More than 220,000 deaf children have speech ability

From: People's Daily Online, China - May 30, 2005

There is an old saying that "nine out of ten deaf people are dumb''. At present more than 220,000 deaf children have speech ability in China after rehabilitation training Nearly 40,000 deaf children of them have entered into primary schools and kindergartens, reported Li Weiwei, a reporter with Xinhua News Agency on May 28.

"Most of the deaf children have residual hearing ability. Early hearing-speech rehabilitation training with hearing-speech equipment will make them able to speak and return to the society'', according to the introduction by Nie Bin, deputy director with the China Rehabilitation Research Center for Deaf Children. In recent years, the center has accepted more than 30,000 deaf children and 1,400 among them have received hearing-speech training. In addition more than 150 deaf children among them have been rehabilitated after artificial cochlea operation. Nearly 1,000 deaf children have entered into ordinary primary schools and kindergartens after rehabilitation.

It is learned that China has carried out special aid activities of "hearing rehabilitation aids the deaf''. The activities have made more than 42,000 deaf children from poor families rehabilitate. So far, the number of hearing-speech training institutions in the country has reached more than 1,700.

By People's Daily Online

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