Disability is not Inability

:: Kenya Society For Deaf Children.

IDENTIFYING AND MOTIVATING PARENTS

The existence of a community based programme run by the Catholic Church in Korogocho slum meant that KSDC was able to work with the existing community workers to identify and communicate with the parents of deaf children in the community. However the initial invitations to parents for Sign Language classes did not meet with success. The parents were very reluctant to attend and the turnout at the first few meetings was poor.

Parents were happy for their children to attend the informal school run by the community based programme and did not understand what they would gain from participating in meetings. Nevertheless, when questioned most parents acknowledged that their ability to communicate with their own children was limited.

The strategy used by KSDC and the community based programme to encourage parents had various strands:

* An introductory meeting in a hotel outside of Korogocho was organized. Food was provided and parents were invited to attend. The purpose of this meeting was to use the pleasant environment as a motivation to encourage parents to think about how learning sign language could improve family communication and what else KSDC could offer in terms of referrals to schools, and government audiology services. Although this exercise had a financial cost, it did attract a relatively large number of parents and was a turning point in parents’ attitudes.

* Though this attracted parents for the “wrong” reasons – the meeting itself provided a space for parents to become aware of the “right” reasons. Presentations from active parents of deaf children from other areas of Nairobi were a key part of the workshop. It was also made clear that this meeting was a one-off opportunity and that the project would be run within the slum and would require commitment and self-motivation from the parents.

* KSDC organized a vacation playgroup alongside the classes so that the deaf children and their siblings could learn KSL and access learning and play opportunities outside of school time and alongside the classes for parents. A young deaf woman from Korogocho was employed part time to run the play group which happened alongside the Sign Language classes.

* Parents, themselves decided on the best days and times for training sessions and this was kept flexible. This helped parents to attend more regularly.

:: SYNOPSIS

:: IDENTIFYING AND MOTIVATING PARENTS

:: LEARNING SIGN LANGUAGE

:; BEYOND SIGN LANGUAGE - BECOMING A GROUP

:: LEARNING POINTS

<< Back to business | Back to Disability Kenya >>