Why Support The Deaf Lottery

The early years of any child’s life are critical for language development. However, in a world designed for spoken communication, deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing children often face significant barriers to language acquisition where spoken language is used.

Approximately 95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents who don’t know Auslan. These families have to make definitive, often life-altering choices in the early years of their child’s life and having support during this phase is crucial.

Our Family Mentor Program gives children multiple communication methods so they can reach important development milestones. By using both Auslan and introducing English, we give kids the resources needed to navigate their worlds.

Our mentors are Deaf adults with specialised training in early childhood development. They are matched with families and focus on first language acquisition, behaviours, social skills, and culture.

These critical skills form responsive parent-child relationships which are not just essential for brain development but for developing positive relationships as the deaf child navigates the world.