Fostering Audiological and Education Support

to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in the Dominican Republic

In a small town called Santa Fe, situated in the province of one of the poorest sections of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, your heart breaks for the deaf and hard of hearing children that are surrounded by poverty, stricken by illness, offered little medical support, and surrounded by people who love them and strive to help.  You become so very thankful for the school for the deaf, Centro Collaborativo Experimental del Sordo (CAES) that provides an education to these children under such difficult economic conditions.  Little attention has been given to this small school of 65 children, yet a group of teachers and few staff members hustle to find solutions that help teach these very needy children.

Partners for A Greater Voice, working in conjunction with Rotary International, the Topsfield, Boxford, Middleton Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of San Pedro de Macoris, recently visited CAES to provide technology and training support to the children, teachers and parents vested in helping these children learn spoken language.  Such determination can be seen from afar, as the children work their hardest to listen with hearing aids for the fist time, as teachers ask a zillion questions on the approach to building listening skills, and as parents listen intently to information that will help them care for their children. 

In 8 days, a team of 6 volunteers from the United States, each with a specialization to offer, worked in 90 degree plus heat and humidity to evaluate the students, to fit hearing aids, to talk with parents about how to care for their children, and to give the teachers educational materials and information on how to develop listening skills, as well as training in basic audiology services.   No audiology support is nearby, and hearing aids are far too expensive for these poor families to purchase.

One of the unique objectives of this mission was to empower the school to be sustainable, particularly with hearing screenings, ear impressions, teaching methodologies, etc. And one might say that this task cannot possibly be accomplished in 7 days.  Partners for A Greater Voice paved the way for this week, so that teachers and parents had received prior training over the previous 2 years.  Hearing aids, ear impressions, ear molds, and learning to listen were not new concepts, and this mission’s intent was to bring these concepts to a new practical reality.

Teachers and parents were excited about the many therapy tools, toys, education materials donated to the school, as well as the small group attention given to teachers and staff.  As a result, a start up clinic was established at the school and staff received basic training.  Daniel Hendrix, Audiologist, provided the one-one one training sessions, and required dedicated staff from the school to experiment and practice shooting ear impressions, using an otoscope, adjusting hearing aids, etc.  Working off a generator for the week, Audiologist Daniel Hendrix with support from Julie Neuman, M.A., M.E.D., performed complete evaluations on fifty-seven children as staff watched over.   Sue Woolard, RN, was a great asset in assisting Daniel Hendrix intimately throughout the week, putting her nursing skills as well as parenting skills to work.  While some children already had hearing aids, many were too profound to aid, having no response at over 110 decibels.  Thirty-eight children received brand new hearing aids, while some children were sent to doctors due to full-blown ear infections and other issues.  The team left extra hearing aids for children who might be aidable after illnesses. 

While further audiology workshops are necessary to continue to broaden the staff’s experience and knowledge, Joanne Travers, Director of the program, insists, “ It’s a great beginning and now these people have the technical know-how and can begin to fine tune their skills in the hearing evaluation process.  Over the years, their perspective and knowledge has evolved, and now the school needs to continue learning how to care for the audiological needs of their students”.

Teachers Elizabeth Tracz and Julie Neuman are specialists in Auditory-Oral Development.  Each holds a masters degree from Smith College in Teaching the Deaf.  These two teachers spent every day in the classroom, working with teachers and providing therapy to children who received new hearing aids.  They also offered afternoon workshops after school, held small group discussions, and facilitated activity-based learning experiences with the teachers.  As a result, the teachers at CAES have a greater understanding of the methodology for developing spoken language, and know how to use the donated supplies to do listening and language exercises in the classroom.   

Joanne Travers spent hours with small groups of parents, helping them better understand technology and how to care for it, while also providing emotional support through parent to parent discussion.  Coordinator for all activities during the week, Joanne would like to thank all those who volunteered to work on this project with her, including John Woolard, college student and son to Suzanne Woolard, who provided interpretation and support in countless ways.

For more information, please contact Joanne Travers at 97-312-1200 or email her at greatervoice@comcast.net.