Starter Kit. Idea 330 of 500. Cluster 16
Speech therapists and other specialists among Sri Lankans abroad, working by video with children at home who talk late or need extra support, each child with a trained helper here who does the daily practice, and the right registrations in place in both countries
The mechanism, from the book
177,000 qualify every year and 45,000 get a state university place. The other 130,000 are a market only partly served, and the polytechnic is not a second choice when it leads to a job.
The first step
Find two speech therapists among Sri Lankans abroad who would see children by video, and ask what registration each needs to work this way, here and where they live. Train one helper here to run the daily practice they set. Offer a short trial to three families whose children talk late, through a children's clinic. The proof is the families paying for a second month.
- Who pays first
- Parents whose child talks late, who cannot find a specialist nearby, and would pay for regular sessions by video.
- What leaves today
- Sri Lankan specialists abroad work only for families there; by video, with a trained helper here, their skill reaches children at home.
Ask first
- Sri Lanka Medical Council. Ask whether a specialist working by video with children here must register, and how.
- Data Protection Authority. Ask what care is needed when sessions with children are recorded or stored.
Check before you spend
Confirm each specialist's registration in both countries, the parents' written consent, the helper's training, and how session records are kept private.
Find out these three numbers
- What will parents pay for a weekly session by video?
- How long does it take to train a helper for the daily practice?
- Which clinics see children who talk late and could refer families?
A comparison from the book
Sri Lankans abroad. Chapter Two
"Around 1.5 million of us abroad"
The specialists already exist among Sri Lankans abroad; video brings their skill home.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.