Mysore/Mysuru: All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru, is holding New-born Care Week from Nov.15 to 21 to raise awareness about the new-born care, specifically focusing on the importance of early identification and intervention of babies at risk for communication disorders.

In a developing country like India, where the infant mortality rate and neonatal infections are high, there is a dire necessity for public education on new-born care. And it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their babies are screened for communication disorders within days after birth. It is, therefore, of paramount importance to screen all the new-born babies to help them grow normally.

“As a parent you should also know that with the advancement in technology, hearing loss can be identified on the day of birth itself. This is very important as hearing loss is a hidden condition and parents may identify it late. In such instances the child does not start speaking like other children of the same age group. This will have serious consequences on the quality of life of the child and the parents,” stated a press release from AIISH.

If the new-born is identified with hearing loss, the rehabilitation should happen within 3 months of age as early intervention can pave the way for developing normal speech in such infants. With this motive, Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists from AIISH visit various Hospitals in and around Mysuru to provide free screening for communication disorders.

AIISH has set up several outreach service centres also and hence the services are available even in rural areas.

AIISH had organised a free new-born hearing screening from Nov.16 to 18. For details contact A.R.Keerthi of AIISH on Mob: 98441-81080.