I am a qualified and highly experienced Teacher of the Deaf and have had moderately severe hearing loss myself from an early age. This has given me first hand experience of the challenges of deafness on a daily basis, as well as the potential of the listening brain. I am very excited to be able to offer a quality private service as an educational consultant to families and children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
I am also mum to four grown up children, one of whom has learning difficulties. This has given me a deeper understanding of the needs of children with additional needs as well as deafness.
I have a wealth of experience across all age groups from birth to 25, working in a range of settings and supporting children who are deaf or hard of hearing, their families and schools. I have extensive knowledge of language and literacy as well as early years education and have written two practical books for parents and professionals, one on early communication and the other on literacy for children with more complex needs. I am also experienced in using auditory verbal strategies and am currently working towards certification in Auditory Verbal Therapy with AVUK.
BA Hons in Education and Audiology.
Masters of Education (Special Educational Needs).
BSL level 6.
Cued speech level 2.
DBS checked and level 2 safeguarding trained.
'Brain builders' meetings occur once a month. These are meetings for parents, focussing on an aspect of learning that is important for the development of deaf children's language. The group is called Brain Builders because both parents and professionals are in the business of building children's brains through language.