Help 30 Russian kids with hearing loss communicate

One of the developments at our Club for hearing impaired toddlers and their families is tthat in the last year we have invited more families from outside St Petersburg to join us.  Some come from as far away as Vladivostok in the far East or from other republics, like Kyrgystan, for treatment in St Petersburg.  While they are with us, they are able to find friendship and therapeutic support for their child's development.  They are also creating happy memories of what could otherwise be a difficult time in our city.

We also have a family whose past is more traumatic and future more uncertain.  Anastasia and Nazar, mother and son, are refugees from eastern Ukraine.  They have been living with relatives in St Petersburg and coming to our Club since March.  They were lucky enough to meet one of our parents, who invited them to come along.

The Club has helped the family hugely in practical and emotional ways. It was particularly important for Anastasia to find such a group, since she uses sign language exclusively to communicate.  The parents she has met at the Club have helped her orient herself in the city and find other ways of engaging with the deaf community.  The Club was also able to lend Nazar a hearing aid, since his was lost in the rush to leave their home.  In June Nazar was able to start at a specialist kindergarten for deaf children, again with our help.  Our audiologist provided a fresh diagnosis and smoothed the path through the bureacracy involved in getting a place for Nazar. 

Anna, the relative they have been staying with, tells us that Nazar is enjoying kindergarten very much and will be going on summer camp this year.  Anastasia has also found a job. They are very grateful for the help they have received from the club.

With summer, we also said goodbye to some of our older children who will be going to mainstream kindergartens.  We are very proud of them.  They are able to play on their own and with other children.  They can also ask grown-ups for help when they need to.  It will be much easier for them to integrate into their new kindergarten with these skills.  We look forward to welcoming new families in September.  In the meantime, we wish you a very happy summer.