The Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing (BGHH) was founded in 1916 as the Speech Reader's Guild by Mildred Kennedy, Anna L. Staples, and Clara M. Ziegler, three teachers at the Mueller-Walle School of Lip Reading in Boston.[1] Until its closure in 2003, the BGHH was the largest nonprofit organization in New England dedicated to serving the needs of people with hearing impairment. Although the BGHH closed, the Speech Audiology Department at Northeastern University continues the BGHH's mission to provide services to the hearing impaired.[2]
Claire K. Kennedy served as Executive Director of BGHH for thirty years, beginning in 1951. Under her leadership the organization pioneered several innovative initiatives, including: a pilot project to recruit trainers to work with hearing impaired persons, televised lip reading instruction, use of mobile screening units to conduct mass screenings in community settings, aiding in the establishment of hearing conservation programs in industries with high noise levels, the Infrared Listening System, and development of a 40-hour volunteer-administered course to teach lip reading skills to senior citizens living in remote areas.[3]
According to the research conducted by the BGHH organization, three to five percent of public school children have incipient deafness. Thousands of children have not yet been discovered to have the disability. The research represents a condition which is left uncared for and neglected, resulting in a large percentage of deafened adults destined to become more or less of a burden to the community – a serious economic problem.[4]
Objectives
The Boston Guild For the Hard of Hearing worked to achieve the following objectives. The organization strived to establish and maintain a fellowship among the hard of hearing by providing a centre where all problems pertaining to deafness could be discussed.[5] The guild also worked to supply a means by which such problems could be solved. Another objective involved the guild's work for the prevention of deafness and the conservation of hearing. Furthermore, the organization raised awareness of the disability by acquainting the public with problems relating to deafness.[6]
To gain membership qualification into the guild the individual had to satisfy the following requisites. Any adult person who has not been deaf from birth or who did not become deaf before the acquisition of speech and language may apply for membership. Membership was divided into three classes: regular, associate and honorary.[6] Regular membership was given to persons whose hearing was not normal. Associate membership was provided for persons whose hearing was normal and who wanted to collaborate with the guild to help achieve the mission. Honorary membership was bestowed for persons elected by unanimous vote of the Board of Directors in recognition of distinguished service to the guild. To gain a certain class of membership required candidates to go through the process as Election of members, individuals who desired to join the guild.[7]
Northeastern University Initiative
Northeastern University continues the Guild's mission of providing high quality services to the hard-of-hearing individuals in the community. The university has founded an outreach program that is commuted to serving the needs of people with hearing loss. The program is also working to find innovative ways to disseminate information to professionals and others in order increase awareness of the disability and create conversation on the issue.[2]
Hearing Instrument Outreach Program
Northeastern University's Bouve College of Heath Sciences created the Hearing Instrument Outreach Program in order to provide disabled individuals in the community with affordable new or refurbished hearing aids or Assistive Listening Devices. The program was put in place to facilitate the accessibility of affordable hearing aids. Furthermore, the program also strives to provide personal services and information to achieve realistic expectations and success with hearing aids For individuals to qualify for hearing aids they must satisfy the following requirements. Individuals must have hearing loss that may benefit from hearing aids and may not be eligible for hearing aids through their medical insurance or any state program. Individuals must submit and application form and obtain medical clearance from a hearing aid physician. Finally they must provide proof of financial need.[2]
Services
Northeastern University provides services to aid individuals through the process of prescribing, utilizing and caring for their hearing aid. An initial hearing aid consultation is scheduled the in Speech-Language and Hearing Center at Northeastern. In this consultation professionals will discuss and an appropriate model for the individual in need and recommendations are given to suit the individual. The next step in the process involves ear impressions and ear molds. Furthermore, patients who do not have a current hearing test to present will complete one during their visit. The program provides guidance through a hearing aid orientation in which patients are shown how to utilize their aid. Patients receive a trial period of at least 30 days and follow-up visit throughout the lifespan use of the hearing aid.[2]
Aural Rehabilitation and Speech reading Classes
Aural rehabilitation and speech reading classes provide patients with new skills and technological updates that will help them reduce the impact of their disability on their communication. A hearing aid alone is not enough to overcome the challenges of the disability the Northeastern classes provide patients with knowledge about the implications of hearing loss.[2]
Notes and references
Notes
↑ "Guild for Hard of Hearing To Be Host". Boston Globe. 14 April 1936.
↑ "Claire K. Kennedy; Headed Hard of Hearing Guild". Boston Globe. November 5, 1982.
↑ "Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing" the Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing records, 1916-2003. Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department (Box 2, Folder 31), Northeastern University Libraries, Boston, MA
↑ "Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing" the Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing records, 1916-2003. Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department (Box 1, Folder 9), Northeastern University Libraries, Boston, MA
1 2 "Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing" the Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing records, 1916-2003. Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department (Box 2, Folder 12), Northeastern University Libraries, Boston, MA
↑ "Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing" the Boston Guild for The Hard of Hearing records, 1916-2003. Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department (Box 2, Folder 11), Northeastern University Libraries, Boston, MA
References
Pugh, Eunice Acheson (22 October 1942). "The Work of the Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing". New England Journal of Medicine. 227 (17): 624–626. doi:10.1056/nejm194210222271703.
Miller, Margo (October 13, 1980). "New Help for Hard of Hearing". Boston Globe.
Dial, Marie (May 23, 1998). "New England Hard of Hearing Patients". Boston Globe.
Assistive technology (AT) is a term for assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and the elderly. Disabled people often have difficulty performing activities of daily living (ADLs) independently, or even with assistance. ADLs are self-care activities that include toileting, mobility (ambulation), eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, and personal device care. Assistive technology can ameliorate the effects of disabilities that limit the ability to perform ADLs. Assistive technology promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks. For example, wheelchairs provide independent mobility for those who cannot walk, while assistive eating devices can enable people who cannot feed themselves to do so. Due to assistive technology, disabled people have an opportunity of a more positive and easygoing lifestyle, with an increase in "social participation," "security and control," and a greater chance to "reduce institutional costs without significantly increasing household expenses." In schools, assistive technology can be critical in allowing students with disabilities access the general education curriculum. Students who experience challenges writing or keyboarding, for example, can use voice recognition software instead. Assistive technologies assist people who are recovering from strokes and people who have abstained injuries that effect their daily tasks.
The three models of deafness are rooted in either social or biological sciences. These are the cultural model, the social model, and themedicalmodel. The model through which the deaf person is viewed can impact how they are treated as well as their own self perception. In the cultural model, the Deaf belong to a culture in which they are neither infirm nor disabled, but rather have their own fully grammatical and natural language. In the medical model, deafness is viewed undesirable, and it is to the advantage of the individual as well as society as a whole to "cure" this condition. The social model seeks to explain difficulties experienced by deaf individuals that are due to their environment.
This is a glossary of medical terms related to communication disorders which are psychological or medical conditions that could have the potential to affect the ways in which individuals can hear, listen, understand, speak and respond to others.
A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy and sleep disorders.
Service and supports for people with disabilities are those government or other institutional services and supports specifically provided to enable people who have disabilities to participate in society and community life. Some such services and supports are mandated or required by law, some are assisted by technologies that have made it easier to provide the service or support while others are commercially available not only to persons with disabilities, but to everyone who might make use of them.
Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) is a type of hearing impairment where there is normal hearing in one ear and impaired hearing in the other ear.
Post-lingual deafness is a deafness which develops after the acquisition of speech and language, usually after the age of six.
In the U.S. the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a special education law that mandates regulation for students with disabilities to protect their rights as students and the rights of their parents. The IDEA requires that all students receive a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and that these students should be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). To determine what an appropriate setting is for a student, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team will review the student's strengths, weaknesses, and needs, and consider the educational benefits from placement in any particular educational setting. By law the team is required to include the student's parent or guardian, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, a representative of the local education agency, someone to interpret evaluation results and, if appropriate, the student. It is the IEP team's responsibility to determine what environment is the LRE for any given student with disabilities, which varies between every student. The goal of an IEP is to create the LRE for that student to learn in. For some students, mainstream inclusion in a standard classroom may be an appropriate setting whereas other students may need to be in a special education classroom full time, but many students fall somewhere within this spectrum. Students may also require supplementary aids and services to achieve educational goals while being placed in a classroom with students without disabilities, these resources are provided as needed. The LRE for a student is less of a physical location, and more of a concept to ensure that the student is receiving the services that they need to be successful.
The Atlanta Speech School is a language and literacy school located in Atlanta, Georgia, established in 1938. The school provides educational and clinical programs. The Atlanta Speech School's Rollins Center provides professional development for teachers and educators in partner schools and preschools. The Rollins Center focuses on the eradication of illiteracy. The Rollins Center has an online presence called Cox Campus, which is an online learning environment with coursework targeted for the education of children age 0–8.
Aural rehabilitation is the process of identifying and diagnosing a hearing loss, providing different types of therapies to clients who are hard of hearing, and implementing different amplification devices to aid the client’s hearing abilities. Aural rehab includes specific procedures in which each therapy and amplification device has as its goal the habilitation or rehabilitation of persons to overcome the handicap (disability) caused by a hearing impairment or deafness.
Canadian Hearing Services was founded in 1940 to provide services for deaf and hard of hearing people in Ontario. Services include instruction in American and Quebec sign languages, interpreter services, deafblind intervenors, audiology and speech–language pathology. The CHS advocates for the hearing impaired in Canada through the support of 9-1-1 texting, visual fire alarms, and access to the justice system. The CHS handles emergency situations in hospitals, emergency rooms, after-hours clinics, shelters, and police services.
The National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH) is an institute devoted to the education and rehabilitation of individuals with speech-language and hearing impairments located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city in the Indian state of Kerala. It was established in 1997 on the initiative of the state of Kerala and is a self-financing affiliate college of the University of Kerala. Academics at NISH is unique in the sense that NISH has an integrated campus where students with hearing impairment and students with normal hearing share the same campus. Bachelor's level courses exclusively for students with hearing impairment include Degree courses in Fine Arts, Computer Science and Commerce affiliated to University of Kerala. On the other hand, NISH also provides RCI approved professional courses at undergraduate level and graduate level in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology as well as diploma courses affiliated to Kerala Health University (KUHS)
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written with a lower case d. It later came to be used in a cultural context to refer to those who primarily communicate through sign language regardless of hearing ability, often capitalized as Deaf and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. The two definitions overlap but are not identical, as hearing loss includes cases that are not severe enough to impact spoken language comprehension, while cultural Deafness includes hearing people who use sign language, such as children of deaf adults.
La Alianza Hispana is a social service agency founded in 1969 by residents of Roxbury/ North Dorchester to support Boston's Hispanic population. La Alianza advocates for equal access to services and public resources for the Hispanic Community by combating the effects of discrimination, poverty and challenges of migration.
Assistive Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is special technology built to assist those who are deaf or suffer from hearing loss. Examples of such technology include hearing aids, video relay services, tactile devices, alerting devices and technology for supporting communication.
HASA is a social benefit 501(c)(3) organization located in Baltimore, Maryland, that specializes in facilitating communication. Established in 1926, the organization provides special education services through Gateway School, audiology and speech-language services through its Clinical Services Department, and interpreting services for the deaf through its CIRS Interpreting Department.
Language deprivation in deaf and hard-of-hearing children is a delay in language development that occurs when sufficient exposure to language, spoken or signed, is not provided in the first few years of a deaf or hard of hearing child's life, often called the critical or sensitive period. Early intervention, parental involvement, and other resources all work to prevent language deprivation. Children who experience limited access to language—spoken or signed—may not develop the necessary skills to successfully assimilate into the academic learning environment. There are various educational approaches for teaching deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Decisions about language instruction is dependent upon a number of factors including extent of hearing loss, availability of programs, and family dynamics.
According to The Deaf Unit Cairo, there are approximately 1.2 million deaf and hard of hearing individuals in Egypt aged five and older. Deafness can be detected in certain cases at birth or throughout childhood in terms of communication delays and detecting language deprivation. The primary language used amongst the deaf population in Egypt is Egyptian Sign Language (ESL) and is widely used throughout the community in many environments such as schools, deaf organizations, etc. Ths article focuses on the many different aspects of Egyptian life and the impacts it has on the deaf community.
The Windward Islands consist of various islands located in the Caribbean Sea such as Dominica, Martinique, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Grenada. It consists of various cultures, beliefs, and languages.
Deafness in Thailand refers to the population and culture of Deaf Hard of Hearing people in Thailand. Deafness in Thailand includes language emergence, organizations, healthcare, employment, schooling, and civil rights.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
