Two-year old checks aim to optimise a child’s development and emotional well-being. They are a vital opportunity for parents to gain a complete picture of their child’s progress and identify any development needs they might have. They also help to ensure that everyone is working together effectively to support the family.
Yet new research suggests that many of England’s 45,000 deaf children have their two-year-old check without any input at all from professionals who specialise in deafness.
The figures, provided by the Consortium for Research into Deaf Education, reveal that over half of local authorities in England do not routinely involve professionals who specialise in deafness in two-year old checks. Only 17 out of 125 specialist services for deaf children (14 per cent) have any involvement in two-year old checks. Over half of services (67/54 per cent) said that teachers of the deaf are involved in ’none or very few’ two-year checks for deaf children in their area.
This is very concerning!
By the age of two, children are already demonstrating a wide range of skills and abilities, exploring and interacting with their environment and those who know them best. Deaf toddlers are no different. Like all children they have an amazing capacity to communicate, learn and socialise. Yet by the age of 16 many deaf children are achieving less well academically than their peers.
The foundations of good emotional health and academic ability are laid in the early years. Early support is crucial to building a strong home learning environment and to give each child strong language and communication skills.
Children who are born deaf or acquire deafness in the first few years of life, may face a different set of challenges to their peers. It may be more difficult or take longer for them to acquire language. Opportunities to learn through play and everyday experiences may be less accessible. And social interactions and friendships more difficult to maintain.
Deaf children are just as capable as their hearing peers. But if these challenges aren’t recognised or addressed then deaf children are at risk of falling behind at every stage. Teachers of the Deaf are uniquely placed as they support deaf children and their families both in home and in the Early Years and can provide strategies and interventions to develop their language and communication skills, provide advice on how deaf children can access learning and support them to socialise and make friends.
Around 90 per cent of deaf children are born to hearing families and many depend on the professionals who work in both education and health to support them to navigate this new world of deafness.
As a result, the National Deaf Children’s Society is calling on the Government to use the SEND Review to make the involvement of teachers of the deaf mandatory in all two-year old checks for deaf children. This small, but vital, change, which is also backed by the Institute of Health Visiting, will boost deaf children’s chances of getting the right support in the early years from everyone who supports them, giving them a much better chance of reaching their potential. Every child deserves the very best start in life – and deaf children are no exception.