Children, Young People & Families

All our services are accessible and open to all families and young people who are deaf. 

Aims of our activities: 

Increase Independence

Improve Communication

Build Confidence

Services we provide: 

1: Support

We can support you with the following:

• Disability Living Allowance Applications
• Personal Independence Payment Applications
• Applying for an Education Health Care Plan – each local authority will have more information on EHCPs under the Local Offer section of their website.
• Tribunal Support
• School / Nursery Visits
• Family Referral – we can introduce you to other families who are in a similar circumstance to yours, if required.
• We are a Direct Payment Provider and as such can provide your child with development and care opportunities from 1 hour or more a week funded via their EHCP or social care budget.

2: Family Sign Language

Family Sign is a first step for families to aid communication with their children who may be deaf or hard of hearing.  It is a short 6 weeks course with instruction from a tutor trained by the National Deaf Children’s Society. Courses are available to both families and professionals working with a deaf child.

Family Sign Language Curriculum

The Family Sign Language Curriculum (FSLC) is an NDCS resource specifically aimed at families with deaf children who choose to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL). It is also useful for families with young children to learn to sign as an aid to communication to ease frustrations through communication.

About the Family Sign Language Curriculum

The FSLC was created in 2005 with funding from the Department for Work and Pensions and was developed in consultation with parents and professionals.

Unlike the traditional BSL curriculum, which is based around signs appropriate to adult life, the FSLC includes the signs and phrases needed for nursery rhymes, stories, playtime and other everyday family activities. It is designed to be used by professionals,  BSL tutors and  parents / carers of deaf children aged 0 to 7 years old.

The FSLC is designed to promote positive family communication and to help families of deaf children communicate effectively using sign language. The FSLC also aims to give families the support and advice they need to make confident choices about the communication methods that are the most suitable for them.

The FSLC is structured in the form of handouts for families focused on key communication topics and skills. It also includes activity sheets based on different family topics with illustrated pictures with commonly used phrases; lists of key vocabulary; suggested activities and books related to the topic.

Topics covered in the FSLC:

• Family
• Things we do every day
• Feelings
• Mealtimes
• Communicating with People
• Outdoors
• Toys and Games

For more information

Contact details: Joa Lee – Family Liaison Worker, joa.lee@deafnessresourcecentre.org, 01744 23887

3: Provide Information

• Direct Payments and how to apply for them (see useful resources page to download our PDF).
• Your Childs Rights
• Education Health Care Plans (see useful resources page to download our PDF)

4: Groups

• Happy Hands –  is a parent/carer and child group that supports families that experience deafness and/or other communication difficulties through disability or special educational needs. They provide services in the North West including St Helens, Widnes and Runcorn. Happy Hands meets every Wednesday at Hope Corner Community Church in Runcorn from 4pm-6pm and Every Saturday at the Deafness Resource Centre from 10am-2pm.
• Weekly Youth Group – open to any young person aged 11-18 that experiences deafness. This provides an inclusive environment for D/deaf or hard of hearing young people to meet, but also encourage hearing young people to attend, therefore promoting social inclusion. All activities are run by a qualified youth worker who can sign. Activities include indoor sports, arts, healthy eating sessions and film nights. We also arrange trips to local cinema, bowling and other activities. Due to COVID restrictions, they currently meet remotely via Zoom every Wednesday between 5:30pm-6:30pm. To find out how to get involved, contact the team at ICAN@deafnessresourcecentre.org

Check out our latest I CAN Newsletter – Jan 2021