National Assembly for Wales

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes a proposal for a auditory verbal therapist Bill.

2. Notes that the purpose of the Bill would be to:

a) recognise that the first 1000 days are crucial to a child’s development and that early years intervention by auditory verbal therapists can improve the long-term educational and life outcomes for deaf children;

b) make it a requirement of NHS Wales to have employed a minimum of 12 certified auditory verbal therapists;

c) make auditory verbal therapy free to all deaf children in Wales under the age of 5 to ensure every deaf child has an opportunity to access an auditory verbal programme close to where they live;

d) address the fact that:

i) deaf children in Wales are currently falling behind their hearing peers in academic attainment due to lack of auditory verbal therapy;

ii) deaf children are at high risk of social exclusion, bullying and poor mental health and lower employment prospects; and

iii) there are currently no certified auditory verbal specialists in Wales.