What is the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation?

The Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization formed in 1996 to provide and promote speech communication training for children and adults with hearing loss.

The past twenty years have seen many exciting technological innovations for people with acquired profound hearing losses. These have included greatly improved hearing aid designs, specialized assistive listening devices, the introduction and rapid development of cochlear implants, and innovations in tactile aid design. Despite these developments, it is apparent that technology is not always enough, and that some people with acquired deafness require special additional assistance even after the fitting of the most appropriate devices.

These technological advances have also made a great impact on the education of children with profound hearing losses, offering many children the chance to acquire effective speech communication skills. The HRF believes that speech production and reception should be an important option for any profoundly deaf child -- not as a substitute for sign, but rather as one component of her/his battery of communication skills.

The HRFs Board of Management includes some of the most influential figures in audiology, education, and aural rehabilitation, including: Peter Blackwell, Harlan Lane, Harry Levitt, Geoff Plant, Charlotte Reed, J. Michael Reynolds, Mark Ross, Mark Schultz, and Tad Zelski.

Since its inception, the HRF has been an important provider of services and resources for people with hearing loss and related professionals. These contributions have included:

• Step by Step and Speech Stuff, two books on teaching speech to deaf children
• Hear at Home, a home training resource for adults with acquired hearing loss.
• Organization of ISAC-98, a conference on the use of sensory aids for people with hearing loss which was attended by 40 researchers and clinicians from the US and abroad.
• Organization of the First International Adult Aural Rehabilitation Conference held in Portland, Maine in May 2001. Over 100 people from nine countries participated. The second in the series is planned for May 2003.
• Low-cost speech communication training to children and adults with hearing loss. Clients have included adults and children fitted with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and tactile aids. Clients who cannot afford to make a contribution to the HRF are seen without charge.
• Speech communication training workshops for teachers and clinicians working with adults and children. A recent workshop, on approaches to speech communication training to be used with adults who have an acquired hearing loss, attracted over 50 attendees.
• Geoff Plant, the President of the HRF, is frequently an invited speaker at conferences and workshops in the US, the United Kingdom, France, and Canada.

How can I help?

Please help us carry on our work by making a contribution. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, all donations to the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation are tax deductible. Checks should be sent to:

Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation
35 Medford St.
Somerville, MA 02143

Thank you.