The primary objectives of this project are to bring together the strengths and knowledge of schools-families-students-universities-social advocacy groups - governments-companies-hospitals-and volunteers in our partner countries in terms of health and care issues related to hearing abilities of students with deafness and hearing impairments. We pursue the objectives of training special education teachers in primary and secondary schools through intensive training programs as being our direct target group. Our direct target group also includes students with deafness and hearing impairments and their families. Indirect target groups are university institutions, academics, in-service teachers, mentors, tutors, education authorities, rehabilitation services for students with deafness and hearing impairments and health field workers. Another objective is to increase the service capacities of special education schools, addressing proper integration of health and hearing care components into school service, identifying best practices of partner countries, investigating hearing and health care practices of partner countries, empowering professional work between academicians and special education teachers to provide better developed teaching and variety of activities. Our mobility activities are short terms joint staff trainings where special education teachers will be trained via a specifically designed course subjects by professionals. Each single day of training will be particularly designed to examine and convey certain project objectives. Doctors, academicians, speech therapists, audiologists and teacher trainers will employ these mobility activities by presenting their own expertises. Intellectual outputs are open online module where it covers lectures from health and hearing field professionals regarding to deafness and hearing impairment. Lectures will be recorded in 5 languages including English, German, Spanish, Slovak and Turkish and their corresponding sign languages to be published in our interactive, multilingual and deaf accessible web site. Another intellectual output is study and analysis covering crucial health and care issues of hearing such as prevalence, causes and prevention of deafness and hearing impairment, examination of the ear, detection, screening and testing of hearing impairment, ear operations, rehabilitation and education, hearing aids, cochlear implants usage, effectiveness and misbelieves, what families of students with DHI should primarily know and apply in house settings about hearing care, and possibilities of health condition variations of these children with DHI. We will follow the methodology of data collecting about above mentioned subjects by employing interviews, questionnaires, document analysis and scientific articles and reports analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies will be employed by our partner academics in cooperation with special education teachers. Dissemination activities are final conference and workshops where project outcomes will be disseminated through conference presentations, journal articles, and website including open online module, publications and output package as in DVD format. Evaluation will serve to examine the progression of the project outcomes by conducting internal and external evaluations in interview and survey formats. The project’s envisaged results are bridging the gap between the works of health field experts/institutions and special education schools/teachers in terms of combining the strengths of these people and institutions to provide better service, health care and care related to hearing of students with deafness and hearing impairments. Also, empowering service capacity of special education schools in diverse ways will provide long term benefits for these schools to diversify the quality of education/service that they utilize in the future. It will furthermore encourage health field experts, academics, teacher trainers, education advisers or authorities to collaborate actively in the education process of students with deafness and hearing impairments, their families and special education teachers in real classroom and school settings.
The primary objectives of this project were to bring together the strengths and knowledge of schools-families-students-universities-social advocacy groups- governments-companies-hospitals-and volunteers in our partner countries in terms of health and care issues related to hearing abilities of students with deafness and hearing impairments in order to increase the lacking practical support and application capabilities of special education schools. In this Project, by working with special education needs children’s teachers (SENTs), we enabled them to learn the best practices and educational methods via guiding them in terms of materials, vocational education, and problems of hearing impaired children and their families. We educated the hearing impaired and their families on auditory health and care. We pursued the objectives of training SENTs, our target group, in primary and secondary schools through intensive training direct programs. Our direct target group also included deaf and hearing impaired (DHI) students with and their families. The educational sessions included ear –hearing examinations as well as lectures given by speech therapists, audiologists, and hearing specialists on exterior, medial, and interior ear structures and functions according to the level of each group. Moreover, information on sanitary hearing devices, requirements of / for cochlear implants and hearing aids, necessary care and maintenance were provided to all participants. The educations provided were recorded and open to access in English, German, Spanish, Slovenian, and Turkish and their corresponding sign languages at our interactive, multilingual and deaf accessible web site. An educational setting was formed by bringing together and enabling mutual cooperation of SENTs and various specialists related to hearing, hearing devices and maintenance . Our weak aspects and issues forming a threat to DHI children were the main points addressed in the project. Our strengths were sharings made with our partners. The conditions in Turkey regarding auditory health were determined to be better. Related services were better and free of charge. However, cooperation among diverse institutions were determined to be poor and in need of further improvement. Cooperation with universities would have significant contributions to enable SENTs to be up to date. A consensus was reached to hand in a proposal to the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) to direct DHI schools for the hearing impaired for vocational education and training. Moreover, physiotherapy halls in DHI schools were considered to be a necessity. Likewise, sSound therapy rooms are also to be established in DHI schools. Thus, MoNE will be handed in a proposal to employ at least two sound therapists in these schools. A handbook for sound therapy in these schools is also to be acquired. Sign language has a significant role in the personal development of especially the totally hearing impaired and ao of those who have advanced hearing impairment. Therefore, MoNE will be handed in another report in order to prevent quite normal children to receive sign language education. Among the major outcomes of the present project are the video shootings, major factor to increase project impact, on diverse topics in which DHI related issues were addressed. The latest score were 16 videos and this number is still increasing. These video shootings will be continued according to emerging new problems and possible solutions. An open access web site based on the data gathered throughout the project will serve as a data bank to be used by all the hearing impaired throughout the world. This web site will be active for at least five years. Moreover, the common project tasks will available at the web sites of all partners. Hence, those in need of the data obtained from the present project are going to be able to obtain and benefit from these for many years. The mobility program, meetings, articles written, brochures and booklets printed have contributed to the efficiencies of the teachers working at DHI schools. The outcomes were shared with other DHI schools and universities in order to provide a larger distribution of the outcomes and prolonged use of the insights gained. A further aim, publication of at least three articles, is currently available on the web site. These have significant importance as they will enable the hearing impaired to determine their strategy and future actions/decisions. Among the tasks to audit the project, a final and a semi-final conference were held and the brochures, articles, and booklets were dispersed to a large community. Overall, considering project activities and outcomes, all aims determined at the beginning of the project were successfully accomplished.