JTC Welcomes the World

July 1, 2009

John Tracy Clinic is in the midst of hosting the 2009 International Summer Sessions for families of preschool children with hearing loss. The educational, counseling and audiology staff are honored to share their expertise with parents and learn from the experience of families worldwide. Every child has a unique story!  The classrooms include sets of twins with hearing loss, children who are adopted, children with hearing aids, children with cochlear implants, and children who are speaking multiple languages.  Families shared their fears and concerns upon arrival and will celebrate their progress and high expectations upon departure.  Says Dr. Barbara Hecht, President, “Each group arrives as individual families, but leaves as cohorts.”  They are united in their support and connections to one another formed during classes, support groups and shared social experiences.  Each group is thankful to JTC staff, but a major part of the magic of the summer session is the bonding of parents from all over the world.
 
The ’09 International Summer Sessions conducted in English includes families from India, Germany, Peru, Canada, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, France and 11 U.S states. Spanish International 2009 Summer Session with all presentations in Spanish includes families from Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela.

Author/Alum Lee Woodruff
Welcomed at JTC

May 12, 2009

“John Tracy Clinic changed my life,” author and JTC alumna Lee Woodruff told an adoring audience Tuesday night, May 12, on her first visit to the campus. On tour to promote her second book, Perfectly Imperfect, Ms. Woodruff accepted an invitation for a reception, discussion and book signing at her “alma matter.” The book, published by Random House, chronicles her unusual and eventful life, including the challenges of raising a child with hearing loss.

As an American living in London in the year 2000, Ms. Woodruff learned that her baby girl, Nora, was born deaf. Through a friend, she found out about John Tracy Clinic’s Correspondence Course for Parents and immediately signed up. The course gave her the direction and support she desperately needed.

“I can’t believe how personal your letters and instructions felt to me,” she said. “I remember statements like, ‘It appears that Nora is not wearing her hearing aids enough.’ That kind of detail in letter after letter, going on sometimes for two or three pages. It’s just amazing to me that this beautiful little place in Los Angeles and its small, dedicated staff does all this work and at no charge. There are, of course, people with means who could pay, but it’s free for everyone. Many of you in this room are donors, I know, and you are doing a truly wonderful thing.”

Lee Woodruff is also the co-author of In an Instant, with her husband, ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff, about the struggles they faced together as Bob recovered from a traumatic brain injury sustained in Iraq. She is a free lance writer and contributing editor for ABC’s Good Morning America. Perfectly Imperfect is her second book.

A limited number of signed copies of Perfectly Imperfect are available for purchase through JTC ($25 + $5.95 shipping). For more information, please contact Mary Ann Bell, VP of Development and Communications at (213) 748-5481, ext 229, or email her at mabell@jtc.org.

Photo: Lee Woodruff signs copies of her book, Perfectly Imperfect at JTC.

Scouts Expand Children's Library

January 29, 2009

Travis Custer, along with family guests and members and leaders of Boy Scout Troop 622 from Simi Valley, CA, delivered over 2,000 books they collected for the new Preschool Library.  The boys and their scout masters sorted and stacked the books, which are available for school and home use by all the children at JTC.

The new library helps fill the Educational Services Department’s objective to stress the importance of literacy in children with hearing loss and their families. Travis chose this project to fulfill his Eagle Scout Badge, the highest achievement award in the Boy Scout program.

JTC Receives Unique Disney Collage

January 15, 2009

It hung for years on the sconce lit walls in the historic lobby of the Best Western Hollywood Hills.  Alongside were similar displays featuring Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, Natalie Wood and other stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era.  On the first week of January 2009, a call came to JTC President Barbara Hecht from Bernard Adler, Senior VP at Best Western.  The hotel had decided to donate its prized Walt Disney memorabilia collage to John Tracy Clinic. Thus, a remarkable bit of Hollywood and John Tracy Clinic history now awaits the perfect spot at JTC’s Los Angeles campus. 

Besides delighting visitors and families alike, the collage will serve as a reminder to everyone of the clinic’s storybook Hollywood beginnings. Most people have heard that John Tracy Clinic was founded by Louise and Spencer Tracy, and named in honor of their son, John, who was born profoundly deaf.  Few may know that many icons of the silver screen shined their influence on this new kind of opportunity for deaf children, with its pioneering, parent-centered spoken language concept.  Many in the entertainment business even volunteered their time to help out at fundraising events. One such individual was Walt Disney, who served as a Founding Director, authorized special photography and deaf education training films, and, as the check in the center of the collage shows, became an early benefactor as well. Disney’s family has continued to support JTC’s mission ever since.

Thanks to Mr. Adler, Disney’s wise counsel and generosity will be honored every day at John Tracy Clinic for generations to come.

JTC Family Honored As Famous Alumni

January 2009

A John Tracy Clinic family was honored as Famous Alumni by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).  Michael Chorost and his mother, Susan Chorost, were nominated by JTC to be recognized by this national accrediting council for institutions providing distance learning.  Michael and his mother turned to JTC’s distance education course when Michael received his first hearing aids at age three and was significantly delayed in communication.  Working intensively with JTC materials, Susan helped her son improve his language to a level where he was mainstreamed at age five and continued on through college, earning his Ph.D. from the University of Texas.  Simultaneously, the world class work at JTC gave Susan the background to pursue a career as a professional teacher of the deaf.  Michael is a visiting professor at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. His first book, Rebuilt (Houghton Mifflin), earned him the prestigious PEN USA’s 2006 Award for Creative Nonfiction.  Susan is an Assistive Technology Coordinator at Summit Speech School in New Jersey and a contributor to technical journals in the field. 

“John Tracy Clinic’s correspondence course became my lifeline.”  Susan Chorost

“It was personalized instruction and mentorship of extraordinary quality.”  Michael Chorost