FAQ

Yes, Almost all the children having hearing loss till 70 decibels acquire speech with less effort provided they have speech therapy support and an appropriate hearing aid. Children having hearing loss above 70 — 80 decibel of hearing loss can acquire adequate speech and language if they use hearing aid regularly and are provided intensive auditory training, speech and language therapy regularly. To achieve this goal there is a need of early intervention and rehabilitation.

No you cannot delay any further as its already late. A child starts learning language when it’s still in the mother’s womb which is as early as five months of gestational age. At the time of birth the child can recognized mothers heart beat, rhythm of speech, would be pacified by the songs which the mother might have sung when she was carrying the baby. Thus even if the child having hearing loss is fit with a hearing aid at the time of birth the child is late by 4-5 months. There is no reason to delay it further as a newborn child can be fit with a hearing aid.

Yes, By three months the presence of hearing loss if any, should be established.

We can speak the language which we can understand. Similarly children can speak the language which they can understand. We understand speech by hearing it, may it be another person speaking in real life or on television. First the spoken words or sentences are heard then it’s understood. If the child or a person does not hear the speech he/ she cannot understand it and cannot reply appropriately. To appreciate the difficulty of a person with hearing loss has in understanding others; try understanding the dialogues of an TV actor of a daily soap with the volume in mute, and then by slowly increasing the volume in phases. As we cannot understand the dialogues just by seeing the facial expressions, body language and lip reading, the person with hearing loss has difficulty in understanding people speak to him. If a child with a hearing loss, the difficulty is further more as the child is in the process of learning to speak. The child does not hear what is spoken around him and hence does not understand what is been said. As the child does not understand what is being said he/she cannot extract and store the rules of the language which is essential to learn the language.

Usually no hearing is a mostly prescribed for a hearing loss which cannot be treated by medicine or surgery( sensory neural hearing loss which is mostly static) it is more of a mental block, we never ask, will my child stop using eye glasses.

The time may vary according to the child’s needs, like the degree of hearing loss the age of the child, presence of other conditions, duration of hearing aid usage, involvement of the parents regularity of speech therapy are some of the factors which influence the duration and success of the therapy.

Occupational science is a new discipline that provides the basic science information about “occupations” or activities that support the practice of occupational therapy. Occupational science studies how activities meet the needs of individuals and communities, and provide meaning and purpose to life; how activity produces changes in the individual and different patterns of occupation. This is similar to how sociology is applied in social work, and biology applied in medicine.

Occupational therapist will use variety of approaches based on the client’s needs like Sensory Integration approach, Neuro developmental approach, Biomechanical approach, behavior modification approach, Rood’s Approach, Rehabilitative approach, etc..

Occupational therapy treatment encompasses several areas of performance. All treatment plans and therapy goals are created and implemented based on the child’s individual needs. • Fine Motor Skills: Pertaining to movement and dexterity of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. • Gross Motor Skills: Pertaining to movement of the large muscles in the arms, legs and trunk. • Visual Motor Skills: Referring to a child’s movement based on the perception of visual information. • Oral Motor Skills: Pertaining to movement of muscles in the mouth, lips, tongue and jaw, including sucking, biting, crunching, chewing and licking. • Self-Care Skills: Pertaining to daily dressing, feeding and toileting tasks. • Sensory Integration: The ability to take in, sort out and respond to the information we receive from the world. • Motor Planning Skills: The ability to plan, implement and sequence motor tasks. • Neuromotor Skills: Pertaining to the underlying building blocks of muscle strength, muscle tonicity, postural mechanisms and reflex integration.

An occupational therapy evaluation identifies your child’s patterns of strength and need that impact daily performance of functional tasks such as eating, dressing and writing. Recommendations are provided for home, school and community implementation.

An occupational therapy evaluation will assess a child’s gross motor, fine motor, visual motor, visual perceptual, handwriting, daily living and sensory processing skills. The use of standardized assessment tools, non-standardized assessment tools, parent interview and clinical observations will be used to assess the child’s performance.

Yes, if your child is does not the use of hearing aid regularly there will be deprivation of of sounds to the child. The child will fail to acquire and master the skill to listen to sound; he/she does not develop vivid mental representation of the spoken words thus resulting in poor speech. Poor mental representation of words leads to difficulties in comprehension of words and sentences during day to day communication. Usually while we talk each word is spoken relatively at a fast rate. The child requires an adequate mental representation of spoken words and speech sounds to retrieve and correlate the words from the heard stimuli.

A method of retaining a hearing aid in place on a child comprising providing a huckkies. Harness is usually made of cloth used for body aids. Harness; It helps to place a hearing aid at a safe distance from the receiver in the ear and to place it firmly. Hukkies.: It is used with behind the ear hearing aid. It helps to hold the BTE firmly around the ear.

The life of a hearing aid is maximum 5 to 7 years. But it will last longer if good care and maintenance of the hearing aid is provided.

i. The child will enjoy variety of sounds

Usually children who receive therapy prior to 6 months of age have greater chances of attending regular school.

Occupational therapy is the art and science of facilitating human participation in occupation (i.e., self-care, leisure and work tasks) to restore, reinforce and enhance performance, facilitate learning of skills and functions essential for adaptation and productivity, diminish pathology, and promote health. Occupational therapists use self-care, work, homemaking, play and leisure activities as therapeutic occupations

No, they are not the same. The occupational therapist helps people of all ages (from newborns to older adults) who have an illness or disability to do those things that are important and meaningful to them such as eating, dressing, school activities, and work. The occupational therapist helps by making changes in any of the things that may limit an individual’s ability to do those tasks, including the environment, the task, or the person’s skills needed for the task. Occupational therapists also have the knowledge and training to work with people with a mental illness or emotional problems such as depression and/or stress.

Occupational therapy uses purposeful activities to enhance and encourage skill development. Guided by the child’s interests, the therapist provides fun and motivating activities that aim to provide a “just-right challenge” so that the child will develop the underlying skills needed to effectively complete functional tasks. The goal of occupational therapy treatment is to use meaningful activities to assist the child in achieving functional skills needed for daily living. When skill and strength cannot be developed or improved, occupational therapy offers creative solutions and alternatives for carrying out daily activities.

B.Ed.Spl.Edn (Multiple Disabilities), D.Ed.Spl.Edn (Autism, Deafblind, Cerebral Palsy), — B.Ed.Spl.Edn (Db), M.Ed.Spl.Edn (Multiple Disabilties)

Multiple Disabilities means a person who has two or more disabilities as enumerated in RPwD (2016) Act and National Trust (1999)Act. National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) has registered 54 different combination of Multiple Disabilities. Multiple Disabilities can be classified as mild, moderate and severe based on the associated conditions. It can also classified as congenital and acquired. For example intellectual disabilities with Cerebral Palsy, Hearing Impairment with Autism,

Infection in Pregnant mother, Diabetes, Hypertension in pregnant mother, mental and Physical trauma in pregnancy, Not taking Folic acid before pregnancy and during pregnancy, Genetic Disorder, Inborn errors, Problem associated with delivery, premature birth, cord around the neck, twins, breach delivery and consanguinous marriage.

Rehabilitation Medicine, Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, Sensory Integration, Early Intervention Services, Prosthetics & Orthotics, Special education, Psychological Assessments and Interventions, Speech, Hearing & Communication, Vocational training, Vocational Guidance & Counselling, Deafblind, Community based Rehabilitation, Special Clinics (Dental, Psychiatric, Neurology & Ophthalmology), Distribution of Aids & Assisitive Devices, & Dissemination of Information.

Early Intervention, Early childhood education, Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy, Speech therapy, psychological intervention, social work intervention and adult independent living, Medicines for Associated disorders, special education, orthotic and prosthetic devices and assistive technology

CMO of the District level hospital can issue the certificate if it is a permanent 100% disability. There is a. medical board consisting of specialist to evaluate and certify the disabilities if the disabilities difficult to analyse.

40% and above will be eligible for availing the benefits from the Government schemes.

Nirmaya Health Insurance Scheme (National Trust) is the only active health insurance scheme exclusively for people with disabilities.

Indian Scale for Assessing Autism was developed by NIMH and MDPS, FACP, CALLIER AZUZA

NIMH (Secunderabad), AYJNIHH (Mumbai), NIVH (Dehradun), PDUIPH (New Delhi), NIOH (Kolkatta), SVNIRTAR (Cuttack)

Medicine are given for seizures and psychiatric problems.

Dental services, Psychiatric Clinic, Neurologic Clinic and Ophthalmology Clinic.

The incidence of Autism 1 child with autism is born for every 66 normal child.