Some Facts
Research has shown that 1 in 4 Australian adolescents are likely to have some kind of mental health problems before the age of 25. International research suggests that as many as 1 in 2 deaf adolescents may have some kind of mental health problem while at school and that many are experiencing significant mental health problems reflected in low self-esteem, poor self-concept, isolation, loneliness, anxiety and depression.
Some statistics . . .
- There are over 16,000 deaf and hearing impaired children under the age of 21 in Australia
- Approximately 500 babies are born with a hearing loss in Australia each year 1
- 95% of babies are born to families with little or no experience of deafness
- 83% of deaf children and adolescents are in mainstream schools 2
- Deaf children are at a greater risk of developing mental health difficulties / dysfunction than their hearing peers because of the isolation they experience 1
- Employment opportunities for deaf and hearing impaired people are significantly less than for hearing applicants 3
1 Deaf Children Australia, Partners, Spring 2007, p3
2 "The Characteristics and Extent of Participation of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Regular Classes in Australian Schools" by Des Power and Merv Hyde in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education., Fall 2002; 7: 302 - 311.
3 4th World Congress on Mental Health & Deafness
Our Program Statistics
The Hear For You participants and parents, who attended the February - June 2009 program in Sydney, filled out our surveys and gave their feedback about the four workshops. For ease of reading, the participants and parents are called "group".
- 80% of the group stated that there has been an improvement in skills especially with confidence, work experience and leadership since attending the workshops
- 95% of the group was happy with the mentors
- 90% of the group was happy with the topics of the workshops. 15% of the group suggested other topics: peer issues, dealing with bullies and school issues
- 95% of the group said they were happy with the length of each workshop
- 100% of the parent group found the Parents Session helpful. 10% suggested that we do it at the beginning of the semester as an introduction and 10% suggested an educationalist comes to the session to discuss how to cope with school and exam pressure
- 100% of the parent group felt that they got value for money
- 100% of the parent group wants their child to continue to be involved in any future Hear For You programs and events
- 70% of the student group wants to be involved in any future Hear For You programs and events
- 100% of the group would recommend Hear For You to other people. 15% has already told other people about it
Surveys collated by Lizzie Eakin (Assistant Program Manager).
