History
Child's Voice was founded in 1996 by a small group of determined parents who wanted an oral (spoken language) option for their child with hearing loss. At the time there was no auditory oral deaf education option offered by either public or private school in the Chicago area. Families were forced to either relocate to another part of the country for their child to learn to listen and speak, or concede to the sign language programs that were offered locally.
Many children who are deaf or hard of hearing that are instructed using a total communication or manual sign language as their primary mode of communication, typically have very low reading levels and few go on to college. Our founding families wanted more for their children.
Our school program opened on February 15, 1996 with six students and was housed in an old Catholic school building on the grounds of Mary Queen of Heaven Parish in Elmhurst, Illinois. Child's Voice initiated the Early Intervention Program in 2000 and expanded our services in 2001 to include Mainstream Support. In 2003, Child's Voice purchased its own building in Wood Dale, Illinois in order to accommodate our growing student population.
In 2008, the doors to our Audiology Center will open providing all audiological management for students, alumni and siblings.