Two deaf young sisters from Golders Green are speaking out ahead of World Hearing Day (March 3) to urge the Government to act so more deaf children can access the support that transformed their lives.
Mia (11) Basma Safieddine and her younger sister Gabriella (4), were both diagnosed as profoundly deaf as babies and use cochlear implants. The family-centred Auditory Verbal therapy programme at charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), supported them to listen and speak, and they now love sport, music, art and “doing all the same things as their hearing friends”.
Last year, AVUK met with a UK Government Minister in Westminster to outline the need for national guidance on delivering Auditory Verbal therapy within local publicly funded services and to address the ongoing inequality in access.
However, nearly twelve months later, no update or commitment has been made, leaving thousands of families still facing a postcode lottery for this early, effective support.
Around 80% of deaf children, like Mia, who spend a minimum of two years on an Auditory Verbal therapy programme achieve at least age-appropriate spoken language and the majority attend mainstream school. But currently more than 85% of the approximately 7,200 deaf babies and pre‑school children in the UK who could benefit are unable to access the family-centred programme.
To mark World Hearing Day Mia and Gabriella are using their voices to question why almost 12-months on from the meeting in Westminster families like theirs are still waiting for Government action to ensure more deaf babies can access Auditory Verbal therapy which has allowed them to have the same opportunities as their hearing peers.
Mia said: “I love football, netball, tennis, music and adventures — and I can do all the same things as my hearing friends. It makes me sad that people think because I’m deaf I can’t do these things. I want to show people that deaf children can do anything we want. Being deaf doesn’t stop us — and we want the Government to hear us now.”
Their mum, Rayan, who is also profoundly deaf, said: “Hearing technology alone is not enough — Auditory Verbal therapy transformed Mia’s life and helped both my daughters develop their communication. But so few families can access this support, and that is simply unfair. Early, effective support makes such a difference, and every deaf child should have that opportunity if their family wants it.”
The early intervention approach supports deaf babies and children like Mia and Gabriella to make sense of the sound they receive through their hearing technology, like cochlear implants and hearing aids, and develop their spoken language so they can learn to talk like their hearing friends and thrive at school and in life. After three years on AVUK’s programme, Mia achieved spoken language ahead of her age. She is thriving at school, loves football, baking and art, and is a “brilliant big sister” to Gabriella.
Auditory Verbal UK’s is amplifying it’s Hear Us Now campaign for World Hearing Day and calling on UK governments to take action and issue national guidance for Auditory Verbal therapy. This guidance would set out a clear, consistent framework for delivering this evidence-based approach within local publicly funded service to young deaf children whose families want them to learn to listen and talk, ensuring equality of access and a sustainable approach.
AVUK Chief Executive Anita Grover said: “The theme of World Hearing Day 2026 is ‘hearing care for all children’ and we are urging the UK Government to come good on conversations we had this time last year to ensure all deaf children, whether their families wish to use spoken language, sign language or both, can access vital early, effective support to develop their language and communication skills.
“For families who want their deaf child to learn to listen and speak, Auditory Verbal therapy is transforming outcomes and opportunities, as Mia and Gabriella are proving, but we need to see an end to the current inequality where fewer than 15% of deaf children under five able to access an Auditory Verbal therapy programme.
“Issuing national guidance will mean a huge step forward in ending the postcode lottery currently facing families with deaf children as they try and access early and effective support to allow their children to have the same opportunities as their hearing peers.”
