Deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia: Status of early intervention services

Abstract

Abstract:Objective: To determine the status of early intervention services provided to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their parents/caregivers from birth to five years of age at two main state hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on their parents' perceptions. Method: A descriptive quantitative research design was used to determine the status of early intervention services for deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia based on their parents' perceptions. Semistructured interviews based on a questionnaire were conducted with 60 research participants from two main state hospitals where early detection and intervention services are provided. A purposive sampling technique was employed. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data collected. Results: The participants' children were diagnosed at a substantially late age, resulting in delayed ages for initial hearing aid fitting and enrollment in early intervention services. A significant relationship was found between the residential area of the participants and timely access to intervention services. The results indicated that participants residing in Riyadh were fitted with hearing aids and enrolled into EI services earlier than those living outside of Riyadh. The delivery of information also emerged as a weakness in the EI system for the majority of participants.

User Requirement Analysis of a Mobile Augmented Reality Application to Support Literacy Development Among Children With Hearing Impairments

“…Parents play an important role in the literacy development of their children. In the case of children who are hearing impaired, studies have revealed delays in literacy for those born to hearing parents because of the associated delays in the children's exposure to SL (Alyami, Soer, Swanepoel, & Pottas, 2016;Geeslin, 2008). Due to the significance of parental influence, there was a questionnaire designed to identify patterns relating to the literacy of the children who were hearing impaired from the parents' perspective.…”

Is the Right to Access to the Services and Supports Ensured for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children? An Ethnographic Study Based on the Experience of Hearing Parents

“…The available studies on this topic focused mainly on how parents value the access to diagnosis and early intervention [9,10], to early literacy [11], or to the mainstream schools through the adequate provision of educational services [12]. From these studies, it can be highlighted that DHH children and their families are still facing important obstacles to access the necessary services, such as: important delays in the first diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss [9]; poor communication of hearing screening results, inconsistencies in healthcare information from primary care providers, and lack of local resources [10]; an inadequate access to literacy during preschool activities [11]; or a lack of collaboration with special educator in mainstream schools [12].…”

“…In many cases, although services were available, they remained elusive for parents who lived in remote areas. As research has shown [9,10], living in a rural or remote geographical locations limits the access to social and health services and put families at risk. There are models of hearing-health care for children who live with their families in remote areas where services are found to be cost effective.…”

Referral and Lost to System Rates of Two Newborn Hearing Screening Programs in Saudi Arabia

“…According to the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia (SA), 1.4% of all citizens have mild, moderate or severe hearing difficulties [ 6 ]. The prevalence of hearing loss in SA may vary according to the region where the prevalence of hearing loss increases in rural areas [ 7 ]. Previous Saudi studies showed different prevalences of hearing loss ranging from 1.75% to 7.12% [ 8 , 9 ].…”