AVUK also gave us support and hope at a time when we really needed it. We really were lost and had our own struggles and challenges adjusting to Charlie being deaf. But we could see so quickly how Charlie was developing thanks to AV therapy.

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“There is no history or deafness in our family. Charlie had a straightforward birth and his newborn hearing screening did not highlight any issues.”

“But when Charlie was around two and a half his speech plateaued and he stopped responding to sound. Our concerns began to grew and we had a private hearing test. When he was diagnosed with profound hearing loss we were shocked and upset. We didn’t know where to turn.

“We come from a family with no experience of deafness and Charlie had already begun to develop speech so we knew we wanted him to continue to learn to speak. We felt like there was very little support locally and it was through our own research that found out about Auditory Verbal therapy.

“Charlie received his cochlear implants aged three years and eight months and we began our Auditory Verbal therapy sessions at AVUK.

“Living in Hertfordshire there were no Auditory Verbal therapists available locally so we travelled to Auditory Verbal UK’s centre in Oxfordshire - a three hour round trip every two weeks.

“As difficult as this was, it was the best thing we ever did. Not only did it mean that Charlie was making the very best of his implants but it gave us, as a family, the skills to work on at home. AVUK also gave us support and hope at a time when we really needed it. We really were lost and had our own struggles and challenges adjusting to Charlie being deaf. But we could see so quickly how Charlie was developing thanks to AV therapy.

“When Rafferty was born four years after his brother we were alert to the fact that he may also lose his hearing which he did at a very similar time to Charlie. We have since found out that the hearing loss is genetic in boys.

“We didn’t hesitate to take Rafferty to Auditory Verbal therapy sessions because by this time Charlie had started mainstream school and was flourishing.

“Both boys are now typical 14 and 10 year olds who love football, gaming and have many friends.

“We know they have to work that little bit harder but thanks to AV therapy and the support we all had from AVUK both the boys, and us as parents, have learned the skills we need to achieve their goals.

“They both happily speak about being deaf and explain what their implants are for, but awareness of what is possible is still very low. People are often surprised to find out they are deaf when they speak to them.

“We are so proud of our boys and know now that they can achieve their dreams just like their hearing friends and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

Darren and Nicola – Charlie and Rafferty’s parents