We are thrilled to announce that Auditory Verbal UK has been awarded the Highly Commended Charity of the Year at the Third Sector Awards! 

The ceremony which took place last night, Thursday 21st September, celebrated a wide range of charities who give back to the community and celebrated organisations and social leaders from across the sector.

Being shortlisted

Our Chief Executive, Chair of Trustees and Head of Fundraising presented to the judging panel in July, and we were thrilled to make the shortlist amongst some excellent charities. 

The judges noted that they were particularly impressed by our plans for transforming service provision in the UK to give all deaf children the opportunity to learn to listen and talk. 

In the UK today, only 33% of deaf children achieve a good level of development in the Early Years’ Foundation Stage[1]. This really should not be the case.

At Auditory Verbal UK, 80% of children who spend at least two years on the early intervention programme achieve age-appropriate language and most attend mainstream schools.

Auditory Verbal therapy (AVT) is a highly cost-effective early intervention. Our 2016 cost-benefit analysis estimated that for every £1 invested in AVT, there is a £4 return. 

In 2016, we took this message to parliament where Auditory Verbal graduates spoke in front of MPs and experts in the hearing sector. See more information about our Power of Speech event here. 

Our Chief Executive said:

We are so grateful to the judges of the Third Sector Awards for recognising our work and awarding us highly commended amongst other organisations doing such incredible work in their respective fields. Many people are still surprised to know that even profoundly deaf children can learn to listen, talk and achieve all the same things that hearing children can. By winning the highly commended award it is helping us to raise our profile so that we can continue to challenge perceptions and create a sound future for deaf children. Huge congratulations to the other charities who were nominated alongside us. 

We would like to thank all the families who we have worked with, the professionals we have collaborated with and all those who have supported our vision. 

Find out more about the awards on the Third Sector Awards website.  

Some of the AVUK team at the awards

[1] Source: Early Years Foundation Stage Profile results: 2014 to 2015, Department for Education, 2017, via NDCS