Today was our first day at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The teaching hospital is located in Kumasi, Ghana. When we arrived we met Albert Osei-Bagyina, the only speech therapist who works at the hospital. The faculty at Teachers College created English and Twi versions of the Osei-Bagyina Test of Articulation (OBTAT) and gave it to Albert. These two assessments will further aid clincians in Ghana in determining the strengths and weaknesses in the articulation of children who speak English and/or Twi.
After our meeting with Albert, we split up into groups of 4-5 and provided services to children with speech, language and/or hearing disabilities. The most rewarding experience of the day occurred when a mother came in for a follow-up of her young son. Last January, the mother found out that her son needed a hearing aid but her son would not let her put the hearing aid in his ear. Lindsay, along with students from january’s team created a social story to help him learn why the hearing aid was important and how it would help him. Social stories describe a situation or concept, highlighting important parts and presenting common reactions. They are created to help a child understand and be comfortable with an uncomfortable or confusing situation. In this case, the boy’s social story was to get him to wear his hearing aid so he could hear his mother. It was amazing to see the mother return today with her son wearing his hearing aid. It was even more gratifying to see Lindsay’s reaction, knowing she had made such a big impact on his life. His mother brought the social story to the hospital today. She still reads the story three times a day to him. He can now wear his hearing aid for up to three hours at a time. This was our “AHA” moment, being able to see the impact made in this family’s life. Tomorrow we will be back at hospital. We are so ready to get to work. Tune in!!
