Nonprofit Spotlight: Hear Indiana

BY ANGIE ARLINGTON

HEAR INDIANA’S MISSION is to create equal opportunities for children with hearing loss through Listening and Spoken Language, an evidence-based way to teach deaf and hearing-impaired children to listen and talk. Chief Executive Officer Ellyn McCall explains the history of Hear Indiana: “During the rubella epidemic that quadrupled the number of children born with hearing loss in the 1960s, ten families gathered together in Muncie, Indiana to lay the foundation for what would become Hear Indiana. At that time, it was common practice that all children with hearing loss over 80 decibels (dB) were institutionalized. But the founding members of Hear Indiana disagreed with that tenet and decided their children could, and would benefit from mainstream education.”

Since then, Hear Indiana has worked tirelessly to educate parents, lobby at the Statehouse, provide equal access to the latest and greatest therapies, advocate, and give thousands of children the opportunity to hear. Hear Indiana’s clinic provides audiology services, speech-language therapy and evaluations, school services, and advocacy support to children with hearing loss in Indiana from birth through the end of high school.

“Finding out that your child has hearing loss can be overwhelming and isolating,” McCall said. “It is our goal to come alongside families to help them in their journey, both from the parent and child perspective. By educating parents, we can show them that they are their child’s first and most important advocate and help them work through how best to help their child meet their full potential. As kids grow, it is our goal to help them become strong self-advocates so that they can comfortably share what they need to be successful at home, in school, and in life. Our goal is to treat the whole child through technology, education, and support.”

“All children with hearing loss deserve equal opportunities, no matter their communicative ability or financial status,” McCall continued.

“That’s what fuels us to provide affordable and effective listening and spoken language services to deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and children. We treat the whole family at our full-service clinic. At Heart Indiana, your child can receive audiology, listening and spoken language, and school services from a caring team of pediatric experts. Parents get access to information, referrals, advocacy, and support. Whatever your financial situation, we aim to ensure you have access to our full range of therapeutic options.”

Hear Indiana offers comprehensive language and speech evaluations free of charge to families. Ongoing listening and spoken language therapy is available both inhome through First Steps Indiana and at the clinic. Teletherapy is offered for families who can’t make it to the clinic.

Licensed auditory-based deaf educators can help provide the intervention needed to help children with hearing loss succeed in a mainstream environment. They work with families and/or schools to provide direct school services as well as reading intervention and instruction.

Hear Indiana’s licensed pediatric audiologists provide the help and hope families need. They offer a complete portfolio of audiology services designed to pinpoint the problem, answer parents’ questions, and make a plan for the child’s future.

“We offer thorough audiological testing from diagnosis through the end of high school and are equipped to perform auditory brain-stem response (ABR) testing as well as hearing aid programming and cochlear implant evaluation and programming,” McCall said. “We also have a loaner bank of hearing technology including traditional and bone anchored hearing aids and hearing assistive technology like DM systems for the classroom.”

With today’s technology, children with hearing loss can achieve their aspirations. Hear Indiana provides the following parent support services:

• Family consultations and advocacy support. “We can give parent-toparent emotional support as well as input and advice on individualized education plans (IEPs) for families making decisions about their child’s education,” McCall noted. “One of our licensed teachers of the deaf can even attend case conferences along with the family.”

• Hear Indiana’s Listening and Spoken Language Camp, the “best week of the year.” Children with hearing loss can make new friends, share life experiences, and bolster self-esteem at a camp for students ages 8-18. Campers practice positive coping strategies, participate in dialogue, and engage with peers in fun outdoor activities designed to build leadership skills and confidence, all while having fun with children just like them!

• Hear Indiana’s annual Listening and Spoken Language Conference for parents of kids with hearing loss as well as the professionals who work with them, such as teachers, audiologists, speechlanguage pathologists, and others. The annual conference pulls together an experienced panel of experts to deliver relevant content for parents and clinicians alike. Through education and access to the latest research, the community is better equipped to care for every child’s unique needs.