Wear your heart on your sleeve with Loud Shirt Day

Posted on 21 August, 2018

Every child deserves the chance to go to school with the same opportunities for success.

For deaf and hearing-impaired children, the idea of entering the mainstream education system can be daunting and confusing. The Shepherd Centre, a not-for-profit organisation running in the ACT, NSW and Tasmania, works to tackle this issue by providing early intervention programs for infants and children with hearing loss. Their aim is to ensure that children with hearing impairments can go to school with the listening and reading skills that will prepare them to succeed.

This October, The Shepherd Centre aims to raise awareness for children with hearing impairments through their annual initiative, Loud Shirt Day. Supporters will be encouraged to dress up in their boldest outfits, wearing something more daring than they usually would, and to parade loud and proud to draw attention to the cause. This year, the official day for Loud Shirt Day is 19 October.

Hearing loss remains the most common disability diagnosed at birth, so it is no surprise that over 500 Australian families turn to the Shepherd Centre for assistance each year. The Centre works to ensure that no child with hearing loss goes without the help they require. To achieve this, the Shepherd Centre primarily provides speech and listening therapy for affected children.

On top of this, it also extends services to the counselling of families, and provides programs like music, networking, and life-skills workshops for hearing impaired children and teens. Pia Watkins, the Senior Paediatric Audiologist for the Shepherd Centre, explains that the organisation “work(s) along with partner organisations to ensure that every child achieves the best listening and spoken language they are capable of and that they develop their social skills in order to maximize social inclusion.”

As the Shepherd Centre only covers around 30% of its costs with government funding, it relies on generous donations from the public to keep providing such amazing services.

“Fundraising supports the financial costs of running our services as well as the research we do to help improve and develop new programs for our children and families,” says Pia. This Loud Shirt Day, she encourages you to “put on something colourful, outrageous, noteworthy or funny!”

“Whether it be a morning tea at the workplace or a happy event in your kids’ day care or school, the best thing you can do is get your community involved is be loud in drawing attention to the cause. Loud Shirt Day also creates awareness for families who may have a concern for their child’s hearing.”

For more information on how to participate in this year’s Loud Shirt Day initiative, visit shepherdcentre.org.au.

Feature image supplied of Loud Shirt Day in Canberra 2017.