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On Wednesday 9 October, Auditory Verbal UK were delighted to welcome Early Education Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, from the Department of Education, to our London centre to meet with deaf children and their families who learned to listen and talk with Auditory Verbal therapy.

Minister Morgan met Hope, aged 14, Rafi, aged 8, alongside their families to hear their experience of learning to speak when they were younger and how they are now challenging perceptions of what deaf children can achieve all day, every day.

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The Minister also took up the opportunity to get involved with a therapy session with 5-year-old Reece, alongside his mum Helen and their Auditory Verbal Therapist, where they were preparing for Halloween with a game of trick or treat.

Currently less than 10% of deaf children, like Reece, can access Auditory Verbal therapy due to the limited number of certified Auditory Verbal Therapists, so we discussed with the Minister the urgent need for increased access to this support for families who want their deaf child to learn how to listen and speak.

Thank you, Minister Morgan, for visiting AVUK and meeting deaf children and young people to hear about the importance of investment in the specialist workforce and why early, effective support to develop language and communication, whether they use spoken language, sign language or both, is vital for deaf children.

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