50 Children With Speech & Hearing Disabilities Supported With Rs. 2.65 Crore

SBI Foundation partnered with Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (AYJNISHD), Mumbai for providing cochlear implants to 50 children born with profound hearing loss. The cost of cochlear implants and post-operative rehabilitation will be borne under their CSR Project.

Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairman, SBI yesterday presented an amount of Rs. 2.65 crore to Dr. A. K. Sinha, Director of AYJNISHD for the children from West Bengal. This was appreciated as it would enable the children with disability to overcome their disability and live a normal way of life with new rays of hope.

In 2015, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India launched the Cochlear Implant program by providing Rs 6.00 lakhs subsidy per child for parents having monthly income of less than Rs.15000/- under ADIP scheme.

AYJNISHD is the nodal Agency for the implementation of Cochlear Implant program all over India. 172 hospitals have been empanelled for the Cochlear implant surgery in Government and Private setup. 788 surgeries have been conducted so far including 50 surgeries in West Bengal. However, still there are large numbers of children waiting to undergo cochlear implant surgeries.

To augment the resources of the government and to help the children born with hearing disability this initiative will provide the opportunity to hear and speak post-surgery.

Cochlear Implant is an electronic device, which benefit the children with deafness. The internal part of the cochlear implant is placed in the skull through surgery and electrodes are inserted in cochlea by a highly trained Ear Nose Throat (ENT) surgeon. The external part of the cochlear implant: speech processor is worn behind the ear and the transmitter is held at mastoid bone externally (by pull of magnet) and connected with cord. The Audiologist switch on the Cochlear Implant and after mapping the child can hear normally. Speech language pathologists, special educators for children with hearing impairment, along with parents stimulate the child with spoken language so that child develops speech mode of communication.

Arundhati Bhattacharya met and interacted with the parents of children who underwent cochlear implant surgery and are now learning to speak.

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