HASA is a social benefit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

organization located in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, that specializes in facilitating communication. Established in 1926, the organization provides

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

services through Gateway School, audiology and speech-language services through its Clinical Services Department, and interpreting services for the deaf through its CIRS Interpreting Department.

History and mission

Established in 1926 as the Speech Reader's League of Baltimore by Dr. Olive A. Whildin, the League began as a community center for the hard of hearing. In 1930 the League was renamed the Baltimore League for the Hard of Hearing, then the Baltimore Hearing Society in 1948, and finally the Hearing and Speech Agency of Metropolitan Baltimore in 1966. HASA legitimized itself over time with connections to state and national organizations. In 1927, the League was inducted into the American Federation of Organizations for the Hard of Hearing. Though initially rejected from the

Community Fund The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes". Since 2004 it has awarded over £9 billion to ...

(now United Way) in 1936, the League was granted membership upon re-application in 1940. For the next twenty years, the League (known as the Society starting in 1948) continued with its audiology services until 1960 with the inauguration of its speech-language clinical program. Three years prior, Gateway School was started as a pilot program by the Association for Children with Communicative Disorders (which was merely the board of directors at the Society). With some success, Gateway became an independent partner program of the Society in 1960 in conjunction with the Society's new speech clinic. However, the two programs had limited success separately, and based on the 1965 recommendations of the Health and Welfare Council of Baltimore, Gateway School and the Baltimore Hearing Society merged in 1966 to create The Hearing and Speech Agency of Metropolitan Baltimore. The organization continued to provide just audiology and

speech–language pathology Speech-language pathology (or speech and language pathology) is a healthcare field of expertise practiced globally. Speech-language pathology (SLP) specializes in the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of communication disorders ( ...

services to children and adults until 1986 with the inauguration of the Centralized Interpreter Referral Service (CIRS). From that point on, HASA began offering

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

services to the Deaf community, promoting a manual language program in addition to its spoken language program. With expanded programs and a solidified mission, HASA moved to its permanent address at 5900 Metro Drive in Seton Business Park in 2003 where it continues to serve the community.

Services provided

Audiology

HASA's audiology team serves almost 1,000 clients per year, providing hearing tests, hearing aid evaluations, custom hearing protection, auditory processing evaluations, and more for pediatric and adult patients. HASA's audiology department was the founding one for the organization in 1926 when it was the Speech Readers' League. At that time, the League was offering hearing aid demonstrations and coordinating hearing aid distribution in the hard-of-hearing community in Baltimore. Since then the organization has expanded its efforts to include a full range of services.

Speech–language services

The speech–language pathology program at HASA also serves nearly 1000 patients per year, with over 7,300 hours of therapeutic sessions. In addition to its speech-language pathology program, HASA hosts the Center for Fluency Enhancement complete with therapy, support groups, family education, and advocacy for individuals who stutter. With the inauguration of the speech therapy program in 1960, HASA's original focus was to provide speech-language services to primarily pediatric patients. However, as services expanded the program moved to include the adult population in Baltimore.

Education

Having been established as a section of HASA in 1966 with the uniting of the two organizations, Gateway School continues to serve children ages 2–12 with communication challenges related to

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

, speech–language disability,

developmental delay Global developmental delay is an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in their cognitive and physical development. It can be diagnosed when a child is delayed in one or more milestones, categorised into motor skills, speech, c ...

, medical complications, or children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Though Gateway School is offered as an 11-month non-public special education school, HASA's educational services go beyond those with communication challenges: in 2016, HASA introduced its new Child Care Program for children ages 2–5 with and without communication difficulties

ASL interpreting

CIRS Interpreting at HASA provides American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters for the deaf and hard-of-hearing all across Maryland. CIRS offers both on-site and remote video interpreting services, as well as ASL classes both on-site and off-site, Deaf awareness workshops, and internships for students of Deaf studies and Interpreting. HASA's CIRS Interpreting services include: * Sign Language Interpreter and Oral Transliterators * A ten-week, noncredit courses in American Sign Language at HASA headquarters * Off-site ASL courses and Deaf Awareness workshops for organizations

Conditions treated

Aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in th ...

* Apraxia * Auditory processing disorder * Autism spectrum disorder *

Developmental delay Global developmental delay is an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in their cognitive and physical development. It can be diagnosed when a child is delayed in one or more milestones, categorised into motor skills, speech, c ...

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

Fragile X Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic disorder characterized by mild-to-moderate intellectual disability. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while about two thirds of affected females are intellectually disabled. Physical features may ...

Hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to Hearing, hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to Language ...

Language based learning disability Language-based learning disabilities or LBLD are " heterogeneous" neurological differences that can affect skills such as listening, reasoning, speaking, reading, writing, and math calculations. It is also associated with movement, coordination, an ...

Speech and language impairment Speech and language impairment are basic categories that might be drawn in issues of communication involve hearing, speech, language, and fluency. A Speech disorder, speech impairment is characterized by difficulty in articulation of words. Exam ...

* Speech sound disorder *

Stuttering Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

* Tinnitus *

Transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

voice & communication therapy *

Voice therapy Voice therapy consists of techniques and procedures that target vocal parameters, such as vocal fold closure, pitch, volume, and quality. This therapy is provided by speech-language pathologists and is primarily used to aid in the management of v ...

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.hasa.org Private schools in Baltimore Health charities in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Maryland Organizations based in Baltimore Medical and health organizations based in Maryland