“We learnt that our second son, Robin, was profoundly deaf when he didn’t pass his newborn hearing test. He was fitted with hearing aids at five weeks old, in the depths of lockdown in 2020. It was a lot to take in and felt like our worries about the future and big medical decisions overshadowed what should have been such a really happy time.

“We found out about Auditory Verbal (AV) therapy by chance after a segment about Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) on BBC News. We had no previous experience of deafness and were amazed by the listening and speaking abilities of the fantastic children in the piece. After lots of research, we signed Robin up to the family-centred programme at AVUK when he was eight months old, before he had his cochlear implants at 12 months. There were no Auditory Verbal therapists available locally to us through the NHS.

“Working with our Auditory Verbal Therapist every fortnight gave us so much confidence, and the amazing feeling that we are doing everything we could to support Robin with his speaking and listening. It’s been simple to build the techniques into our everyday routines and to pass them on to other family members and nursery teachers.

Auditory Verbal therapy is a family-centred play-based approach which supports pre-school deaf children learn how to make sense of the sound they receive through their hearing technology, like cochlear implants and hearing aids, and develop spoken language so they can learn to talk like their hearing friends.

Katherine added: “Without the confidence that AV therapy and our therapist has given us, I’m not sure we would have known how much could be achieved and may not have had such high standards for Robin’s potential for speaking and listening. 

“AV therapy gave us structure, knowledge, support and confidence in our own abilities to support Robin.  Having fortnightly sessions helped us keep on track and break down what we should be working on with Robin and to keep encouraging him to develop his spoken language skills.

“Without AV therapy, and the other support Robin was able to access, I don’t believe he would have started school so ready to learn, with his wonderful speech and listening skills.”

Robin graduated from the Auditory Verbal therapy programme at AVUK in August 2025 aged four with spoken language skills equivalent to a six-year-old.

Katherine added: “'I wish I could have seen into the future when we were first told he was profoundly deaf – we would be amazed and so encouraged by all he has achieved with this early support.

“He has now almost finished his first term at our local mainstream infant school, where his brother is in year two.

“He is really enjoying school and has made lots of new friends alongside some old friends from his nursery in the class too. He has been coping really well with all the new experiences and noises, and his teacher has been wearing the radio aid (a wireless, listening device that can help deaf people hear more clearly when they are far from the person speaking or not facing them, or when they’re in a noisy environment) which Robin has taken to well.

“At nearly five years old, Robin is a bright, strong minded and kind little boy able to do everything his hearing peers can.  He is loving starting to learn phonics and has a passion for dinosaurs and board games! We often having to beg him to stop talking – definitely not something we would have expected or even dared to hope for back when he was born!

“The support he received from AV therapy at AVUK at a young age has benefited him so much, allowing him to start school with all the opportunities his older brother had at the same age.  We are full of hope and excitement to see what he can do over the months and years ahead.”

Katherine – Robin’s Mum

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Katherine joined the Board at AVUK as a Trustee to give back to the charity that has supported Robin.