Funding announcement
Round 7 of Deaf Child Worldwide’s Small Grants Programme is now open. The deadline for completed concept notes is 30 May 2008. Click here for more details.

Please note that EENET is not a specialist agency in deaf issues.
EENET is interested in promoting the inclusion of deaf children in educational settings in the economically poorest countries in the world. See the list of articles below for examples of pioneering work in this field.

Sign language
We receive a lot of enquiries about learning sign language. If you are in the UK and would like to learn sign language, please contact your local adult education centre. Some of the websites listed below may also be helpful.

Deaf Kids Sign on for School in Tanzania - an article by M Miles on the Disability World website

Deafness and the development of communication skills in developing countries: Examples from Mongolia and Nepal.

Article from newsletter 11:
Family Friendly! Working with deaf children and their communities around the world (Author: Kirsty Wilson. Date: 2007. Country: various)

Inclusion and Deafness, Linking the Family, School and Community - paper by Elina Lehtomaki

Integrated pre-school for deaf children. Tamil Nadu, South India

'The Deaf Dilemma', article for CBR News - 1995

Booklets:

Issues and Recommendations for Interpreters
Issues and Recommendations for Parents
Issues and Recommendations for Sign Language
Issues and Recommendations for Teachers

What does the South really want from the North? 7-8 June 2002
Download as a Word file (217k)

An EENET meeting to discuss Deaf issues in the South - September 12-13 2001

Inclusion and Deafness - Seminar, University of Manchester, June 14th 1999

Inclusion and Deafness Seminar Report

A Community-based Sign Language Programme in Uganda

Teaching Sign Language to Parents of Deaf Children

Inclusion and Deafness - Families as Essential Stakeholders

Case Study: Papua New Guinea - The provision for children with hearing impairment and deafness in an 'inclusive' system

A project for deaf people in Afghanistan

Bibliography

Resource Organisations on Deaf Issues

Videos on Deafness

New resources

Helping Children Who Are Deaf

This new book supports parents and other caregivers in building the communication skills of babies and young children. The book explains how deafness affects a child’s ability to learn language and develop mentally and socially, and is packed with activities on how to foster language learning through both sign and oral approaches. Developed in partnership with deaf adults, families with children who are deaf or cannot hear well, community-based development workers, health workers, educators, and other experts in over 17 countries, Helping Children Who Are Deaf is practical, accessible and appropriate across different conditions and cultures.

This book is available for $12, plus shipping and handling. Orders can be made by contacting
Email: bookorders@hesperian.org
Tel: +1 888 729 1796.
Website: www.hesperian.org

Quality Standards: Vision care for deaf children and young people

This new guide for eye-care professionals working with deaf children was launched on 1 April 2004 by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) and Sense UK.

Forty per cent of children with a sensorineural hearing loss have eye problems, and there is little clinical guidance on good vision care for deaf children available to professionals. The guide was produced in close co-operation with families and professionals working in health and education. It provides guidance on how the vision of deaf children should be assessed. The guidelines detail the extra preparation and understanding required in a vision assessment for a deaf child, explains the importance of an opthalmic examination following confirmation of deafness, and stresses the need for joint work between service professionals to ensure the best delivery of care. The guideline also includes comments from parents on the vision care their deaf child has received.

The document can be downloaded from Sense UK’s website in PDF format.