HASA is a social benefit

501(c)(3) organization A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), 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 ...

located in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

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

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

services through Gateway School,

audiology Audiology (from Latin 'to hear'; and from Ancient Greek, Greek branch of learning , ''wikt:-logia, -logia'') is a branch of science that studies hearing, balance, and related disorders. Audiologists treat those with hearing loss and proactivel ...

and speech-language services through its Clinical Services Department, and interpreting services for the

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

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 (now

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

) 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

and

speech–language pathology Speech–language pathology, also known as speech and language pathology or logopedics, is a healthcare and academic discipline concerning the evaluation, treatment, and prevention of communication disorders, including expressive and mixed ...

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 and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

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 Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, speech–language disability,

developmental delay The term developmental delay can refer to: *Global developmental delay, an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in two or more areas of development *Specific developmental disorder, a classification of disorders characterize ...

, medical complications, or children who are deaf or

hard-of-hearing Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to 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 acquire spok ...

. 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 Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

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, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

Apraxia Apraxia is a motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex or corpus callosum), which causes difficulty with motor planning to perform tasks or movements. The nature of the damage determines the di ...

Auditory processing disorder Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the way the brain processes sounds. Individuals with APD usually have normal structure and function of the ear, but cannot process the information they hear in the s ...

Autism spectrum disorder Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

Developmental disability Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

* Down syndrome *

Fragile X Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder. The average IQ in males with FXS is under 55, while affected females tend to be in the borderline to normal range, typically around 70–85. Physical features may include a lon ...

Hearing loss Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to 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 acquire spo ...

* Language based learning disability *

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 impairment is characterized by difficulty in articulation of words. Examples include stu ...

Speech sound disorder A speech sound disorder (SSD) is a speech disorder affecting the ability to pronounce speech sounds, which includes Articulatory phonetics, speech articulation disorders and Phoneme, phonemic disorders, the latter referring to some sounds (phoneme ...

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

Tinnitus Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...

Transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

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 ...

References

External links

*{{official website, 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