A ground-breaking Bermondsey based charity which teaches deaf children how to speak without sign language held a Christmas Carol Concert on December 6, Kirsty Purnell writes.
The Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) show saw youngsters with hearing impairments reading aloud and playing music on the stage.
Supporter of the charity, BBC Star Tyger Drew-Honey was in attendance, along with South London storyteller Vanessa Wolfe.
The concert was held to raise awareness of the work of AVUK, which re-located from Holborn to Bermondsey in April 2015.
“We are so proud of the awe-inspiring children who sung, spoke, and played so wonderfully last night,” said Auditory Verbal UK’s Chief Executive Anita Grover, “The children who performed last night showed that their hearing loss is not a barrier and they challenged perceptions of what deaf children can achieve.”
AVUK AVUK use auditory verbal therapy to enable children to talk. Their method is highly specialist and focuses on developing the auditory cortex – the listening part of the brain – to develop language skills.
Eight out of 10 children who graduate from AVUK’s programme have language skills on par with their hearing peers, and most attend mainstream schools. Although their two centres are based in London and Bicester, they support children from all over the UK.
“It was great to be at Auditory Verbal UK’s carol evening, and to meet some of the fantastic families the charity has supported and to see the children singing, performing and reading to the audience,” said Tyger Drew-Honey.
“The work of the charity is so important to ensure deaf children have the same opportunities as hearing children.”