Back

Children's Mental Health Week 2022

The Buzz
The Buzz
2 Upvotes

Mental health

Upvote

Children's Mental Health Week 2022

Mental health

The Buzz
The Buzz
2 Upvotes

Mental health tips, videos and resources for deaf young people

From 7 to 13 February, lots of people and organisations, including the Buzz, will be focusing on young people's mental health. This years theme is Growing Together. 

To recognise this important week, some amazing deaf young people have worked together to create resources and videos about mental health and deafness. This includes the Young Inspectors, who created their very own mental health squad and other useful illustrations to help you access support services! 

Maddie tells us what they got up to and why their work is so important...

Meet Maddie!

Hey everyone,

My name is Maddie. I’m 17 years old and I’m Deaf.

I’m very passionate about starting, and continuing, the conversation about the mental health of Deaf young people. It’s great timing because it's Children’s Mental Health Week! Having these conversations is super important because, regardless of how we feel about our Deafness, it has a massive impact on our lives; from school to socialising with friends and family.

While being Deaf is something I love about myself, it does bring up challenges that can impact my mental health. I recognised this and worked with an amazing group of other Deaf young people called the Young Inspectors. We all felt the same and worked with various mental health services to make them more accessible for Deaf young people by sharing our experiences. 

A picture of Maddie

 We also created a superhero team of the people in Deaf young people’s lives that support them. A wonderful illustrator called Lucy Rogers brought our ideas to life in the form of a brilliant piece of art. On top of this amazing illustration, National Deaf Children’s Society has also created a bunch of informational videos about mental health that will be available on the Buzz Instagram. 

As Deaf people we are more likely to be tired and may need extra self-care to get ourselves feeling amazing. My top mental health tip is to go on a walk or spend time outside. It’s a little cliché, but it works. Make sure you find what works for you. This could be doing your favourite hobby, listening to a certain type of music, or any activity that makes you feel like the best version of yourself.

It is so important to take care of yourself, so I want to give you a fun challenge: do one thing today that brings you joy (personally, I have a new book I want to read so I’m looking forward to that)!

Take care,

Maddie 

The mental health squad!

The mental health squad: an illustration of lots of different people who can support with mental health. This includes mental health organisations, GPs and nurses, deaf role models, Teachers of the Deaf, family, friends, teachers, deaf coach/mentors, counsellors/therapists and support workers.
It can be hard to know who you can talk to about your mental health, especially when you have to think about accessibility. The Young Inspectors wanted to help other deaf young people remember the people around them that can help with the Mental Health Squad .


Recommendations for mental health services

An illustration of 6 young people talking around a table. They each have a speech bubble with a recommendation in, From left to right, they read 'Mental health awareness training for teachers of the deaf, professionals and expert', 'focus on early intervention', 'prioritise access for deaf young people to receive support', 'Deaf Role Models', 'Understanding about deaf culture and community by professionals working with young people' and 'deaf coaches and mentors'.
All 10 Young Inspectors looked at the services that are available to support deaf young people with their mental health to see what recommendations they could make.


The street of wellbeing

An illustration of a street with a pavement, houses and different buildings. Some thoughts are written down on the illustration including 'It needs to be welcoming, I don't want to be scared', 'We need a good team to help build it' and 'It needs to be accessible, focusing on what support we need and not the communication barrier'. At the bottom, three signs read '1) Referral to Deaf CAMHS', '2) Peer 2 peer support' and '3) Deaf counselling'.
The street of wellbeing shows that everyone's mental health is different and that we all have different needs when it comes to accessing a service. Young inspector Daniel highlighted how important signposting is so deaf young people know about services such as Deaf CAMHS

Stop! Ready? Go!

An image of traffic lights, displaying red, yellow and green lights. Next to the red light is some text that reads ' Stop! Are your services only accessible via phone? Do you know the communication preferences of your patient? Are you using the appropriate and preferred language?'. Next to the yellow light text reads 'Ready? Have you booked the appropriate communication support? Have you thought about position, lighting and location?'. Next to the green light text reads 'Go! Listen to feedback. Employ deaf staff as they can advise best.' Underneath the traffic lights a sentence reads 'Remember: all deaf people are different and have different support needs.'
This illustration was designed by Young Inspector Kirsty. The traffic lights encourage professionals in the mental health field to think of deaf young people’s communication needs to make sure they can access services.


All illustrations by Lucy Rogers. You can find more of Lucy's work on Instagram by going to @luce_illustrates, on Twitter at @luceillustrates and on her website at www.lucyrogersillustration.com.

Elliot and Lucy talk about their mental health


In Elliot and Lucy's video for Children's Mental Health Week, they discuss mental health and deafness. They talk about dealing with isolation, the challenges they've faced and the advice they'd give to other deaf young people who need to access support.

Watch their video

Labake, Siena and Josiah's top tips for feeling good

Labake, Siena and Josiah got together for Children's Mental Health Week to talk about what makes them feel good. They share their mental health advice for other deaf young people including taking time to relax and doing things you enjoy. 

Check out their conversation

Mental health information and advice on the Buzz

We have lots of pages about mental health, looking after yourself and wellbeing on the Buzz. Check them out!

If you're 8 to 12 years old:

If you're 13 to 18 years old:

Need more advice or support?

Your mental health is so important. If you're feeling worried or low, there are lots of ways to get help. Find out about organisations that can support you and how to ask for help, on the Buzz. 

You can also send us an email at youngmember@ndcs.org.uk.

CEOP Internet safety

We're here to look out for you. If any of the content on this page has affected you please click the CEOP button.

Instagram feed

Follow us on Instagram

You may be interested in

The Buzz
The Buzz
Upvote
Mental health words and what they mean
Here are lots of different mental health and wellbeing words and what they mean.
Read more
The Buzz
The Buzz
Upvote
Acknowledging and managing feelings
Understanding how you feel is important, but it can be difficult to do this sometimes. Find out how to acknowledge and deal with your emotions.
Read more
The Buzz
The Buzz
Upvote
How to ask for help
If you're feeling low or struggling with your mental health there are lots of ways to get support.
Read more

Our information and advice for young people is moving

The Buzz website and social media (Instagram and YouTube) is closing on Monday 11 December 2023.

But don’t worry!

  • Continue to access information and advice at ndcs.org.uk
  • Follow us on social media at @ndcs_uk
Find out more Visit ndcs.org.uk
The Buzz Club