Auditory VerbalUK is an award-winning national charity that delivers Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) to deaf babies and children aged 0 – 5 years to enable them to listen and talk. AVUK advocates that every child who is deaf should have the opportunity to listen, talk and participate fully in society. AVT enables children who are deaf to learn to listen and speak without the need for lip reading or sign language. Auditory verbal therapists at AVUK work with families on a one-to-one basis, giving parents and carers skills to help their child make progress. There have been several studies that show the efficacy of AVT. Hogan et al (2008; 2010) published outcomes for children in an AV programme in the UK which showed that the average rate of language development increased significantly during the time on the programme compared to the average rate of language development prior to embarking on the programme. Hogan (2016) published a 10 year audit of outcomes for pre-school children in the UK who had attended the auditory verbal programme at Auditory Verbal UK. Of children who were on the programme for two years or more approximately 80% graduated from the AV programme with age appropriate language (AAL) by the age of 5 years. Of these children, 25% had challenges associated with their aetiology (eg. those associated with meningitis, cCMV, ANSD etc) in addition to their hearing loss.
AVUK was founded in 2003 by Jacqueline Stokes in Oxfordshire to provide AVT for families in the UK. The charity now has two centres one in Bicester, Oxfordshire and one in Bermondsey, London.
In 2016 the charity published a cost benefit analysis, using the HM Treasury model and robust evidence to quantify the cost and benefit of the auditory verbal programme at Auditory Verbal UK. It showed that for every £1 invested in the programme, there is a £4 return.
In 2016 AVUK was awarded the Learning Award at the Children and Young People Now Awards.