Deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia: Status of early intervention services.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to determine the status of early intervention services provided to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their parents/caregivers from birth to five years of age at two main state hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, based on their parents' perceptions.


METHODS
A descriptive quantitative research design was used to determine the status of early intervention services for deaf or hard of hearing children in Saudi Arabia based on their parents' perceptions. Semistructured interviews based on a questionnaire were conducted with 60 research participants from two main state hospitals where early detection and intervention services are provided. A purposive sampling technique was employed. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed on the data collected.


RESULTS
The participants' children were diagnosed at a substantially late age, resulting in delayed ages for initial hearing aid fitting and enrolment in early intervention services. A significant relationship was found between the residential area of the participants and timely access to intervention services. The results indicated that participants residing in Riyadh were fitted with hearing aids and enrolled into EI services earlier than those living outside of Riyadh. The delivery of information also emerged as a weakness in the EI system for the majority of participants.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the study suggested that limited services of detection and intervention for deaf or hard of hearing children and residential area of participants are likely to be barriers to early access to intervention services. It is proposed that the benefits of UNHS accompanied by appropriate early intervention services should be made available in all regions throughout Saudi Arabia.
Communication Pathology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0027, South Africa. Electronic address: hudaalyami@hotmail.com.
Huda
H
Alyami
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Maggi
M
Soer
Department of Statistics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Andre
A
Swanepoel
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa.
Lidia
L
Pottas
D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006320:Hearing Tests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Age of intervention; Childhood hearing loss; Developing country; Early intervention; Parental needs; Residential area