Hearts for Hearing Foundation

Foundation Assistance

Initiatives

The Hearts for Hearing Foundation believes children who are deaf or hard of hearing in Oklahoma should have the opportunity to learn to listen and talk. The future has never been brighter for children with hearing loss. It is possible for them to develop exceptional conversational skills, reading skills and academic competencies due to early identification and diagnosis of hearing loss through infant hearing screening, advances in hearing technology, medical intervention and auditory-verbal therapy and practice. Within hours of birth, innovative testing procedures can screen an infant’s hearing to indicate if further diagnostic tests are warranted, allowing for early identification of hearing loss. Advances in contemporary hearing technology including digital hearing aids, personal FM systems, soundfield FM systems, and cochlear implants, provide improved access to intelligible speech. As a result, intervention begins immediately and as babies are fit with hearing aids and cochlear implants, greater language enrichment during the critical periods when brain neural plasticity can be maximized.  That is why on-going aggressive audiological management of a child’s hearing loss by a qualified pediatric audiologist and the wearing of hearing aids and/or cochlear implants during all waking hours are critical.

To develop spoken language children must have access to intelligible speech, be taught to listen, and have opportunities to participate in conversation with adults, older children and normal hearing peers. Conversational exchanges provide children the opportunity to learn to listen and interpret what others are saying, and at the same time, to put in to words their own thoughts, feelings, and messages.

The possibilities for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to develop exceptional conversational abilities, literacy skills, and academic competencies are incredible today. In order to turn these possibilities into realities for children in Oklahoma who are deaf or hard of hearing, the Foundation supports the following four initiatives:

1. Hearing Technology, Audiological, Habilitation, Oral Deaf Education.
   Providing resources for Hearing Technology; Audiological, Habilitation, and Oral deaf Education Services. For further information, please see Criteria for Assistance and Financial Assistance Application. Upon receipt of completed form, applicant will be notified of status within 10 business days.
    
2. Special Projects
   Funding for special projects promoting the listening and speaking skills for infants and children such as parent workshops and seminars, and child interaction guidance workshops. For further information, please see Application Form B. Upon receipt of completed form, applicant will be notified of status within 10 business days.
    
3. Professional Development
   Funding and opportunities for professional development to improve the knowledge and clinical skills for all professionals who interact with children with hearing loss and their families such as conferences and institutes. For further information, please see Application Form B. Upon receipt of completed form, applicant will be notified of status within 10 business days.
    
4. Community Awareness
   Providing community awareness and education regarding the possibilities for children with hearing loss to develop spoken language through early identification, hearing technology, aggressive audiological management and auditory-verbal therapy. For further information please see Application Form B. Upon receipt of completed form, applicant will be notified of status within 10 business days.