At 8 weeks old our little boy Fred was diagnosed with a severe hearing loss and was fitted with hearing aids. The same day Fred was diagnosed we met this lovely lady called Julie. Julie is the Chief Executive of The Elizabeth Foundation who help young deaf children learn to listen and talk. She invited myself and Fred along to the babies group which was every Thursday. I wasn't very excited about going I didn't want Fred to be labelled I didn't want to be part of this world I was entering, I was angry and very upset but I made myself go...

20 minutes into our first class watching Fred lying on a drum and responding by kicking his feet feeling the vibrations I realised it was the best thing we could have done for our little boy. The support all the dedicated staff give all the families is amazing they are all so knowledgable, kind and so positive. I have learnt many different ways how to help develop Fred's listening and speaking skills and I am so thankful for their support and kindness.

2 years later Fred is now in the pre school classes he is listening and talking really well and as a family we have made great friends with other parents and children it feels like our second home.

All of this is 10 minutes from our house we are so lucky to have The Elizabeth Foundation on our door step…the only one in the country. This year over 80 babies, toddlers and pre-school children will attend specialist education programmes at The Elizabeth Foundation and get individual speech and language therapy