Parent Infant Program

The most crucial years for learning a language for a child are during the first three years of his/her life. Parent Infant Program at NISH aims to provide access to a learning environment by supporting and training both the deaf child as well his/her parents/guardians thereby equipping the child with receptive and expressive language. The child under the age of 3 is referred to the PIP after audiological evaluation and being fitted with appropriate hearing aids. He/She is then admitted to the program after the counselling session. The child should not have any additional disabilities.  Admission is open throughout the year. There is no lower age limit for admission.  Training is given in one language- English/Malayalam depending on the fluency of language of the parent.

Preschool

After the training at Parent Infant Program (PIP) the students enter the preschool at 2.6 to 3 years. The Preschool Program aims to develop age-appropriate cognitive, communicative, language and social skills. The focus is also given to developing pre-reading and pre-writing skills. The preschool provides a language intensive program with an innovative curriculum designed for children with hearing impairment. Continuous assessments are done to track the children’s language and other areas of development.

Apart from language training, services provided for the children are

• Psychological Intervention
• Audiological Intervention
• Parent Guidance & Counselling

The children admitted to the Auditory Oral Program at NISH, after having acquired receptive and expressive language skills on par with their hearing peers are integrated into the mainstream which is by and large the aim of the program.