But Hope Dennis (14), from North Stainley, who was diagnosed as deaf as a baby is challenging these expectations and proving that with early and effective support the possibilities are endless for deaf babies and children and they can learn to talk just like their hearing friends.
Hope was supported to listen and speak by charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) and is now thriving in mainstream education and loves sport, music and art – essentially doing all the things that hearing children do. This week she is calling for greater understanding about what is possible and challenging common misconceptions that persist about deafness.
A YouGov* survey commissioned by AVUK, has revealed that only one in three (34%) adults in the Yorkshire and Humber region believe it is possible for a child born profoundly deaf to speak as well as a hearing child.
The new research shows a clear decrease from 2024, which found 39% of adults in Yorkshire think a child born profoundly deaf today can learn to speak as well as a child without hearing loss - indicating a concerning decline in what people in the region think is possible for deaf children.
Deaf children and their families are joining AVUK calling for a greater awareness and understanding of what deaf children can achieve with early and effective support to develop language and communication in the vital early years.
Deaf children like Hope, who wears cochlear implants. She said: “Deaf children should never be written off by their disability. We live in an amazing time of technological advancement and I am living proof of what can happen when this is paired with Auditory Verbal therapy.”
Her mother Rebecca explained: “When Hope was born 14 years ago we were told she wouldn’t even be able to hear a jumbo jet take off next to her but Auditory Verbal UK made us believe that with early support like the Auditory Verbal therapy programme anything was possible for our daughter.
“It is so disappointing to see that attitudes about what deaf children can achieve have not changed. We are so proud of how Hope has embraced her hearing loss and not allowed it to stop her doing anything she dreams of or anything her hearing friends can do.”
Hope added: “I hope that during Deaf Awareness Week people understand what is possible for deaf children and change their preconceptions with the help of role models like Tasha Ghouri who is also from Yorkshire and is a true inspiration to me.”
Auditory Verbal therapy helps deaf children process sound they receive from hearing technology, like hearing aids and cochlear implants, and supports them to develop their spoken language.
But this support needs to be offered early in a child’s life, while their brain’s neural pathways are developing, to ensure they have the very best opportunities to achieve their potential.
Charity AVUK works with the families of deaf children who want their child to learn to listen and talk and four out of five children who attend the family-centred Auditory Verbal therapy programme achieve spoken language skills on a par with hearing children and the majority attend mainstream school.
AVUK Chief Executive Anita Grover said: “Deaf children and their potential is constantly underestimated and this new research for Deaf Awareness Week continues to show this lack of belief and understanding in what is possible with early, effective support.
“There are approximately 7,200 deaf children under the age of five in the UK who currently face the prospect of lower academic achievement, lower employment, and are at higher risk of poor mental health, bullying and social exclusion. But it doesn’t have to be this way. As young people like Hope are proving when children and families have access to effective, early support, deaf children can get an equal start at school and opportunities are transformed. This is critically important whether a child uses sign language, spoken language or both. There is not one approach that works for all families of deaf children.”
AVUK wants all families who want their child to learn to listen and talk to have the opportunity to access Auditory Verbal therapy through publicly funded services. The charity’s #HearUsNow campaign is calling on UK governments to invest in early and effective support for deaf children in the UK is backed by the general public: The YouGov survey showed 83% of adults in Yorkshire and the Humber region believe Auditory Verbal therapy should be available to all deaf children via publicly funded services like the NHS.