Deaf teen calls for funding into life-changing therapy
A deaf Perthshire teen met the First Minister in her call for more funding into audio therapy for deaf children which helped change her life.
Daisy Brake (14), from Dunkeld, who is both deaf and learned to listen and talk with Auditory Verbal therapy, joined charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), to share her inspiring story with MSPS – including SNP leader Humza Yousaf – at Scottish Parliament last week.
The inspirational youngster made the trip to Holyrood to call on politicians to make an urgent investment in the lifetransforming therapy which can help deaf children have the same opportunities as their hearing peers.
High school pupil Daisy – who loves music, plays the piano and is thriving at school – was diagnosed as profioundly deaf at three months old.
She and her twin sister were born prematurely weighing only a few pounds each and Daisy then developed septicemia – which led to the loss of her hearing.
She was joined at Holyrood by her mum, Katrina Macdonald, as they also discussed challenging expectations of deaf children and how the Scottish
Government can improve outcomes and opportunities for deaf children.
Proud mum Katrina said: “The expectations for Daisy were incredibly low and we were worried her future looked bleak, but we knew we wanted to do everything we could to support her.
“Coming from a hearing family we wanted Daisy to learn to speak and everything changed once we found Auditory Verbal therapy. It altered the course of Daisy’s life.”
Daisy added: “Thanks to Auditory Verbal therapy, I can speak like my hearing friends and do anything they can.
“I’m currently preparing for my National 5s and want to go to university. But this isn’t the case for all deaf children and that isn’t fair. I hope that by speaking to MSPS today they can see why we need to raise expectations for deaf children and young people and why investment is needed now.”
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 by charity Auditory Verbal UK, the only charity in Scotland that provides Auditory Verbal therapy to families with deaf children, shows that more than 80 per cent of deaf children who attended an Auditory Verbal therapy programme for at least two years achieve the same spoken language skills as their hearing peers – this figure rose to 97 per cent for children without additional needs.
But currently less than 10 per cent of deaf children who could benefit from the therapy are able to access it.
Auditory Verbal UK chief executive Anita Grover said: “Far too many deaf children in Scotland still don’t have access to the early and effective support to develop language and communication needed to thrive in life.
This means they face the prospect of lower academic achievement, lower employment prospects, and a higher risk of poor mental health, bullying and social exclusion.
“But it doesn’t have to be this way. When young deaf children and their families have access to effective, early support, whether their families wish to use spoken language, sign language or both, their opportunities in life can be transformed.
“And for those families who want their deaf child to learn to listen and speak, the specialist programme of Auditory Verbal therapy is enabling them to get an equal start at school.
“Urgent action is needed to increase access to Auditory Verbal for families of deaf children across Scotland.” Foysol Choudhury MSP, who co-sponsored today’s event along with Jeremy Balfour MSP, said: “Access to early and effective support is vital to ensure all children can reach their full potential in life.
“A total of 600 children across Scotland could be benefitting from Auditory Verbal therapy but are unable to access it.
“I hope the Scottish Government will consider AVUK’S request for just £180,000 a year for 10 years to ensure that enough specialists are available so all deaf children have the opportunity to to access this transformative programme through existing services.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.