Monday, April 9, 1973
FREE HEARING AIDS FOR DEAF CHILDREN
Special hearing aids will be provided free of charge to children
whose hearing is impaired so as to enable them to benefit more fully from
ordinary and special education.
A total of 268 hearing aids has been bought for this purpose by the
Special Education Section of the Education Department.
The cost of the equipment, which amounted to more than $95,000, was
granted through the Government Lotteries Fund.
With the help of the hearing aids, deaf and partially-hearing children
will be able to make maximum use of their residual hearing in developing speech
and language.
The Special Education Section also provides free audiological services
in its Special Education Services Centre at Sir Ellis Kadoorie (Western)
Primary School.
Last year, 1,200 children were referred to the Centre by parents,
voluntary agencies, clinica, doctors, Social Welfare Department and Medical &
Health Department for audiological assessment.
If these children are in need of medical or surgical treatment, they.
are referred to the government ear, nose and throat specialists for advice and
treatment.
Children with severe hearing-impairment are referred to special schools
for the deaf.
/At present
+