Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center

Speech:A full range of family-centered speech-language services, including prevention, identification and intervention services, is provided by our speech-language department. This department typically reaches approximately 3,500 individuals each year, whether in-person or via Tele-Health services. We are involved in many collaborative programs for at-risk children throughout our community. These include speech-language and literacy programs at disadvantaged preschools and child development centers, services to children with severe emotional-behavioral problems at residential schools and a speech-language and hearing identification project for low-income daycares throughout the Charlotte area. Our Assistance Fund provides free or reduced cost speech-language services to low-income individuals with communication disorders in our community. We provide over 2,500 screenings each year and strive to connect all of those children needing follow up with community resources. Our caregiver education outcomes demonstrate real change in how parents and teachers provide language and literacy stimulation to children they care for. Finally, by tracking the functional changes in our patients abilities we have shown that our intervention services are making huge impact in the lives of those we serve as over 90% meet their goals each year. We are proud that our outcomes, year after year, demonstrate tremendous impact on our community.

Hearing: Our Hearing Services department typically serves approximately 800 individuals each year including our newly expanded options for drive-up and portable audiology devices. Our Hearing Service Bank provides free or reduced cost hearing aids and services to low-income children and seniors who otherwise would face a disabling communication disorder with many adverse consequences. The gift of hearing provides an increased quality of life, a sense of security and often the only path to employment and independence for older adults. For children the ability to hear and communicate is vital to their future; we want to give them the key to unlocking a world that they can succeed in. Each year our outcomes demonstrate that we succeed in making positive and significant impact in the lives of those we serve as over 95% of our patients indicate a significant improvement in their quality of life and ability to communicate.