Deaf Zimbabwe Trust

1. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust Challenges facing children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

2. Outline of presentation • Introduction • Language development • Social challenges • Educational challenges • Access to health challenges • NB: At times the presentation refers to Hearing Impairments(HI) and at times the deaf and hard of hearing (DHH)

3. Introduction • Children who are deaf and hard of hearing face many challenges in their everyday life. • The challenges start right at birth in Zimbabwe because deafness is invisible there are no efforts at early screening which leads to delayed reactions. • Late detection of hearing impairments affects language development which has negative effects on education • Lack of facilities for testing and the lack of support infrastructure after testing affects their total wellbeing

4. Language development • The lack of a standard sign language is a challenge in the education process • Inability to develop a strong language background affects educational outcomes • In most cases, parents do not know how to communicate with their children as there has been a service breakdown in the provision of sign language lessons for parents • The provision of free hearing aids has stopped due to the economic problems in the country

5. Social challenges • Inability of family members to accept deafness in the child • Family breakdowns as a result of deafness in the family and the resultant problems of being raised in a broken home. • there are poor support structures for families with deaf children which lead to social problems in families including marital breakdowns, separation and divorce. Families have to cope with deafness without any form of psychosocial support. • Community insensitive to deafness as shown by inability to learn sign language and the exclusion that results. • Community functions do not take into account the presence of deaf children and communication is not tailored to meet their needs

6. Social challenges cont’d • Research also shows generalized discrimination and poor social integration of children who are deaf as society does not know how to communicate with them. • There is a generalized insensitivity by the public to deaf people as shown by the absence of sign language interpreters in churches, on television and other such places where people meet. • There is little or no involvement or consideration in national programmes of deaf people such youth empowerment programmes as they are only seen as beggars or vendors, these opportunities are also not communicated to them in a way they can understand hence they are excluded.

7. Education • The current education system is unfriendly and insensitive to the needs of DHH children hence their inability to realize their full potential • There have been limited accommodations for children who are DHH, they write the same exam, at times in the same time, the markers are not sensitive to challenges faced by DHH in language developments. • Research has shown that educational outcomes of the deaf remain low compared to their hearing counterparts.

8. Education continued • There has been an over emphasis on the traditional vocations such as carpentry, sewing, welding and stone cutting. • No efforts have been made to introduce new vocations such as computer science and others if children do not have competencies in the old vocations. • The Zimbabwean education system does not provide accommodations and adaptations in examinations for children who are DHH as is done in other countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia. • There are a few educational facilities and further training facilities for children who are deaf and this limits their life opportunities.

9. Education • The Ministry of Education has not done much to resource the education of children with HI in schools, progress has been made with the blind but there is a gap in the HI sector • The teachers in most schools have not trained in sign language and there was a recommendation for all teachers to be taught sign language so that they are able to teach children with hearing impairments • The educational outcomes of children with HI remain poor because of poor language development at times HI was discovered late and the child was unable to cope with academic demands • In some cases parents and guardians of children with HI neglected them and would not prioritize them even in the payment of school fees • Some teachers in some schools also have bad attitudes to children with HI and refuse to take them for practical subjects, thus there is need for attitude change.

10. Education • The need for early intervention to promote language development as it was the key area which resulted in poor educational outcomes • Some children especially those on ARVs are prone to developing hearing impairments later in their life • The curriculum has to be sensitive to the needs of children with HI • The accommodations in the exams have not been universal they are meaningless to advancing the future of children with HI • There is need for a standard sign language for Zimbabwe which will go a long way to facilitate learning and communication among people with HI hence the need for harmonizing or popularizing the dictionary language if that is agreed as the official language

11. Education • The need to provide sign language numbers, alphabet and materials to all pupils in the school so that they become familiar with sign language and that can enhance inclusive education • Most schools reported inability to communicate with students with HI therefore hindering efforts to reinforce good behavior and also to punish bad behavior. • The lack of communication in schools between children with HI and their hearing counterparts has resulted in confrontations and isolation of children with HI as they prefer to play alone and not mingle with others

12. Education • In some cases the teachers who teach children with hearing impairments are not trained teachers, they are just volunteers. • The officials revealed that being trained in special education does not empower one to teach children with hearing impairment as the curriculum does not focus on sign language but all manner of disability. • Schools lack resources to teach children with HI as they are visual learners and the school cannot afford to buy the necessary equipment for them.

13. Health • Access to health for people with HI has been seen to be problematic as research done in countries such as Ghana has shown • communication barriers have led to reluctance to visit health centres and miscommunication has also led to misdiagnosis • While research on access to health has not been done in Zimbabwe, it Is important to note the invisibility of the deaf in hospitals and clinics • This leads one to question whether the deaf get sick or is it that they are not accessing health care when they need it. • A major barrier to access to health has been communication with health professionals.

14. Health • Good communication is the bedrock of diagnosis and treatment. • Lack of sign language interpreters in hospitals is a barrier to access to health care. • Research has shown effective communication in medical settings can be done through a sign language interpreter. • Deaf people have poorer health due to lack of information and communication. • lower levels of literacy in the deaf community affect the ability to explain health problems and understand prescriptions.

15. Health • Deaf patients can delay going to seek medical help due to lack of communication support and may also feel unable to ask for further information about their condition or treatment. • At times they may not be able to make appointments as they cannot call. • The waiting rooms at health facilities are not user friendly as they cannot hear when their names are called out.

16. Health and HIV • HIV and AIDS messages have not been communicated in a way that is accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing which means inability to protect themselves. • Advertisements by those in HIV/AIDS programmes are not user friendly or in accessible formats to the deaf because information is predominantly in voice and video with no sign language. • In addition, there is a dearth of statistical information on the rates of HIV/AIDS infection in the deaf community.

17. Health and HIV • There are no information centres that can provide the DHH with information that is accessible to them. • One wonders whether it is an issue related to lack of funds or the DHH are simply forgotten.

18. Conclusion • These are just a few of the areas that show the challenges faced by children with Hearing Impairments in Zimbabwe • The invisibility of deafness has resulted in them being largely ignored and this increases their vulnerability

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