Sensitisation at Modern High School, Kolkata
The VAANI team conducted an awareness programme on deafness for students of class 11 of Modern
High School Kolkata. There
were approximately 104 students along with 3 teachers present.
The
students were informed about the issues that surround childhood
deafness. The VAANI team explained how sound helps to formulate
language. The fact that deaf children do not have access to sound in
the same way as hearing children and the various ways to communicate
and interact with them was explained. They were also told about the
importance of timely intervention and correct guidance and education
throughout the growth process of a deaf child to help them to develop
at the same pace as their hearing peers.
Aparupa, a young deaf
adult who accompanied the VAANI team, spoke to the students about
herself and expressed her experiences while growing up in a hearing
school. She spoke to the students through sign language and kept
confirming that her audience understood her. The students at Modern
High School were very bright and could easily understand what she
communicated with the use of ISL. Aparupa made an interesting point -
hearing people see and hear things from their surroundings and then
comprehend it in their minds. Children with hearing impairment see
things and then comprehend things in their mind. Aparupa taught
the girls few basic signs which the girls picked up very fast and they
enjoyed the activity very much. It was also a learning experience for
Aparupa who was amazed by how easily she could communicate with hearing
children. The VAANI team felt very welcomed by the school.