Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for Hearing Handicapped

Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped (NIHH), Mumbai, was established on 9th August, 1983 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, as an autonomous body and under the administrative control of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

Objectives

  • Development of manpower by undertaking or sponsoring the training of trainees and teachers, employment officers, psychologists, vocational counselors and such other personnel as may be deemed necessary by the institute for promoting the education, training or rehabilitation of the hearing handicapped.
  • To conduct, sponsor, coordinate and subsidize research into all aspects of the education and rehabilitation of the hearing handicapped.
  • To develop model services for rehabilitation of the hearing handicapped.
  • To serve as an apex information and documentation centre in the area of hearing handicapped.

The Institute has its regional centers in Calcutta, New Delhi and Hyderabad and a State collaborated Center in Bhubaneswar. In addition to this, the Institute also runs a Training Center for the Adult Deaf in Hyderabad.

Programs

Manpower Development

  • B.Ed (Deaf)
  • B.Sc (Audiology and Speech Pathology and B.Sc., Hearing, Language and Speech, HLS)
  • Diploma in Education of the Deaf
  • Diploma in Communication Disorders
  • B.Ed (Deaf) and B.Sc (Audiology and Speech Pathology) & B.Sc (HLS) are conducted in Bombay and are affiliated to The University of Bombay; B.Ed (Deaf) is also being conducted at Eastern Regional Centres, Calcutta and B.Sc (Ed) & B.Sc (HLS) at Southern Regional Centre, Hyderabad with affiliation to Calcutta and Osmania Universities respectively. The other two Diploma Courses have been recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India.
  • The Institute also conducts short term training programs to meet the demands of professionals and those in academics; unable to get admission for long-term training programs; or for those who could not get training and are already working in voluntary, non-governmental organizations and other institutions dealing with rehabilitation of the hearing and speech impaired.

Research Programs

The research work in the Institute is mainly community-based. Special projects aim at the rehabilitation of vast majority of handicapped located in semi-urban and rural areas. The Institute has already completed 7 research projects.

Pre-schools

The Institute has been conducting pre-school, parent guidance and counseling services and also parent-infant orientation/training programs, etc. The Institute also conducts diagnostic camps in different states and also conducts hearing aid camps for children in special schools. Several community based programs are carried out to create awareness in the community, intervention, prevention and rehabilitation of the hearing impaired. Outreach and Extension Service Unit of the Institute has adopted various steps to reach the activities to the hearing impaired population in remote areas.

Service Programmes

The Institute has the latest audiological equipments such as audiometers and other sophisticated equipment to provide service facilities. In additon, the Institute has developed a laboratory for this purpose. Services provided are:

  • Hearing evaluation
  • Hearing aid trial, prescription, fitting and repairs
  • Speech and Language therapy
  • Speech and Language evaluation
  • Parent guidance and counseling
  • Psychological evaluation
  • Psychotherapy, Behavior therapy and Play therapy
  • Educational evaluation
  • ENT, Pediatric and Neurological evaluation
  • Information services
  • Vocational guidance, counseling and placement
  • Outreach and Extension Service

Information and Documentation Center

Information and Documentation Center functions with the aim of acquiring relevant information for dissemination to organizations and individuals working for the hearing handicapped. The Information and Documentation Center is equipped with a computer unit, which facilitates software development, training of staff and students and data processing. To carry out these activities, the Institute has developed an infrastructure of 17 Personal Computers and one Mini Computer.