The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) has recently launched an app designed to support families with children affected by hearing loss throughout their childhood. This app was developed in response to the community’s demand for expert-guided information presented in a succinct and accessible format.
Studies have shown that families of Deaf children perceive that the early information they receive about their child’s diagnosis primarily comes from the medical community, which often lacks vital insights and perspectives from the Deaf community [1]. The NDCS app aims to address this information gap; developed through focus groups and surveys from within the community, it offers accessible information, support and resources, guided by experts, to families. The charity saw an increase of over 150% in parent membership signups and 1000 individuals registering for the app within the first month of its launch, showcasing the early success of the app [2].
First look
Upon registration, the app adopts a personalised approach to understand your child’s diagnosis. Once registered, it proves to be exceptionally user-friendly, offering a variety of easily digestible content. The app is straightforward to navigate, highlighting areas such as educational information, family stories, a glossary, community events and journaling. The integration of these topics allows families to access additional relevant information effortlessly. Furthermore, the app covers many topics that provide guidance that is applicable throughout childhood and teenage years. It also customises the information relevant to you, based on the degree and cause of hearing impairment and the stage at which the hearing loss was identified.
Building a community
A standout feature of the app is the stories section, which encompasses a variety of narratives written by families of children affected by hearing loss. Studies have shown that six in 10 children with a hearing impairment experience isolation and loneliness, along with parents who seek additional social support [3, 4]. The candour and transparency of the stories shared by parents and caregivers on the app is striking. Many of these families discuss their challenges and how they overcame them to support their children. App users who may face similar challenges will hopefully feel supported and less isolated by reading the ups and downs, and how others have navigated these issues in these stories. While these stories are profound and informative, they are also linked to further information available on the app, enabling families to access relevant expert-led resources directly from these narratives.
Another aspect of the app that enhances its community-focused feel is the ability to view and book events hosted by the NDCS. These services are tailored to the user and their relative’s diagnosis, and cover various topics, including education and financial support.
Reflecting
The app enables you to journal your reflections on your journey and appointments, letting caregivers document essential information or emotions related to medical visits and everyday life. This function facilitates the logging of significant milestones and summarising different appointments with various professionals. Additionally, it allows you to easily switch between journals for each child, if necessary.
Conclusion
The app has clearly been designed with its users in mind, which is reflected in its thoughtful and well-crafted interface. It is user-friendly and provides the right information at the right moment, ideally equipping families with the knowledge they need during the early years.
While the charity has developed an impressive app in a short time, they are currently involving their community to build on their initial success, with the aim of creating more content in British Sign Language.
References
1. Matthijs L, Loots G, Mouvet K, et al. First Information parents receive after UNHS detection of their baby’s hearing loss. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 2012;17(4):387–401.
2. The Limping Chicken. NDCs releases new app to support families embarking on deafness journey (BSL). 2024.
https://limpingchicken.com/2024/07/16/
ndcs-releases-new-app-to-support-families
-embarking-on-deafness-journey-bsl/
[Link last accessed April 2025].
3. Patel S, Bouldin E, Tey CS, et al. Social isolation and loneliness in the hearing‐impaired pediatric population: A scoping review. Laryngoscope 2020;131(8):1869–75.
4. Shastri U, Prakasan N, Satheesan L, et al. Parental stress, learned helplessness, and perceived social support in mothers of children with hearing loss and mothers of typically developing children. Audiol Res 2024;15(1):1.
Declaration of competing interests: None declared.
