Auditory Verbal UK has hosted several interns over the years through a scheme run by the University of Sussex. Over the summer, we welcomed Kirsty Turner to the communications team for eight weeks. Here she tells us all about her experience:

I have had a great 8 weeks at Auditory Verbal UK, I’ve learnt so much and I’m so glad I’ve been able to find out about the great work this charity does.

I found out about AVUK through an internship scheme run by the University of Sussex, the scheme offers summer internships to students who are the first person in their family to study at degree level. I thought it would be a great opportunity to make the best use of my summer, instead of going back to the same old customer service assistant job that I’ve had since I was 17.

This internship really stood out to me as my mum has been partially deaf from a young age. I felt as though it would be really beneficial to me to learn more about deafness. I’ve seen the changes in hearing technology over the past 15 years or so and how amazing it is. I remember when my mum used to struggle to hear over the phone and listen to music with earphones - now her hearing aids link straight to her phone which makes life so much easier for her.

Learning that AVUK works with this amazing technology to further benefit children by developing their speech and language is just brilliant. The children that AVUK work with walk through the office to their therapy sessions and it was always a lovely break in the day saying hello and sometimes having a little chat with the families. You would not believe that some of the children were born deaf especially when they have a small conversation with you about their recent holiday or a drawing they had just coloured in.

Throughout my time at AVUK I worked with the communications team. I study Media and Communications (BA) at university so it was the perfect fit. This internship has been a really great experience for me, I’ve been given a taste for real working life. Everyone at AVUK is so, so lovely!

It’s been great to learn about Auditory Verbal therapy and the great opportunities it allows deaf children to have. It has really made me think about what I want to do in the future as I have really enjoyed working in the third sector. Knowing that it is possible to work in communications within a charity makes the job definitely seem more worthwhile.

Throughout my degree and A-levels I’ve been mainly interested in video production. AVUK have allowed me to put my skills to good use and create videos that will be used on social media and hopefully create more awareness of AVUK.

There has never been a dull moment and I’ve really loved making videos, taking pictures, making lots of printed resources, working with such a lovely team and learning about the families’ stories.

I would just like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who works at AVUK for making me feel so welcome and creating a lovely working environment that is so friendly and never stressful. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for AVUK and only hope it grows bigger and reaches out to more children.

I’ve only got one year left of my degree now and I’d love to work at AVUK when I’ve finished.

THANK YOU AVUK!

*Videos created and edited by Kirsty Turner.