12-14 years |
15-18 years |
First Prize |
First Prize |
Runners-up |
Runner-up |
Click on the winner's name to read his/her entry.
Report
We were very impressed with the quality of the entries. They will contribute to the work of Deafness Research UK and DCAL over the coming years.
These young people want to be able to be included in every aspect of their community and for technology, design and medical research to work as hard for them as for mainstream society.
Sign Language
Many of the young people thought that there should be more signed events and performances, as well as much greater learning of sign language. They wanted to see it as part of the school curriculum and to have phrase books available for parents and friends of deaf children.
Cochlear Implants and Hearing Aids
Young people want improvements to cochlear implants and hearing aids. They want them to be waterproof, not only in the rain but at swimming pools and in the sea so that they don’t get left out of activities with their friends. They want them to be smaller and not so prone to falling off during sports activities.
New ways of powering devices should be researched, with lots of ideas about solar power being used, maybe with panels or microchips built into the arms of glasses, hair bands or clipped on scarves and collars.
The appearance of devices was also important, with ideas for cochlear implants to be covered with skin grafts, making them invisible and waterproof.
There was also hope that devices would be developed so that they could focus in on specific conversations or sounds and help to eliminate background noise.
A call was also voiced for companies to work together to make sure that research improves things for deaf children in the next decade.
Subtitles
The development of subtitling services was also important, including an idea for glasses or contact lenses to be available that show subtitles throughout a performance. There should be more subtitled cinema showings, and DVDs should have a choice of subtitles or provide sign language translation.
Medical advances
One direction the young people could see for medical research was a focus on developing ways to replace parts of the ear, with the aid of improved medical imaging technology to enable doctors to visualise what’s happening inside the ear and in the brain.
There was also an expectation that there should be research to find more of the genes behind deafness and to extend gene therapy so that specific genes can be replaced.
Inclusion
These young people had strong ideas on what needs to happen in the next ten or twenty years time to ensure equality and inclusion in education and the wider world. They want all classrooms to have sound fields, and all children to learn signing so they can communicate with their deaf peers, and to raise awareness of deafness.
They want all new buildings to have inbuilt loop systems or sound fields, and for staff at shops, cafes, restaurants and most importantly medical professionals to have deaf awareness training. There need to be enough services for deaf people of all ages to get the support they need to live an independent life.
