Memphis Oral School for the Deaf
7901 Poplar Ave.
Germantown, TN 38138
901-758-2228
(Voice)
901-531-6735
Maps & Directions
Location:
Memphis Oral School for the Deaf is located in the city of Germantown
just east of Memphis. It is only about 3 miles off of Interstate
240. The school serves students throughout the Mid-South area
(North Mississippi, East Arkansas, and West Tennessee).
Directions:
From I-240W/E, take Exit 15 East and go East on Poplar Ave. Travel
east on Poplar Ave. until you cross Germantown Rd. The School is
over the hill about 3 blocks on the right on the campus of Kingsway
Christian Church (KCC). Use the KCC entrance, MOSD is the building
on the east side of the campus.
Educational Philosophy
Every year, thousands of children are born with, or acquire, some degree of
hearing impairment. Fortunately, 95 percent of these children have at least
some degree of residual (or undamaged) hearing. Only about 5 percent have what
can be termed as a "total loss" of hearing, for whom the cochlear implant is
now available.
As a general
rule, it can be said that if a hearing-impaired child does not
develop the ABILITY TO SPEAK, it is because he was simply not taught
to do so. As far back as Alexander Graham Bell, scientists concerned
with the auditory process have known that any degree of natural
hearing can be utilized as an aid to speech development.
As
its name implies, the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf utilizes "ORAL" instructional
methods for the purposes of developing speech and language skills.
No sign language is used. The common goals for every young student
at the school are to LISTEN, LEARN, AND SPEAK. The Memphis Oral
School for the Deaf program is "one of a kind" in the Memphis and
Mid-South area.
The primary emphasis
for the children is on learning to listen. Once listening skills
are developed a child can begin to develop speech and language
skills that will allow them to communicate in the mainstream. Some
people believe that deaf children can do everything BUT hear, but
with proper amplification (hearing aids or cochlear implants) the
Memphis Oral School and those committed to the auditory/oral approach
believe that deaf children can do everything AND hear! This is
particularly true today with the advent of cochlear implants. Helen
Keller was once quoted as saying: "Why
should we be content to crawl when we can soar like an eagle?"
It has been clearly
proven over the last few decades that with early identification,
appropriate and aggressive audiological intervention, and immediate
intervention by trained professionals, even the deafest of children
can develop and effectively use hearing to learn speech and language.
The objective of this specialized training is to utilize what hearing
a child may have to assist in the development of speech ... enabling
the deaf child to become a part of, rather than apart from, A WORLD
OF SOUND.
History
The primary emphasis for the children is on learning to listen. Once listening skills are developed a child can begin to develop speech and language skills that will allow them to communicate in the mainstream. Some people believe that deaf children can do everything BUT hear, but with proper amplification (hearing aids or cochlear implants) the Memphis Oral School and those committed to the auditory/oral approach believe that deaf children can do everything AND hear! This is particularly true today with the advent of cochlear implants. Helen Keller was once quoted as saying: "Why should we be content to crawl when we can soar like an eagle?"
The Memphis Oral School for the Deaf was founded in 1959 by the late Mr. and Mrs. John Tayloe, with the help of the Exchange Club of East Memphis. It was originally the Exchange Club Oral School for the Deaf and remained so, until the name was changed in 1966 to the Memphis Parents School for the Deaf and Aphasic. Though the Exchange Club of East Memphis provided some support to the school after the parents took over the operational aspects, it became increasingly difficult to meet the financial needs of the school. In 1968, to assure that oral education would continue to be available to deaf children in the Memphis and Mid-South area, Subsidium, Inc., the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf women's support group was founded. "Subsidium" is a Latin word which means "third line of defense". After teachers and parents, no one does more for these children than Subsidium members.
In fall of 1974, the Memphis Parent's School for the Deaf and Aphasic underwent a name change, becoming Memphis Oral School for the Deaf. This change helped to further emphasize a program teaching oral communication skills. As time went on, there was a greater emphasis placed on early intervention, parent training, and early childhood education. This prompted the move in 1986 to the Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities. The move enabled MOSD to be located within the UT Medical Center, where many of these infants and young children were being identified. It also enabled the school to have the benefit of other services (i.e. physical therapy, medicine, genetic counseling, etc.) offered at the UT Medical Center.
In March, 2007 MOSD found a permanent home in its specially designed facility on the campus of Kingsway Christian Church in Germantown, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis. MOSD remains a non-profit, autonomous program which operates with its own board of directors and offers a myriad of services to the hearing-impaired.
The major components of the program include:
Parent Training
Day School for Hearing-Impaired Children 2 thru 6 years of age
Speech Therapy
Cochlear Implant Mapping and Monitoring
Cochlear Implant Therapy
Before and After School Childcare
Consultation to School Districts in the Mid-South
Hearing Conservation Program (presented to students in public, private, and parochial schools in Memphis and Shelby County)
Training and Observation Site (for medical students, pediatric residents, audiologists, speech pathologists, educators, and other professionals)
As
its name implies, the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf utilizes "ORAL" instructional
methods for the purposes of developing speech and language skills.
No sign language is used. The common goals for every young student
at the school are to LISTEN, LEARN, AND SPEAK. The Memphis Oral
School for the Deaf program is "one of a kind" in the Memphis and
Mid-South area.