Mission, History & Affiliations

Mission

Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC (formerly Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children) was founded by parents and professionals in 1963 to assist children with hearing loss to acquire spoken communications skills that allow them to listen and speak, becoming independent communicators and participants in the world at large.

The Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC mission is to be a centre of excellence where children with hearing loss may, through an auditory-oral deaf education, achieve a high level of listening, speech and language literacy.

History

In 1963, a group of parents, along with Hilda Gregory C.M., O.B.C, a gifted and dedicated educator of the deaf, founded the Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children.  Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC remains the first and only independent  school in Western Canada to offer oral deaf education. Through this method, Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC has been instrumental in teaching hundreds of deaf children to listen and speak so they can live in the hearing world. Auditory-oral deaf education provides graduates with the confidence to pursue their dreams and education to the highest level.


Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC was recognised as one of the outstanding programmes in North America by the Alexander Graham Bell Association in Washington, D.C.

Affiliations

Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC is an independent special needs school with certification through the BC Ministry of Education (Office of the Inspector of Independent Schools) and the Ministry of Children & Family Development (Provincial Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing). Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC is licensed by Vancouver Coastal Health for Group Child Care and Preschool.


In 2008, Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC received its 2nd CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) accreditation. CARF is a North America-wide organization whose member service organizations maintain and uphold a stringent set of quality controls for services and programmes offered. Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC is proud to be accredited as it illustrates our commitment to ensuring that our children receive the best possible support and education available.

Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC is a member of: Option Schools International, the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA), BC Association of Child Development & Intervention and the Council of Service Providers.

Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC is a registered charitable non-profit society. Charitable # 11928 2044 RR0001


Since its inception in 1963, Children's Hearing & Speech Centre of BC mission has been to enable children to be successful academically, socially and emotionally.