Due to hearing impairment, children with hearing issues face many challenges in their studies. In addition to the support from their families, they also require professional assistances. Early intervention in the ‘golden period’ would add wings of hope for those hearing impaired children, and provide a brighter future for them.

"A-mah"(grandma in Taiwanese) is very simple term to pronounce for most of the children but Dede’s grandmother felt so grateful when she heard that Dede said it. Dede, who is with hearing impairment, is now able to understand and speak. All these achievements should give credit to Dede’s grandmother and his family for their continuous dedication and support, as well as the efforts of the teachers in Fongshan Early Intervention Day Care Center.

(Dede's grandmother keeps good company with him)

Golden Period for Early Intervention

Dede failed to pass a newborn hearing test at birth and was diagnosed with moderate to severe hearing loss in the right ear while mild hearing loss in the left ear. His family was very sad when discovered that Dede is with hearing impairment. However, they perked up quickly and started to collect information about the treatments for Dede. Dede started wearing hearing aids when he was six months old, and his parents actively take him to the early intervention service.

Although Dede has been wearing hearing aids, the hearing loss in his right ear was getting worse. So Dede had Cochlear implant surgery for the right ear at the age of three, while the left ear continued to wear a hearing aid. Even though the Cochlear implant surgery was subsidized, the surgery cost is still a significant burden for the family.

While Dede's parents are busy at work, his grandmother takes care of Dede. Before coming to Eden’s service, Dede’s grandmother was fully aware of the importance of the golden period for early intervention and took Dede to speech therapy and the oral and sign language every day.

Peer Stimulation Makes Progress

Dede was indirectly referred to Eden’s service by his social worker. "Social worker suggested that we take Dede to the Day Care class. After the 1st visit, we had a positive impression about the teachers and environment here. So we made the decision! This is the right place for Dede.“ Dede began studying in Fongshan Early Intervention Day Care Center when he was four years old. Since then his cognitive ability, oral expression and interpersonal interaction have been improved significantly.

(Studying with classmates)

Hearing impairment often leads to Dysphonia for children with hearing issues. They need a lot of practices to be able to improve the situation. Dede used to sit in silence during the class due to communication barriers. However, the interactions with other classmates and teachers’ patient instructions had motivated Dede to practice communication. Now he is able to interact with other classmates and using simple vocabulary to express himself.

Furthermore, assistive aid also plays an important role in Dede’s life. Preschool educator Ting-yu Lin also shared that through wearing FM wireless system, Dede’s hearing capability is increased, especially in the classroom setting. As the result of it, Dede’s daily routine is also well established. "Currently, he understands most of our instructions, and he is able to connect the sound with the name of the object." Ting-yu was glad to share: "And Dede is able to say his name now!"

(Dede is learning at the Early Intervention) 

School and Family Work Together

In addition to the professional assistance, support from family is also pivotal for early intervention.

It’s well known that chewing action could help language development. Hence the teacher suggested Dede’s grandmother not to chop food too finely for Dede so that he could do more chewing action while eating. The teacher also reminded Dede’s grandmother to increase the amount of conversation practices on certain topics with Dede after school. Dede’s grandmother followed teacher’s instruction closely at home to maximize Dede’s practice opportunity. As Dede’s family and teacher worked together, Dede’s language progression is very significant. In the past, Dede could only say “grandma”. But recently he was able to speak “grandpa”. This made his grandfather ecstatic because he had been waiting for this for four years. More than that, now when Dede goes out for a walk with his family on weekdays, he would spontaneously ask, "What is this?" when he is curious about things.

(Dede is learing his name)

The efforts from school and his family help Dede improve from being able to hear, to being able to understand, then being able to speak. These also make Dede’s learning become wider and help Dede to have a brighter future.