Give more attention to the deaf – NGO

Mrs Baaba Aidoo, Co-founder of the Ghana Association for Deaf Children, over the weekend called on the need to give equal attention to children with hearing impairment.

Mrs Aidoo said in most cases people were more concerned with disabilities that could easily be identified such as blindness, autism, amputees and forgot about people living with deafness.

Mrs Aidoo who said this during a day’s workshop at Abura a suburb of Cape Coast, explained that, quite often donors who assist people with disabilities do not extend their assistance to people with hearing impairments.

The workshop on the theme “a deaf child integrated into the family is integrated into the society” was aimed at educating the public on the need to pay attention to children with hearing impairment.

Mrs Aidoo appealed to all stakeholders to give the necessary attention and care to people suffering from hearing impairment.

Mr Benedict Boakye, a student from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) Medical School, who assisted in screening the participants appealed to mothers to regularly visit health facilities during pregnancy for proper antenatal care so as to prevent disabilities like deafness.

He explained that, the causes of deafness could be prevented or in some cases cured if there is an early diagnosis and advised parents not to administer unprescribed drugs on their children when they complain of any ear pains but rather, report immediately to a health facility for proper medical care.

Mr Boakye described deafness as the most serious of all the disabilities because one could only identify a deaf person after he has been spoken to adding that deaf people become more vulnerable when danger is coming from their blind side.

In all more than 30 people were given free ear screening.**