Deafness and additional needs

The term ‘additional need’ refers to a health or developmental condition which impacts on a child’s daily life. At the National Deaf Children’s Society, we use the term ‘additional need’ to mean any disability or long-term health condition other than deafness.

About 30 to 40% of deaf children and young people also have one or more additional needs. This could be:

• because their deafness is part of a syndrome which also causes other additional needs
• because their deafness is one of multiple conditions caused by premature birth or illness, such as meningitis

Some deaf children have additional needs that aren’t connected to their deafness at all – it’s just a coincidence.

Adjustments for additional needs

Deafness is often an invisible disability. Some professionals may forget that your child is deaf if they also have a more visible disability, such as a mobility impairment. You may need to remind your child's teachers, doctors or other professionals to be considerate of both their deafness and their additional needs. 

You and the professionals who work with your child will need to consider how their deafness might affect any treatments or adjustments made for their additional needs, and vice versa. This is especially important if your child’s additional needs make it difficult for them to advocate for themselves.

When planning adaptations for your child, such as when completing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, your local authority (council) should consider:

• all their additional needs
• how those needs interact
• how your child’s needs might change over time
• how to set your child up for the future

If a school or local authority distinguishes between ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ needs, they should explain to you why they’ve chosen to do this and how your child’s secondary needs will be accommodated. 

In this section, we’ll explore some of the things you and your family might need to think about depending on your child’s specific additional needs. 

Having a deaf child with additional needs does have its issues. There are times that we feel a little on the outside of both worlds... It’s often her additional needs that need to come first to ensure her safety and help her understand what's happening, but her hearing needs have to be remembered too.

Sarah-Jane is mum to Chloe (10) who's severely to profoundly Deaf and has 9p minus syndrome.

Read Sarah-Jane's blog.