Intervention programme for Hearing Impaired ..
The District Disabled Rehabilitation Office, along with the Cheran Region Christian Society (CRCS), a non-Governmental organisation, is offering an early intervention programme for hearing impaired children up to three years of age.More than 20 children are currently undergoing therapy at the TELC School here. The Government has been offering free early intervention programmes in 10 districts in Tamil Nadu and is planning to expand it to other parts of the State too, says J. Jesuraj, District Disabled Rehabilitation Officer.
Early intervention helps children born deaf in improving their brain power and hearing capacity.“After seeing the progress in their children, parents are now spreading the word about the programme. Now we have people enquiring about early intervention even from outside Coimbatore,” Mr. Jesuraj says.The department provides the financial support to the NGO which acts as the implementing agency. Funds provided include teachers’ salaries, room rent and snacks for the children. Bus passes for the children and the parents are also provided by the department. Private clinics and similar units providing early intervention treatment exist. But, the fees sometimes are as much as Rs.2,000, which parents from the lower middle class and the lower class are unable to pay. The programme is basically for those parents who cannot afford such treatment, Mr. Jesuraj adds.
“If deafness is detected early and the child is given early intervention, it can be trained to follow speech and even speak,” says H. Samson, president of CRCS.In the case of children with residual or partial hearing, the training will improve their hearing ability. When the programme was launched by the Government about a year ago, very few parents were aware of the concept.But, after frequent visits made by the volunteers of CRCS to the homes of such children, the situation has improved, he says.The volunteers gave training to babies born deaf once a week. Seeing the improvement in their children, the parents continued the treatment. “The objective of the programme is to make the child speak,” he says.CRCS also conducts another early intervention programme for hearing impaired children at the MG Eye Hospital as a separate project. It includes lip-reading, speech and total communication in English.
