Communication and School Readiness Abilities of Children with Hearing Impairment in South Africa: A Retrospective Review of Early Intervention Preschool Records

Overview

Journal S Afr J Commun Disord

Specialty Otorhinolaryngology

Date 2019 Mar 8

PMID 30843413

Citations 3

Authors

Ntsako P Maluleke

Katijah Khoza-Shangase

Amisha Kanji

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: The national prevalence of hearing impairment in South Africa is estimated to be four to six in every 1000 live births in the public health care sector. An undetected hearing impairment in childhood can lead to delayed speech and language development as well as put the child at risk of not achieving the necessary school readiness abilities that will enable them to achieve academic success. However, through early hearing detection and intervention services, children with hearing impairment can develop communication and school readiness abilities on par with children with normal hearing.

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe communication and school readiness abilities of children who were identified with hearing impairment and enrolled in early intervention (EI) preschools in Gauteng.

Methods: Within a descriptive research study design, a retrospective record review was conducted on files of eight children, ranging in age from 9 years and 7 months to 12 years and 7 months, identified with a hearing impairment and enrolled in EI preschools in Gauteng, South Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, using frequency distribution and measures of central tendency.

Results: Current findings revealed that children with hearing impairment who were enrolled in EI preschools in Gauteng were identified late. This consequently led to delayed ages at initiation of EI services when compared to international benchmarks and the Health Professions Council of South Africa's (HPCSA) guidelines of 2018. Consequently, participants presented with below average communication and school readiness abilities, which are characteristic of hearing impairment that is identified late.

Conclusions: Transference of current contextually relevant research findings into practice by both the Department of Health and the Department of Basic Education forms part of future directions from this study. This conversion of research findings into service delivery must be conducted in a systematic manner at all levels in these two sectors to facilitate achievement of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), resulting in better communication and school readiness outcomes.

Citing Articles

Early Intervention for Hearing-Impaired Children-From Policy to Practice: An Integrative Review.

Petrocchi-Bartal L, Khoza-Shangase K, Kanji A Audiol Res. 2025; 15(1).

PMID: 39997154 PMC: 11852310. DOI: 10.3390/audiolres15010010.

Barriers to care: Caregivers' accounts of raising a child with a communication disorder.

Cooke N, Harvey C S Afr J Commun Disord. 2024; 71(1):e1-e10.

PMID: 39221741 PMC: 11369659. DOI: 10.4102/sajcd.v71i1.1036.

Middle ear pathologies in children living with HIV: A scoping review.

Sebothoma B, Maluleke M S Afr J Commun Disord. 2022; 69(1):e1-e7.

PMID: 36453796 PMC: 9724139. DOI: 10.4102/sajcd.v69i1.934.

Outcomes of newborn hearing screening at an academic secondary level hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Bezuidenhout J, Khoza-Shangase K, De Maayer T, Strehlau R S Afr J Commun Disord. 2021; 68(1):e1-e8.

PMID: 33567828 PMC: 7876983. DOI: 10.4102/sajcd.v68i1.741.

References

Olusanya B, Okolo A, Aderemi A . Predictors of hearing loss in school entrants in a developing country. J Postgrad Med. 2004; 50(3):173-8. View

Mukari S, Ling L, Ghani H . Educational performance of pediatric cochlear implant recipients in mainstream classes. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2006; 71(2):231-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2006.10.005. View

. Year 2007 position statement: Principles and guidelines for early hearing detection and intervention programs. Pediatrics. 2007; 120(4):898-921. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-2333. View

Zaidman-Zait A, Young R . Parental involvement in the habilitation process following children's cochlear implantation: an action theory perspective. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2007; 13(2):193-214. DOI: 10.1093/deafed/enm051. View

Swanepoel D, Storbeck C, Friedland P . Early hearing detection and intervention in South Africa. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2009; 73(6):783-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2009.01.007. View

. Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. J Indian Med Assoc. 2009; 107(6):403-5. View

Sininger Y, Grimes A, Christensen E . Auditory development in early amplified children: factors influencing auditory-based communication outcomes in children with hearing loss. Ear Hear. 2010; 31(2):166-85. PMC: 2836405. DOI: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181c8e7b6. View

Fulcher A, Purcell A, Baker E, Munro N . Listen up: children with early identified hearing loss achieve age-appropriate speech/language outcomes by 3 years-of-age. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012; 76(12):1785-94. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.09.001. View

Swanepoel D, Johl L, Pienaar D . Childhood hearing loss and risk profile in a South African population. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2012; 77(3):394-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2012.11.034. View

10.

Abdala C, Visser-Dumont L . Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions: A Tool for Hearing Assessment and Scientific Study. Volta Rev. 2013; 103(4):281-302. PMC: 3614374. View

11.

DesJardin J, Doll E, Stika C, Eisenberg L, Johnson K, Ganguly D . Parental Support for Language Development During Joint Book Reading for Young Children With Hearing Loss. Commun Disord Q. 2014; 35(3):167-181. PMC: 4191727. DOI: 10.1177/1525740113518062. View

12.

le Roux T, Swanepoel D, Louw A, Vinck B, Tshifularo M . Profound childhood hearing loss in a South Africa cohort: risk profile, diagnosis and age of intervention. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2014; 79(1):8-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2014.09.033. View

13.

van Dyk M, Swanepoel D, Hall 3rd J . Outcomes with OAE and AABR screening in the first 48 h--Implications for newborn hearing screening in developing countries. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2015; 79(7):1034-40. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2015.04.021. View

14.

. World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. J Am Coll Dent. 2015; 81(3):14-8. View

15.

Fulcher A, Purcell A, Baker E, Munro N . Factors influencing speech and language outcomes of children with early identified severe/profound hearing loss: Clinician-identified facilitators and barriers. Int J Speech Lang Pathol. 2015; 17(3):325-33. DOI: 10.3109/17549507.2015.1032351. View

16.

Khoza-Shangase K, Harbinson S . Evaluation of universal newborn hearing screening in South African primary care. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2015; 7(1). PMC: 4564907. DOI: 10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.769. View

17.

Meyer M, Swanepoel D, le Roux T . National survey of paediatric audiological services for diagnosis and intervention in the South African private health care sector. S Afr J Commun Disord. 2015; 61(1):e1-e8. DOI: 10.4102/sajcd.v61i1.62. View

18.

Petersen L, Ramma L . Screening for childhood hearing impairment in resource-constrained settings: Opportunities and possibilities. S Afr Med J. 2015; 105(11):901-2. DOI: 10.7196/SAMJ.2015.v105i11.10082. View

19.

Storbeck C, Young A . The HI HOPES data set of deaf children under the age of 6 in South Africa: maternal suspicion, age of identification and newborn hearing screening. BMC Pediatr. 2016; 16:45. PMC: 4804475. DOI: 10.1186/s12887-016-0574-1. View

20.

Mahomed-Asmail F, Swanepoel D, Eikelboom R . Hearing loss in urban South African school children (grade 1 to 3). Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2016; 84:27-31. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2016.02.021. View