Gift of the Givers Audiology Intervention at Schools. l GIFT OF THE GIVERS
Cape Town – Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers and Bonitas Medical Aid launched an audiology programme to assist children suffering from hearing difficulty at Spearman Road Primary School, Berea, Durban yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
The programme has been running very successfully since 2019 and has tested 13 727 learners thus far.
Gift of the Givers project manager, Ali Sablay, says that Bonitas has generously sponsored the entire programme for the rest of 2023 teaching year at a cost of R1.7 million.
“This will cover various schools in KZN in six districts testing 15 860 learners from Grade R to 12. The first 1 225 learners in four schools have already been tested,” Sablay said.
Sablay further said that Kuduwave was a South African designed audiometer. It was the basis of the examination and it took five to 15 minutes per child.
“Undiagnosed hearing loss is often misdiagnosed as learning disabilities, ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is a huge disservice to any child. Hearing deficiency affects reading, writing, speech, self esteem, confidence and social skills,” Sablay said.
“Follow-up has been arranged for any child diagnosed with a hearing difficulty. A demonstration on the equipment and the methodology was held at the school at 2pm yesterday (Thursday),” he said.
Sablay added that Gift of the Givers valued the ongoing partnership with Bonitas, and said children's learning was substantially compromised with hearing difficulties, reducing the possibility for progress and achievement.
“Appropriate and early intervention is critical to make a meaningful impact in the academic development of the learner,” Sablay added.
IOL
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