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Deafness: parenting a child with hearing impairment

22 September 2022 | Story Kelebogile Olivier | Photo Supplied

Opinion article by Kelebogile Olivier, Lecturer in the Department of Criminology, and Secretary of the University of the Free State Women’s Forum.

The World Federation of the Deaf declared September to be Deaf Awareness Month in the 1950s. The Deaf Federation of South Africa (DeafSA) and the South African National Deaf Association (SANDA) both promote awareness of the rights of Deaf persons in South Africa. During Deaf Awareness Week, deaf people are highlighted for their accomplishments and challenges (Deaf Awareness 2022) There growing is awareness about hearing loss, deafness, Deaf culture, and sign language. By understanding deafness and the culture of the deaf community, hearing people can better understand deafness. This year's theme is Building Inclusive Communities for all through the promotion of deafness, Sign Language, and Deaf culture. This piece is a personal reflection of my experiences as a parent of a child who has hearing loss.

Access South African Sign Language as a medium of education

The education of deaf and hard-of-hearing learners is influenced by several factors both negatively and positively. The lack of Deaf role models for deaf learners, the lack of recognition of South African Sign Language (SASL) as a Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT), and the lack of fluency in SASL among teachers are some of these factors (Magongwa, 2010).

The education system is considering bi-modal communication. However, the challenge is finding schools where sign language is taught. A school such as Carel du Toit special school in Bloemfontein has a vision to teach spoken language and support children with hearing impairments. Therefore, it does not offer sign language as a language of education.

Baritimea School for blind and hearing-loss children is an alternative school situated outside Bloemfontein which teaches sign language. One thing about this school is that the kids learn sign language and are confident in their communication. It has an excellent teaching and learning vision which it has managed to actively reach.

The use of sign language in South Africa has advanced greatly. South African Sign Language (SASL) is set to become the 12th official language of the country after government regulations were passed recently. SASL will now be recognised by the Department of Basic Education as a home language and part of the national school curriculum in grades R-12 under the gazetted amendment. This means that deaf learners will now be able to select SASL as a home language in schools. The department has also made amendments on the passing criteria for learners who select SASL as a home language in schools.

As SASL is the first language for most members of the deaf community, these positive changes will significantly impact learners’ ability to excel in school. “This Regulation is called the Amendment Regulations pertaining to the National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12, 2022 and will come into effect on the date of publication in the Government Gazette.” A growing number of South Africans are fluent in the language, and this will ultimately lead to a more inclusive language and a greater appreciation of deaf culture.

Firsthand experience and the rollercoaster of parenting a child with hearing impairment

I found out about my son’s hearing impairment in the middle of 2018, based on pure maternal instinct. I took the decision to have him assessed by a speech therapist believing he had a simple speech problem. In that initial assessment, it was confirmed that the problem was not speech but that he has severe hearing loss. So began the journey to what felt like a million tests and hospital visits. That year alone my son was under anesthesia more than four times.

Initially, he was fitted with hearing aids, which medical aid did not cover. Other costs included an unbudgeted R30 000 the audiologist charged for the devices. He had grommets fitted by an ENT, his hearing was tested while under anesthesia, and his hearing was tested various times until hearing aids were confirmed not to be the best option for him.

Due to the severity of his hearing loss, towards the end of 2018, a decision was made to fit him with cochlear implants. With all this technology, a weekly speech therapy appointment, constant mapping, and regular audiograms, we were well on the way to a speaking child. Unfortunately, despite implants, the speech progress was delayed.

Personal interaction with the deaf community

My first experience of deaf communities and the challenges they face daily in simply trying to communicate and navigate a world that is designed not for them began in my undergraduate year module, introduction to sign language. Although some communities, organisations, and institutions of higher education have tried to move toward inclusivity, one does not need to look too deep to notice that the world is not designed for people with any type of impairment, especially in developing nations.

My experience of the deaf community felt like a mere drop in the ocean when 10 years post my undergraduate learning, I could not engage in a conversation with a deaf person. My limited experience and knowledge of deafness and the community were emphasised when my son was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. I realised there is so much to learn and navigating deafness is sometimes a lonely space, until you find even just one person to help you into the deaf society.

We are now considering bi-modal communication. In addition to working on his speech and hearing, we plan to use sign language to support it, especially for educational purposes. Although progress has been made towards inclusivity, we still have a long way to go.

Positive school experiences for deaf or hearing-impaired children

Deaf children should have the same experiences of schooling as every other child in the country. A clean school, a bright and safe playground, and access to sports facilities at the school. This alone would make a difference in how they experience the world as deaf and hearing-impaired children. Rather than the frustration they face daily, they need to have hope that this world will improve. Their safe spaces should at least be exactly that, safe!

News Archive

Address by the first Inaugural President of the Central SRC

2005-08-03

The UFS Central SRC

Address by the first Inaugural President of the Central SRC of the University of the Free State, Mr Tello Motloung on Wednesday 3 August 2003

The Chairperson of the UFS Council, Judge Faan Hancke,
The Vice-chancellor and Rector of the UFS, Prof Frederick Fourie
The Vice-Rector Student Affairs of the UFS, Dr Ezekiel Moraka
The Presidents of the main campus SRC and the Vista campus SRC
Colleagues in the Central SRC, campus SRCs, students and fellow South Africans

Please receive my heartfelt revolutionary greetings

Vice-chancellor and rector what I bring here with me assisted by facts, is just the work of my imagination. Like a love letter addressed to a sweetheart miles away, even though you do not know how she feels, what she wants to hear, and do not even know what she looks like.

I value speech as just an honest intimation, that’s why I got into a habit of establishing a dialogue with people, looking at each other’s face, and persuading one another of what we are saying.

Vice-chancellor, today marks an important milestone in the history of the existence of the UFS. Today reflects the confidence and trust that students of the UFS have placed in us. They are confident that the Central SRC has both the will and the capacity to take our university forward as we confront the challenge of transformation.

Students are confident that they are correct to trust the Central SRC as the principal agent of change in our university that is genuinely committed to the objective of building a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic university. We need to frankly ask ourselves, as CSRC members, whether are we up to all these challenges?

All Central SRC members have to understand this fully, internalize it, and ensure that everything we do, does not betray the confidence and trust of students, or disappoint their expectations. I say this knowing that all Central SRC members have committed themselves to serve the students of the UFS, black and white, and no one among us (CSRC) needs any special lectures about this central commitment.

The UFS should be an omnibus, welcoming everybody on board. But we should be a bus with a clear direction. We will certainly lose our way if we, as an institution, don’t have a clear road map spelling out where we are heading to.

There should be clear guidelines on the role of students in the transformation process. Students should also be viewed as role players in transformation along with the University management, and not just opposing forces. There is no right time, other than this one, to move away from the politics of opposition to politics of transformation.

However, we need the support of management to do so. The University should value the role and contribution of student leaders, hear our legitimate claims and consider them as part of political and policy decision making.

Vice-chancellor and Rector, it remains our task to ensure that the UFS is transformed into an institution that is seen to be playing a vigilant role in developing students academically, intellectually, socially, culturally, politically and otherwise. The process of transformation is not ending tonight, it is just beginning tonight.

Judge Hancke, Prof Fourie, Dr Moraka, fellow students and fellow South Africans, I lead students at this university with a sense of pride and duty, and I know very well that I lead men and women, students who are all determined that we reach our destination safely and on time.

A navy divided within its ranks will be destroyed and vanquished by the enemy, but the navy united in purpose and action, loyalty and commitment will not sink but sail on to victory.

It is befitting to mention that every drop of my blood is telling me that the UFS is my home. I firstly became a student here, I became the SRC treasurer in my first year here, I became the deputy president here, and I became the first president of the Central SRC of the UFS.

Therefore you should never doubt my commitment towards the transformation of this university. To paraphrase what was said by students at another institution, “If there is no UFS in heaven, then I am not going.”

Let me conclude by thanking my ancestors for teaching me that even if I wined and dined with kings and queens, I am not a king myself, so I should not turn my back on people who made me what I am today.

Most importantly, I would like to thank the Almighty God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ for giving me time and power to lead this university.

It will be theoretically irresponsible if I ended my speech without indicating that “Only a Kovsie knows the feeling”.

I thank you.

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