Identifying Hearing and Vision Needs in Children
How do you identify hearing and vision needs in children and young people?
This page has resources for families and professionals to help identify hearing and vision needs.
The STA team provides expert advice, early identification support, and tailored strategies to help families, schools, and professionals understand and respond to these needs.
More resources and guidance will be updated on this page regularly.
Spot vision needs
Children with vision needs may show signs such as difficulty seeing the board, frequent eye rubbing, holding books very close, or struggling with coordination. These challenges can affect learning, behaviour, and confidence. The STA service helps identify these signs early and offers practical support to ensure children can access their education fully.
Spot hearing needs
Hearing difficulties may present as delayed speech, inattentiveness, frequent requests for repetition, or difficulty following verbal instructions. These signs can be subtle and easily missed. The STA team works to identify hearing needs early and provides strategies and resources to support communication and learning.
Useful information to support hearing and vision needs
- Common signs and symptoms of glue ear — Glue Ear Together
- Signs of deafness and hearing loss
- Blindness and visual impairment - Sense
- Finding out about your child's vision impairment from RNIB
- Information for parents of children with vision impairment from RNIB