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2005

MASTER'S DEGREE STUDENTS BEGIN ONSITE PROGRAM
September 12

Fresh from their month-long summer residency in August, the six, full-time graduate students in the new Master's and Credential Program returned to the Clinic's campus for their one-year onsite course of study. The onsite program is one of two options available to students in the newly established teacher education partnership with the University of San Diego. The students work closely with JTC staff in an intensive curriculum that includes fieldwork, lectures, and training in auditory-oral classroom settings, as well as in individual auditory-verbal sessions with families.

Photo caption: Master's degree student, Meghan Maguire, under the supervision of Jill Muhs, assistant director, JTC Parent-Infant Program, and faculty in the Teacher Education Program, practices early intervention techniques with one-year-old Antonio Caballero and his parents. Students in this class will demonstrate practical understanding and knowledge of current theory, practices, and legal requirements to support families with infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Over 60 guests attended the Masquerade for the Silent Rose, a benefit for John Tracy Clinic organized by the Junior Auxiliary of the Orange County Guild. It was the first event held by the group, which represents a fourth generation of support for John Tracy Clinic. The evening was hosted by Founding Chair, Sarah Moran with the assistance of Junior Auxiliary Officers, Sonya Messinger, Kimberly Castro, and Sarah Hasmi. Held at the Fairmont Newport Beach Hotel, the event included a fabulous raffle, dinner and ballroom dancing.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony was held for the expansion and renovation of the Clinic's Long Beach Center, which provides free services for families living in the Long Beach, Orange County and South Bay areas. The facility's overall available space will increase from 1,884 to 2,434 square feet to accommodate a growing demand for services. Included in the project will be an expansion of the Parent Education and Support Group Room, the addition of a fenced outdoor play area and several other components.

The expansion is dedicated to the memory of Andrew Sanders, a boy with hearing loss whose family received help from John Tracy Clinic as a young child. Andrew tragically died last year in an accident. Gregory Sanders, Andrew's father, is employed by Irvine-based Snyder Langston, a general contracting firm that is managing the project's construction program and coordinating donations from employees, vendors and subcontractors.

Other major contributors to the project include a number of individuals as well as the George Hoag Family Foundation, the Fred L. Hartley Family Foundation, the Edmund Shea Family Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California and the Anna Bundy Trust.

Photo caption: Left to right, Frank Martinez, vice president of business development at Snyder Langston; Dr. Barbara Hecht, Clinic president; Brandon Barker of Snyder Langston; Andrew Sanders' father Greg, mother Mela and brother Mathew Sanders; and Patricia Fry of John Tracy Clinic Board of Directors.

Notrica's 32 Street Market, a fixture of the John Tracy Clinic/USC neighborhood for 53 years, closes its doors today, Friday, September 30. For the last 25 years, owner Morrie Notrica has generously donated food to the Clinic's International Summer Session families. President Barbara F. Hecht and Correspondence Course Interim Director Kathleen Ambrosi awarded him a plaque for his extraordinary service. Ms. Ambrosi estimates that Mr. Notrica provided groceries to some 1,300 families over the years.

“The words ‘John Tracy Clinic’ will forever have new meaning to us,” said Kim Sorenson of Henderson, Nevada, one of the two spokespersons for the Summer Session II families at the farewell ceremony. “How wonderful it has been to be living in this oral-deaf utopia,” she exclaimed, as she thanked the staff for their gentle but firm guidance and the other parents for their emotional support and friendship. A particularly tight-knit group, the families have already planned two reunions, one in June of next year at the AG Bell Conference in Pittsburgh, and another in Las Vegas the following year. Twenty families from four countries and eight states attended the final three-week session.

Reporter Cindy Shin from local Korean television, TVK-24, filmed a news segment on campus (in part Korean, part English) featuring the Older Preschool Classroom with Bridgette Klaus, Demo Home with teacher Jill Muhs and psychologist Dr. Julia Kim (who speaks Korean and English), and a Korean family in service, Joshua and Uensook Kim. Also filmed was a hearing testing with preschooler Andy Wu, conducted by Audiologist Lisa Shigio with Barbara Oh’s assistance. The reporter noted that Barbara Oh, who is also Korean, graduated from our Teacher Ed program. The segment ran only on Comcast Channel 671, but is permanently archived at www.tvk24.com.

Photo caption: TVK-24 videographer records a preschool reading session with teacher Bridgette Klaus.

Rebuilt, one man’s journey from deafness to hearing through the technological miracle of a cochlear implant, was written by Michael Chorost, celebrated author and John Tracy Clinic Correspondence Course alumnus. Reviewed by the Sunday, July 31 edition of the Los Angeles Times Book Review with words like “brilliant” and “invaluable,” Rebuilt is a 2005 publishing sensation. According to the reviewer, the book “…may be the first of a new genre, the cyborg memoir.” Cyborg, short for cybernetic organism, normally refers to science fiction characters like The Six Million Dollar Man, in which parts of the body are enhanced, even taken over, through electromechanical devices.

Michael Chorost was born with hearing loss in 1964. At age four, his audiologist in New York referred his parents to John Tracy Clinic, and they enrolled in the Correspondence Course in 1968. “The course proved to be, in my mother’s words, ‘a lifeline,’ he writes on page 29 of his book. “It was personalized instruction and mentorship of extraordinary quality.” A complete set of the family’s letters remains on file in the Clinic’s archives.

Dr. Chorost wore hearing aids for years and received a cochlear implant in July 2001 after both of his cochleas ceased to function and his aids failed to deliver enough sound. He holds a B.S. from Brown and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. He lives in San Francisco where he is a science writer and educational computing consultant. Rebuilt was published by Houghton Mifflin. www.rebuilt-thebook.com

Parents first day of Summer Session 2005

Families from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and Costa Rica were welcomed by the staff to the third annual Latin American Summer Session. Accompanying the families were a group of professional teachers and speech therapists from Mexico City. The Spanish-only program is coordinated by Lilian Flores-Beltran, a licensed speech pathologist from Mexico City. Her husband, Dr. Pedro Berruecos, works with the Clinic staff to provide audiological services. Families in the two-week intensive program receive the same packed schedule of free services as those in the three other Summer Sessions, which are conducted in English.

Over 100 children, parents, grandparents and staff members attended this year’s Summer Session I picnic, including past and current members of the Parent’s Support Group, who brought out their designer line of logo clothing. The event was sponsored for the 11th year by John Joe Aguilar, a donor and friend of the Clinic. John Joe provided all the food and entertainment, including the services of In&Out Burger, Kermit’s Ice Cream and Hiccups the Clown, who led the children in face painting, magic activities and circle games.

Nineteen families from 9 countries and 7 states joined this year’s Summer Session I, June 12 – July 1. The intensive three-week sessions are filled with audiological assessments, English-language preschool, speech/language therapy, parent classes and support groups, guests speakers, individual parent-teacher conferences, and a sibling program.

Thirteen children, together with their parents and siblings, were honored in the annual Preschool Program Farewell Ceremony held in the main auditorium. Remarks were given by President Barbara F. Hecht and parent Angie Gonzales. By tradition, certificates of completion were personally signed and presented to each family by Miss Susie Tracy along with copies of Founder Louise Tracy's book, Talks To Parents.

Caption: (Left to right) Anthony Orozco, Thomas Baca, Jose Nolasco, Nathan Templeman, Jordyn Thornton, Arum Butler-Sloss, Monica Garcia, Daniel Fouladian, Yaman Konuralp, Tobias Jago-Simonsen (with camera) and Amaris Luna-Gonzales. Missing: Kirsten Mitchell and Niccolo Hernandez. At right are Tobias's twin brother, Casper and their father, Bent Simonsen.

Parents attending their last Friday Family School session of the academic year took part in a “graduation” ceremony complete with speeches, photos, certificates of participation and a homemade cake. The Friday Family School Program, an extension of the Parent/Infant Program, is designed to provide newly diagnosed families with a weekly playgroup preschool experience, interaction with other parents who understand the challenges of having a deaf child, guided participation in the classroom with their children, and participation in support groups and classes.

Parents of children newly diagnosed with hearing loss are invited to join families already enrolled in the Parent/Infant Program for a free and informal Summer Playgroup, to be held between June 3 and July 29.

Caption: Brent Blasing receives a Friday Family School certificate from Teacher Mary Steinwinter (left) and Teacher and Assistant Director of Parent/Infant Services Jill Muhs center). Brent, his wife Lucy and their son Chance have attended Friday Family School for three years. Interpreting for Spanish speaking parents is JTC’s Bilingual Family Counselor Mary Beth Goring (right, back).

The Orange County Guild for John Tracy Clinic hosted its annual Shawn Parr Invitational Golf Tournament this month at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Niguel. All proceeds supported the Clinic’s worldwide free services. The program for the day included continental breakfast, 18 holes of golf in super scramble format, lunch on the course, a silent auction, an awards banquet and a live auction led by KZLA radio celebrity Shawn Parr. A special luncheon, including a fashion show and wine tasting, was held for non-golfing spouses and Guild Founding Members.

The Orange County Guild for John Tracy Clinic was established in 1964 to provide funds for the Clinic’s efforts to help young children with hearing loss reach their potential in the hearing and speaking world. In its forty-one years of support, the Guild has raised nearly $1.5 million for the Clinic. To learn more, visit the Guild’s website at www.ocg.org.

John Tracy Clinic Joins With University of San Diego To Offer New Master's & Credential Program in Deaf Education
MAY 10

Recent grad Cat Carpenter works with JTC preschool student

LOS ANGELES – John Tracy Clinic, in partnership with the University of San Diego, announces a new, fully accredited teacher education program leading to a Master’s Degree and California Credential in Deaf Education. The program, which begins on August 1, 2005, is dedicated to the auditory-oral and auditory-verbal philosophies.

1) One-year, full-time graduate program on the John Tracy Clinic Los Angeles campus, and

Both options require two summer residencies at John Tracy Clinic. Scholarships are available for U.S. Citizens. All information, including tuition, prerequisites, and the full course of study, is available on the John Tracy Clinic website, www.jtc.org/teachered.

John Tracy Clinic was chosen to receive a portion of all May ticket sales to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. JTC was among 12 charities selected by Supervising Producer Patty Grant in a new program less than a year old. Normally, tickets are free on a first-come, first-served basis; however, reserved tickets were purchased through www.stubhub.com at $25 each. Check the website for the next time John Tracy Clinic is the featured charity.

Correspondence Course family at DETC Conference

President Barbara Hecht was a featured speaker at the annual conference for the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) in Charleston , South Carolina . Joining her at the podium were Nancy and Carol Kinney of nearby Greenville . The Kinneys are graduates of the Clinic’s Correspondence Course who attended a Summer Session in 2003.

DETC is a nationally recognized, non-profit accrediting association of distance education institutions. John Tracy Clinic was the only free, non-profit organization asked to make a presentation at the Conference, which was attended primarily by private colleges and trade schools offering web-based training and degrees.

In December of last year, DETC granted the Clinic’s Worldwide Correspondence Education program re-accreditation for five more years. The Clinic’s Correspondence Program first received accreditation in 1965, and has been reaccredited every five years since that time.

Desert Friends pose in front of JTC display

The Desert Friends of John Tracy Clinic hosted its 20th Annual Desert Friends Golf Classic and Auction on Monday, April 11. This year’s event, held at the Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert, featured the theme, “Around The World With John Tracy Clinic.” Auction items ranged from golf for four at Mission Hills Country Club and PGA West to an exotic botanical orchid in a China Cache pot donated by Benedict Gardens. The tournament, a benefit for John Tracy Clinic, also honored the memory the late great Mr. Chas "Buddy" Rogers, Hollywood star and philanthropist.

Photo caption: Left to right: Micky James, Marian Stahl, Desert Friends President Dianne Overbo and Beverly Rogers pose before a John Tracy Clinic display.

The Clinic was given a booth to pass out brochures at the annual Boeing Employees Community Fund Campaign Awareness Fair on April 28. The purpose of the event was to allow Boeing employees to see the difference their contributions make to the community. Boeing employees contributed $7,500 last year in support of the Clinic’s free programs and services.

KZLA Radio personality Shawn Parr was given the Public Service Spirit Award at a Public Service Media Conference on April 21 organized by the Southern California Broadcasters Association and the Print, Interactive, Radio and Television Educational Society. Shawn was given the award in part because of his 12 years of service to John Tracy as host of the Orange County Guild’s annual golf tournament. (This year’s tournament takes place May 16 at El Niguel Country Club in Laguna Nigel.) During the awards ceremony, information about the Clinic was continuously broadcast for the audience, which consisted of media representatives and non-profit public relations professionals.

Caption: Shawn Parr holds 2005 Public Service Spirit Award. Photo courtesy Steve Rosenthal

Barbara Hecht was chosen as the featured professional in the March 2005 issue of NEWS-line for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists. NEWS-Line publishes nine medical trade journal titles with a combined readership of 65,000, primarily healthcare professionals. Its magazines are distributed to hospitals, health clinics and private facilities nationwide.

Angie Stokes gives Desert Friends a tour

New and veteran members of the Desert Friends of John Tracy Clinic visited the Los Angeles campus for their annual luncheon and tour. Said Guild President Dianne Overbo, “Our first-time visitors were in awe of the whole process and how the Clinic deals with the families. This was my third trip, and I learn something new every time and continue to be thrilled with what you accomplish.”

As Clinic-trained audiometrists and test assistants, members of the Desert Friends volunteer their time in Coachella Valley preschools and daycare centers administering hearing screenings. This year alone they provided over 1,600 hearing screenings and follow-up tympanometry tests at nearly 50 preschool and daycare centers.

They also host many events in support of the Clinic. Their 20 th Annual Desert Friends Golf Classic and Auction will take place on Monday, April 11. For more information, contact Mrs. Overbo at (760) 772-0374.

Photo caption: Director of Educational Services Angie Stokes describes the Clinic’s latest preschool programs to members of the Desert Friends.

Dr. Barbara Hecht introduces Dr. Julia Kim

Early childhood professionals from various Regional Centers, Head Start partners and the Atwater Park Center joined JTC Consultation staff for a coffee meeting and tour of the Clinic. The gathering was the first in a series of morning events, named “a.m. at JTC,” designed to introduce the Clinic’s wide range of programs and services to a greater number of professionals in the community. It is hoped that networking in this manner will result in earlier identification, diagnosis and intervention of children with hearing loss.

Photo caption: President Barbara F. Hecht introduces the group to Developmental Consultant Dr. Julia Kim.

The Middle Preschool Class now enjoys a vintage, wooden Brio Train set, courtesy Dave Bauer, President of Targhee, Inc., an environmental consulting firm in Long Beach. The gift was a suggestion of Vicki Sawtelle, a member of the Long Beach League for John Tracy Clinic, when Mr. Bauer told her that his own children were too old for the set.

Ann and Dave Bauer have supported the Long Beach League ever since Vicki Sawtelle became a member in 1994. Several years ago, the LBL presented the couple with the Heart of Tracy Award.

Ms. Julia Biedenstein and Karen Kupper of the Moog Center of St. Louis, MO, visited John Tracy Clinic as part of a research project to study the verbal status of deaf children between the ages of 5 and 7 with cochlear implants. Testing at John Tracy Clinic was done on Kenny Malysz and Amanda Cerreta, both of whom recently graduated from JTC preschool.

“Cochlear implants and oral deaf education have had a great impact on the communication skills of deaf children, and we want to document this progress,” says Jean Moog and Dr. Ann Geers, project designers.

Both Moog and John Tracy Clinic are OPTION School members, an international council of private and independent schools that provide auditory-oral education for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Photo Caption: Moog Center’s Karen Kupper, Coordinator of Testing, administers cognitive/language test to Kenny Malysz, JTC 2003 preschool graduate.

LOS ANGELES—Dr. Yvonne Sininger, UCLA professor and researcher, presented her perspective on diagnosis and treatment of children with Auditory Neuropathy in a staff in-service held at John Tracy Clinic. Dr. Sininger is one of the leading experts in Auditory Neuropathy, a problem in the nerve that carries sound to the brain where cochlear function is normal.

Dr. Sininger, a former director of House Ear Institute’s Children’s Auditory Research and Evaluation Center (CARE) currently visiting Professor of Head & Neck Surgery at UCLA . Dr. Sininger’s research interests lie in electrophysiologic measures of hearing and auditory system development. She has had funding from the NIDCD for auditory development in infants and children with hearing loss. She is a co-investigator on another NIH project entitled “Connexin 26 Testing in Infants.” She is also director of Newborn Hearing Screening at UCLA, and has recently co-edited a book, Auditory Neuropathy, with the renowned Dr. Arnold Starr.

Representatives of CENTe-R (Collaborative Early Intervention National Training e-Resource) visited the Clinic to document children in groups and individual settings. The edited tapes will to be used in web-based modules for graduate students in studying early intervention and deaf education. Clinic president, Barbara F. Hecht, serves as a director/partner on the CENTeR Board.

Photo caption: CENTeR Director Anne V. McNally and videographer Tom Liscomb film teacher’s aid Lorna Sierra painting Easter eggs with Jordyn Jew.

Volta Voices, the bi-monthly membership magazine of the AG Bell Association, the world’s largest organization for oral deaf families and professionals, featured an article in its Jan/Feb 2005 issue by JTC Family Counselor Mary Beth Goring, MFT.

The article, titled, “Keeping It Together: Preserving Your Marriage When Your Child Has A Hearing Loss,” was based on a Clinic survey of couples in the first four years after learning of their child’s deafness. The survey explored nine areas of partnership: communication, parenting styles, spirituality, money management, leisure, division of labor and responsibilities, sex and intimacy, extended family, and management of hearing loss.

According to Ms. Goring, one-third of the respondents reported that their child’s hearing loss had a positive impact on their relationship, while one-fifth felt that the impact was negative. The rest said the news had a mixed or no effect. Ms. Goring advises that the happiest couples “create a sense of shared meaning,” but when grieving couples don’t have enough time or energy to nurture their marriage, they may need to “take care of themselves individually first,” with trips to the gym or lunches with friends.

Back issues of the Volta Voices are available for $4.00 plus $3.00 shipping by contacting www.agbell.org.

Photo caption: Japanese college students give the ASL sign for I love you as they gather beneath the Moreton Bay fig tree in Ahmanson Courtyard.

Area audiologists and early interventionists at John Tracy Clinic

LOS ANGELES - California Newborn Hearing Screening providers along with several area audiologists and school district early interventionists visited John Tracy Clinic for a morning of networking and information sharing. The visit included an in-depth tour of the Clinic's facilities and programs and a discussion of the critical importance of early detection of hearing loss in speech and language development.

California's Newborn Hearing Screening Law, Assembly Bill 2780, was passed in 1998, and mandates the screening of newborn babies in hospitals receiving funds from the State of California. Newborns are given a screening to alert the doctors of potential hearing problems, but hearing loss is not diagnosed on the basis of a screening. Appropriate protocols, including those in California, call for a second screening, after which at-risk families are referred to an audiologist for a complete test battery leading to diagnosis.

Photo Caption: Special guest, JTC parent alum, Vanessa Janney, shared her poignant family story with the guests.

LOS ANGELES - A five-minute interview with Angie Stokes, Director of Education Services at John Tracy Clinic, appeared on Santa Monica Update, City TV's biweekly cable news show.

The show began airing 2/25/04. Santa Monica Update airs weekdays at 9am, 12 noon, 6pm and 10:30pm. CityTV, http://citytv16.org/, the City of Santa Monica 's government access channel, airs a variety of programming for Santa Monica residents on cable Channel 16, daily from 8am. to 12 midnight.

2004

Actor's Wife a Star in Aiding Deaf Children and Their Families
November 14, 2004

"When Hollywood stars raise funds for a cause related to one of their own children, they're following the lead of Spencer Tracy's wife, Louise, who opened the hearts and ears of the world to the plight of deaf children.

"She founded the John Tracy Clinic, the first preschool in the nation to offer free emotional support, information and speech and lip-reading classes to help families cope with deafness. It's named for the couple's son, who is deaf."

For the complete article, refer to the LA Times archives at www.latimes.com (registration may be required).

2003

John Tracy Clinic, a highly acclaimed educational center for parents of infants and preschool children with hearing losses, is celebrating its 60th year of free family services in 2003.
The Clinic is considered a pioneering organization in parent-centered, speech and language education for babies and preschool children with hearing losses. It offers audiological assessments, parent/infant classes and counseling, along with a preschool and two accredited teacher education programs. Its correspondence courses serve annually over 2,500 families in as many as 140 countries around the world, and its community hearing screening program reaches over 16,000 preschool children per year in Los Angeles and three surrounding counties.
The Clinic is the only education center of its kind to provide all family services free; its intensive three-week summer sessions are unique among schools for the deaf; its sibling program is used as a model for deaf schools nationwide; and, in collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC), it offers the nation's first, online Master's Degree in early childhood deaf education.
John Tracy Clinic was incorporated as a private, nonprofit in 1943. Founded by Louise Tracy, wife of actor Spencer Tracy, the Clinic was named in honor of their son, John, who was born deaf. In 1952, the Clinic moved into its permanent home in the Adams Boulevard Historic District near USC. In the 60 years since its incorporation, the Clinic has helped over 200,000 parents worldwide open the doors of communication for their young deaf children.
John Tracy Clinic is supported entirely by private donations, bequests and grants. For more information on services, events or giving opportunities, contact Mary Ann Bell, Vice President for Development and Communications, John Tracy Clinic, 806 W. Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007, (213) 748-5481, ext. 229.

LOS ANGELES -As part of the 60th Anniversary Celebration, John Tracy Clinic will build the Sunrise Courtyard, a delightful new gathering area and sanctuary for our families.
This lovely new landscaped space will display Personally Engraved Commemorative Bricks with accents of colored tiles and children's art. Designed to last for generations, these special bricks are available for alumni and friends who wish to honor their families or businesses, memorialize their loved ones, and show their support for JTC children and parents, all the while adding to the beauty of our campus.
We are certain that the Sunrise Courtyard will become a perennial source of pride and ownership to all those who participate. The number of bricks is necessarily limited and we encourage interested families and supporters to reserve theirs as soon as possible. The brick program will continue until all the spaces are named. The closing date for initial brick orders has been set for August 29, 2003.
Bricks range in price from $125.00 to $350.00. Your sponsorship of a brick is both a celebration of our 60th Anniversary and an acknowledgment of your commitment to the future of children with hearing losses.
For further information, you may print a pdf file of the complete brochure and order form, or contact Mary Ann Bell, Vice President for Fund Development and Communications (213) 748-5481, ext. 229.