Deafness in Egypt

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According to The Deaf Unit Cairo, there are approximately 1.2 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in Egypt aged five and older. [1] Deafness can be detected in certain cases at birth or throughout childhood in terms of communication delays and detecting language deprivation. The primary language used amongst the deaf population in Egypt is Egyptian Sign Language (ESL) and is widely used throughout the community in many environments such as schools, deaf organizations, etc. This article focuses on the many different aspects of Egyptian life and the impacts it has on the deaf community.

Contents

Language emergence

The primary sign language used throughout Egypt is Egyptian Sign Language (ESL) which emerged around 1984 when the National Association of the Deaf created an online dictionary. [2] According to Ryan Fan in Verb Agreement, Negation, and Aspectual Marking in Egyptian Sign Language the only data documented in regards to Egyptian Sign Language are within the DVD dictionary published by the Deaf Unit and in a textbook published by Asdaa' Association for the Hearing Impaired in Alexandria. [2] There is currently little information present about variation in ESL as well as "no grammatical descriptions available". [3]

Significant organizations

The National Association for the Deaf

The NAD is housed in Old Cairo, and has educational programs for Deaf adults.

The association runs various educational programs for sign language and the Deaf community in Alexandria.

The Deaf Fraternal Society

The Deaf Fraternal Society is an entirely Deaf-run organization in Alexandria.

The Egyptian Institute for Deaf Rights

The EIDR is an institution in Giza that works for the legal rights of Deaf Egyptians.

Resala

Resala is an Islamic charitable organization in Egypt with centers throughout the country. Some of its centers offer educational services to Deaf individuals.

The Deaf Unit Cairo

The Deaf Unit Cairo is a deaf organization/school based out of Cairo, Egypt that offers programs for deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing individuals. In 1982, The Deaf Unit of Cairo originally started out as a school for deaf children under the Episcopal Diocese Of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa before it expanded to include teacher training programs, the Deaf Club, the Deaf Church, two community based rehabilitation programs, and the start up of the Audiology Clinic. [4] They target the deaf and heard of hearing population that cannot afford services and provide them with the opportunities they need socially and financially. [4] One of their main goals is to help bridge the interaction between deaf and hearing individuals so they integrate themselves within hearing organizations to help foster this relationship. For example, in one of the programs, the Deaf Club, deaf adults attend events twice a week that help integrate them into the community and learn about Egyptian culture. [1]

The Deaf Ministries International

The Deaf Ministries International is a faith-based organization that works to give deaf individuals the right to education, employment, and to be able to practice their faith in their own language, ESL. [5] The Deaf Ministries began in 1979 when Neuville and his wife moved to South Korea and created a small church specifically for the deaf. The message grew and so did the services as they now reach across 19 countries and provide churches, schools, small factories, farm projects, dormitories, and Christian centers for the deaf. [5] The organization focuses on three main areas which include church planting, education, and aid & development where deaf individuals can explore their community and culture through their faith. [5]

Early hearing detection and intervention

There is no Universal Newborn Hearing Screen (UNHS) program put in place in Egypt. There are a few initiatives and studies that have been conducted and put in place to begin screening newborns. In September 2019, the Ministry of Health and Population conducted a hearing survey "as a part of a presidential initiative for early detection and treatment of hearing loss and impairment for newborns nationwide". [6] Approximately 3,500 health centers have taken part in this initiative screening newborns from day of birth up to 25 days after birth. [6]

The initiative includes a step by step process to begin to determine the newborns who are struggling with hearing loss. After the first initial screening, 174,465 newborns were re-examined during a second screening at the same unit. [6] After the second screening, 18,945 newborns were referred to approximately 30 different hospitals and medical centers all over the nation to seek further evaluation due to concerns found during their screenings. [6] These referrals range anywhere from receiving hearing technologies such as cochlear implants or hearing aids to further medical treatment to diagnose due to lack of resources. Due to the lack of a UNHS system, many hospitals and medical centers have begun to implement their own methods, procedures, and tests to help detect hearing loss in newborns. Some of these tests and methods include Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE) and Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR). TEOAE's test the cochlea's outer hair cells with a series of stimuli such as clicks whereas ABR's measure reactions to the nervous system with a series of stimuli. [7]

Although Egypt has not yet implemented a UNHS system, they have created a screening method called Targeted Neonatal Hearing Screening (TNHS). TNHS's are considered to be a risk-based screening method where only neonates that pose possible risk factors for hearing loss are screened and testes after birth. [8] The TNHS system is considered to be a "compromise" between the range of no UNHS system to a fully functioning UNHS system. [8]

When it comes to early intervention measures, the research leans towards a more parental education effort, whereas for the child it doesn't begin until they enter school. The Deaf Unit in Cairo holds ESL classes for parents, family members, and friends in order to immerse them in learning ESL. [9] They also offer workshops to teach parents how to respect their deaf child and break down the cultural misconceptions about the deaf not being as capable as a hearing individual. [9] As part of a campaign initiated in 2019, hearing technologies such as cochlear implants would be offered to children who needed them. [10] There are still barriers to overcome that lead infants to not receive hearing aids if they wanted due to financial costs not associated specifically with the cochlear implant device such as cost of the surgery, post surgical treatment, and follow up treatments and therapies. [10]

Language deprivation

Language deprivation is the universal term used to describe when a child lacks access to a "naturally occurring language during their critical language-learning years". [11] When a child experiences language deprivation during their "critical period" they are at risk to experience delays cognitively and linguistically. [11] In Egypt, studies have shown that Language Deprivation is an issue amongst DHH children. In 2015, a group of researchers set out to determine the risk factors associated with number of delayed language development cases in children who were referred to the phoniatric and Neuropediatric Unit as Sohag University (PNUSU). [12] The study was split into two sections; one evaluating the socio-demographic culture of the child and their family and the other language assessments using standardized language scales and measures. [12] The participants included 800 Arabic speaking Egyptian children with delayed language development whose ages ranged from 18 months to 5 years and the results amongst the hearing impaired were concerning. [12] According to the study, "among the 172 cases of hearing impairment, 67 cases (39.0%) were presented between 3-5 years, 46 cases (26.2%) after 5 years, 39 cases (22.7%) between 2-3 years, and 21 cases (12.2%) before two years". [12] Out of all the studied cases, the percentage of hearing impairment children with language delay was amongst the top three. [12]

Primary and secondary education

The Deaf Unit in Cairo is a small deaf school in Cairo, Egypt that is home to currently 60 students. [13] The Deaf Unit provides deaf students, who mostly come from hearing families, the opportunity to not only be immersed in deaf education, but foster "better communication between deaf and hearing people". [13] The Deaf Unit is a boarding school like format where the children are given 3 meals a day and a place to live and sleep in order to create a deaf community. The school consists of "2 deaf teachers, 12 hearing teachers, 2 deaf house mothers, 2 hearing deaf mothers, five full time administration staff, and five women who support through kitchen and cleaning work". [13] The students are taught a primary and middle school level education and after completing the curriculum, they will take their government issued exams at a government school in order to receive a government certificate. The children do then leave The Deaf Unit during the day in order to receive a secondary education at a local government school, but return to The Deaf Unit after school in order to help with the younger children, to take extra classes, or get help with their studies. [13] The goal of The Deaf Unit is to prepare deaf students to be able to interact and live outside of the deaf community and provide them with the confidence skills to be able to live a successful independent life. [13]

Employment

The employment status and opportunities for Deaf individuals in Egypt is defined by a few government documents. Article 81 of Egypt's 2014 Constitution states that people with disabilities shall be given equal opportunities in all avenues of life such as through jobs, economically, socially, health, environment adaptations, political rights, justice, etc. [14] Article 10 of the Rehabilitation Act No. 39, which was then amended by Law No. 49 in 1981, states that "five percent of the total number of employees in each unit of the state administration body, public bodies, and public sector shall be allocated for disabled recipients of rehabilitation certificates". [14] The original quota stated in this act was 2% before it was amended in 1981 and increased to 5% of the employees in a workplace must be disabled. [15] In 2006 the Egyptian census estimated that approximately 1.8% of the Egyptian population are disabled, deaf being amongst them. [15]

Fulbright Egypt recently started accepting deaf individuals into their Community College Initiative (CCI) Program. The CCI sends approximately 1,000 men and women from Egypt to the United States to community college for vocational training, specifically geared toward learning skills to help improve their likelihood of employment. [16] The deaf individuals accepted into the program are required to take an English Language course and learn ASL before traveling to the United States. [16] The program includes comprehensive courses covering all areas the applicants wanted to study which included photoshop, HVAC, laser marking, embroidery, computer maintenance, etc. [16] When the deaf individuals returned to Egypt they received additional training on how to communicate with other (deaf and hearing) which was implemented to improve teamwork and interview skills. [16] The deaf individuals who participated in this program expressed that they were able to take what they learned through their training and apply them to their new professions. [16]

Healthcare

In Article 81 of Egypt's Constitution, it is deemed that that people with disabilities shall be given equal opportunities in all avenues of life such as through jobs, economically, socially, health, environment adaptations, political rights, justice, etc. [14] According to the article Disability in North Africa, "the health and rehabilitation services for children and adults with disabilities are lacking, of poor quality, and do not meet all their needs". [17] Although Egypt has ratified the UNCRPD, laws prohibiting discriminations in various areas of life do not exist or have not been implemented". [17]

For deaf individuals assistive devices, such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, are rehabilitation services that have some issues. The coordination between the technical standards and the healthcare professional is weak and has led to "insufficient use" of these devices. [18] In terms of health insurance, it is deemed[ by whom? ] to be highly segmented where many vulnerable populations are left out and "it can be assumed that large groups of persons with disabilities are not included in the health insurance system." [18] A September 2022 study found that "inequalities hinder access to and utilization of hearing related resources in among Pediatric Cochlear Implantation (PCI)". [19] There is currently little research and data specific evidence about the disability disparities in the healthcare system. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hearing loss</span> Partial or total inability to hear

Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken language, and in adults it can create difficulties with social interaction and at work. Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent. Hearing loss related to age usually affects both ears and is due to cochlear hair cell loss. In some people, particularly older people, hearing loss can result in loneliness.

The three models of deafness are rooted in either social or biological sciences. These are the cultural model, the social model, and themedicalmodel. The model through which the deaf person is viewed can impact how they are treated as well as their own self perception. In the cultural model, the Deaf belong to a culture in which they are neither infirm nor disabled, but rather have their own fully grammatical and natural language. In the medical model, deafness is viewed undesirable, and it is to the advantage of the individual as well as society as a whole to "cure" this condition. The social model seeks to explain difficulties experienced by deaf individuals that are due to their environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cochlear implant</span> Prosthesis

A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech understanding in both quiet and noisy environments. A CI bypasses acoustic hearing by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Through everyday listening and auditory training, cochlear implants allow both children and adults to learn to interpret those signals as speech and sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf culture</span> Culture of deaf persons

Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label, especially within the culture, the word deaf is often written with a capital D and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. When used as a label for the audiological condition, it is written with a lower case d. Carl G. Croneberg coined the term "Deaf Culture" and he was the first to discuss analogies between Deaf and hearing cultures in his appendices C/D of the 1965 Dictionary of American Sign Language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audiology</span> Branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders

Audiology is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactively prevent related damage. By employing various testing strategies, audiologists aim to determine whether someone has normal sensitivity to sounds. If hearing loss is identified, audiologists determine which portions of hearing are affected, to what degree, and where the lesion causing the hearing loss is found. If an audiologist determines that a hearing loss or vestibular abnormality is present, they will provide recommendations for interventions or rehabilitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Speech School</span> School in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States

The Atlanta Speech School is a language and literacy school located in Atlanta, Georgia, established in 1938. The school provides educational and clinical programs. The Atlanta Speech School's Rollins Center provides professional development for teachers and educators in partner schools and preschools. The Rollins Center focuses on the eradication of illiteracy. The Rollins Center has an online presence called Cox Campus, which is an online learning environment with coursework targeted for the education of children age 0–8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf education</span> Education of the deaf and hard of hearing

Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve with a typical classroom education. There are different language modalities used in educational setting where students get varied communication methods. A number of countries focus on training teachers to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid deaf students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egyptian Sign Language</span> Sign language used in Egypt

Egyptian Sign Language is a sign language used by members of the deaf community in Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Institute of Speech and Hearing</span> Rehabilitation institute in India

The National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) is an institute devoted to the education and rehabilitation of individuals with speech-language and hearing impairments located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city in the Indian state of Kerala. It was established in 1997 on the initiative of the state of Kerala and is a self-financing affiliate college of the University of Kerala. Academics at NISH is unique in the sense that NISH has an integrated campus where students with hearing impairment and students with normal hearing share the same campus. Bachelor's level courses exclusively for students with hearing impairment include Degree courses in Fine Arts, Computer Science and Commerce affiliated to University of Kerala. On the other hand, NISH also provides RCI approved professional courses at undergraduate level and graduate level in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology as well as diploma courses affiliated to Kerala Health University (KUHS)

Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written with a lower case d. It later came to be used in a cultural context to refer to those who primarily communicate through sign language regardless of hearing ability, often capitalized as Deaf and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. The two definitions overlap but are not identical, as hearing loss includes cases that are not severe enough to impact spoken language comprehension, while cultural Deafness includes hearing people who use sign language, such as children of deaf adults.

Despite having the largest economy in South America or Central America, Brazil is still considered a developing country due to its low gross domestic product, or GDP, per capita, low living standards, high infant mortality rate and other factors. "With regard to hearing health, the Brazilian government established the national policy for giving attention to hearing health in 2004, in which the Ministry of Health, considering the social magnitude of hearing impairment in the Brazilian population and its consequences, presented the proposal to structure a network of services set up by regions and in hierarchy that aims to be implemented in all federative units of Brazil, with integrated actions to promote ear health, hearing impairment prevention, treatment and rehabilitation organized and managed by the National Health System, Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), in Portuguese," writes Bevilacqua et al. (2010)

Language deprivation in deaf and hard-of-hearing children is a delay in language development that occurs when sufficient exposure to language, spoken or signed, is not provided in the first few years of a deaf or hard of hearing child's life, often called the critical or sensitive period. Early intervention, parental involvement, and other resources all work to prevent language deprivation. Children who experience limited access to language—spoken or signed—may not develop the necessary skills to successfully assimilate into the academic learning environment. There are various educational approaches for teaching deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Decisions about language instruction is dependent upon a number of factors including extent of hearing loss, availability of programs, and family dynamics.

Language exposure for children is the act of making language readily available and accessible during the critical period for language acquisition. Deaf and hard of hearing children, when compared to their hearing peers, tend to face more hardships when it comes to ensuring that they will receive accessible language during their formative years. Therefore, deaf and hard of hearing children are more likely to have language deprivation which causes cognitive delays. Early exposure to language enables the brain to fully develop cognitive and linguistic skills as well as language fluency and comprehension later in life. Hearing parents of deaf and hard of hearing children face unique barriers when it comes to providing language exposure for their children. Yet, there is a lot of research, advice, and services available to those parents of deaf and hard of hearing children who may not know how to start in providing language.

In Ireland, 8% of adults are affected by deafness or severe hearing loss. In other words, 300,000 Irish require supports due to their hearing loss.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deafness in the Windward Islands</span>

The Windward Islands are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea that include Dominica, Martinique, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada. A variety of cultures, beliefs, languages, and views of deafness exist on the islands.

South Korea's Deaf population began to come to prominence in recorded history in the late 19th century with the implementation of special education. Since then, they have gained government recognition and legal rights.

Deafness in Thailand refers to the population and culture of Deaf Hard of Hearing people in Thailand. Deafness in Thailand includes language emergence, organizations, healthcare, employment, schooling, and civil rights.

Nicaragua's total population is 6,000,000, but a reliable count of the number of deaf people in Nicaragua is difficult to obtain. In 2009, a law was passed in which Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL) was named as the official language of deaf people in Nicaragua. NSL is a newer sign language that emerged less than 50 years ago when deaf children started attending school. Due to the country's lack of early childhood hearing screenings, hearing loss is often undetected and left untreated. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children often face language deprivation due to the lack of language input they experience until they enter school. There are many schools in different cities in Nicaragua; however, the majority of deaf children throughout the country are not attending school. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people also face struggles when finding employment opportunities. NSL isn't an endangered sign language, but the total number of people who use the language are under 10,000.

Out of nearly 59 million people in Italy, about 3.5 million Italians have some form of hearing loss. Among them, around 70,000 people are severely deaf. The European Union for the Deaf reports that the majority of the deaf people in Italy use Italian Sign Language (LIS). LIS has been an official sign language in Italy since 2021. Italy, among other countries, ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and is slowly improving conditions for deaf humans in Italy. Many major organizations in Italy fight for deaf rights and spread awareness to the Italian National Agency for the protection and assistance of the Deaf and Associated Italian Families for the Defense of the Rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals (FIADDA). Newborns in Italy also receive universal hearing screenings. Education in Italy is directed towards oralism, although sign language is also used. LIS is a stable language and is used by approximately 40,000 users in Italy.

The Filipino Sign Language (FSL) is the official language of education for deaf Filipinos, which number around 121,000 as of 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Deaf in Egypt". The Deaf Unit, Cairo. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  2. 1 2 Fan, Ryan Carl. Verb agreement, negation, and aspectual marking in Egyptian sign language. OCLC   902680016.
  3. ↑ "Egypt". African Sign Languages Resource Center. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  4. 1 2 "About Us". The Deaf Unit, Cairo. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  5. 1 2 3 "About Deaf Ministry International | Aid Organisation | Sign Language". Deaf Ministry International. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "2.9 million children examined for hearing impairment: Health ministry - Health - Egypt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  7. ↑ "Awake ABR | Auditory evoked potentials (AEP) | Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) | Hearing Screening". vivosonic.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  8. 1 2 Imam, Safaa S.; El-Farrash, Rania A.; Taha, Hesham M.; Bishoy, Helbees E. (2013-09-12). "Targeted versus Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening in a Single Egyptian Center". ISRN Pediatrics. 2013: 574937. doi: 10.1155/2013/574937 . ISSN   2090-4703. PMC   3791811 . PMID   24167734.
  9. 1 2 "For Parents, Family & Friends". The Deaf Unit, Cairo. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  10. 1 2 "Treating hearing impairment in infants - Egypt - Al-Ahram Weekly". Ahram Online. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  11. 1 2 TherapyTravelers (2019-02-12). "Language Deprivation". TherapyTravelers. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Ahmed, Mona; Mohamed, Montaser; Ali, Rasha; Ahmed, Mohammed (2019-11-01). "Documentation of delayed language development in Upper Egypt". Egyptian Journal of Ear, Nose, Throat and Allied Sciences. 20 (3): 122–130. doi: 10.21608/ejentas.2019.11294.1091 . ISSN   2090-3405. S2CID   210899472.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Deaf School". The Deaf Unit, Cairo. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  14. 1 2 3 Al Gazzaz, Rana (2021-06-18). Inclusive Employment for Persons with Disabilities Post COVID-19 in Egypt: Digitization as the Way Forward (Thesis).
  15. 1 2 "Egypt". Disability:IN. Retrieved 2022-11-08.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Documentary with CCI , retrieved 2022-11-17
  17. 1 2 Rohwerder, B. (2018). Disability in North Africa. K4D Helpdesk Report. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
  18. 1 2 3 Gutenbrunner, C; Nugraha, B (2018). "Responding to the World Health Organization Global Disability Action Plan in Egypt: A Technical Consultancy to develop a National Disability, Health and Rehabilitation Plan". Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 50 (4): 333–337. doi: 10.2340/16501977-2307 . ISSN   1650-1977. PMID   29392330.
  19. ↑ Omar, Mahmoud; Qatanani, Anas M.; Douglas, Nerone O.; Nawash, Baraa S.; Ibrahim, Tamara; Kaleem, Syed Z.; McKinnon, Brian J. (2022-09-01). "Sociodemographic disparities in pediatric cochlear implantation outcomes: A systematic review". American Journal of Otolaryngology. 43 (5): 103608. doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2022.103608. ISSN   0196-0709. PMID   35988363. S2CID   251633172.
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