The Amaliya Foundation, an initiative of the Amalean Family which had produced a number of corporate sector leaders in the country had come up with a project to help the children with hearing impaired.

The main aim of the project is to provide an opportunity for hearing impaired children in the age group 0- 5 years to learn and develop speech with our comprehensive early intervention program. The program helps children to make best use of their residual hearing though the constant use of suitable hearing aids or cochlear implants to develop age appropriate language skills.

The curriculum prepares each child to enroll ma regular school at the age of 6 years. The principal of the Centre, Nisha Amalean having years of experience in dealing with hearing impaired children very successfully, explained that early intervention is crucial for hearing impaired children if they are to master speech and language.

She said that neural plasticity of the brain which enables children to learn and develop easily is very active in a child during the ages 0 to 3 years. Also any residual hearing the child is born with also begins to fade away as the child grows. Therefore she said that it is very important that parents ensure the child is fitted with hearing aids before 2 and half years of age and starts the learning process immediately.

This way the child will develop at a reasonable pace and enable easy learning including age appropriate language and memory skills. Development in these skills will also help to prevent secondary disabilities like frustration and temper tantrums. Amaliya ELC has formulated an effective syllabus to teach hearing impaired children and the parents who are considered equal partners in the program.

The methodology is named DHVANI - Development of Hearing, Voice and Natural Integration. It is an intensive language program that uses best practices in early childhood education to help infants and young children acquire age appropriate skills, language and speech. DHVANI Teacher Learning Materials (TLMs) develop various skills in the children and ensure that they are able to compete with children in the mainstream.

The outgoing students of the AELC will be capable of expressing themselves, read and write sentences independently and be comfortable with number concepts. They will exhibit functional independence and confidence in their social skills. Chairman of the Foundation Ajay Amalean, said a separate curriculum for hearing impaired children is important because, while normal children and their parents walk through life, and learn by listening naturally, hearing impaired children and their parents will have to work twice as hard to maximize the advantage of the critical age (0-3 Years) and the child’s residual hearing to have age appropriate learning by age 6”. “We believe our separate tried and tested curriculum which is intensive will pave the way for a hearing impaired child to integrate successfully into a regular school”

he said The Arnaliya Foundation was conceived by the Amalean Family with a view to strategically integrate their individual philanthropic work in order to have a greater and more sustainable impact on society. Guided by the values and ideals of the Amalean Family Constitution, the Foundation focuses on education for the elderly, the differently able and the youth of our society. The Center is located at R A De Mel Mawatha Colombo 5.