MICHA Kfar Kassem, a branch of Beit MICHA, provides services for children with hearing loss from the Arab sector in need of rehabilitation, education and therapy. MICHA’s decision to establish a rehabilitative day-care center in Kfar Kassem stems from the conviction that children with hearing loss require a therapeutic and educational framework that is adapted to their language, culture and way of life in their natural environment. The center in Kfar Kassem offers essential services to children of the sector in close proximity to their residence.
According to present statistics, one infant out of 900 births is born with a hearing-impairment. Within the Arab sector, there appears to be a higher incidence of severe hearing loss from birth, possibly due to frequent marriages between relatives. Nevertheless, many families are unaware of the importance of early identification and treatment of a child with hearing loss, and its tremendous influence upon a child’s development of hearing, language, speech skills and future integration into the hearing community. It is predicted that the Kfar Kassem Center will facilitate the identification of additional children with hearing loss and raise consciousness regarding the awareness of their needs.
From the time of the center’s establishment in 2008, the number of children enrolled has increased considerably, reaching seventeen children at the end of the last school year. Due to the expectation that even more children will be referred to the program, the center was renovated and expanded during the summer of 2012 and a new wing was added that includes a new nursery for infants, speech therapy rooms and a physiotherapy/occupational therapy unit. The official opening ceremony of the new wing was held on November 1, 2012.
One of MICHA’s key principles is the active participation and involvement of the parents in the rehabilitation process of their child. Accordingly, parents are in close contact with professional staff and participate in periodical parental gatherings as well as meetings with the social worker and kindergarten teacher. Parents also receive individual guidance, consultation and updates on their child’s progress.
At MICHA Kfar Kassem, children benefit from the best available care, in order to help them achieve their potential and an equal opportunity to fully integrate into the community.
The MICHA Kfar Kassem professional staff includes:
Director of the Kfar Kassem Center, a social worker, speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a physiotherapist, a kindergarten teacher and five teaching assistants
