In early 2016, Sound Advice was named a top-100 global inclusive education entity by the Zero Project, and exhibited February 10 to 12 at the United Nations office in Vienna, Austria. On February 12 Louise Honck from AVuk joined Caroline Carswell to present the auditory-verbal (hearing-speech) case for inclusive education in the conference panel session
Ireland’s hospital waiting lists for routine procedures often feature in national news reports. Otolaryngology (ENT) wait-times were the third-longest of the publicly visible waiting lists at January 2016. Accordingly, Sound Advice was invited to present at an Open Health Data Night at the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin, on January 20th, 2016 in a panel
A certain irony existed in being asked by Dr Peter Sloane, to join a panel at the Vasco da Gama Movement Forum in Dublin – after doctors in the 1970s had said I would never talk. Before this call to speak on the science of cochlear implants, the VdGM (Vasco da Gama Movement), the WONCA Europe Working Group for New
No two deaf children are the same: their educational experience reflects their deafness, hearing devices worn, family background, infant language intervention and their personality. Over 3,370 deaf children in Ireland (90%) are mainstream-educated, with under 4% using sign language (NCSE, 2011). Spoken language for deaf children is chosen by 89% to 95% of hearing families in the US (Teresa
Deaf school-leavers have the same third-level study options as their hearing peers, with digital hearing-devices giving better access to higher education. Some choose careers in the speech-pathology, audiology and ENT fields after growing up as service users The Careers page on this site (see left) lists careers chosen by students who’re deaf and hard of hearing, who push boundaries.
Recently, a friend in the UK emailed. Her six-year-old girl had had a dream in which I could hear everything in the whole wide world about everything! This made me smile, as Elina (the little girl) is a big fan of mine and donates her ‘princess bed’ every time I visit. She’s not the only
Explaining hearing-devices to children (a deaf child, siblings, family, friends or peers) can be a challenge in making sure everyone understands the facts. Concept books are great for explaining to all children the specific frustrations and issues deaf children can experience. Understanding is increased, with the deaf child realising others are in their position, and hearing children
Certain health services are provided free of charge to children in Ireland, regardless of whether their parents hold a medical card. Public health nurses visit infants at home soon after birth and routine developmental checks are scheduled when a child is about 9 months old. If parents are concerned about their child’s hearing before this, the
A parent has just asked what toys and games are best for deaf children. The answer is – exactly the same as for other children! All kids need fun, and if they learn at the same time, that’s a bonus. Deaf children are visual, so bright toys and murals will attract and hold their interest. Learning through
On March 23, 2008, Newstalk FM featured IDK in its Change-Makers series. Note: Caroline has since had two cochlear implants, which make her speech clearer now. Newstalk’s Louise Williams spoke with the founder of IDK, Caroline Carswell. Here is the full conversation. C: Caroline Carswell and L: Louise Williams C: ‘My name is Caroline Carswell and I’ve been
On March 23, Irish Deaf Kids will feature in Newstalk’s Change-Makers series, with two other Social Entrepreneurs Ireland 2007 awardees. A podcast of the programme will later be posted on the Newstalk website. A transcript of the interview will also appear on the IDK website asap.
When Romeo & Juliet with Stagetext was announced at the Abbey Theatre, my reaction was mixed. Stagetext (theatre captioning) had worked well for me with “The Playboy of the Western World” last November. However, I was concerned about: 1) how well Stagetext would handle the complexities of Shakespearean verse 2) how the soliloquies would be
Music has a role in some of my earliest social memories. Car trips with my grandpa often ended with our “listening” to his stereo by holding a mid-bass shell, which he’d take from one speaker. As the music played, that shell pulsated, conveying the beat to my fingertips. The whole new sensory experience revealed what
Please ask if you would like to use text extracts from this website. Copyright © 2007-2019.