Thank you, Mr. Speaker. May was Speech and Hearing Month, and many of us take our ability to communicate for granted, but the ability to speak, hear and be heard is far more vital to our everyday lives than most of us realize. One in six Canadians has a speech, language or hearing problem.
Each year Speech-Language and Audiology Canada dedicates the month of May to raising public awareness about communication disorders. This year in the month of May, speech-language pathologists, audiologists and supportive personnel joined forces to highlight the importance of early detection and intervention in the treatment of communication disorders. Whether working with a child with autism, an adult with impaired hearing or an elderly person recovering from a stroke, their goal is this: to help people speak well, hear well, live well.
We have many chronic health conditions in the North, and hearing loss is one of them. Canada wide, hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic condition behind arthritis and hypertension, and half of all cases of hearing loss are preventable.
Hearing loss is one of the most common major conditions that is present at birth. Approximately three to five babies per 1,000 born each year have some degree of hearing loss. It’s a condition that affects a child’s understanding and use of language, and it’s one that can be easily screened for in newborns. It’s a condition that can affect a child’s cognitive, social, emotional, academic and communication development, and the sooner the hearing problem is detected the better the chances for improvement and future success of the child.
That said, historically, hospitals only screen high-risk babies for hearing loss, but studies show that nearly half of all babies with hearing loss have no high-risk factors, so they don’t get screened. All newborns should be screened. Early identification allows for earlier intervention, which can enhance a hearing-impaired child’s development. An accurate and objective hearing screening test on a newborn can be completed in less than five minutes. The typical quoted cost is about $35. On the flipside, every case of unidentified hearing loss has been estimated to cost taxpayers $1 million.
We do have a hearing screening program in the NWT for newborns.
I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted
Thanks to my colleagues. Our hearing screening program is sponsored by the Stanton Territorial Health Authority and the Department of Health and Social Services, and it’s delivered at every birthing centre in the NWT. However, it is a voluntary service for parents.
All children in the NWT deserve access to proper hearing screening to help them reach their full potential. Newborn and infant hearing screening programs must be mandated for all NWT newborns, no matter where they are born. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Bisaro. The Member for Inuvik Boot Lake, Mr. Moses.
