Awareness raising workshops and screening program at Tissamaharama

As a component of their final-year "Transfer of Skills" module, Batch 12 students reading the BSc. Speech and Hearing Sciences program, along with department members, organized a series of informative workshops at Debarawewa President Collage, Thissamaharama. These workshops aimed to raise awareness about disabilities and various conditions related to speech and hearing within different community groups. Specifically, the target audiences included parents of preschool children, preschool teachers, and the Prefect Guild of Debarawewa President College. This program took place on September 23, 2023.

Parallel to the workshop series, Hearing Screening and Speech and Language Screening programs were carried out on the same day. A total of 43 children participated in the hearing screening program, with 19 of them showing hearing-related issues. Caregivers of these children received counseling on appropriate management options, and referrals were made to nearby Audiology clinics and hospitals for comprehensive diagnostic hearing evaluations.

A total of 245 students with speech and language difficulties were screened. 35 detailed assessments were conducted to identify in-depth speech and language and education-related difficulties. Parental advice and necessary referrals were made to the District General Hospital, Hambantota, and nearby hospitals. Caregivers of the children with speech and language difficulties secondary to educational aspects were given many home-based strategies to use in their day-to-day activities.