Dear Brian

“My friends six year old Son Rohan, was born profoundly Deaf but was not diagnosed until he was almost 4 years old. Rohan has had cochlear implants for just over a year and is learning to listen and talk at a specialist Deaf School. Rohan, and his family, use BSL - British Sign Language. Gloucester Deaf Association have provided support and education to the family as well as Rohan attending their monthly Dalmatian’s Children’s Club.”

Bit of information from Sally Gillespie GDA Fundraising Manager

“GDA is an award-winning, local deaf charity whose vision is of a society that actively supports ways to break down communication barriers for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, to allow them to live confidently with their deafness. Our services reflect a dual approach, where we recognise the importance of equitable access to existing provision - in particular in health, education, social care and employment - as well as the need for specialist provision in particular for British Sign Language (BSL) users so they can access services directly in their first language. Gloucester Deaf Association currently supports more than 5,000 people each year who are deaf or hard of hearing, 160 who are deaf sign language users and approximately 30 families with a deaf child, recognising that 9 out of 10 deaf and hard of hearing children are born into hearing families who have little or no experience of deafness. We also support hearing children who live with a deaf adult(s) (Children Of Deaf Adults -CODA).”

The website is www.gda.org.uk

The charity number is 1015937