276 chapter 31
PREVENTION of deafness
• Take steps to prevent ear infection (teach the child not to blow her nose hard
when she has a cold). Treat ear infections at once when a child gets them. If
the child has frequent ear infections, see a health worker or ‘ear doctor’. Do not
put leaves or plugs of cotton in an infected ear. Let the pus run out. See p. 309 in
Where There Is No Doctor.
• During pregnancy, do not take medicines that might harm the baby. Tell the
health worker or doctor you are pregnant, and ask him to check if the medicine he
prescribes is recommended during pregnancy.
• Vaccinate girls and women against German measles (rubella) before they get
pregnant (but never when pregnant). Or let young girls catch German measles
by letting them play or sleep with a child who has them. This will give them a
‘natural’ vaccination. Pregnant women should avoid getting near anyone with
German measles.
• Have regular medical check-ups during pregnancy.
• Eat as well as possible before and during pregnancy, use iodized salt, and
include foods rich in iron and other vitamins and minerals.
• Look for signs of hypothyroidism in the baby, and treat it early (see p. 282).
• Vaccinate the baby against measles (and, if possible, mumps).
• Take precautions to prevent brain damage and cerebral
palsy (see p. 107 and 108).
• Never put, or let the child put, pointed objects in the
ears.
• Avoid being near very loud noises. When a child cannot
avoid them, teach him to cover his ears, or use ear plugs.
Words to the family of a deaf child
Deaf children can grow up to be loving and helpful sons and daughters, like other
children. Try to let your child grow up. Give him the same rights and responsibilities as
other children his age.
If there is a chance for your child to go away to a school for the deaf, if it seems right,
try to let him go. Deaf children learn in different ways than other children. The special
school may provide more opportunities. However, if your child is doing well at the
village school, has a teacher who understands and helps him, and has many friends, he
might do better there. Help him understand the choices and see what he thinks would
be best. Be sure he knows he has a loving family to come home to.
After they finish school, deaf children can do many different kinds of work. Deaf
people have become accountants, teachers, lawyers, farmers, health workers, clerks,
skilled craftsworkers, and doctors. It is worth the effort to see that deaf children and
adults get training and find work.
Be careful that after he has grown up, you do not treat him as a child. He might
seem younger than his age. But the best way to help him grow up is to expect him to
grow up.
When deaf children grow old enough to marry, they often choose to marry someone
else who is deaf, for they can understand each other better. They can have children,
and raise them well. Usually a deaf mother and father have children with good hearing.
It is difficult to be deaf. You can help persons who are deaf by letting them
communicate in ways they find easy, and by trying to learn to communicate with them
yourself.
Disabled village Children