The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) has released an ‘Invitation to Tender‘ for a review to systematically map and describe the existing evidence on deaf children with additional needs, including complex needs and disabilities, in order to identify research gaps, interventions and implications for policy and practice.
“Estimates suggest that between 25-50% of deaf children have additional needs, most commonly learning disabilities, autism, or visual impairments. Despite the growing awareness of deaf children’s varied needs, evidence on those with additional or complex needs remains limited. Mapping the existing literature will help to clarify what is currently known, highlight gaps in research and practice, and inform future interventions and policy development.”
“The potential objectives of the review are to:
- Identify and collate published peer-reviewed literature that focuses on deaf children with additional needs, including complex needs and disabilities
- Appraise the quality of the evidence
- Describe the characteristics of the evidence, including volume of studies, country of origin, study design and methodology, population characteristics (e.g. age, gender type of deafness, communication approach, socio-economic background, ethnicity, first language), types of additional needs reported
- Summarise key findings related to interventions, outcomes and practice implications
- Highlight gaps in the evidence base to inform future research priorities.”
“The anticipated outcomes include:
- A report of the review findings
- A written report summarising the review findings, including background, aims, methodology, key findings, gaps in evidence, and recommendations
- A lay summary
- A clear and accessible summary of the review findings, written for a non-specialist audience, to be shared externally
- A peer-reviewed publication.
Contact Sian Lickess via [email protected] to submit your application and/or ask any questions.”
Deadline for applications Friday 27th February 2026 (11:59 p.m.)
