Deaf population of Panama still facing big challenges
- By : Panama Now
- Category : Local Culture
In Panama, through Law 53 of November 30, 1951, the Panamanian Institute of Special Enabling (IPHE) was created, with the objective of empowering young people with mental retardation, deafness and blindness in the School of Special Education, the School National of the Deaf and the School of the Blind, respectively.
Four decades later, Law 1 of January 28, 1992, which protects hearing impaired people, recognizes sign language as the natural language of the profoundly hearing impaired, thanks to the initiatives of parents of children , because ‘the contributions of psychology, neurology and linguistics showed that sign languages were natural languages, such as oral languages and therefore, the deaf should receive education in their own language to promote an integral development’ (Betancurt, 2011) .
Despite these milestones, widely separated in time, at present, the deaf population in Panama has not reached the appropriate educational or work levels that allow them to achieve their personal and professional independence. The society, the school and many times, the family, due to ignorance, underestimate the potential of auditory functional diversity.
READ MORE;http://laestrella.com.pa/panama/politica/desafios-educacion-persona-sorda/24061386
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