EDA Bamako Mali  

EDA Bamako Mali
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EDA Bamako Mali
   par Issa Coulibaly   
Table of contents
 
History of speech therapy in Mali

As a result of the establishment of the medical-psychological and educational centre, new disciplines like ergo therapy, psychotherapy, special education, physical therapy and speech therapy have arisen.

To assure the re-education of young children with a mental deficiency I have followed a training in the domain of speech therapy in 1998. The training which took 18 months covered theory and practice. Initially the group counted five. Three have stopped and I am the only one that has continued up till now.
Medical, psychological and educational centre
The speech therapy discipline is one of seven disciplines that the division of therapy is comprised of. Besides being head of the discipline my role in the multi-disciplinary team is to:
  • Evaluate language difficulties amongst all children less than 3 years old Prepare files for the speech synthesis
  • Prepare clinical meetings
  • Communicate the results to the parents and respond to any of their complaints
  • Plan for extra education (in line with the objectives) for children re-doing a year
  • Plan and prepare children that are able to retain from the therapy for regular schooling and re-integration
This means that by the end of the school year:
  • ‘93/94’, 10 are admitted to integrated classes
  • ‘94/’95, 12 are admitted to integrated classes
  • ‘95/’96, 6 are admitted to integrated classesS
  • ‘96/’97, 6 are admitted to integrated classes
  • ‘97/’98, 3 are admitted to integrated classes
  • ‘98/’99, 3 are admitted to integrated classes
  • ‘99/2000, 1 are admitted to integrated classes
  • 2000/2001, 7 are admitted to integrated classes
  • 2001/2002, 10 are admitted to integrated classes
  • 2002/2003, 9 are admitted to integrated classes
Between 1997 and 2000 the rate dropped considerably. This was the period in which I was ill: a fractured tibia and left fibula.
Centre for screening and care of the deaf
In October 2004 I arrived at the school for children with a hearing impairment (EDA)
The Activities
When I arrived in the speech therapy room of the screening centre, I simply found a desk without chairs, a library with empty shelves, a cupboard, a working “suvac” (an instrument that measures the tones) and two audiometers that were out of order. With the help of Mrs. Anneke Buikema (speech therapist) and the foundation “Stichting Vrienden van Bamako” we expanded our didactic material, lotos, puzzles, the construction of six chairs and a working desk.
I established a working schedule which I submitted to the person in charge of pedagogic. The schedule indicated that I had to make sure that all children would enter nursery school all the way up to the last class of primary school. Due to certain factors, I had to dedicate my efforts to the nursery school. Here, I opened a file which contained an individual information form, a medical form and their general performance.
To make sure that all children receive attention I put in place a rotation system for the children as well as the classes. Monday was for the older ones, Tuesday for the middle aged ones and Thursday for the little ones. Each class is divided into groups of 4 to 5 children that rotate throughout the day. Thursday is reserved for those who are impaired (but not deaf) and those with a hearing aid. Fridays is reserved for exams and consultations.
Speech therapy report year 2006 – 2007
After having received confirmation from the school I developed a program for the children to::
  • Evaluate all the children with a hearing impairment.
  • the hearing aids after assuring perfect social integration.
1 Specificities of my responsibilities
The work focuses on an oral language examination (stock lexical), phonotary word system but also specifically permits the child to discover his or her “auditive” environment and its different dimensions: :
  • What makes it a sounds and the type of sound
  • Social: which sounds are accepted and which not
  • Culturally: codification of sounds into language
  • Vocabulary: expressions
2 Available groups 
  • Language group
  • Rhythmic group
  • Logic-mathematical group
3 Individual sessions 
  • Oralisation and auditive perception
  • Acquisation of reading material and writing
  • Cognitive ability: attention, memory, logic, organisation, structure, space and temporal
  • Stimulate perception of sounds and vibrations
  • Develop the control over the volume of the voice
  • Develop the articulation of words and language
  • Encourage oral expression
4 The activities

The realization of education material for reading and communicating in sign language. Furthermore:
  • In the first semester: 3 evaluations were held, nine working group sessions, 26 individual working sessions and 10 audiograms were achieved
  • In the second semester: 4 evaluations, 10 group sessions, 30 individual sessions and 30 audiograms (per pupil) were held.
  • In the 3rd semester there were 7 working group sessions, 32 individual sessions and 10 audiograms (per pupil)
In the appendix you will find a table to illustrate this. For the year 2006/2007 I have counted 50 hearing impaired pupils, of whom most could hear with one hear. In the case of receiving a hearing aid, they have all learned to express themselves orally. The audiograms have been carried out in collaboration with the technical assistant of the O.R.L. service.
A - The classes
A variety of pre-reading and pre-calculating sessions, were carried out in the nursery classes, as well as modelling and painting sessions.
B- Difficulties
Difficulties can be found at two levels:
  1. At the level of the teachers: They do not have the correct training required for the “borel de maison” methodology nor is it sufficient for the speech therapy reading and the L.P.C. (complete language talking)
  2. The family: They are not at all involved. They have to work closely with the school for the interest of the child. They will need a training in sign language and precocious responsibilities
  3. 3. Recommendation: to organise training sessions for the teachers and parents. Realize visits to the child’s home.
Conclusion
My completed working program has not been achieved as I had wished. For the school year 2007/2008 I would have liked to put in place a training for the teachers and the parents of the children to guarantee more and better care. Furthermore, if the 50 pupils with a hearing impairment would benefit from a hearing prosthesis, their social integration and school performance will improve greatly.
    		   
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