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CASSA is Formed in the Community of Boca Chica, DR Centro de Asistencia para Sordos San Andrés-CASSA did not exist three years ago, nor did it exist in early 2004. Children with hearing loss were ignored, and they were not allowed in public schools. In 2002, Greater Voice visited homes in Boca Chica and identified lost and forgotten children who had hearing loss. With the commitment of local people, CASSA was formed in 2005. Today, 22 students are enrolled. The school has three teachers under the direction of Diorka Nolesce, a parent of a young girl with hearing loss and a social worker who has developed skills in auditory development and hearing health. In 2003, Diorka attended a Partners for A Greater Voice 3-week intensive training program in Massachusetts. She continued her training in teaching the deaf while also gaining valuable skills in audiology. Over the years, Diorka has participated in all training Greater Voice has offered in her country, as well as any other training provided by her employer: Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo, a school for the deaf in Santo Domingo that Greater Voice has provided training and technology support. Diorka is not alone in managing day-to-day activities of CASSA and its families. Estebania Concepcion, a local resident of Boca Chica who began with Greater Voice as an interpreter, devoted herself to see that this school was formed. She presently supports the business affairs of the school. Jackie, a devoted mother of a teenager with profound hearing loss, volunteers her time to help as well, along several others. A Greater Voice mission in October 2005 evaluated and aided over 25 students, thanks to Lisa Walker, Audiologist from Children’s Hospital in Boston. The mission also embraced the Top Ten Strategies for Listening and Learning, presented by Teacher of the Deaf and Auditory Verbal Specialist Lindsay Rodriguez of Sunshine Cottage, Texas. As a result, all children at the school have hearing aids, can begin to develop their listening and speaking skills, and receive support from their parents and teachers. The Rotary Foundation Supports Greater Voice Projects - 2005 Who would ever think in one week a group of 6 people could accomplish teaching 9 staff and teachers about auditory development, and evaluate and aid 40 children in conditions with no electricity and running water? Through a Rotary Foundation matching grant, The Rotary Club of San Pedro de Macoris and The Rotary Club of Topsfield, Boxford, Middleton worked together to deliver a container filled with school supplies, materials, books, audiometric equipment, sound proofing and office supplies! Coordinated by Rotarian Joanne Travers, President of Partners for A Greater Voice, the project embraced ways to develop auditory learning at CAES, a school for the deaf which enrolls over 60 students in the province of San Pedro de Macoris. Volunteers with specialization in the fields of Audiology, parenting, teaching the deaf, and nursing participated in this mission in May of 2005 to embrace learning to listen and speak. Teachers Elizabeth Trasz and Julie Neumann from Massachusetts focused on developing skills of the teachers while Audiologist Daniel Hendrix and Sue Woolard, RN join forces to evaluate and aid over 40 children. Additionally, meetings with parents about hearing aid care and use occurred throughout the week. Regardless of down-pours, power outages, and the use of a generator, the team accomplished what they set out to do! Programs for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Give to Greater Voice - 2005 Sheila Moore-Neff, Educational Audiologist employed by the Fairfax County Public Schools in Dunn Loring, Virginia recently packed up over 100 retired, but working, Phonic Ear FM systems and donated them to Partners for A Greater Voice. The school had upgraded to advanced technology and had no use for these systems. A New York school system also contributed many Phonic Ear FM systems, thanks to Justin Kocher, Northeast Representative. Technology specialist Frank Lepine, of Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, originally introduced Greater Voice to this possibility. “These systems have been hanging around for years, and due to current digital technology and more advanced FM systems, our students have no use for them”, he said. Frank got permission from school officials to donate over 20 systems to Greater Voice in 2005, which are successfully being used by students at a school in Santo Domingo. FM Technology is far too expensive for Dominican schools or parents to afford. In the Dominican Republic, acoustics in a classroom are not optimal for listening, and personal FM systems improve the signal to noise ratio required for students, who gain access to better speech signals with these systems. Thus, the teacher can do language lessons more effectively.
Greater Voice needed contributions to cover costs associated with shipping these systems and getting them into the hands of schools that need this equipment. Greater Voice Visits Mumbai and Pune, India Our first visit to India occurred in March this year. We explored ten programs for the deaf and hard of hearing, from audiology clinics and early intervention centers to mainstream programs and schools for the deaf. Joanne was invited to speak to parents in both Mumbai and Pune, holding three meetings with over 80 parents of children with severe and profound hearing losses. Traveling with Joanne was native speaker Uma Gokhale-Soman, MED, a teacher of the deaf who works at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center in Nashville. In India, there is no sign language, and the preferred mode of communication is the spoken word. Remarkably some of the children they met were learning 2 or more languages. Parent meetings incorporated discussion on the following topics: social emotional growth, transitioning, assistive technology and general information on hearing loss. Joanne is continuing to consult parents at AURED on how to start parent networks. She hopes to return in 2007 and to offer more professional training. Social Emotional Workshop with Eleanor Jones Eleanor, a teacher of the deaf at Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Mass. has been teaching children to listen and speak for over 40 years. A Greater Voice mission in July called Eleanor to the job. She was a great spirit to have on this training mission. Eleanor and Greater Voice director, Joanne Travers, spent five days at Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo in Santo Domingo and also visited Boca Chica for one day. Eleanor provided individual therapy to over 25 children and Joanne continued her work with parent counseling. Not only did Eleanor have fun (that sparkle in her eye is a true gift) but we all enjoyed her enthusiasm, insight, and experience as a teacher and parent. Onelia Aybar, the Director at Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo, remarked, "Thank you Eleanor for your inspiration. You have given us renewed energy and spark". One mother expressed how she tried for nearly a year to get her child to blow bubbles. Eleanor demonstrated that blowing bubbles for the first time can take less than10 minutes! She took a class outdoors and explored nature - talking-talking-talking! She played with the children and provided individual and group therapy with fun. In the poor community of Boca Chica, Eleanor gave therapy to children who recently received hearing aids. (Yes, we made her ride a Guagua!) Joanne continued her work with parents and talked with locals about the schools needs. The mission wasn’t complete without an official workshop. Eleanor and Joanne teamed up to provide a full day presentation on social and emotional growth of children with hearing loss. Psychologists, teachers and parents gathered in one room. The audience of 100 stood up on their feet singing children's songs during the presentation to add cheer and leg stretch, thanks to the spirit of Eleanor. Photographer Cindy Miniter stayed behind the scenes, but provided great support and humor. She captured many great shots that will be pictured on line soon! If you know Eleanor, ask to see the wonderful picture book Cindy made for her! Greater Voice Needs Sponsors for El Oído, a new publication in the DR Over 2500 copies of El Oído, the first ever publication offering tailored information to Dominicans and for Dominicans, were delivered to the doorsteps of schools, clinics, hospitals and centers for disabilities in July. The publication needs sponsors to support its efforts. Widex Dominicana is presently the sole sponsor. Other Corporate Sponsors are greatly needed in an effort to continue to offer the publication at no charge. There is a tremendous need for information disbursement, and so many professionals are excited to be able to offer this publication for free to parents, hospitals and schools. Professionals are encouraged to submit articles to Greater Voice for print. If you can sponsor us, or if you know of sponsors and want to help, please contact Partners for A Greater Voice at 978-312-1200. Technology and Audiology Mission, July 2004 The Dominican Republic continues to keep us busy. Our trip during the first week of July to Santo Domingo and Boca Chica was fast, furious, yet successful. Dr. Todd Sauter, Supervisor of Audiology at UMass Memorial Medical Center and Mr. Frank Lepine, Audiology Technician at Clarke School for the Deaf, volunteered for this productive training and technology mission. Our small group landed on the ground running. We drove directly from the airport to Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo in Santo Domingo. After introductions and a brief tour of the school, we grabbed a bite to eat, checked into the hotel, and got down to business that night from 5pm-10pm. Discussing the agenda and plan for the week, we knew that in a short time we would have a lot of ground to cover before heading off to Boca Chica to meet with more than 20 other families and children for evaluations and meetings. But first, our objectives to help families and teachers at the school in Santo Domingo included:
Dr. Todd Sauter and Frank Lepine managed to evaluate over 75 children to check hearing aids, modify the settings, shoot ear impressions, and chat about their needs. Remarkably, they fitted 50 children with donated hearing aids we brought with us on the trip. Todd also trained audiology staff on ABR, OAE, ear molds, etc. at Centro Audiologico Dominicano, a clinic affiliated with Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo, and where we spent over 30 hours in just over 2 days. Frank trained parents and staff on donated Phonic Ear FM systems, and made many new friends. Joanne helped to coordinate the agenda, while screening and meeting with parents seeking a donated hearing aid, teachers, and staff. Throughout this busy week, Joanne worked with the director of the school to ensure no person was missed and that over one hundred people were taken care of. We met with about 30 families interested in cochlear implants, interviewing each family before sending them off the see Doctor Sauter. Extensive group discussions on cochlear implants and the UMass Memorial Medical Center collaborative also took place. It was remarkable and gratifying to meet with staff and learn about the progress and success of personal projects implemented as a result of our US based training program. |
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