Please read G's story below; a story that highlights the significant need for the services that are facilitated by DICE, its volunteers and staff.

'G’s' Story

‘G’ is a profoundly Deaf child attending a school that supports Deaf children in Greater Manchester. ‘G’ uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate as he has no usable hearing and is unable to take advantage of hearing devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants.

At home, ‘G’s family communicate using spoken language. Nobody in the home uses sign language. At home, ‘G’ is reliant on simple gestures to communicate with those around him.

During the school holidays ‘G’ spends up to 6 weeks with no communicative partner. This means he does not communicate with anybody for up to 42 days at one time. This negatively impacts his communication and social skills, his mental health and his academic development (he often regresses before his return to school after a holiday).

Furthermore, ‘G’s' family struggle to help him attend extra-curricular activities as no support would be provided (e.g. a BSL interpreter). Adding to this, ‘G's family are unable to transport him to these activities due to the unaffordable costs of transport.

By offering ‘G’ a safe-space to go in the school-holidays, where his communication needs are met by both staff and peers alike, and facilitated by meaningful language-focussed activities, ‘G's’ communicative skills, social skills and academic skills will be maintained. As well as this, his mental health will be improved because he will not be deprived of communication with someone who speaks his language (BSL) for a prolonged period of time.

There are many other children like ‘G’ living in the Greater Manchester area; we strongly maintain that DICE offer a solution to this significant issue.