Welcome to Sound Advice, the new name for the Irish Deaf Kids (IDK) venture since 2014!
Why This Rebrand?
Seven years is a milestone for a startup which coincided with the global financial crisis of 2007-08. In this time, the meaning of ‘deafness’ in Ireland was redefined, thanks to newborn hearing tests, digital hearing devices and infant intervention bringing more deaf children into their families’ mainstream life.
Simultaneously, the IDK brand needed to alter to meet the changing interests of our website visitors and the ecosystem in which we trade.
Our response was to rebrand and upgrade the website in one move. Its content is now accessible from mobile and desktop devices, for easier reading. The story archive from irishdeafkids.ie is available, with edits and new content scheduled for the coming weeks.
What’s Next?
Just as IDK did, Sound Advice will bring you lived experience, news, research and stories, as a sole tradership (CRO 506131). Today, Irish Deaf Kids (IDK) retains its CRO and CHY numbers and will eventually merge into Sound Advice as an entity (completed in 2016). 
Why This Move?
Social enterprises start for one reason – to solve social problems. In 2007, the deaf-sector in Ireland was not embracing social and technology changes seen elsewhere. Today, in 2014, a very different picture exists, with three landmark developments: universal newborn hearing tests (2011); the mainstream education policy paper (2011) and childrens’ access to bilateral cochlear implants, from mid-2014.
In 2014, we need to talk about verbal deaf children who access sound with digital hearing devices, assistive listening devices and apps, and not about the deafness of past years.
All feedback is welcomed – you can get in touch via the contact form, or by emailing hello@soundadvice.pro. Looking forward to hearing from you!
~ Team Sound Advice.
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