Support for Deaf Children and their Families in Altai Province

HealthProm

Support for deaf children and their families in Altai Republic

Report August 2006

Katherine Garbarutk, audiologist trainer

from the Early Intervention Institute at St Petersburg

Funded by the BEARR Trust

1. Overview of the project

HealthProm is currently running a two-year EU funded project for disabled children and their families in Altai Republic with a focus on general disability issues and creating conditions that support children and their families that live in remote areas.  In July 2006 a week long training course on child disability was conducted and with the help of a grant from the BEARR Trust. HealthProm was able to include a specialised one-day training course that focused on how to support and work with deaf children and their families.

2. Goal and purpose

Goal: To improve the lives of disabled children and their families in Altai through access to information, more active NGOs and more effective services.

Purpose: To support deaf children and their families in the Altai Republic through professional training of local specialists and through inclusive activities at the day care centres. 

3.  Activities

Specialist training was provided to delegates from the school for children with a hearing impairment in Gorno Altaisk and other delegates from a range of services that support children with disabilities.

4. The partnership

The project is a result of a partnership between HealthProm and Revival an organisation set up to improve the quality of life of disabled people. The partners set out a Memorandum of Understanding that outlined the responsibilities of each organization within the project.

5. Method

i) The 25 participants of the seminar were specialists (social workers, psychologists and doctors), teachers from the Republic's Special School for children with hearing impairments and the parents of the children with hearing and speech impediments, and other disabilities.

ii) An audiologist trainer, Katherine Garbarutk, from the Early Intervention Institute at St Petersburg, prepared the training materials and conducted the training course. The course consisted of a mixture of presentation, case studies, small group exercises and games to engage with people on a theoretical, practical and emotional level. 

6. Aim of the Seminar

To improve and increase the qualification level of the specialists who work to assist and support the children with hearing and speech impediments;

• Help professionals understand the needs and circumstances of children with hearing loss;
• Help professionals to make assessments of the needs of children with hearing loss and to make workable plans for the community care and treatment of these children;

• To demonstrate and discuss the various approaches to help the children with special needs

During the seminar the participants learned about the specific issues regarding training, teaching, developing, rehabilitation and social involvement of children with hearing and speech impediments.

7. Outcomes

The training day was attended by 12 teachers from the Republic's School for children with hearing impairments and 13 other professionals who work with children with disabilities in the Republic of Altai.  These other professionals work in the local rehabilitation centre, the school for children with a disability, the Medical and Social Education Committee, and paediatricians from the health service.

An audiologist trainer, Katherine Garbarutk came from the Early Intervention Centre at St Petersburg and worked from 9am to 3.30pm with the delegates giving presentations and conducting exercises.

The course content covered an initial presentation about the morphology and physiology of the ear and how hearing works. Ms Garbarukt told the group about problems that can arise with the functioning of the ear and how these problems could be overcome. She talked about the technological solutions that are currently available to help people with hearing impairment make best use of their remaining hearing abilities. Ms Garbarukt also discussed ways that professionals could help children with hearing impairments to benefit from rehabilitation services and become more involved in the local community.

The teachers from the Republic's school for children with hearing impairments took advantage of the opportunity to take part in a further training session that began when Ms Garbarukt's session ended and that lasted into the early evening. This session looked at practical ways of collaboration between professionals in order to create care plans and put them into practice.

Summary of key impact points from this training event:

• Teachers from the school for hearing impaired children in the Altai Republic were appraised of the latest theoretical and technological approaches to benefit children.
• Professional partnerships were fostered between those working with children with hearing impairments and those working with children with other disabilities in other settings. This was a significant benefit because children with hearing impairments may have other disabilities.
• Teachers from the hearing impairment school attended a seminar on partnership working and care planning that took place during the late afternoon/evening and thus reinforced the message of good practices in multidisciplinary work.

8. Monitoring and evaluation

This report has been compiled using the following data:

• Partner's report
• Feedback from trainer
• Consultants report

9. Sustainability and conclusions

This training day provided the opportunity for a group of professionals directly working with children with hearing impairments and also a group of professionals working with children with children with disabilities in general to gain knowledge about how to incorporate care for children children with hearing disabilities into care planning and service delivery. Professionals from different backgrounds were able to meet each other and to learn from the other's experiences.

The usefulness of the BEARR grant will be sustained in that the lessons learnt will be incorporated into the structural change associated with the larger HealthProm project. For example the presentation was attended by members of staff from a new day centre that the HealthProm project opened in Ongudai. These workers will take back the experience and knowledge gained to their new work setting in Ongudai.