PREVENT CHILDREN FROM FEELING IGNORED

Azat Artsakh – Nagorno Karabakh Republic [NKR]
14 July 05

At the end of June a seminar for the parents of deaf children was held
in Stepanakert. At the seminar the head of the department of education
of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport Arkady Tovmassian,
head of the department of the Ministry of Social Security Gallina
Somova, the chairman of the Association of the Deaf Bella Grigorian,
the executive director of HanganakNGO Gohar Hovhanissian, ENT
specialist Bella Melkumian, teacher Aida Sevlikian and parents of deaf
children participated. The topic of the seminar was the future of the
children having hearing problems. The participants shared the opinion
that the rights of these children are neglected in our country,
secondary and higher education, choice of a profession and an equal
status in the societyare not available for them. The reason is that
there is no organization in the republic which deals with the problem
of deaf people. The parents pointed out the urgency of founding a
special boarding school for deaf children. The only place where the
children can get education is the school no. 11 of Stepanakert where
there are special classes for children who cannot hear. However, there
are many children in the villages where they cannot even get a medical
treatment, let alone education. The parents have to take their
children to ordinary schools, which affects both the physical and
mental state of the children. Certain parents are convinced that
theirs the right way of education of a deaf child, and when their
method proves ineffective, they fall in despair. The reason is that
there is no objective system of providing information to the families
of deaf children. The parents do not have information about the
methods of treatment, hearing aids and, most importantly, education
which would enablethe child to find his or her path to follow. This is
violation of the rights of children who cannot hear and their
parents. The parents often do not know to whom to turn and often stop
trusting the specialists they had turned to. “These children not only
need the love and care of their parents but also the special attitude
of the society and the state,” said the chairman of the NKR
Association of the Deaf, Bella Grigorian. The boarding school for
invalid children and quality specialists remain the main problem. “It
is impossible without the language of gestures. We seek for complete
rehabilitation of children with hearing problems without isolating
them in special institutions,” said Ms. Grigorian. The parents were
grateful that they could get answers to some of their questions.

EVIKA BABAYAN.
14-07-2005