JEDDAH, 12 May 2003 — The role of the household in preparing and nurturing family members with hearing and speech disabilities was among issues highlighted at the fifth annual symposium held by the Jeddah Institute for Speech and Hearing (JISH) last week.
The need to set up more training centers for children with hearing and speech disabilities was also emphasized.
The daylong event focused on the non-profit organization’s activities, featuring a series of lectures about the challenges faced by people with hearing and speech impediments.
Lectures were delivered by speech-language pathologists certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) as well as other specialists in the fields of education and special education.
“We deal with all issues that concern communication disorders,” Chief Executive Director and founder of the institute, Sultana Alireza, told Arab News.
“Our clinic serves the entire community. We serve everyone, from infants to elderly people. Our primary role is clinical, and we have an audiology clinic for hearing services, and a speech language pathology clinic for communication disorders. We also undertake research and development studies, both essential because in the Middle East in general not enough research has been done in this field.”
JISH is also focusing on an ambitious applied research project in association with the Prince Salman ibn Abdul Aziz Research Center in Riyadh. The project will be on a national level and focus on how Saudi children acquire language skills.
“What we want is for the Shoura Council to issue a decision for opening more training centers and allocate a budget for that,” said Dr. Al-Sharif Zeid Al-Ghalib, general manager of JISH.
“We are asking the Ministry of Education to establish more training and research centers for children with speech and hearing difficulties and to implement the solutions suggested by these centers,” said Dr. Al-Ghalib.
“Our goal is to have a speech and hearing specialist in every school in the country,” he added.
JISH had found in surveys conducted in schools that a considerable percentage of children have communication disorders and the average teacher in class is not aware of the problem. Communication disorders, such as stuttering and hearing impairment, can have an impact on the child’s education, social relationships and future. Speech therapists are needed not only in schools but also in hospitals for patients who have suffered a stroke or other ailments and become unable to articulate their words.
Dr. Maha Orkubi, chairperson of childhood studies at King Abdul Aziz University and one of the speakers at the symposium, emphasized the need for a standardized qualification and certification program for therapists, a local evaluation and assessment test suitable for our culture and language, and the ability to develop individualized program for each patient’s family according to their needs and circumstances.
