By Gabriel Olawale

How do your children react each time you call them?  Do you know that ignoring your calls sometimes may be sign or beginning of a medical condition in the child? In the views of a professor of Speech and Hearing Rehabilitation, and President, Speech Pathology and Audiology Association of Nigeria, SPAAN, Professor Julius  Ademokoya,  there is need for parents not to misinterpret their children’s  refusal to answer their calls as stubbornness because it may signal dangers of hearing disorder.

Speech disorders

EAR SCREENING: Universal newborn hearing screening and management is desirable for early detection and treatment of hearing disorders.

Ademokoya said many Nigerian children have continued to suffer undetected and untreated hearing and speech disorders due to ignorance on the part of parents.

He advised that when such disorders are diagnosed, particularly after their second birthdays, therapeutic interventions are likely to yield less result than if administered earlier. Ademokoya warned that it is dangerous for parents to think that their children will outgrown hearing and speech problem.

“If a child fails to hear, understand what he hears and develop functional speech early enough, there would be some challenges of proper placement in educational programmes and in development of appropriate social and psychological skills, leading to a future of frustrations.” Speaking ahead of the 2016 International Conference of SPAAN June 21-24, 2016, Ademokoya hinted that a concerned mother can determine her child’s hearing ability right from the womb.

“When the pregnancy is six months to eight months, if music is being played, you would notice movement of the baby inside you, that shows the baby is hearing. Also, three to four months after birth, when there is loud noise around, the baby will show status influence. If the child fails to show all these signs, then the  mother can seek medical advice.

“We all know that hearing begins earlier than speech, but at  12 months, a child should be able to mimic sounds and start pronouncing what is commonly said around that child. So when a child does all these things, there is no cause for alarm, but at nine months, if thechild is still saying what that child was saying at two months, then there is cause for alarm.

“What is applicable in the developed world is that hearing and speech matters are  embedded in the antenatal programmes. But in Nigeria,  we are advocating that government should establish screening centres across the 36  States of the Federation, with intervention included in National Health Insurance Scheme.”