Deaf Eastbourne boy calls on Chancellor to invest in life transforming therapy

Sam, from Eastbourne, was diagnosed as profoundly deaf as a baby and his parents were both devastated and scared for what the future would bring.

Now Sam is flourishing at secondary school, loves science and making films, and is always talking thanks to the specialist Auditory Verbal therapy programme he attended as a young child.

To mark World Hearing Day (March 3) and ahead of the UK Government’s Spring Budget (March 6) Sam is urging the Chancellor to make a commitment to invest the necessary funding, of just over £2million a year for 10 years, to ensure all deaf children under five have the opportunity to access Auditory Verbal therapy which enabled him to thrive at school and beyond.

Sam’s calls are supporting the Hear Us Now campaign, being led by charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) and he has sent a video message to Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mum Joanna explained: “When we received Sam’s diagnosis we were so worried about his future. Would he make friends? How would he get on at school and develop interests in everything life has to offer?

“But thanks to Auditory Verbal therapy he is absolutely flying. He is a real chatterbox and never stops talking especially about the things he loves like science and he is doing brilliantly at secondary school. We will always be so grateful for the support we had and how Auditory Verbal therapy transformed his life.”

More than 90% of deaf children who could benefit from an Auditory Verbal therapy programme are currently unable to access it and there are only 31 specialist Auditory Verbal Therapists in the whole of the UK.

This is despite research by YouGov* showing that 80% of adults in the South East of England believe Auditory Verbal therapy should be available to all deaf children via publicly funded services (ie, the NHS), while only 2% think it should be paid for privately.

Auditory Verbal therapy is a robust, evidence-based approach that supports deaf children to learn how to make sense of the sound they receive through their hearing technology (such as hearing aids or cochlear implants) so they can learn to talk like their hearing friends.

Research shows that more than 80% of deaf children who attended an Auditory Verbal therapy programme for at least two years graduated with spoken language on a par with their hearing peers – this figure rose to 97% for children without additional needs.

AVUK Chief Executive Anita Grover said: “What better time than ahead of World Hearing Day for the Government to make a commitment and invest in early and effective support for deaf children across the UK and enable all families who want their deaf child to learn to listen and talk to be able to access Auditory Verbal therapy through publicly funded services.”

“While the UK has one of the best Newborn Hearing Screening Programmes in the world and state of the art hearing technology (hearing aids and cochlear implants) available to babies and young people on the NHS, deaf children are not reaching their full potential and we are not currently maximising the investment being made in screening and technology.

“But it does not have to be this way. When deaf children have access to early and effective support, following early diagnosis and access to technology, outcomes are transformed.

"Early support to develop language and communication should be available for all deaf children whether their families choose to communicate with spoken language, sign language or both. For those families who want their deaf children to learn to listen and talk, the benefits of Auditory Verbal therapy are clear."

Economic analysis shows that investing in Auditory Verbal therapy can not only transform services for deaf children, like Sam, but also unlock economic benefits of £152 million over 10 years, rising to £11.7billion over 50 years through improved quality of life, employment prospects, lower costs of schooling and avoided injuries.

For more information visit www.avuk.org