7th May 2024 • My Family Our Needs

To recognise National Deaf Awareness Week 2024, we’re sharing three real life stories in collaboration with the National Deaf Children’s Society.

Emily moved out of her parents’ home for a new challenge in a brand new city. This is her story.

Unpacking boxes alongside her housemate Francesca, Emily was excited to finally be in her new home. But, after saying goodbye to her emotional mum Diana, she also felt a bit anxious about having to rely completely on herself for the first time.

Emily, 19, who’s profoundly deaf and wears hearing aids, communicated through speech until she was 13 but now mainly uses British Sign Language (BSL). ‘I learned BSL through friends,’ Emily says. ‘Once I learned to sign, that was the best thing ever. I became part of a community and finally didn’t feel left out.’

After school, Emily went to college to study art and design, then found a youth work apprenticeship with the National Deaf Children’s Society. ‘I never thought I’d get the job so I was really shocked when I did,’ Emily says. ‘I was excited to start my new chapter as I wanted to become more independent.’

But the new job meant a big change for Emily. Her apprenticeship was based in Birmingham, so she had to move from her family home in Cardiff to a whole new city. ‘I had so many different feelings about moving out of home,’ Emily says. ‘I was nervous, excited and overwhelmed.’

Technology helped us a lot

Emily’s first task was to find a house and some housemates to live with. ‘My mum helped me a lot,’ she explains. ‘It was all very last minute because I had the job interview and then in two months I had to move. It was stressful looking for a house; it was far from home so we only had one day to do viewings.

‘We had to keep emailing estate agents and often they wouldn’t check their inboxes. We couldn’t call so we’d use the Next Generation Text service (NGTS) to call – you type to the relay assistant who speaks your words to the person you’re calling and then types their reply to you.’

Emily’s housemate Francesca is also deaf so between them they made sure to install the technology they needed in their new home. ‘Technology helped us a lot,’ Emily explains. ‘We have a smoke alarm that wakes us up through vibration if there’s a fire, vibrating alarm clocks and a flashing doorbell. It was a main priority for us when we moved in, we got in touch with Deaf Services and they installed them.’

Making sense of all the paperwork that goes hand in hand with independent living was a new experience and not without its problems for Emily. ‘The main challenges were sorting out letters about Council Tax or bills,’ she says. ‘I found the English jargon was hard for me to understand because I mainly use BSL now. I had to look up what words meant and ask other people’s advice on what to do.

‘It was hard not being able to use the phone either, I couldn’t ring the GP and it was hard to stay in touch with people at home. NGTS is a godsend for that, I’ve used it lots.’

I found it hard to find the balance

The commute to work was also difficult for Emily at times. ‘I’ve missed trains because I haven’t heard announcements,’ she explains. ‘I find using the Trainline app useful or asking staff, although sometimes I just have to follow the crowd and hope for the best!’

There were other challenges closer to home too. ‘It was tough to budget my money to work out if I could pay for bills, food etc. And it was difficult to do a nine to five job, keep the house clean and keep my social life on track! I found it really hard to find the balance.’

Overall, though, Emily has had a ball living independently and wouldn’t change a thing. ‘Birmingham has lots going on, there’s always something to do,’ she says. ‘It’s also quite deaf aware, I’ve met a few people who sign and those who can’t write things down or type on my phone.

‘My parents are a lot more confident about me living independently now, they know I can manage anything and see me as a strong person. They also know I’d ask for help if there was something wrong.’

By working hard to ensure that deafness is identified as early as possible in a child’s life and targeted support is provided right from the early years, the National Deaf Children’s Society is confident that many more deaf children will grow up happy and living life to the full, just like Emily.

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