KEALAKEKUA — For kids just starting to learn to read, good hearing and vision are crucial.
“You need good hearing and you need good vision to be able to learn how to read, because it makes a real difference,” Konawaena Elementary School principal Claire Yoshida said. “Because if you’re not hearing the sounds, you’re not hearing the words, it makes it harder for you to learn how to read.”
To identify any possible issues that could hinder learning in young students, a team of about 20 volunteers, including Lions Club of Kona members, state Department of Health public nurses and community members, is moving throughout West Hawaii to screen hundreds of keiki as part of the annual Lions Hearing Screening Program.
“Our goal is to reach as many kids, (kindergarten) through second grade, to provide them the opportunity to get a hearing screening that they would not otherwise get,” said Nina Eejima, a member of the Lions Club of Kona and chairperson of the hearing screening committee.
Given how integral hearing is for early learners, Yoshida said it’s crucial that any issues that could impede a child’s hearing be caught sooner rather than later.
“We want to catch any hearing deficits early, because that’ll improve their chances of being able to read and do math and do all the other content areas on grade level,” Yoshida said. “Once they start falling behind, it becomes very difficult to catch them up.”
On Monday, volunteers screened about 240 students at four West Hawaii schools and continued Tuesday at Konawaena Elementary School and Holualoa Elementary School. The volunteers screened about 150 students at Konawaena and 180 at Holualoa. Another roughly 60 students at Holualoa Elementary School are expected to receive screenings when volunteers pick up again later this month.
Last year, the effort reached 674 first and second graders at area schools, according to a news release. With the inclusion of kindergartners this year, Eejima said, volunteers anticipate screening more than 1,600 students.
“It’s not about us,” she said. “It’s about serving needs that are there in the community right now.”
The hearing screenings started in 2008 under the leadership of Dr. Shannon Ching, a Honolulu-based audiologist.
Ching also noted the importance of providing screenings to young children, saying they’re more susceptible to medical problems that could affect hearing.
Screening kids’ hearing at a young age offers a chance to catch any possible issues, he said, and, as a result, also offers a better chance at getting a treatment plan from their primary care doctor.
If kids fail a screening, he said, the family gets specific recommendations about who the child should see or how to proceed.
Last year, 28 students, about 4 percent of those screened, were referred for further medical or audiological assessment, according to the news release.
Yoshida said the school’s partnerships with community groups like the Lions Club are valuable connections, often offering opportunities that help keep kids healthy and therefore increasing their chance to be successful learners.
“If the community can help us, then it’s a great thing,” she said. “Schools benefit. Children benefit.”
It also helps to screen the students where they are: at the schools.
In addition to transportation challenges some families face, Eejima said, families also might not be aware their children need hearing tests, noting that there have been many cases where challenges have been identified — whether it’s a blockage in the ear or something more serious — that might have otherwise gone unaddressed.
And the effect on students’ learning, Yoshida said, can be tremendous.
“We can see an immediate impact in the learning,” she said.
The screenings will continue later this month.
Volunteers will be at Kahakai Elementary School and Kona Pacific Public Charter School on April 23 and Kealakehe Elementary School on April 24.
