Kate Cadman - Lincolnshire 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 Verbal UK and graduated when she was five. Kate frequently speaks about her experience at conferences and events to help raise awareness of Auditory Verbal therapy and Beatrice now shares her own experiences as a Young Ambassador. Beatrice spoke at our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in June 2016 You can see Beatrice’s speech here. Read Kate's story in her own words here. The family is based in Lincolnshire. If you would like to request to speak with Kate about her experience, please email i[email protected]
Jo & Andy Callaghan - East Sussex Expand Andy and Jo Callaghan’s son Sam was born profoundly deaf in 2011. Sam received cochlear implants just before his first birthday. Early intervention with Auditory Verbal Therapy enabled Sam to attain age-appropriate speech and attend mainstream Primary School. Andy was previously a trustee of Auditory Verbal UK. You can read more about Sam, Jo and Andy here. The family are based in East Sussex. If you would like to request to speak with Jo and Andy about their experience, please email [email protected]
Angela Conlan - London Expand Angela’s daughter Lily was diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss when she was two-and-half years old. Despite being given hearing aids, Angela was told a genetic condition meant Lily’s hearing would deteriorate. Angela heard about AVUK through another parent at school and Lily started her programme in 2015. Lily was fitted with cochlear implants in 2017, aged five, and continued with Auditory Verbal Therapy. Her “beautiful” speech is improving every day and in 2019 Lily introduced guest speakers at the London Early Years' Conference at City Hall. Angela is an ambassador for Auditory Verbal UK and has set up her own organisation to support other families with deaf children. Angela is also studying for a level 3 qualification in British Sign Language. Read Angela's story in her own words here. Lily and Angela are based in north London. To speak to Angela about her experience email [email protected]
Emma Curtis - London Expand Emma has been a great supporter of Auditory Verbal UK for many years. Emma’s son James, was born profoundly deaf and first visited our founder Jacqueline Stokes when he was 10 months old. James excelled in mainstream school and knows he can achieve anything he wants to. James is now studying History at Durham University. Emma is driven by an ambition to see Auditory Verbal Therapy become more widely available in the UK and to break down the barriers for deaf children to succeed in education and employment. The Curtis family are from north London. To find out more about their story or to arrange an interview with Emma email [email protected]
John & Kirsty Cunningham - Glasgow Expand John and Kirsty Cunningham's daughter Hope was born with profound hearing loss, and was recommended for cochlear implant surgery at around fourteen months old. This resulted in a significant delay in speech & language development prior to being implanted. The family joined Auditory Verbal UK's programme after Hope's surgery and she started school with age appropriate language. John and Kirsty said: "Accessing Auditory Verbal therapy from AVUK was a real game-changer. The incredible work done by AVUK staff with Hope, and the invaluable skills they pass on to parents to help them coach their kids, meant that her speech & language were completely age appropriate by the time she started primary school." The family is based in Glasgow, Scotland. If you would like to speak with the family about their experience, please email [email protected]
Becky Dennis - London Expand Becky’s daughter Hope was born in 2010. After failing the Newborn Hearing Screening Test, Hope's parents were informed that she had a profound hearing loss. When Hope was nine months old, she received cochlear implants in both ears from Great Ormond Street Hospital. At the time, Hope was one of the youngest babies in the UK to have bilateral cochlear implant surgery. This meant that by 14 months, Hope’s communication skills were judged as age-appropriate. Hope was the youngest participant of our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in June 2016. You can see Hope’s speech here. The family is based in North London. If you would like to request to speak with Becky about her experience, please email [email protected]
Bhavika Gopal Expand Bhavika's children, Dhyana and Khush are both profoundly deaf and successfully graduated from Auditory Verbal UK when they were younger. Dhyana and Khush are now attending mainstream schools, which they enjoy. The family is based in Kent. If you would like to request to speak with Bhavika about her experience, please email [email protected]
Victoria Oram - Wiltshire Expand Victoria and her husband Steve have three daughters, Sade, Topaz and Tallulah. Sade was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss when she was two years old and received a cochlear implant at three years and two months. Topaz, who is two years younger than Sade, was also born with a profound hearing loss, which was diagnosed at two months old. Both sisters were taught to listen and speak at Auditory Verbal UK and presented our Power of Speech event at the House of Commons in 2016. The family are based in Wiltshire. If you would like to request to speak with Victoria about her experience, please email [email protected]
Deborah Pezzuto - Somerset Expand Deborah has three children Keisha and twins Zack and Dylan. Zack and Dylan, were born with severe to profound hearing loss in July 2011 in New York. They were fitted with bilateral cochlear implants at 6 months old and began Auditory Verbal Therapy in New York. Two years later the family moved to the UK and joined Auditory Verbal UK's programme. Deborah is a fantastic advocate for AVUK and regularly shares her story with the media. She said: "I’m a very positive person and very focused on my kids development. I never give up and I always encourage them to reach any target they want in the best way possible." Read Deborah's story in her own words here. The family are based in Bath, Somerset. For more information or to arrange an interview email [email protected]
Jane Barry, Chair of Trustees Expand Jane Barry has spent over two decades within the civil service and has two teenage children, one who has moderate permanent hearing loss. It was Auditory Verbal UK's aspirations for deaf children and the hugely positive affect the programme has on the whole family and society in general which inspired Jane to take up the role which she did in March 2020. Her current job on secondment to the Metropolitan Police as Director of Change, focusses on ensuring cross-UK capabilities are ready for the challenges ahead and planning for change.
Katherine Bartrop, Trustee Expand Katherine is an experienced leader in the charity sector, with her most recent role as Head of Regional Fundraising at Parkinson’s UK, where she doubled their fundraised income and developed a series of products including fundraising walks across the UK. Her professional interests include mentoring, learning and development, building and delivering a strategy and managing remote teams. Katherine joined the AVUK trustee board in 2022 and is excited to bring her strategic skills to the role at a time of ambitious growth for the charity. She has two young sons, Joseph and Robin. Robin is profoundly deaf with cochlear implants and joined the AVUK programme at nine months old. Outside of work, Katherine enjoys the theatre, sewing and making the most of the outdoors with her young family.
Paul Clifford, Treasurer Expand Paul is a former Company Director. An Oxford graduate, he spent most of his working life in publishing, the last 15 years as MD of Lion Hudson plc, the UK’s largest independent Christian publisher. He also had a spell of 8 years, mid-career, working for Oxfam in marketing and general management and promoting fair trade. In addition, he has been a lay minister in the Church of England for more than 25 years. Now retired, he is vice-chair of the board of governors of his local primary school. He is married with two adult daughters and two grandchildren. Paul joined the board as the Treasurer in October 2016.
What does a child need for Auditory Verbal therapy to be effective? Expand The foremost pre-requisite for AVT to be effective is that the child has supportive and encouraging parents or carers who will celebrate their child’s achievements. The people who know their child best are the parents or carer and they must be able to share their expertise of their child with their Auditory Verbal Therapist and incorporate the Auditory Verbal strategies into their everyday life, each and every day. An accurate diagnosis of the hearing loss together with the most appropriate and optimally programmed hearing technology (hearing aids or implantable devices such as a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), cochlear implant (CI) or auditory brainstem implant (ABI)) are also essential components to get right at the start of the Auditory Verbal programme. Each parent must be confident with their child’s hearing technology and the child must be happy to wear their hearing technology consistently. Lastly, early intervention is vital if a child is to develop the language and communication skills they need to be ready to start schools alongside their hearing peers.
We cannot afford your fees. Do you offer financial support? Expand With little to no provision of Auditory Verbal therapy currently available through the NHS or publicly funded services, Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) is the only UK-wide charity that provides this support directly to deaf children and their families. We provide a programme of support for deaf children across the UK whose families want them to learn to listen and talk. As a not-for-profit organisation, we fundraise to cover the costs of providing this support to families. We ask families to make a contribution to this cost based on household income, with the remaining balance funded by donations from our generous supporters. We receive no funding from central government. Nearly 80% of families on our programme receive financial support through the bursary scheme. Should you not qualify for a bursary or require further financial help, we offer support to find other financial options you can apply for. Some families have been able to secure partial or full funding to join the programme from other charitable trusts and organisations, for example the Moondance Foundation has supported families in Wales, and the Birkdale Trust has also supported families with grants. Other families have secured funding based on, for example, their employment, geographic location or specific circumstances of their child. Some families have received support with funding from their local authority through their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Click here to find out more. We have a dedicated team who can provide support and answer any questions you might have about the bursary scheme or other financial options. Contact us on [email protected] or call 01869 325 000.
Have you worked with families where the parent(s) also have hearing loss? Expand Yes, we have worked with families where the parent(s) also have a hearing loss. If you have any specific questions or concerns please do get in touch with one of the clinical team.
We live overseas for a significant part of the year. Can we still do AVT? Expand We have experience of working with families who live or spend frequent periods of time out of the country. For example, we have worked with families in the Forces, families caring for relatives overseas and families who have needed to relocate for work. In each of these cases we have been able to offer a package that overcomes the obstacle of distance. This can include Skype sessions and telephone consultations where necessary, or a more intensive block of appointments during time spent in the UK. Please speak to one of our therapists about the options available to you.
My baby can’t hear so why bother with hearing aids? Expand If your baby has a profound hearing loss and you haven’t seen any responses to sound yet, this doesn’t always mean he/she can’t hear at all. It is actually more common for children with a profound hearing loss to have some useful hearing still. The important thing is to make sure that your baby’s hearing aids are set so that she can use his/her hearing well. This happens by working together with your local audiologist. The sessions with your auditory verbal therapist will then focus on teaching your baby to learn that sound is meaningful. See our YouTube channel to find out what babies with a profound hearing loss can do!
Help! My baby keeps pulling his/her aids out. Expand Don’t panic, this is a familiar situation for many parents and can be very frustrating at times. When a baby consistently pulls his/her hearing aids out, this can be an indication that there is an issue either with the way the hearing aids have been programmed or the hearing aid itself is uncomfortable. This is important information that you should share with your local audiologist to help them set your baby’s hearing aids appropriately. Our experience is that if a baby is getting auditory benefit from their hearing aids and they are comfortable to wear, they will not pull them out.
How effective is AVT for children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD)? Expand Auditory Verbal therapy is especially useful for children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD) as it equips you with the tools you need to be able to check your child’s listening at home whenever you feel your child’s hearing levels have changed. This enables you to make adjustments to your input and environment and these techniques can be used in the home as well as by staff in nursery or school. With the changeable nature of ANSD, it is really important that as much information is gathered as possible so that you can make a decision and a plan about how best to manage your child’s hearing loss as soon as possible. For children with ANSD we offer a diagnostic period for three months to look specifically at what your child is hearing day to day and what they can functionally do with their listening and we train you as the parent/carer to be the best observer of your child so that you can confidently judge when he or she is or isn’t hearing you and how well he or she is hearing you. We have a large number of children on our caseload with ANSD who are showing, with the appropriate amplification, that they have the ability to learn to listen and talk. For further information, see https://alicesears.com – a blog written for parents of children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder (ANSD). Alice graduated from Auditory VerbalUK in 2013 with age-appropriate language.
Milly Ehren, Trustee Expand Milly joined the Board of Trustees in 2021. Milly is an experienced strategy professional, with a passion for creating social value and lasting impact. She is currently working at the City of London Corporation as Strategic Project Lead for Bridge House Estates (an ancient charitable trust). Milly brings her skills in articulating organisation-wide thinking on strategic issues and implementing transformational projects to support AVUK as it embarks on its major investment programme. Milly will act as Board lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and will support AVUK to further develop and implement its DEI policies and plans. Milly is a strong advocate for people with disabilities and brings her personal experience of living with a chronic invisible illness. Milly’s lived experience affords her a natural insight and empathy that will help support families in their journeys through Auditory Verbal therapy.
Vinay Purwaha, Trustee Expand Vinay is an accomplished programme manager specialist with over a decade of successful experience in delivering global projects on time and within budget. His experience is spread across various industries such as retail, biopharmaceutical, public sector (NHS and local government) and premium fashion retail. He has extensive experience in introducing global customer-centric initiatives, implementing cutting-edge strategies and managing change within large global organisations. Auditory Verbal UK's aspirations to provide children with hearing loss the opportunity to lead enriched lives inspired Vinay to become a Trustee in September 2021. He is passionate about contributing to a worthwhile cause and to support AVUK’s growth plans. He is keen to promote diversity and inclusion in his role, which is in keeping with his well roundedness as an individual. He holds a bachelors in mathematics and he received his MBA from Warwick Business School. Vinay is a service user of AVUK and has two young children. Outside of work, he is also a Member at a local academy school, enjoys road cycling and can sometimes be found binge watching documentaries on Netflix.
Gillian Smith, Trustee Expand Gillian Smith FCIPD Having spent most of her career in the Civil Service, Gillian leads on People and Culture aspects of Accelerated Service Transformation in HMRC. She has led Equality, Diversity and Inclusion functions in several Government Departments and in a voluntary capacity has worked extensively with disadvantaged young people, coaching and supporting them to flourish in life and work. Joining the AVUK Trustee Board in 2022, Gillian brings experience of having held Trustee roles in other organisations and having been a Governor at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She also brings her professional experience in Human Resources, business transformation and public policy making. As a mother of a child who became seriously unwell and needed access to additional services, she has first-hand experience of navigating the health and education systems and understands the challenges for parents faced with similar challenges. She is driven by a determination to help build a fairer world with good access to provision, removing barriers that create disadvantage.
Susan Ronson Expand Susan and her family have supported Auditory Verbal UK for many years since she attended sessions with her young grandson. Susan has generously volunteered time to advise us on our Legacy fundraising drawing on her experience from working with other charities.
Alexandra Woolgar Expand Alexandra is one three daughters of of Auditory Verbal UK's Founding Director, Jacqueline Stokes. Alex has volunteered her time and professional expertise to the charity over the past 10 years. She is co-author of the report ‘An evaluation of Auditory Verbal Therapy using rate of early language development as an outcome measure’. She developed the charity’s first website and has provided support over the past 10 years despite moving to Australia in September 2011. Alex hopes to build further links with sister organisations in Sydney.
Elizabeth Mills OBE Expand Elizabeth Mills runs public affairs consultancy, Éminence Grise, which provides strategic development, research and fundraising support, and event and conference management for a range of voluntary sector organisations. Clients have included The Campaign to End Loneliness, Age UK Oxfordshire, Norwood, DISCS Foundation, Friends of the Elderly, BUPA Care Services, the UK Age Research Forum. She is on the advisory board for apetito, the company providing wholesome meals for older people in receipt of domiciliary or residential care. She was Director, Research into Ageing (the UK national medical research charity) from 1990 until 2001 when she led the charity into full merger with Help the Aged (now Age UK). In 2000, she was awarded the British Society for Research on Ageing “Lord Cohen of Birkenhead Medal for Services to Gerontology” and in 2002 she was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Jubilee Honours for services to ageing research. In 2013 she received the award of Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Brighton and in 2016 a similar Honorary Doctorate from the University of Aston. Her voluntary activities include chairing the board of Creative Dementia Arts Network. She is also Honorary Director of Homeshare International, promoting the exchange of accommodation for companionship around the world and is actively involved with the Catholic church of St Aloysius, the Oxford Oratory, where she serves as Parish Registrar. Elizabeth was an early trustee of AVUK from May 2003 until June 2016.
Jim & Becky Shearer - East Staffordshire Expand Jim and Becky's son Louie was diagnosed with a high-frequency moderate sensorineural hearing loss at his newborn hearing screening; he was born prematurely at 34 weeks. He attended Auditory Verbal UK from six months of age and went from strength to strength with each session he attended. He is now thriving at mainstream school. Becky said: "AVUK showed me that having a hearing impaired child did not mean he should be held back in any way. They provided me, as Louie's mother, with strength and positivity and I can honestly say that I do not know what we would have done without AVUK." The Shearer's are based East Staffordshire. If you would like to speak with Jim and Becky about their experience, please email [email protected]
What happens if the AV approach doesn’t work for our family? Expand The Auditory Verbal approach is diagnostic – this means that within each session, the AV therapist will be listening and watching with you as the child’s parent/carer, to evaluate the goals and expectations that were set for you and your child. Therapy goals are then tailored based on the needs of the family and the child. When a family first join the programme, they are advised that there will be a diagnostic period when the questions above can be addressed in detail. If, after this period, the joint conclusions of the family and the therapist is that the approach is enabling the child to listen and learn, then the child’s individualised programme will continue with on-going monitoring and review. If the programme is not working for you and your child, we think with you about the possible reasons and make a plan for what needs to happen next. We actively support families to find the most appropriate communication approach for their child and the best means of supporting your child’s learning at the earliest possible time.
Dhyana Gopal Expand My name is Dhyana, and I was born profoundly deaf. However, I was only diagnosed when I was 5 months old. My parents were scared for my future, and with no prior experience of deafness, they faced many options and difficult decisions. At this challenging time, they met the inspirational late Jacqueline Stokes, founder of AVUK, who gave them hope that using Auditory Verbal therapy, there was an expectation that young deaf children could learn to listen and speak using optimally working hearing technology, and that they could attend mainstream education and become independent participating citizens in mainstream society. On the strength of this vision, our journey with AVUK began, and I graduated when I was 5 years old, with listening and language skills equivalent to that of a 7-year-old. 7 years later when my brother Khush was born profoundly deaf, my parents did not hesitate in contacting AVUK immediately and starting a new journey with him. AVUK has become an integral part of our lives and has impacted me in the most positive way. Because of AVUK I am more confident and independent today. I attended a mainstream grammar school, and after successfully completing my GCSEs, I went on to study the International Baccalaureate, taking English Literature, Biology and Chemistry as my Higher Level subjects. I will now be going to the University of East Anglia to study medicine. I am able to appreciate and enjoy music and dance, and I am a grade 5 violinist. I have also completed the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards, and I have travelled internationally on my own. Most importantly, I believe that AVUK has given me the chance to be an outgoing young adult who can embrace the same opportunities as my hearing peers, and who can believe in my dreams. For this, I will always be grateful to AVUK. I have raised money for AVUK by having Loud Shirt Days at school, as well as successfully nominating AVUK as the main school charity for the whole academic year. I have spoken about deafness and AVUK at general school assemblies and at the Founders Day Service to an audience of over 1000 people. I have also been invited to introduce important speakers at AVUK conventions. In 2017, I took part in a film for the Centre of Social Justice who awarded Auditory Verbal UK the Model of Excellence Award. I have also participated in general promotional videos to create awareness of AVUK. Additionally, in 2021, I was an interviewer on the panel in an event for fundraisers, who attended to find out more about Auditory Verbal Therapy. I also attended an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting with members of Parliament and attendees from interested organisations (e.g. the British Deaf Association, RNID, NDCS), in a meeting to discuss the impact of early support on outcomes for deaf children, and what AVUK strives to achieve. In both these events, I talked about my personal experiences and contributed to the discussions on the role of AVUK. I am proud to be a Young Ambassador, and I would like more deaf children to benefit from the amazing and truly life changing work that AVUK does.