Our History

After Spencer and Louise Tracy's infant son was diagnosed with profound hearing loss in 1925, Louise Treadwell Tracy devoted her time and energy to studying how deaf children could be taught to communicate with the hearing and speaking world. She patiently guided her son, John, into an understanding of language and lip-reading. With her encouragement, he learned to speak. In 1942, Mrs. Tracy responded to a desperate call for help from twelve other mothers of young deaf children by founding John Tracy Clinic.

Mrs. Tracy compassionately established programs to educate and offer emotional support to parents and their preschool deaf youngsters, free of charge. By encouraging parents to build a foundation of communication with their young children during the critical language development stage from birth through age five, the Clinic has enabled thousands of boys and girls to master the challenges of oral communication.