To obtain clues to improve the present status of (re)habilitation for hearing-impaired children in Japan, we visited several hearing rehabilitation centers in Los Angeles between January 6 and January 8, 2020.
The following important findings were obtained.
1) The number of specialists, represented by speech-language pathologists and audiologist, involved in the (re)habilitation of hearing-impaired children was far higher in the United States (US), and this seems to be one of the biggest problems in Japan. To improve this situation, certification of speech therapists (STs) specializing in hearing should be promoted.
2) To provide higher-level auditory-verbal education to hearing-impaired children, training for specialists in auditory-verbal therapy should be promoted in medical schools.
3) The legislated system of free new-born hearing screening in the US is associated with an almost 100% coverage.
4) The legislated educational programs for early interventions in hearing-impaired children in the US, such as Early Intervention Program and Indivisual Education Plan, in which multi-occupational specialists are involved in seamless care of the children, probably represent the biggest difference between our two countries, and appears to be among the biggest causes of problems in (re)habilitation of hearing-impaired children in Japan.
5) Inclusive education, where both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children are educated in the same class, was another impressive educational measure for hearing-impaired children in the US.
6) A system for deciding on the communication method for each child is operated in an organized manner by multi-occupational specialists, leading to early precise orientation of communication for each child.
7) We are amazed to note that most of those centers and schools are administered financially by donation as well as (re)habilitation fees.
8) For those specialists in the (re)habilitation of hearing-impaired children in Japan such as STs to be evaluated properly, the fees for (re)habilitation by hearing and speech training in Japan should be similar to the fees in the US.
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