We’ve officially signed a partnership to export more than 50 years of our expertise to Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture Hospital.
The partnership aims to improve outcomes for Japanese children with hearing loss and cochlear implants. The official signing took place on 5 November 2024 at the Shizuoka Prefecture Government building.
“The Shepherd Centre is a world leader in early intervention for deaf children. We provide evidence-based wraparound services, which involves the care from a multidisciplinary team of audiologists, family and child counsellors, and listening and spoken language specialists and therapists. It’s this model that means that deaf children with a cochlear implant go on to have listening and speaking skills that are on par with their hearing peers,” said Dr. Aleisha Davis, CEO of The Shepherd Centre.
Japanese children with hearing loss face significant challenges, including delayed diagnosis and limited access to specialised services. The Japan Hearing Vision initiative, launched in 2019, has made strides in newborn hearing screening and early cochlear implantation. However, there remains a lack of specialised services to teach children how to use their devices effectively across Japan.
“The Shepherd Centre team will provide training to Japanese clinicians in Shizuoka to build local knowledge and capability so they can support deaf children with cochlear implants use their devices effectively, and learn crucial listening and speaking skills,” said Dr. Davis.
“We are thrilled to make our partnership with the Shizuoka Prefecture official. It’s the result of a decade-long relationship, sharing The Shepherd Centre’s expertise and world-leading experience in Australia, to create a world of choice and opportunity for children with hearing loss in Japan,” said Dr. Davis.
This partnership will deliver a pilot early intervention program, which will start in April 2025. It’s the first publicly funded early intervention service for deaf children in Japan. Funding is being provided by Shizuoka Prefecture and Japanese governments, with additional support from the Australia-Japan Foundation (DFAT); totaling $6.5M.
“The main characters are children with hearing loss. We believe that it is necessary for us to do everything in our power to ensure that these children have words and language throughout their lives and to open up various possibilities for them,” said House of Representatives member for Shizuoka, Yoko Kamikawa.
