Six year old Cobie wants to be an footballer when he’s older. He loves sport and his hero is Steven Gerrard. But Cobie is deaf. Can he really have a career as an athlete when he’s older? To make it in the competitive and demanding world of team sports, he will need communication skills, ambition and above all, confidence.
The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) believes that deaf children can do anything other children can do, given the right support. And there’s the rub. NDCS has found that a third of councils across the country have cut vital services for deaf children this year. These services include specialist equipment, speech and language therapy and extra help in the classroom. All these services are essential for a child like Cobie to develop the confidence to go out and achieve is dreams.
The reduction in support is having a devastating effect on the education and well-being of thousands of deaf children across the country. NDCS has launched a Stolen Futures campaign and petition to call for a debate in Parliament to stop these cuts. The more signatures they get, the more chance they have of securing a debate. You can sign the petition by visiting www.ndcs.org.uk/petition (it only takes two minutes).