City St George’s hosts international conference on communication interventions with deaf people

Practitioners, researchers and deaf community members came together for a special conference exploring communication interventions with deaf people at City St George’s, University of London in November.

The event, which was held simultaneously in London and Washington DC, marked the launch of the new Oxford University Press book of the same name – Communication Interventions with Deaf People – which was edited by Professor Ros Herman, Professor of Child Language and Deafness at City St George’s, and Professor Charlotte Enns, Professor Emerita at the University of Manitoba.

Organised in partnership with Language First, the event brought together leading international deaf and hearing experts to present taster sessions from selected chapters, and it was attended by a wide international audience, including people from Finland, Nigeria, Jordan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the Philippines and many others.

The conference provided an opportunity for practitioners in speech and language therapy, deaf education, psychology and deaf language specialists to engage directly with authors whose research and clinical practice are shaping the future of communication support for deaf people.

The programme opened with an introduction from Professor Herman, setting out the need for accessible, evidence-informed guidance on communication interventions across spoken, signed and written languages. Unlike traditional approaches that have prioritised spoken language as the “normal” or most appropriate route for deaf people, the book begins with a deaf perspective and positions all language modes as equally valuable. This shift in thinking was reflected throughout the presentations.

Dr Leala Holcomb (USA) delivered the first thematic session on deaf perspectives on communication interventions, followed by Dr Claudia Becker (Germany), who examined approaches targeting Theory of Mind development. After discussion and questions, the programme continued with sessions by Dr Kristin Snoddon (Canada) on sign language programmes for parents and caregivers, and Professor Evelien Dirks (Netherlands) on fostering parent child interaction in families.

Later presentations focused on expanding professional roles and practical therapeutic tools. Lenka Novak (UK) discussed the developing role of Deaf Language Specialists, while Karin Schamroth (UK) introduced the use of smiLe Therapy to support pragmatic language skills. The event concluded with remarks from Professor Enns (Canada), co-editor of the volume.

The book Communication Interventions with Deaf People, published as part of the Perspectives on Deafness series, offers a comprehensive exploration of communication assessment and intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children, young people and adults. Exploring the work that speech and language therapists/pathologists, deaf language specialists, and other professionals carry out with deaf people, this volume extends beyond the classroom and provides clinical and real-life applications of learning and communication.

Speaking about the event, Professor Herman said:

“Historically, communication interventions with deaf people have prioritised spoken language and considered it to be the most 'appropriate' and 'normal' accomplishment. However, this book begins with a deaf perspective on communication interventions where the multiple languages, signed, spoken, and written, of deaf people are valued equally, and this paradigm shift is reflected throughout the various chapters.

“With over forty contributors, the research and professional experience of experts working with deaf people, across national borders, is presented. Individual chapters describe the ways that services are delivered and detail different aspects of communication interventions, presenting the current evidence base and indicating areas where further research is needed. We hope the book will be of interest to speech and language therapists, teachers of deaf children, psychologists and deaf language specialists.”