[ad_1]
Preschool children in Regina and Saskatoon who are deaf and hard of hearing will have access to a new early learning program this fall.
"This is considered a great victory for the deaf community," said Nairn Gillies, executive director of Saskatchewan Seaf and Hard of Hearing Services. "It's totally new for deaf and hard of hearing children, regardless of their hearing loss."
The program is funded by the Canada-Saskatchewan Agreement on Youth Learning and Child Care children, which provides nearly $ 41 million for early learning and child care programs. The goal is to improve the quality of early learning for children three and four years old.
For All Children
Gillies' group is working with Regina Public Schools on the pilot program, which is not limited to deaf or hearing children. Siblings, cousins and friends can also apply.
Gillies says that access to sign language from an early age can make a huge difference to all children
"Many children are learning visually. a visual learner and you open a door to them in sign language, long before their auditory word [ability improves] takes off, they already have logic and reason and can spell words in sign language. "
Early intervention
The Saskatchewan government has taken significant steps in the right direction this spring by introducing universal hearing screening for infants in the 2018 budget.
The screening program will be implemented in hospitals with the highest number of births by March 31, 2019, and that the first site should be operational by the fall, the Saskatchewan Health Authority announced in a report.
Gillies says that it can be difficult to know that a child has a hearing loss without a formal screening: "There are all sorts of things that can hide the fact that I'm not sure. child can not hear. "
Before the screening program According to Ms. Gillies, hearing loss was sometimes not diagnosed before the age of two or three years, and it took 16 to 18 months to consult an audiologist [19659013Theycrossedtheirfrontallobewhichgreatlyhamperstheirdevelopment
Breaking Barriers
Katrina Mitchell did not receive any diagnosis of hearing impairment until she was in first grade. FM system as a child, and received a cochlear implant as an adult.
She found being hard of hearing to be a barrier at times and thought that a program like this could make a difference.
"A lot of people are focused on audio and can make it difficult for people with hearing loss," she said. "Those who do not have a hearing loss often have trouble building relationships and often do poor work to make sure the hard of hearing can understand them."
"This can be a significant barrier to socialization and sometimes to learning. More awareness of how to handle these hearing impairments can be really good for kids. "
Cost of Hearing Aids High
However, there are still challenges for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in Saskatchewan, and he says he has heard adults who have trouble paying for hearing aids now that they have a hearing loss. they are no longer covered by the province.
"It does not seem logical to see how something as simple as a hearing aid can still cost thousands of dollars when I have a cell phone in my pocket, I can see my house from space. "
The Government of Saskatchewan has cut funding for its hearing aid plan in 2017. Adults are no longer covered, but children are temporarily covered 19659025] The SHA said in a statement that the health authority and the Ministry of Health "are considering options" to determine the best way to provide these services.
low income have always supported and cochlear implants – such as Mitchell has – are also o always covered.
Source link
