Transitioning From Primary To Secondary School

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

Moving from primary to secondary school is a process all students must undergo and it can be quite a daunting experience. Transitioning is also a crucial stage in a pre-teen child’s development, as their experiences at the time can significantly impact their later academic and social development.
For parents, the leap from primary to post-primary education can [...]

The EU Digital Television For All (DTV4All) Project

Friday, December 17th, 2010

Analogue television is being switched off in the EU in 2012. This will have mixed effects on access for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and educators using TV in their teaching. Here’s what to expect.

Digital Television for All (DTV4All) is a European Commission (EC) funded project. Access services here, are subtitles and sign-language interpreting, for viewers [...]

Developing Language & Literacy In Deaf Children

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Three seminars on ‘Language and Literacy Development in Children with a Hearing Loss’ are provided in May by the Special Education Support Service.
Content for primary & secondary teachers at mainstream schools in Ireland will be presented by guest speaker, Dr. Connie Mayer, Associate Professor EdD, York University, Toronto, Canada.

Listen to Dr Mayer speaking at an [...]

Deaf Education Conference – March 4, 2010

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

A conference on The Future of Deaf Education in Ireland will take place at The Croke Park Conference Centre in Dublin, on March 4th.
The conference will see the launch of a new policy document compiled by DeafHear.ie, The Catholic Institute of Deaf People and The Irish Deaf Society. This policy sets out a new future [...]

Family Options To Feature In ‘Hands On’ TV Show

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Hands On is the TV programme on RTÉ 1 devoted to issues related to deafness and the deaf and hard of hearing communities.
The producer, Anne Heffernan, has contacted IDK about a new programme in the pipeline, for which input is being sought from parents of deaf children.
As Heffernan explains, “it has come to our attention [...]

“A Birthday for Ben” – A Story About Deafness

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Irish Deaf Kids has teamed with Irish publishing house Special Stories, to release an exciting new children’s book, “A Birthday for Ben”, which is about young children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Newsflash: ITV Animates “A Birthday For Ben”
IDK and Special Stories on TV3 (February, 2010)

The book is beautifully illustrated by Karen Quirke, a [...]

NDCS Moves Education Statistics To Centre Stage

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

The UK’s NDCS (National Deaf Childrens’ Society) campaigns for improved educational services on behalf of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Its “Must do better!” campaign identifies how routine teaching services for deaf children can be improved now, and in the government’s 2020 strategy.
From autumn 2009, as a result of campaigns by NDCS and other entities, the [...]

Training For Specialist Teachers of Deaf Pupils

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Teachers in Ireland who wish to specifically work with deaf children, should first complete an undergraduate degree course in education, which enables them to teach in every primary and secondary school nationwide.
Ireland currently has no courses for specialist teachers of deaf pupils but the UK has several flexible postgraduate e-learning courses. The best known, from [...]

Deafness on Joe Duffy Show, February 17 and 18

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

In the past two days (Feb 17th and 18th) Joe Duffy’s Liveline radio show has aired a number of issues affecting deaf and hard of hearing people.
Transcripts from the two shows are posted below for your reference.

February 17
February 18

The show primarily focused on the difficulties deaf people have accessing the emergency services. In Northern Ireland, a [...]