The grant has funded the specialised new equipment for the newly established “Little Crows Audiology Clinic”.
This equipment will allow for Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) and Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) tests to be performed on infants, aged from two weeks to five years old.
Early diagnosis of deafness is vital for newborns; appropriate and consistent early intervention and auditory stimulation before six months of age is the key to speech and language development.
These are objective tests which allow the Audiologist to place a small probe in a baby’s ear and by playing a soft sound, the equipment measures an echo that is made by a healthy inner ear.
With ABR, the Audiologist looks at a waveform that is measured through sensors placed on a baby’s skin whilst a sound is played through ear tips placed in a baby’s ear. Depending on the shape and size of the waveform the Audiologist can tell whether or not a baby can hear.
The newly offered services at Cora Barclay are an important addition to what is already available in South Australia.
Crows player and Foundation board member Jason Porlyzia said: "Our grant has purchased equipment that allows the Cora Barclay Centre to detect (as early as possible) if a baby has a hearing problem. This early detection is critical as it allows the child to be treated before they miss too much time in learning to communicate”.
As the official charity and community arm of the Adelaide Football Club, The Crows Foundation was established in 2005 to independently manage the vast number of requests made upon the Club annually.
To date the Foundation has distributed over $750,000 to an extensive list of South Australian’s children’s charities.
The Crows Foundation is a tangible example of the active and passionate commitment the Adelaide Football Club has to its community, since our inception in 1991.
In season 2013, the Crows Foundation Board in partnership with the Club will distribute $100,000 to three selected charities who will be recognised as ‘official charity partners’ of the AFC for next year.
Three grants will be offered; one major of $75,000 and two secondary grants of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively.
Beyond financial support, the Adelaide Football Club (through the Crows Foundation) will actively promote the core messages of the charities and assist them by extending their communication and promotional campaigns, particularly where we can offer player and coach support.
Crows Foundation Chairman Keith Conlon said: “The Crows Foundation is exceptionally proud of the tremendous contribution made to date to the community and we know this has made a real difference to the lives of many thousands of children in need in SA”.
“I would encourage all those relevant charities to visit our website and complete the application process as all will be considered on their merit.”
To apply for a grant and to be recognised as one of the official charity partners of the Crows in season 2013 please go to www.crowsfoundation.org.au for all details.
