| ABSTRACT INFORMATION |
| Presenter Information: |
| Presenter 1: |
Name: Claudine Storbeck
Affiliation:
Claudine Storbeck founded the Centre for Deaf Studies at The University of the Witwatersrand ten years ago and the centre has been leading the way in Deaf education in South Africa since then. She is the founder and director of the HI HOPES programme, the 1st home-based family-centred early intervention programme for families of deaf infants in Africa and has been working in partnership with the SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University to develop a South Africanized version of the curriculum. Claudine has been named a world specialist in deaf education by the World Federation of the Deaf and has been involved in issues surrounding deaf education, teacher training and the education and support of young children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families for 15 years.
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| Presenter 2: |
Name: Paula Pittman
Affiliation:
Paula Pittman is the director of the SKI-HI and Deaf Mentor Outreach Projects at the SKI-HI Institute at Utah State University, and a national trainer for both Projects. She was involved in the development of the Deaf Mentor Curriculum and the new SKI-HI Curriculum Manuals. She also currently serves as a Parent Advisor in the Utah Parent Infant Program, and has been involved with issues surrounding the education of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families for 25 years
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| Author Information: |
| Author 1: |
Name: Dr. Claudine Storbeck
Affiliation: University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
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| Author 2: |
Name: Dr. Paula Pittman
Affiliation: Ski Hi Institute, Utah State University
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| Abstract Information: |
| Title: |
QUALITY CONTROL IN EARLY INTERVENTION |
| Primary Track: |
7-Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance
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| Keyword(s): |
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Abstract: |
EHDI in South Africa is still in its infancy, however, as pilot screening programmes are being established families now have the opportunity of accessing home-based early intervention services in five provinces of the country. HI HOPES, the early intervention programme which uses the USA based SKI HI curriculum, has been actively serving families for 2 1/2 years through the services of parent advisors and deaf mentors and is actively involved in a longitudinal research project. This paper focuses on the central aspect of quality control and the mechanisms being put into place to ensure quality service provision at all levels of the programme. Implementing intervention with the aim of achieving world-class standards has unique challenges, due to HI HOPES being a new programme and one in which struggles of poverty, lack of resources, services and multicultural contexts are a daily reality. We present that, despite the range of challenges evident, world-class standards should be the aim for home-based early intervention in South Africa and that families have the constitutional right to access services of the highest quality. We present a template for quality assurance mechanisms in developing countries and propose creative and novel ways of addressing current challenges facing South Africa and indeed Africa as a whole. |
| Presentation(s): |
Not Available
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| Handouts: |
Not Available
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