Smoke alarms for hearing impaired children

How do you hear a smoke alarm if you are deaf? What about an alarm clock? For hearing impaired children Benji (9) and Sadie (7) Earl these two every day challenges have been overcome with specially designed smoke alarms and alarm clocks provided through a grant from Te Karaka Foundation.

“Through the generosity of one of our donors Te Karaka was able to establish a fund for people with hearing and visual impairments and we’re delighted with the interest in the grants from the community,” says Te Karaka Chair Ken Horner.

When triggered, these devices create vibrations in the children’s beds and flash lights on the clock to grab their attention.

For Benji and Sadie, who were both born deaf and have cochlear implants, this is just another way they can be like other kids and take responsibility for themselves.

“Customised devices like these are not cheap and they have been on our wish list for some time so we’re really grateful we’ve been able to get the alarms for both children. As the kids get older it is more important that they can be independent and know they can take action themselves and not have to rely on others if there was a threat of fire or just set an alarm to wake themselves up,” says mum Nicola Earl.

It also means the Earl’s older daughter, Olivia, is not left to her own devices to follow the family fire plan while mum and dad attend to her siblings.

The fire alarms in particular ease the worry the children have expressed in the past.

“Benji in particular has always worried about what would happen if there was a fire. Next time family fire plans come up at school he can confidently participate knowing he will be alerted if the smoke alarm goes off,” says Earl.

The Earls heard about the grants through the Parents of Deaf Children Taranaki group who provide opportunities for deaf children and their families, run events and share information and resources to support families of deaf children.

Additional information

Te Karaka is Taranaki’s community foundation connecting generous people with the people, projects and charitable causes making a real difference in the Taranaki community. www.tkf.org.nz
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