Page 25 - Adopt-a-School Foundation 2016-2017 Annual Report

Audiology Programme
Building on the impact made over the years
with the Visual Support Programme, Adopt-
a-School Foundation has expanded its
health interventions to include an audiology
and speech therapy programme. The
programme has been piloted with Grade 3
to Grade 7 learners at Phakamani Primary
School in Mpumalanga and Emthanjeni
Primary School in the Northern Cape. Both
schools have recently undergone visual
support programmes and the introduction
of the auditory support programme will
assist the Foundation to exclude health
impairments when identifying the factors
that affect learner performance.

Pilot programme:
- To conduct hearing screening, testing,
diagnosis and referrals
- To train educators on the management
of language and hearing disorders to
ensure adequate assistance is provided
to learners with hearing difficulties in the
classroom

Beneficiaries:
750 learners at Phakamani Primary School
521 learners at Emthanjeni Primary School

Findings to date:
17 learners in need of hearing aids
8 learners referred to the ENT specialist
42 educators trained on managing
language and hearing challenges
amongst learners in the classroom.
Challenges:

Access to services: The local hospitals do
not have audiology services and families
must travel to Witbank Hospital or Kimberly
Hospital, which are both over 300km from
the school.

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