Early Intervention on Speech and Language Development of Pre-School Children with Hearing Impairments in Nakuru County, Kenya

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dc.contributor.advisorMathew Kinyuakariaen_US
dc.contributor.advisorTom Abuomen_US
dc.contributor.authorOkinyi, Jackline
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-06T12:20:17Z
dc.date.available2023-02-06T12:20:17Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.descriptionA Research Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Master of Education (Early Childhood and Special Needs) in the School of Education, Kenyatta University, November, 2022en_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the status of early intervention services ofpre-school children with hearing impairments in Nakuru County, Kenya. Several studies have emphasized the significance of early intervention services of children with hearing impairments during critical periods of language development. However, many children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Kenya are not identified for hearing loss early and do not receive timely intervention thus enter pre-school later than their hearing counterparts without a firm language base. The objectives of the study were to establish the type of early intervention services available for pre-school children with hearing impairments in Nakuru county; to examine the role of Special Needs Education(SNE)personnel in early intervention for pre-school children with hearing impairments in Nakuru county; to determine the level of parental involvement in early intervention services for pre-school children in Nakuru county; to identify barriers to early intervention on speech and language development among children with hearing impairments in Nakuru county. The study was guided by Lenneberg‟s “Critical period hypothesis” theory of language development. Descriptive survey design with mixed methods was adopted for the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from preschool teachers and Educational Assessment and Resource Centre (EARC) officers. Focus group discussion was used to gather information from parents and observation checklist was used to collect data from the children with hearing impairment. The study targeted six pre-school teachers teaching children with hearing impairment at Ngala school for the deaf and Koinange primary special unit for the Hearing Impaired, thirty (30) pre-school children in the Special school and unit, sixty (60) parents and three (3) EARC officers at Ngala Educational Assessment and Resource Center. Purposive sampling was used to select the special school and unit, Educational Assessment and Resource Center, pre-school teachers, EARC officers and the parents. Pilot study was done at Esageri Special School for the deaf in Mogotio Sub-County. The study showed that early intervention on speech and language development of children with hearing impairment has been achieved fairly to some extent. Teachers adopted some appropriate communication strategies to enhance the children‟s achievement in speech and language skills. However, most of the key intervention services from the Special Needs Education professionals were offered on a minimal scale. The level of parental involvement was found to be minimal to a large extent. Various challenges mitigated against effective provision of early intervention services. Based on the study findings, recommendations and suggestions for further studies were made. The major recommendations were that the government should put in place adequate funding for proper infrastructure, adequate personnel provision as well as regular monitoring and evaluation of early intervention services and programs for pre-school children with hearing impairments. Also, a multidisciplinary approach needs to be adopted in the provision of early intervention services for the pre-school learners with Hearing Impairments. Further research needs to be done on the constraints to effective implementations of early intervention of children with hearing impairments in Kenya in view of global best practices.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipKenyatta Universityen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/24671
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherKenyatta Universityen_US
dc.subjectEarly Interventionen_US
dc.subjectSpeech and Language Developmenten_US
dc.subjectPre-School Childrenen_US
dc.subjectHearing Impairmentsen_US
dc.subjectNakuru Countyen_US
dc.subjectKenyaen_US
dc.titleEarly Intervention on Speech and Language Development of Pre-School Children with Hearing Impairments in Nakuru County, Kenyaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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