03/06/09: UB Students Help BPS Students Hear and See Clearly

Original YNN Buffalo Air Date: 03/25/09
Daniel is a child who knows what he wants, and knows how to communicate well.
He’s one of nearly 850 children getting screened for hearing and language skills through the University of Buffalo.
This spring, the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences is holding clinics at 18 Head Start centers across the Queen City, thanks to a $16,000 grant from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
Normally UB speech pathology students like Erin Silky screen children once a year around September. But the grant allows the coeds to come out and do re-screenings all year long.
The UB clinic also looks for any developmental changes in younger patients who were under three when they first seen.
A lot can change between two and a half and five years old. The evaluations can pick up a child with fluid on the ear, hearing loss, articulation errors and even some behavioral and learning disabilities.
The program offers parents pamphlets and one-on-one sessions on what steps they can take toward preparing their child for grade school. This includes referral to pediatricians, therapists and audiologist.