Carel du Toit pupils take to street for Deaf Awareness week

On September 29, students, parents and teachers from the Carel du Toit Centre took to the street in a short demonstration in honour of Deaf Awareness Week.

The centre is a non-profit organisation for preschool children diagnosed with hearing impairments. It assists children who have cochlear implants and other assistive devices to strengthen the development of their language, listening and comprehension skills.

Principal at Carel du Toit and 2022 winner of the Gonubie Lions Melvin Jones fellow award, Paula Cooper, said ongoing efforts to raise awareness about hearing loss was important as interventions to assist those born with hearing loss must happen within the first three years of a child’s life.

“Children with hearing loss are very visual and touch is heightened, so because their senses overcompensate for the impaired one, it takes longer for hearing loss to be detected,” she said.  “It is something you can miss as a parent.

“Most parents tend to notice only when they realise that by the age of one the child is not speaking. However, by then it is too late because the child will have to catch up on a whole year of language learning.”

Early intervention is critical and Cooper encourages parents to bring their children to the centre immediately after cochlear implant surgery.

The overall goal is to develop children to the level at which they can attend in mainstream schools without any barriers to access.

This year, the centre renovated its garage area into a charity shop to raise funds for operational costs. However Cooper said they were looking for sponsors for individual students as costs included medical assistance from audiologists as well as providing meals and activities for children.

Mom Janine Martin,said she has seen a huge difference in her child’s development since he arrived at the school. She said parents supported the centre’s efforts as it affirmed to the children their disability was not anything to be ashamed of.

 

OUT LOUD: Pupils from the Carel du Toit Centre for deaf children marched in Amalinda Main Road, East London on September 29. Picture: TAMMY FRAY

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