Miss-Delectable
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MSP wants better data on deaf children - Hamilton Advertiser
HAMILTON South MSP Tom McCabe this week threw his weight behind a National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Scotland’s campaign to gather accurate data on the number of deaf children in Scotland.
There is at present no national register, despite the introduction in 2005 of tests for the new-born.
NDCS Scotland use birth prevalence rates from elsewhere in the UK to estimate that there are 2891 deaf children in Scotland today, at least 1800 of whom are of school age. However the latest Scottish school census, Pupils in Scotland 2007, records only 905 deaf pupils in Scotland’s schools.
The Hamilton South MSP has written to South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire to ask how many deaf children are being supported in Hamilton South.
Christopher Ratcliffe, director of NDCS Scotland, says: “The advent of Newborn Hearing Screening tests in 2005 was a golden opportunity to start a nationally-agreed register of deaf children which would allow us to accurately track and monitor their progress. Yet, three years on, we still have no central record of the number of Scottish children diagnosed with a hearing loss at birth.
“NDCS estimate that there are almost twice as many deaf pupils in Scotland’s schools than recorded in the official schools census.”
Backing the campaign, Mr McCabe said: “We cannot ensure that our children can access the support they need unless we know how many children there are.”
HAMILTON South MSP Tom McCabe this week threw his weight behind a National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Scotland’s campaign to gather accurate data on the number of deaf children in Scotland.
There is at present no national register, despite the introduction in 2005 of tests for the new-born.
NDCS Scotland use birth prevalence rates from elsewhere in the UK to estimate that there are 2891 deaf children in Scotland today, at least 1800 of whom are of school age. However the latest Scottish school census, Pupils in Scotland 2007, records only 905 deaf pupils in Scotland’s schools.
The Hamilton South MSP has written to South Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire to ask how many deaf children are being supported in Hamilton South.
Christopher Ratcliffe, director of NDCS Scotland, says: “The advent of Newborn Hearing Screening tests in 2005 was a golden opportunity to start a nationally-agreed register of deaf children which would allow us to accurately track and monitor their progress. Yet, three years on, we still have no central record of the number of Scottish children diagnosed with a hearing loss at birth.
“NDCS estimate that there are almost twice as many deaf pupils in Scotland’s schools than recorded in the official schools census.”
Backing the campaign, Mr McCabe said: “We cannot ensure that our children can access the support they need unless we know how many children there are.”