LapCI – The Finnish Association of Cochlear Implant Recipient Children

LapCI ry was founded in 1999 by a group of parents. The aim is to support children with cochlear implants (CI) and their families throughout Finland. All the action starts from the parents and the children themselves. Currently, the LapCI board consist of parents of cochlear implanted children living all around Finland. LapCI ry has four employees (2024). LapCI ry as an association does not take any position on communication choices of families. LapCI ry is a not-for-profit organisation.

kaksi lasta rakentamassa tornia värikkäistä palikoista. Tornin ja lasten takana aikuinen henkilö polvillaan pinkissä mekossa. Näkyy vai osittain.

LapCI ry’s Most Important Objectives

  • To empower children with cochlear implants and their families by creating a nationwide network
  • To share effective information and knowledge-based experiences about cochlear implantation of children. To share experiences about life with a CI in different stages after the operation.
  • To share experiences, wishes, expectations and drawbacks of life with a CI
  • Active lobbying in the development of children’s daycare and school options
  • To support those families who are considering CI-operation by sharing information and connecting them to families who already have the experience.

About membership

The first year of membership is free for families. After the first year of membership there will be a small fee. In 2019 one year’s membership is 25 € per family! Fill the membership form. You can also become a support member.

member-benefits
e-mails-of-upcoming-events
member-price-and-priority-to-events-with-limited-space
possibility-of-fee-exemption-for-social-economical-reasons
input-into-the-workings-of-the-association
newsletter-4-times-a-year-mailed-to-you
peer-support-in-a-private-facebook-group-for-ci-childrens-parents
possibility-to-borrow-helping-devices-and-accessories

What do we do?

CIsupaja – Empowerment Workshops

LapCI ry’s project CIsupaja organises empowerment workshops for cochlear implanted children and their families. The aim is to provide opportunities for children with cochlear implant to meet each other and practice challenging subjects especially in those areas of life where CI-users might feel challenged compared to their normal hearing peers. These subjects include:

  • Music (singing, playing in a band, musical self-expression)
  • Languages (mother tongue, foreign languages, communication methods, self-expression in languages)
  • Survival in the world of the hearing peers, self-expression (courage, learning to cope alone and in groups)
  • Senses and development of the person as a whole (self-esteem and trust for the future)
Ihmisiä rivissä seisomassa. Taustalla näkyy merimaisema.
Picture from LapCI ry´s Youth camp in United Kingdom 2023. Seven sisters cliff.

Events

CIsupaja project arranges peer support events with different themes and target groups. There are whole-family-weekends, summer camps, club activities and one day events. Volunteers can participate by organizing one day events called CIsupajanen. If you are interested in organizing a small gathering, don’t hesitate to contact us at info(at)lapci.fi, we will help you to do that!


Some of the events are organized together with other associations in the same or neighbouring fields of expertise. Most LapCI events are free of charge. There is usually a participation fee for events that last overnight. Families are welcome to ask for a fee exemption for social/economic reasons.

CIsumusa – Goal-oriented hearing rehabilitation with music

CIsumusa project has two modes of operation. One is called ”Puhemuskari” (trans. Speech Music Group) and other one is ”Kuulomuskari” (trans. Hearing Music Group).

Puhemuskari (Speech Music Group)

Speech Music Group have been organized for hearing-impaired children aged 0-6 years. Intervention lasts 10 weeks per season and we have two interventions per year. Group is directed by speech therapist and music educator together. Groups are organized as local implementation (atm. in Helsinki and Tampere), remote implementation and hybrid implementation.

Some families has been taking part of the study called MULAPAPU (trans. How music intervention and singing impoves the speech of hearing-impaired children). Mulapapu research the effects of the intervention to hearing-impaired children musical and linguistic development. The parents of the children has been interviewed before and after the intervention. Based on the ”metrics” of the study we get information about the development of the hearing-impaired children during intervention.

Kuulomuskari (Hearing Music Group)

Hearing music Group is directed by music educator. LapCI ry is educating directors about hearing aids and how to consider hearing impairment in music activities. We have Hearing Music Group in Helsinki and in Tampere. We have 5-7 kids in each group. During the music lesson kids will learn about rythms, pitch variation, playing different instrument and playing in band.

LapCI ry's mascots Pyry and Peppi discussing LapCI ry and cochlear implants

Contacts

info(at)lapci.fi

Janet Grundström, Managing Director
janet.grundstrom(at)lapci.fi
tel. +358400 914 583

LapCI ry
Valkea Talo
Ilkantie 4, 00400 Helsinki

Facts and figures

Statistics on CI
In Finland, circa 200 cochlear implants are fitted every year. At the end of September 2019 there were 1801 people who have been given the implant. Out of this number 547 had been 0-18 years old at the time of the operation.

About Funding
In Finland there is a unique model to fund associations which work for social and healthcare issues. Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations (STEA) offers entertaining games at many locations, Casino Helsinki and online. The profits from games are channelled to associations in the social and healthcare sectors. These associations are hundreds in number, and they employ tens of thousands of people. The fund allocation is guided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.