Parents, who are faced with the devastating news of their child’s deafness, are all too often unaware of the educational options available to develop listening and speech. In the years since our founding in 1969, Oralingua has demonstrated that, with early intervention, even profoundly deaf children can use their listening skills to develop language, identify speech sounds and follow the normal process of learning.
Oralingua School for the Hearing Impaired has been teaching young deaf children how to listen and talk for over 25 years. We offer an auditory-oral program as an alternative to the total communication method of education. Although we realize that there are children who cannot develop speech and language for communication, we believe that the severity of a hearing loss alone should not preclude this learning from occurring.
Oralingua provides individual therapy for infants and preschool-aged children. We provide a creative curriculum which places children ages 3 to 10 in a classroom environment. We encourage cognitive, academic, social and motor skills as well as an emphasis on listening, speech and language. The student/teacher ratio is maintained at a low rate and fosters positive reinforcement in all elements of education.
One of our goals is to mainstream our students in their neighborhood classrooms alongside normal hearing peers. This goal is often realized, as many of our students are fully mainstreamed and function far beyond our greatest expectations.
We are a family in the best sense. A shared purpose bonds our dedicated staff, tireless Board of Directors, and the boundless participation of students’ parents and siblings. Below, you can find out more about the dedicated individuals who create the magic at Oralingua. And you can visit the “Voices of Experience” where alumni, their siblings and parents share their thoughts.
STAFF
Oralingua’s educational staff shares an impressive record of teaching experience. Most teachers hold Master Degrees with special credentials in Deaf Education. Many have received special training and certification in the areas of speech pathology, audiology, sensory motor integration, learning handicaps, early childhood education and administration.
Elisa Roche, Operations Manager
Ellen Balkan, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Jocelyn Blair, Teacher’s Assistant
Linda Comstock, Office Manager
Geisele DeCuir, Administrative Assistant
Linda Jaye Dinow, Educational Audiologist
Jane Freutel, Master Teacher
Taryn Hernandez, Teacher’s Assistant
Kim Hiddleson, Speech/Language Pathologist
Suzanne Huffman, Teacher’s Assistant
Linda Hyde, Master Teacher
Alice Love, Teacher
Traci Nolin, Clinical Audiologist
Nina Risinger, Team Teacher
Paola Rosales, Teacher’s Assistant
Maria Sagastegui, Assistant Teacher
Kay Schneider, Master Teacher
Jessica Simental, Teacher’s Assistant
Krista Smiglewski, Team Teacher
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
David Balkan, President
Brian Chin, V.P.
Ted Handel, Esq.
Debra Lolik
Dennis Maceri, M.D.
David Minasian
Elisa Roche
J. Lawrence Stone
