Charity of the Month

Auditory VerbalUK

Auditory VerbalUK (AVUK) is a national charity which transforms the lives of deaf babies and pre-school children and their families.  Their innovative parent training model puts parents at the centre of their deaf child’s listening and spoken language development.  They work in partnership with each child’s local support team and offer a range of professional training courses.

Our mission
A deaf baby is born in the UK every 12 hours and the disability is diagnosed within days. As many babies again become deaf during early years. AVUK actively encourages parental choice and parental involvement.  Over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, who would usually wish for their child to have sophisticated hearing technology and learn to listen and speak like other members of the family.  Their mission is to make auditory verbal therapy widely available so that the parents of 6,000 deaf children of pre-school age in the UK have access to a service they might choose, and deaf children are able to fulfil their full educational and social potential in mainstream society.

Auditory verbal therapy
The process of learning to listen and speak is long and requires daily input from parents.  In order to grow an ‘auditory brain’ it is necessary for intervention to be early – during the pre-school years – and for the focus to be on listening, rather than lip reading or signing.  The auditory verbal therapy approach ensures that every child has the best possible access to sound, for example through hearing aids or cochlear implants, and makes use of expertise in related fields, such as sensory integration.  Parents and carers are active participants and maximise the benefit of our input by incorporating the techniques learned in sessions into their home life.  AVUK therapists work collaboratively with each child’s local support team to ensure that observations and goals are shared.

Outcomes
After three years of intensive auditory verbal therapy, 80% of the children they see enter mainstream schools alongside their hearing peers with age-appropriate listening and spoken language.  Many close the language gap long before school entry.  Their graduates converse on the telephone, act in school plays, enjoy music and even learn foreign languages. 

Charity patron: Janine Roebuck, the deaf opera singer
AVUK are delighted to announce the recent appointment of their first charity patron; opera singer Janine Roebuck. During her university training, Janine Roebuck became severely deaf and was told she could never hope to sing professionally.  Through determination, passion and talent, she has become the world’s only deaf mezzo-soprano and has achieved an international career. 

Contact information
If you would like to enquire about training opportunities or collaborative working, please contact Jacqueline Stokes, Director, jacqueline@avuk.org

Telephone: 01869 321492
Email: info@avuk.org
Website: www.avuk.org

Registered charity number 1095133