Your rights, your stories
Below is a selection of family stories where parents have used the law, often with the help of our Advice and Guidance Officers, to make sure their deaf child got the support they needed.
Arguing the case for a summer born child to start school a year late
Alfie, who is profoundly deaf, was a late summer baby which meant when he started school he’d be a year younger than many of his classmates and likely to struggle. So parents, Melissa and Mark applied to delay him starting school by a year.
Fighting for the right support at school
Helen fought for years to get a school that could support the needs of her son Nathan, 13, who is profoundly deaf. With the National Deaf Children’s Society right behind her, now he’s making real progress.
Challenging the local authority’s refusal to allow an out-of-county school placement
Getting your deaf child into the right school can feel like a daunting task and it’s even tougher when you have twins with different needs. Mum Michelle shares the challenges she faced getting Liam and Oscar into the right school for them.
Getting the right technology for your child
Katherine’s son Monty is profoundly deaf in one ear but she was told it wouldn’t affect him and nothing needed to be done. Then she discovered CROS (contralateral routing of signal) aids and was astonished at the impact.
Campaigning for the rights of deaf young people
Max (19), who uses British Sign Language (BSL), is thriving in his engineering apprenticeship but difficulty passing his functional skills English was holding him back, so his family campaigned for change.
Getting support from the local council
Parents Natalie and Chris didn’t know what to expect when son Henry (8) was diagnosed with otosclerosis, a rare form of progressive deafness. But being proactive and giving Henry a say on things affecting him has enabled him to thrive.