Shelley and Steven Einhorn Communication Center

“I want to thank my speech therapists…for making the uphill climbs seem like pleasure rides. I thank them and the Center for Hearing and Communication for teaching me that in my own way, I can change the world – and that my disability does not and never will hold me back from achieving my dreams and full potential.” –M. P., Age 17

Pediatric Services

A child is never too young to begin communication therapy. The sooner treatment begins, the better the child’s chances to develop successful speech, language and comprehension. With appropriate services, children with hearing loss can learn to listen and speak. CHC's youngest client was successfully fitted with amplification at six weeks old.

All services for infants and children begin with a communication evaluation, in which the speech-language pathologist assesses the child’s communicative abilities and potential for oral expressive and receptive language skills. Specialized tests and techniques help elicit the information that forms the foundation of a child’s unique habilitative plan. Results and recommendations are fully and clearly shared with parents. With the support of CHC, parents of an infant or child with hearing loss need not feel discouraged or abandoned. Through counseling, educational and interpersonal skills, CHC clinicians become part of the family’s team, conveying the knowledge and skills that help parents provide the supportive environment their child needs. Services include:

• Comprehensive developmental, speech/language and psycho-educational evaluations for clients newborn through 18 years old.
• Individual and group auditory, speech, and language therapy, emphasizing the development of age-appropriate expressive oral and receptive skills, with the goal of entering a mainstream educational setting as early as possible (typically for pre-school), and encouraging parent/caregiver involvement. Once in school, the child and family return for continuing communication therapy or supplemental educational services.
• Pre- and post-cochlear implant therapy – helps children and their families to make a successful transition from conventional amplification to the implant, and/or post-surgery, to adjust to the speech processor and learn auditory training techniques that maximize good oral communication skills. CHC clinicians work closely with the child's home-based clinician.
• FAST 6 an exciting innovation in short-term communication therapy for children and adults. With FAST 6 you'll experience intensive, targeted therapy that provides faster, more dramatic results. Your ability to communicate whether at home, at work or in the classroom will significantly improve in just 6 sessions. Click attachment at bottom of page download brochure.
• ESL (English as a Second Language) therapy – assists children with hearing loss to build fundamental vocabulary, listening and speaking skills in English
• Adolescent/pre-adolescent workshops – through the Turning Points program, education and socialization opportunities are offered to mainstreamed deaf and hard of hearing pre-adolescents, teens, and their families, focusing on important transitions or thresholds in a young person’s life. Sessions include a keynote speaker, participatory activities, a shared luncheon, and a culminating panel of older peers who share personal “turning point” experiences.
• Parent support groups – provide education, advocacy, coping skills, and psychological and emotional support. Moms, Dads, and caregivers explore timely issues with the guidance of the Center’s educational psychologist.
• Auditory processing disorder (APD) therapy – testing, evaluation, and management of this disorder which causes difficulty in comprehension and processing of auditory information.

Adult Services

Our clinical and support services are critical for adults who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. The onset of hearing loss can be frightening, especially when precipitated by illness or accident.  CHC serves adults who are born deaf, become deaf or hard of hearing as children, have progressive hearing loss, or are late deafened, as well as adults with hearing loss who are foreign-born.

Adults with hearing loss who have improved their communication skills report additional benefits that include improved relationships with families and co-workers; better self-esteem; improved mental health, and greater independence and security. The Shelley and Steven Einhorn Communication Center serves adults, individually and in groups, through:

• Speech and Language Evaluation and Therapy

• Post-Cochlear Implant Auditory Training

• Cochlear Implant Support Group

• Speechreading (lipreading) Evaluation

• Individual and Group Speechreading
• English as a Second Language Evaluation and Therapy – uses a one-on-one approach incorporating vocabulary and grammar, with the goal that the individual produces English language sounds accurately enough to be understandable to others.
• Central Auditory Processing Disorder Therapy – testing, evaluation, and management strategies for this disorder which causes difficulty in comprehension and processing of auditory information.
• Auditory Training/Evaluation
  
• Speech and Voice Evaluation and Therapy
• FAST 6 an exciting innovation in short-term communication therapy for children and adults. With FAST 6 you'll experience intensive, targeted therapy that provides faster, more dramatic results. Your ability to communicate whether at home, at work or in the classroom will significantly improve in just 6 sessions. Click attachment at bottom of page to download brochure.

Research demonstrates that between the time an adult first becomes aware that s/he may have a hearing loss until the time s/he actually takes concrete steps to address the concern, typically, seven years go by.  CHC works hard to minimize the “seven year gap” through our diverse adult communication services. There’s no reason to delay. We can help.