Deaf children to benefit from Aberdeen Asset Management donation

One to two babies in every thousand is born with permanent hearing loss in one or both ears, and Auditory Verbal UK aids these children and their families by providing important therapies to help those with hearing impairments.

Aberdeen’s £6,000 donation will enable the Auditory Verbal UK’s centre in Bermondsey to work with more children and families to ensure that their quality of life is unaffected by their hearing loss.

The charity provides auditory verbal therapy, which helps those with hearing impairments to listen and talk without the need for lip reading or sign language, and also trains paediatric hearing impairment professionals through its internationally accredited training scheme.

Anita Grover, chief executive of Auditory Verbal UK, said: “Thanks to Aberdeen Asset Management’s wonderful donation, more deaf children and their families are able to access Auditory Verbal UK’s early intervention programme at our London centre. That means more children getting the support that they need to learn to listen and talk, and to achieve their full potential.”

With 7,200 severely or profoundly deaf children under the age of five currently living in the UK, Auditory Verbal UK works with families from across the country at its centres in London and Oxfordshire. This includes support for children like 5-year-old Mia. Mia was born with CHARGE syndrome, a rare genetic condition that can affect different parts of the body; the most common problems are with hearing, vision, the heart, airways and growth.

Mia’s mum said: “Auditory Verbal UK has been amazing. They have never underestimated Mia’s abilities. They have worked with Mia’s multi-sensory impairment and adapted her therapy to take into account her vision, hearing and balance difficulties. Combining auditory verbal therapy with our local speech and language support has really pushed Mia’s speech along, closing the gap in her speech delay and getting her ready for mainstream school.”

In addition to financial support, Aberdeen employees are encouraged to volunteer with Auditory Verbal UK. With ambitious plans to develop its range of services, the charity welcomes skills-based volunteering support for its management team, as well as offering employees the chance to participate in challenge events.

Lynda Affleck of Aberdeen’s Charitable Foundation said: “For the thousands of young people living with permanent hearing loss in the UK, life is not as easy as it is for those that can hear. Auditory Verbal UK has helped over 1,000 deaf children and their families in the UK, and Aberdeen is delighted to be able to support them as they continue to carry out this incredibly important work.”

Aberdeen Asset Management’s Charitable Foundation was established in 2012 to formalise and develop the Group’s charitable giving globally. The Foundation seeks partnerships with smaller charities around the world, where funds can be seen to have a meaningful and measurable impact and the firm encourages its employees to use their time and skills to support its charitable projects. The main focus of the Foundation is around emerging markets and local communities, reflecting the desire to give back to those areas which are a key strategic focus of the business and to build on the historic pattern of giving to communities in which Aberdeen employees live and work.

For more information on Auditory Verbal UK, visit www.avuk.org