About
Sound Waves Foundation was born out of the need and want to celebrate differences.
We’re on a mission to empower all deaf children and young adults to reach their full potential in education and life, launching them into a future full of endless possibilities. We reject labels, barriers, and limitations—instead, we believe in ambition, experiences, and growth.
Deafness, to us, is not disability, it is deafability.
Our Story
It all began during lockdown and during many cups of coffee!
As two mums of deaf children, we grew increasingly frustrated
with how inaccessible online lessons and virtual interactions were
during home learning. We watched our children struggle, not just academically
but socially, and it gave us a much deeper understanding of the daily challenges they face.
This experience opened our eyes to the many unseen barriers deaf children face in education
and it fueled our determination to make a change.
We’ve each been on an incredible journey of learning, challenges, and growth, embracing understanding and acceptance along the way. Fuelled by our experiences and a passion for equality, we created Sound Waves Foundation to shake things up—raising deaf awareness, accessibility, and inclusion through fresh ideas and creativity!
The combination of our personal experience and our community projects have compounded SWF’s belief that when you design for disability you deliver broad, transformative benefits for everyone - all our projects have this at the heart of it.
We have had many moments where we have had to pinch ourselves such as standing on Brighton beach being interviewed on BBC radio not realising we were already live on air!! Presenting to Microsoft’s nationwide champions and locking Helen Hayes MP in a classroom in South London!
But most standout moments are reading comments from the students using captions and the positive impact they felt it made on their learning experience, hearing and deaf children learning
sign language side by side and watching our animation ‘Sonic Boom’ for the first time
and the amazing way our animator Megan captured the emotion so
perfectly to remindus to keep doing the work we do!
Meet our
founders
Silvie is mum to four children and a dog. Her oldest two children are profoundly deaf, both born hearing, Elyana lost all her hearing at two and half and Noah at six years old. Now they are music playing, surf riding, manga drawing cochlear implant wearers.
Co founder + Director
Sound Waves Foundation
Silvie
Nicola
Co founder + Director
Sound Waves Foundation
Nicola has two children, the youngest was not diagnosed as deaf until 4 years old.It has led to an evolving diagnosis, not to mention - grommets, more grommets and a variety of hearing devices (and school settings!)tried and tested.
Every one of us is different in some way, but for those
of us who are more different,
we have to put more effort into convincing
the less different
that we can do the same thing they can,
just differently.
Marlee Matlin – Deaf Actress, Author, Activist
We want people to understand that deafness exists on a spectrum, it is diverse,
and there are many ways deaf individuals communicate. Our goal is to reshape perceptions, challenge misconceptions, and dispel the notion that
deafness limits a child’s potential.
There are diverse groups that deaf people associate themselves with and are part of. They are diverse in culture, beliefs and means of communication.
Some people use Sign Language, others use speech with clever tech and/or laser-eyed Lip Reading skills. Some people use a combination or even all of the above, depending on what suits best in the given situation. You might say they are some kind of communication chameleon experts!
By no means do we claim that one is better than the other. However, the work and campaigns of Sound Waves Foundation will focus on speech and caption as the primary means of communication where we feel we can make a difference.
Safeguarding
Our charity is committed to creating a safe and supportive environment for everyone we work with — especially children, young people, and vulnerable adults. We have clear safeguarding policies and procedures in place to prevent harm, respond effectively to concerns, and ensure the wellbeing of all participants, staff, and volunteers. Please contact safeguarding@soundwavesfoundation.org for more information or for any safeguarding concerns.