Advice and Guidance Helpline

Not sure what advice, guidance or services you need? Do you have a question about childhood deafness?

Our Helpline is here to help. We give free independent information, advice and guidance on a range of topics relating to childhood deafness.

We can refer you to our free advice and guidance services, if you need extra help.

We also give information, advice and guidance to professionals working with deaf children and young people. Visit the professional's Helpline page for more information.

What we can help you with

We provide independent information, advice and guidance on a range of topics across the UK related to childhood deafness, including:

• Diagnosis and how to work with health professionals
• Education, including early years, special educational needs (SEN), further and higher education
• Welfare benefits and other financial support
• Communication options and support
• Technology and equipment to support deafness
• Disability discrimination issues
• Options after leaving school
• Finding support in your area

We can also provide information, advice and guidance to professionals working with deaf children and young people on these issues.

If you need specialist advice and guidance we can refer you to our team of experts, Advice and Guidance Officers or Advice and Guidance Education Appeals Specialist teams.

What we can’t help you with

We are unable to help:

• Deaf adults over 25
• Hearing children with deaf parents
• With housing questions
• With immigration questions
• Deaf children and young people who live outside of the UK
• Those with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD).

Getting the most from the Helpline

• Set aside enough time: calls and web chats can often take up to 20 minutes.
• Try to find a quiet place to contact us.
• Have a pen and paper to hand, along with any paperwork you want to discuss.
• When you email, include details of your child’s age and the area you live in. This will help us to give you the right information.
• If your enquiry is urgent, please contact us by phone, web chat or BSL video relay during opening hours.

How we use your information

• Calls to the helpline may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes
• You have the right to object to your data being processed: if you do, we will explain what that means
• For more detail on how we process your data, view our privacy statement

How did our Helpline team do?

If you have a minute, it would be great if you could complete our short survey about your contact with the Helpline.

An update on our services