The main aims of this online event are to:
- Highlight the importance of hearing impairment as a global health concern, in particular, congenital or early acquired hearing impairment, with an estimated prevalence of 5.5/1000 in South Africa and 2/1000 in Sweden and the need for universal neonatal screening in order to facilitate early identification, diagnosis and the start of habilitation of children with congenital or early acquired hearing impairment.
- Explain the differences between the healthcare and education systems in South Africa and Sweden related to hearing impairment.
- Showcase our research project which is a collaborative effort, not only between the researchers from Sweden and South Africa, but also educators and therapists from CHAT (Children Hear and Talk) a special Early Childhood Centre (ECD) which is part of the Carel du Toit Centre, a special school for deaf children who are taught to speak; providing background to the project and its current status; also highlighting the services/habilitation offered at CHAT.
- Share the preliminary findings of the study and describe the way forward.
Keywords: Hearing impairment, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), Auditory-verbal therapy (AVT), healthcare
