To help children born with speech and hearing impediments lead a normal life, the Shivamogga Round Table-166 and Shivamogga Malnad Round Table-266 organisations will establish a speech and hearing therapy and training centre in the city soon.
The centre will have the facilities to diagnose all problems related to speech and hearing in children in the early stages, extend medical treatment and provide necessary pedagogic training to them to acquire speaking and hearing capacity.
Dhananjay Sirji, a paediatrician and member, Shivamogga Round Table-166, told The Hindu that at present, children born with speech and hearing disabilities in the district are taken to places like Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Mysuru for treatment. Keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the parents, it was decided to establish a speech and hearing therapy centre in the city. The centre would function on no-profit-no-loss basis, Mr. Sirji said.
Early diagnosis
The proposed centre will have necessary equipment including machines to conduct Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) tests, infrastructure to render clinical services and pedagogic instruments. “If the problem is diagnosed at an early stage, the child can be made to listen and speak like normal persons by the time they reach six years of age, after which they can attend regular schools. The objective behind the establishment of the centre is to diagnose the problem at an early stage, help the children overcome the same, attend regular schools, and thereby lead normal lives,” Mr. Sirji said.
Some kinds of hearing problems can be cured with medicines or through surgery. However, hearing loss caused due to severe damage to the inner ear, also called cochlea, cannot be cured completely. Such children can be conditioned to attend normal school with the help of hearing aids. In addition to this, the audiologists at the centre will train both parents and children, he said.
Help from Taranga School
The Taranga School for Deaf and Dumb in the city will offer land at its premises for the centre. The centre will be set up at a cost of Rs. 40 lakh. Few liberal-minded donors have also agreed to extend financial assistance to the project. The work of construction of the building will commence shortly and the centre is likely to become functional by the month of October, he said.
Hearing loss caused due to severe damage to the inner ear cannot be cured completely
