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Tim Byatt is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle. He is investigating social capital in adolescents who are deaf or hard of hearing and its association with other factors such as social communication and wellbeing. He currently works at NextSense (formerly RIDBC) in Connected Services, and supports children and adolescents throughout Australia who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. He has been working in deaf education for 14 years, and has an additional 5 years experience as a mainstream high school teacher.

Social capital represents the connections between individuals and groups. It is measured using trust and mutual support within relationships. These connections may be close and supportive and contribute towards positive identity formation and provide emotional support. Social capital ca provide a protective ‘buffering effect’ and offers a means of improving outcomes for children and adolescents who are deaf or hard of hearing beyond traditional methods. 

In this one-hour webinar, Tim Byatt will discuss:

• social capital as an important area of development for children who are DHH, and outline ways that social capital can be used to improve real-life outcomes.
• social communication and the concept of identity, and how these concepts relate to children and adolescents.

• Byatt, T.J., Dally, K., & Duncan, J. (2022) Social Capital and Adolescents who are Deaf: Associations with Wellbeing, School Connectedness, and Pragmatics. Deafness & Education International 24(4), 356-374, DOI: 10.1080/14643154.2022.2120998
• Punch, R., & Duncan, J. (2022). The Role of Social Capital in the Transition to Postsecondary Education of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. American Annals of the Deaf 167(3), 334-354. doi:10.1353/aad.2022.0031.
• Duncan, J., & Punch, R. (2023). Voices of Young Deaf Adults: Supporting Adolescent Social Capital Development. American Annals of the Deaf 167(5), 605-624. doi:10.1353/aad.2023.0003.