REPORT 2010 - Telethon Speech and Hearing

Telethon Speech + Hearing 2010 Annual Report
these hospitals to ensure that all babies born at private
hospitals are offered newborn hearing screening. Whilst
these hospitals have made some attempt to implement
a program, our belief is that our program offers
comprehensive early intervention following screening
for those identified as having a loss, setting it apart
from any other program.
During this year we have continued our talks with
midwives and have given some talks at antenatal and
postnatal classes. Our aim is to raise awareness of
the prevalence of hearing loss in newborns and of the
importance of screening as soon as possible after birth.
We also commenced filming for a DVD which is aimed
to raise awareness of the importance of early screening
for hearing loss, particularly for parents and midwives.
It is anticipated that this DVD will be completed and
disseminated to hospitals in 2011 for use in wards
and antenatal classes.
Lara Shur
Manager Ear Health Services
Better Hearing Australia (WA) Inc.
Better Hearing Australia (WA) strives to improve the
quality of life for our adult Deaf and Hard of Hearing
West Australian community. We work in areas of advice,
advocacy, awareness, education and support.
July 2010 saw the official amalgamation of BHAWA
with Telethon Speech & Hearing. This amalgamation
has ensured Better Hearing is better equipped to grow
valuable services and programs and meet the changing
needs of the community we serve.
The Hearing Loss Management classes, which include
lip-reading, continued throughout 2010 with a growth in
participants toward the end of year. We also continued
to provide our resources to WA hospitals, organisations
and the broader community. We were pleased to
introduce the new personal BHA hospital kit in 2010
and establish a tactile resource area in the new Better
Hearing facility at Wembley. Through access to the
tools required to make informed decisions on hearing
loss, these initiatives have ensured an improvement
in our support for consumers.
Hearing Awareness Week in 2010 was once again
supported by Better Hearing and the annual BHA
Clear Speech Awards continue to be a significant
part of this week.
Our Deaf community group SODA – Social Support
of Deaf Adults, was established in 2010. Better Hearing
provide our facilities for the interaction and support of
the adult WA Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
Social and educational programs were run throughout
2010 which proved beneficial for both SODA and Better
Hearing participants.
Having established ourselves as a valued service
of Telethon Speech & Hearing in 2010, we anticipate
an exciting and rewarding future.
Julie Edmonds
Manager Better Hearing Australia (WA)
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