Overcoming barriers for hearing impaired young people in India

14 June 2007

Children who struggle to hear face a barrier to communication wherever they are.

But in parts of India, where some believe that any disability is a punishment for a sin from a past life, deaf and hard of hearing children and young people have an extra barrier to overcome.

In one area, Madurai, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, there are well over 8,500 people who have some form of hearing loss.

Not aware of facilities

Hearing impaired and deaf children are particularly disadvantaged, since not all mainstream schools will allow them to attend. Their parents, especially if they have good hearing themselves, may not take the initiative to help in their child's education. Often, they are simply not aware of what facilities are available.

Massive social stigma can be attached to a whole family if just one member has hearing problems. Hearing-impaired children are often discriminated against, and neglected by their parents and communities.

Providing basic education

For more than 20 years, the YMCA Services Centre for the hearing impaired, supported by Y Care International, has been able to help with the rehabilitation and integration of hearing impaired children and young people into mainstream schools.

The main aim of the programme is to allow hearing impaired children to get a basic education, develop their potential and become integrated into their families, and society as a whole.

The project also builds awareness of the plight of the deaf and hearing impaired within the wider community, and challenges the social stigma attached to deafness and hearing impairment

Reaching full potential

Deaf and hearing impaired children are given the chance to learn and develop self-confidence, allowing them to reach full potential, through a special pre-school.

Pre-school education focuses on early identification and intervention between the ages of two and a half and three and a half. There is an emphasis on stimulating residual hearing through speech training, language development, auditory training and lip reading, along with the use of hearing aids, speech trainers, and voice lights.

Children are trained in the pre-school for three years in three stages. Afterwards, those for whom it's possible are integrated into mainstream schools, and the others attend the special school.

Parents become accepting

Y Care International's Lucy Hayter says: "Workers at the centre counsel parents and children to ward off feelings of guilt, denial, depression and anger so that parents become accepting, and can work towards their children's development.

"We also aim to create a study centre to research various issues relating to hearing impairment."

Vocational training

The centre also runs a specialised vocational training programme, which has the ultimate goal of integrating deaf young people with their hearing counterparts.

There are currently just over a dozen students in each of the tailoring and embroidery units, and five training in bakery. The centre strives to place the young people in work after training.

Throughout, parents are totally involved in the whole process.