The Fukuoka District Court's Kokura branch is seen in Kitakyushu's Kokurakita Ward in this file photo. (Mainichi/Akiho Narimatsu)

       KITAKYUSHU -- The first court hearing for a lawsuit accusing a local rehabilitation center of misdiagnosing a girl with hearing impairment as having an intellectual disability without conducting an appropriate examination was held on July 6.

       According to the lawsuit filed with the Fukuoka District Court's Kokura branch and other sources, the girl, now aged 13, from the city of Kitakyushu was thought to have had delayed language development from around the age of 2. In 2011, she was diagnosed with an intellectual disability and a pervasive developmental disorder by the Kitakyushu Children's Rehabilitation Center, when she was 3.

       However, when the girl was in fifth grade at a school for children with intellectual disabilities in 2018, her homeroom teacher pointed out, "She is reading my lips, so she may be deaf." A hospital then conducted another examination and she was diagnosed as having audio neuropathy, which allows her to hear some sounds but not clearly enough to understand words.

       The plaintiffs claim that the girl was misdiagnosed as she was not examined properly at the rehabilitation center, and was deprived of the chance to receive appropriate treatment and education to acquire language for about seven and a half years. The suit is demanding about 20 million yen (roughly $181,000) in damages from the Kitakyushu Social Welfare Corp., which operates the rehabilitation center.

       The girl, now in the second year of junior high school, has undergone cochlear implant surgery and is able to speak out and have simple conversations. She also appeared at the case's first hearing, telling the presiding judge, "Thank you in advance."

       The girl's 39-year-old mother told the Mainichi Shimbun, "I complained numerous times that she could have a hearing impairment, but they did not allow her to be examined. I would like the center to admit their fault and take responsibility."

       During the July 6 hearing, the welfare corporation demanded the court dismiss the plaintiffs' claim. They told the Mainichi, "The details of our claims will be clarified in the trial."

       (Japanese original by Akiho Narimatsu, Kyushu News Department)

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