New textbooks have been created for deaf and hard-of-hearing students

For the first time in Georgia, sign language, Georgian language and mathematics textbooks have been created for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and a bilingual program has been launched. Today, Tamar Sanikidze visited Tbilisi Public Boarding School No. 203 for Children with Hearing Impairments and personally familiarized herself with how students are working with the new textbooks.

This is the first time that textbooks have been created for children with hearing problems which will significantly facilitate their acquisition of sign language at the primary level, as well as mastering the Georgian language and mathematics curriculum—especially given that there is no special preschool education program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children in Georgia. Communication with them is complicated due to a lack of knowledge of sign language, and the delivery of information and the understanding of word meanings are hindered.

A child with a hearing problem enters the first grade unprepared, which makes communication with them difficult. The new textbooks easily solve this problem. The textbooks are rich in illustrations, cues, analogies, etc., which facilitates comprehension for the children.

The project was implemented by experts from the National Curriculum Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia with the financial support of the donor organization USAID.

Currently, 174 students are enrolled in Boarding School No. 203. A special class has been opened for students with cochlear implants, sign language has been introduced, and speech lessons are being conducted.

Several students with special educational needs from Tbilisi Public School No. 64 are also using the aforementioned textbooks. Since October 1, 2013, within the framework of the "Program for the Promotion of Inclusive Education" at Public School No. 64, an integrated class has been opened for hard-of-hearing students. The acoustic environment allows students to further develop their residual hearing.

In addition, the Ministry has published a guide for teachers entitled "Teaching Students with Hearing Impairments." The guide introduces educators, parents, and school administration to the most current issues in the field of education of students with hearing impairments. The teacher's guide was distributed free of charge to all public schools in Georgia.