House School which raised a transformational amount of money for AVUK in 2011/12. Katie’s husband Simon also raised an amazing total for us through taking part in the Patrouille Des Glaciers in 2008. Katie is working to raise our profile with schools and companies.
Parent ambassador: Kate Cadman Expand Kate’s daughter Beatrice was born profoundly deaf in 2003 and her hearing loss was identified by the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme. When Beatrice was 16 months old, she started the programme at Auditory VerbalUK and graduated when she was five. Kate frequently speaks about her experience at conferences and events to help raise awareness of Auditory Verbal therapy. Beatrice spoke at our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in June 2016 and is now one of our Young Ambassadors. You can see Beatrice’s speech here. The family is based in Lincolnshire. If you would like to request to speak with Kate about her experience, please email [email protected]
Parent ambassador: Jo & Andy Callaghan Expand Andy and Jo Callaghan’s son Sam was born in 2011. Born profoundly deaf, Sam received cochlear implants just before his first birthday. Early intervention with AVT enabled Sam to attain age-appropriate speech and attend mainstream Primary School. Andy is now a Trustee at Auditory Verbal UK. You can read more about Sam, Jo and Andy here. The family are based on the south cost. If you would like to request to speak with Jo and Andy about her experience, please email [email protected]