A deaf school in Kerala that does not use Indian Sign Language

There are many schools for deaf children that empower them to face a competitive world. They train children in basic computer skills and Indian Sign Language to enable them to communicate without difficulty.

There are schools that choose to do this through speech and language and not through sign.

Like the Amrita Speech and Hearing Impairment School at Thrissur in Kerala. The school was formed in the late 90s by a group of parents of deaf children. It was later taken over by the Amritanandamayi Math in 2005. Now, the school claims to be one of the few school in the state that works exclusively on speech and language for deaf children.

Sunil P has been working at the school for over 14 years. He has taught hundreds of deaf children and is extremely proud of his work.l.

We teach sounds using alphabets. So every day we have a two-hour session where our children explain what they did in the school on the previous day. With good practice, they become perfect- Sunil P, Senior Teacher, Amrita Speech and Hearing Impairment School.

The school teaches deaf children from 2 to 20 years of age. This government-aided school gives their children an annual exam every year. Certificates are based on marks obtained for exams and training sessions. There are many students from rural areas and economically backward families. All of them are provided education free of cost.

The school also organizes sports and cultural activities. Many students who passed out from the school are placed in companies.

“Technology and science has improved much that parents can even detect if their unborn baby has a disability. At our school, we try and take in children who are severely deaf. They need individual care and attention which we provide. If it is a mild deafness case, we ask parents to take them to a normal school”, says Sunil.

The school has chosen it’s own path towards inclusion. They believe they are guiding children into the competitive world with confidence and determination!

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