School Assessment

Early diagnosis and early intervention are crucial to helping a child with hearing loss develop speech, language and listening skills. CID professionals are experts at diagnosing hearing problems in very young infants as well as children of all ages. They have a wealth of experience giving parents practical recommendations and counseling at this pivotal time in their child's young life. 

School applicants are first evaluated using tests of hearing, speech, language, cognition and educational achievement. These tests help to identify a child's strengths and special needs and to determine whether the CID school would be an appropriate educational placement. Parents have brought their children from locations around the country to obtain this specialized combination of assessments at Central Institute for the Deaf.

The educational and audiologic evaluations are conducted at CID and parents are encouraged to observe. The results include information, counseling and a comprehensive report that helps families determine the most appropriate and effective educational approach, setting and services for their deaf or hearing-impaired child.

CID's school evaluation team counsels parents on how well their child is doing in language and academics compared to hearing-impaired children and normal-hearing children their age. We make recommendations for educational management, including:

          * What listening device is appropriate for this child

          * What communication mode is optimal — auditory-oral education or total communication?

          * What setting is appropriate for the child — special education,
               mainstream or some of both?

          * What educational services does the child need?

          * What more can the family do?

Our experienced pediatric audiologists evaluate each child's ability to benefit from all available sensory aids. We'll help you select the device that provides maximum understanding of speech. We'll help you decide which educational setting and support services will have the greatest benefit for your child.

To arrange for an educational assessment and/or a tour of the CID  school, contact Andrea Osman at aosman@cid.edu 314.977.0135. Or we will call you to talk about your child. 

Ask about complimentary overnight accommodations during school candidate evaluations for qualified families who live far from the St. Louis area.