Empowering children for lifelong inclusion

First Voice advocates for world-class early intervention services that give deaf children the listening and spoken language skills necessary to achieve mainstream education, employment of choice and social integration within the hearing world.

In 2010 First Voice evolved from the former Alliance for Deaf Children, which was established in 2003. There are five founding members of First Voice, with an affiliated organisation in New Zealand. Despite limited resources, First Voice has emerged as a strong, active and influential organisation within the early intervention sector. Its lobbying efforts were instrumental in securing recurrent federal government funding for early intervention services for not only hearing impaired children, but across a range of other disability areas.

 

Other centres and affiliated organisations in the First Voice alliance are:

Members

International Affiliates

The First Voice alliance was officially launched by Her Excellency, the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, at Admiralty House in Sydney in October 2010.

The First Voice Mission

First Voice plays an active role in advocating for best practice early intervention services for children who are hearing impaired. This is achieved by working with government and other organisations to influence public policy and funding decision making, and by providing evidence-based research to inform and influence the public health agenda.

It is First Voice’s mission to:

  • raise awareness of early childhood deafness and the urgency of early intervention for children with hearing loss
  • promote universal newborn hearing screening and the implementation of adequately funded and timely management pathways
  • pursue national fundraising opportunities for listening and spoken language services and related research
  • advocate for equitable and timely access to evidence-based early intervention services and mainstream inclusion for children who are deaf.

 

The First Voice Purpose

At First Voice, the purpose is to ensure that every hearing-impaired child and their family has access to what they need to achieve the spoken language of which they are capable.

We advocate for world-class early intervention services that give children the listening and spoken language skills necessary to achieve mainstream education, employment of choice and social integration within the hearing world.

 

Key Principles

The following six principles are integral to children achieving the spoken language of which they are capable:

  • early identification
  • access to assistive technologies
  • family support and education
  • transition to mainstream education
  • evidence-based therapies
  • universal access to diagnosis, assessment and treatment, particularly in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, rural and multi-cultural communities.

Current Projects and Collaborations

Children with their parents at a TSH group therapy session.

Our Voices Newletters

Quarterly newsletter with updates on member activities, successes and learnings. Each issue of ‘Our Voices’ is based around a theme with a focus on future opportunities and growth.

Sound Outcomes

First Voice member and affiliated centres collect listening and spoken language outcome data from children enrolled in its early intervention programs. This data is consolidated into one of the largest collections of data on deaf and hearing-impaired children enrolled in early intervention services in the world.

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Improving the NDIS for children with hearing loss

Comprehensive Hearing Integration Program ‘CHIP’

First Voice calls on the Australian Government to support the implementation of a national Comprehensive Hearing Integration Program (CHIP), to guide families and children in their journey from diagnosis through to engagement with an appropriate specialist service.

Australia has some of the best systems in the world for supporting children with hearing loss. However, only 50% of children with a permanent hearing loss currently access specialist early intervention services. This results in these children entering school without the language and literacy abilities of their peers. The social and economic losses arising from this leakage exceed $250 million.

CHIP would enable the Australian Government to deliver a cost-effective national solution through the NDIS that stems a problem and costs which would otherwise compound as children with hearing loss reach school age and beyond.

About CHIP

 

To learn more about current projects, research and collaborative activities between the First Voice alliance, visit www.firstvoice.org.au.