Communicating with your deaf child

NDCS has produced this guide to try to answer the many questions parents have asked about how to best support their child’s language and communication development, not only in the early weeks and months after the identification of deafness following on from newborn hearing screening, but also as their children grow and move into the wider world of pre-school experience and on through formal education in the primary school years. Although it is written mainly for families with an early-identified child, it is hoped that it will also provide helpful information for families whose child’s deafness has developed or been identified later.

The guide describes the basics of language and communication development and gives some practical advice about how you can encourage positive development in natural ways in everyday routines. It also looks at the different ways in which deaf children and their families might choose to communicate and explains what you need to consider when making choices about communication approaches for your child and family. This guide focuses specifically on communication and language development rather than on deafness itself or on amplification (such as hearing aids of cochlear implants).