Callum had an abnormal response to the newborn hearing test. He had mild to moderate hearing loss and was fitted with hearing aids at two months old. As he got older his hearing loss changed from mild to severe.

When we got the diagnosis we looked for every other possible reason. As a completely hearing family it is not something you prepare for. You tell yourself, the test is wrong, that person is wrong, it’s not our boy. 

We were very wary of that golden period, that’s sort of 0 – three years of age and unfortunately with Callum at such an early age we had to start thinking about prepping for school so we got proactive and started looking for options for Callum.

When Callum was about eight months old we found out about AVUK at a deaf expo in Maidstone. We were really taken with Frances from AVUK straight away so we started looking into it and we did our first session when Callum was nine months old. Within a few months Callum was recognising sounds. His is now five and is thriving at mainstream school.

The initial feeling [when we visited AVUK] was one of relief, that there was someone out there who could help us and that offered achievable outcomes towards our goal of helping Callum to speak.

AVUK has helped us get the best for Callum and for us as a family and that’s more than we could have wished for. It’s meant Callum having the opportunity to learn as any other child and then you get the daily rewards of it, listening to Callum and his little sister Daniella in the back of the car and they’re having a full-on conversation. It’s just amazing to listen to.

Working with AVUK has been a lifeline to us, the work has been amazing and the best thing is the confidence they give parents to take the skills home so we know exactly how to help him. It’s amazing.

- Ingrid, Callum’s mum