Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center

Founded in 1921, the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center (CHSC) began with the simple mission of "providing lip reading classes for adults who are deaf or hard of hearing," and is the nation's oldest freestanding speech center and Northeast Ohio's only non-profit organization dedicated solely to serving those with special communication needs.

The first headquarters of the organization was established in 1924 under the guidance of Helen Newell Garfield, daughter-in-law of President James Garfield. Called the Cleveland Association for the Hard of Hearing, the name was later changed to the Cleveland Hearing Center when services were expanded to include deaf and hard of hearing children. In June 1945, the Cleveland Hearing Center and the Western Reserve Speech Clinic merged to create a new institution, the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center. It began operations out of a University-owned house at 11206 Euclid Avenue that was aptly named "Garfield House" in honor of its founder. In 1953, to keep up with the rapid increase and demand for services and the accelerated growth in scientific development in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, a new addition was added to the Garfield House headquarters. A modern facility was constructed in 1967, replacing the Garfield House structure.

This building was needed to service the Center's ever-expanding caseload and to provide new and improved services and larger professional training programs and research facilities. In 1975, Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center added its Community Services for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program, the first such program funded by the State of Ohio. Three branch offices were later added in South Euclid, Lorain, and Broadview Heights to better serve the special communication needs of persons living in Northeast Ohio. CHSC serves as the primary training site for the Department of Communication Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. In 2002, the Center's newest service area, the Regional Infant Hearing Program (RIHP), became fully operational. This free-of-charge, family-focused program offers outreach services for infants and toddlers (birth to age three) who are Deaf or hard of hearing living in Northeast Ohio.

In 2006, CHSC celebrated its 85th anniversary. Over 10,000 children and adults came to the center seeking services, guidance, and information in the areas of Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, and Community Services for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing.

Source: Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center. Retrieved from http://www.chsc.org on December 18, 2009.

From the guide to the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center collection, 1920-1990, (Cleveland State University)