Tom is a sensitive 10 year old who is profoundly deaf. He attends a mainstream school in rural NSW where segregation and isolation are part and parcel of his day. His bus route to school is a nightmare; he is regularly taunted by other kids who call him ‘dumb’ or ‘retarded’ because his speech is slow. He is often excluded from conversations because he is unable to hear what his classmates are saying if they are not facing him or speaking some distance away. When he tries to join in, they regularly say: ‘No, Tom. You can’t play this game because you can’t hear us.’ The look on his face as he walks through the door after a day at school often breaks his mother’s heart.

If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much.
-- Marian Wright Edelman (Activist for the rights of children)