Auslan Courses
One of the ways the Deaf Society helps families of deaf children to develop Auslan skills and explore the role of Auslan in their lives is to provide sponsorship for one family member to participate in one course from Deaf Education Network’s (DEN), basic (community) Auslan program. (DEN, the education department of the Deaf Society, is the leading provider of Auslan courses in NSW offering accredited and community courses for all people interested in learning Auslan.)

A limited number of sponsorships are available. You can get more information by contacting the Deaf Society’s Program Supervisor for the Deaf Friendly Families program. For contact details, click here.

Parent to Parent Mentoring
After consultation with a group of Deaf parents and other organisations that provide services for deaf children, the Deaf Society has developed a program where parents support other parents and service organisations in learning about programs, support mechanisms and priorities that are specific to raising a child who is deaf. The program also offers a way to arrange peer support, best practice guidelines and information to parents and carers involved in informal peer support and mentoring relationships.

For more information about the Parent to Parent Mentoring Program, click here.

Early Intervention
Deaf Society staff visit people in their home to provide information about and refer people to Early Intervention services in NSW.

We also work with families to give them an experience of Auslan (Australian Sign Language) to help parents decide how much of a role Auslan plays in communication - if they want their child to learn Auslan as their first or second language or as a support to speech.

For parents of newly diagnosed deaf children, it is hard at first to know what services are out there and what to do while you’re waiting for appointments or equipment. For parents who have recently found their child has a hearing loss, the Deaf Society can visit you at home and offer a helping hand with holistic information and support.

You can get more information and organise a home visit by contacting the Deaf Society’s Program Supervisor for the Deaf Friendly Families program. For contact details, click here.