Just Found Out Your Child Is Deaf?

Finding out that your child is deaf or hard of hearing brings a rush of emotions. Shock, confusion, grief, guilt, determination, fear — sometimes all of them within the same hour. Parents describe feeling as though they've been dropped into a foreign country with no map, surrounded by unfamiliar terminology and well-meaning professionals who seem to speak a different language.

We know, because many of us have been exactly where you are. The parents who run this charity have walked this path, and we remember vividly what those first weeks and months felt like. You don't have to navigate them alone.

What Happens First

If your baby was referred after the newborn hearing screening, you'll be seen by the audiology department at your local hospital for diagnostic testing. This usually involves a test called an auditory brainstem response (ABR), which measures how the auditory nerve responds to sound while your baby sleeps. It's painless and gives the audiologists a detailed picture of your child's hearing levels.

From there, things happen relatively quickly. Your child will be fitted with hearing aids (if appropriate), and you'll be introduced to a teacher of the deaf who will visit you at home. You'll also be referred to speech and language therapy and given information about communication approaches. It can feel like a lot at once.

Our Newly Diagnosed Service

We offer three things to families who've recently had a diagnosis:

Parent Mentoring

We can pair you with an experienced parent mentor — someone whose child is deaf and who's a few years further along the road. They're not professionals, and they won't tell you what to do. What they will do is listen, share their own experience honestly, and reassure you that it does get easier.

Mentoring can be as informal as a phone call or a coffee, or as regular as fortnightly check-ins. It's flexible, and there's no commitment required on your part. Many families say it was the single most helpful thing in the early months.

Information at Your Pace

There's an enormous amount of information to absorb, and everyone pushes it at you simultaneously. We try to take a different approach. We'll share our resource guides with you gradually, starting with the basics and building up as you're ready. We won't pressure you to make decisions before you feel equipped to make them.

A Community That Understands

When you feel ready, our monthly parent support groups are a place where you'll be welcomed. There's no expectation to share anything you're not comfortable with. Just come, listen, and know that every other parent in the room has felt what you're feeling.

Things We Want You to Know

It's early days, and we know how raw everything feels. A few things that parents tell us they wish someone had said at the start:

• Your child is the same child they were before the diagnosis. Deafness doesn't define them, and it doesn't set a ceiling on what they can achieve.
• Grief is normal. You may be grieving the future you imagined. That's perfectly natural, and it doesn't mean you love your child any less.
• You don't need to have all the answers yet. Communication approach, school choices, hearing technology — these decisions can wait. For now, focus on bonding with your child and giving them language access in whatever way feels manageable.
• The professionals are there to help, but they don't always agree. You may get conflicting advice. That's frustrating but normal. Trust yourself to know your child best.
• It genuinely does get easier. Not overnight, but month by month, things become clearer and more manageable. The parents at our group who are five or ten years in will tell you that honestly.

Useful Resources for the Early Days

We'd suggest starting with these:

• Communication Options for Deaf Children — a balanced overview of the main approaches.
• Children's Hearing Aids — what to expect from the first fitting.
• Understanding Newborn Hearing Screening — what the tests mean.
• The NDCS "My Child May Be Deaf" section — comprehensive and sensitively written.

Get in Touch

If you'd like to speak to someone, email us at [email protected]. We'll get back to you within a couple of days. There's no rush and no pressure — whenever you're ready, we're here.