ABSTRACT

This research was aimed at finding out the importance of guidance and counseling services for the parents of hearing impaired children in Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State.The sample of the study consisted of parents of the hearing impaired children Okene LGA, Kogi Staet.Data was obtained through the use of questionnaires and interview. The data collected was analyzed mainly by the use of percentages and most of the research Assumptions was accepted based on the findings of the research.Finally the researcher drew major conclusion based on the analysis of the data collected, and made some recommendation for improving guidance and counseling services not only in Okene LGA of Kogi state but throughout the federation as suggestion for further study.

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

When we mention guidance and counseling, we are automatically talking about helping, services such as information giving, advice etc that will enable the parents of the deaf children to have self-understanding, self-direction necessary to make the maximum adjustment of their hearing impaired children at home, school and the community as well as been aware of their children’s strength ability, capability and interest. Through guidance the parents should be able to know their children’s condition and how they develop positive attitude towards them.

The word guidance refers to a professional process of making an individual to understand the condition of other people, the individual himself, his environment and the world around him in general.

Guidance also have various meaning over the years, hence some have suggested that a new team be found to sub serve those services currently recognized as essential to the fullest self development and self realization of individuals in a democratic culture and now also recognize as essential improvement of our way of life.

Guidance related to services that help each individual not only to gain self-realization and understanding but also to make him develop some skills in self-direction and control e.g.:

1. To make an individual establish very suitable personal; educational and vocational goals.
2. Personal plans and desirable ways in pursuing these goal

iii.      Personal development of same standards to value consistent with criteria for the choice to experience.

(Benett. 1963) and to come to success not come to loss of services to individual parents also helps the parents to understand their environment and the cause of their children hearing loss.

Counseling is used to identify a wider range of procedures including advice giving information, giving encouragement, test, integration etc H. B English and A.c English (1958) define counseling as “a relationship in which one person endeavours to help another to understand and to solve his adjustment problems”.

They are:-

1. That area of adjustment is often indicated for example, educational counseling, vocational counseling and personal-social counseling
2. That reference is usually to help “normal counselee but creeps imperceptibly in to the field of psychotherapy.
3. That although everyone occasionally undertakes counseling, the word is preferably restricted to processional trained person.

Counseling also has been defined in a literature, for example shertzer and stone (1980) sees counseling as:

1. A process in which the counselor assist people or person to make interpretation of facts relating to a choice, plan or adjustment which they or he needs to make.
2. Counseling is the interaction which:
3. Occurs between two individual called a counselor and a client.
4. Takes place in a professional setting and;

iii.      Counseling as that initiated and maintained as a means of facilitating changes in the behaviour of a client.

1. Counseling is helping an individual to become more awarefully about himself and the way in which he is responding to the influence in his environment.

Parents of deaf children, likely to be as the parents of normal children need advice on their children, so that such children can gain learning experiences. The important thing is that parent and teachers of the deaf children must set realistic goals for the children without hardship.

Weiss (1977) stated that most parents themselves describe feelings of hatred, guilt, denial, depression and the hope for death, anguish and despair. They wonder what to do and where to go. Generally there is a feeling of blame among must Nigerian parents. This is basically because most Nigerians associated handicapping conditions with sin, a punishment reward to the individual or his parents for some wicked deeds. It is no wonder then, that the neighbours saw the deaf child as wicked and ungodly.

The parents of deaf children too believe that it occurs to them because they committed a sin in the past, that as a result they gave birth to a deaf child. Most parents find it very confusing. What to do with the deaf child, some become frustrated, feeling of guilt, shame and even hidden the child away from people’s view, since they do not know about the cause. But through guidance and counseling information parents are educated on the psychology of the deaf child, which may be prenatal, post-natal, during birth, head injury, inheritance etc that affect the development of the hearing  organs and preclude the understand of speech through hearing alone.

 

1.2     PURPOSE OF STUDY

he purposes of this study are as follows:

1. To investigate the needs of guidance and counseling services for the         parents of hearing impaired children in Okene LGA Kogi state.
2. To help parents to over come the shock they pass through due to the birth of a hearing impaired child in the family.
3. To assist parents to accept their hearing impaired child and adjust to the situation.
4. To provide awareness into the cause of hearing impairment in order to eradicate the superstitious believe to the causes of hearing impairment.
5. To make recommendation to the authority on the need for providing guidance and counseling services to the parents of the hearing impaired children.

1.3     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The affective delivery of educational services for the hearing impaired children in Nigeria depend on the provision of guidance and counseling for the parents of the hearing impaired children, parents however find themselves without enough knowledge and information about their deaf children’s conditions, they find themselves ill-equipped with the information regarding how they can effectively control the hearing impaired children. They have difficulty in making appropriate decision on how they could refer their hearing impaired children’s for diagnostic testing, selecting appropriate educational placement and career for their deaf children. In addition they lack the support and encouragement they need during the crisis and restoration period.

 

There is need for skills with which the parents should be able to handle or manage the first training of the hearing implication of the disability will certainly affect the mental health of the deaf children.

All these reasons tend to suggest that the parents of the hearing impaired children in Okene LGA of Kogi state need the encouragement, detailed, support guidance and counseling, if they are to play the therapeutic role in caring for their children. The superstitious explanation for the Birth of hearing impaired child in the community and a believe which surrounds the family, further aggravate the emotional problems of the parents for they lacked guidance and counseling information which should be provide dispel the myths that surrounded the parents about the birth of deaf child in the family.

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTION

The following research question is formulated to guide the researcher.

1. Do parents of hearing impaired children aware of guidance and      counseling           services in Okene LGA Kogi state?
2. Do guidance and counseling assist parents of hearing impaired children in Okene LGA?
3. Is there any guidance and counseling services in Okene LGA, Kogi state?
4. Do guidance and counseling services have any effect on parents or hearing impaired children in Okene LGA, Kogi state?

It also stated that the feeling of anxiety and confusion by the child when entered school or other vocational training or career within the society. As for school the parents feelings most eliminated, if not the educational objectives as outlined in the National policy on Education (2004) may not be achieved. If the above listed are to be true, then it is a problem that merit study at this particular moment.

 

Significance of the Study

The study will provide contemporary and best way for guidance and counselling suitable for parents of the hearing impaired children of the LGA.

It would help the LGA administrations to identify areas of guidance and counselling services that need attention. The study will also help in aiding the curriculum planners to decide essential services to be established firmly in guidance and counselling unit in the LGA.

Scope of the Study

This study is designed to look into the need for guidance and counselling services among Nigeria LGA parents of the hearing impaired children with reference to Okene LGA, Kogi State. The scope of the study also covers the period of (3) three years from (2010-2012).