What We Do
The Irish Deaf Kids website came into being in July 2007 with funding from the Social Entrepreneurs Ireland network. In 2010, IDK received Ireland’s eGovernment award (Education) for promoting cross-sector collaboration. The venture is presently self-financed through diversified income streams.
In a nutshell, here’s what we do …
The Irish Deaf Kids venture is innovative for these reasons:
· Providing Ireland’s first online web resource for educating deaf children
· Supporting a user-base with disparate views, cultures and interests
· Offering advice on language development for deaf children in Ireland
· Initiating an online community for inclusive education of deaf children
· Monitoring international trends for educating deaf children
· Identifying new teaching techniques and tools for use in all classrooms
· Relying on volunteers and interns in place of permanent, paid staff
· Investigating possible public-private partnerships for IDK’s future work
· Linking the business, academic & community sectors for social benefit
IDK’s aims are achieved through these day-to-day activities:
- providing a web-based information service for parents & educators
- hosting an online forum for discussions among website visitors
- distributing a monthly e-zine with news and key website updates
- planning and writing finance applications to sustain the venture
- providing lesson plans on deafness for primary & secondary level
- offering a childrens’ book about deafness in social situations
- facilitating creative play sessions for early language development
- contributing to framework documents for the educational sector
- setting positive examples to show what deaf children can achieve
- raising awareness about including deaf youngsters in Irish society
- hosting teen life-skills workshops for the 13 to 19 age group
- linking with Trinity College’s Deaf Support in Third Level project
- editing and proof-reading student essays, theses and dissertations
We are busy – but we like it that way!