BALAVIDYALAYA, The school for young deaf children is a FREE, non-residential, private Early Intervention Center & Preschool for deaf Infants and young children from birth to 5 years.
Balavidyalaya is located in Shastri Nagar, Adyar, South Chennai, Tamilnadu, INDIA.
The school has spacious sound treated class rooms, clean surroundings, a well equipped library, and child friendly furniture. An indoor play pen, a play house, an outdoor sandpit, a see saw, jungle gym, and swings are a constant delight to the infants and young children.
State of the Art Diagnostic Center in the school is equipped with sophisticated equipments to diagnose hearing loss in children, fit them with suitable hearing aids, check the performance of the hearing aids and check the middle ear function of children.
To begin with the teacher student ratio is 1:1 and soon the children are grouped and the ratio is maintained as 1:4.
The aim of the school is to provide comprehensive intervention for deaf infants and young children.
The school believes in the philosophy that it is the birth right of every child to speak.
All the children at BALAVIDYALAYA, including the ones with severe or profound hearing loss, acquire language and speech skills. The barrier imposed by the hearing loss is overcome through appropriate intervention.
The goal of the intervention is to help the children make best use of their residual hearing through constant use of suitable hearing aids or Cochlear Implants and develop age appropriate languages skills. The curriculum followed at school prepares each child to participate in the mainstream education at the earliest possible age. The children enter the regular school, whenever they demonstrate the skills necessary for competing successfully with their hearing peer.
English and Tamil are the two mediums of instruction. Spoken English fluency classes are conducted in the school for those who require it.