Speech and Hearing Center

  • The Detroit Public Schools Speech and Hearing Center is staffed by licensed and certified audiologists and speech-language pathologists.  The audiologists and speech/language pathologists (SLPs)/teachers of the speech and language impaired (TSLIs) are part of the Department of Communication Disorders.  The center has been in operation since 1939.

    The Speech and Hearing Center empowers children, youth, and adults for full participation in a rapidly changing society.   The Speech and Hearing Center supports this charge by fostering maximum communicative competence.  This competence is achieved by: Prevention of speech, language and hearing impairments whenever possible; Prompt identification of children whose communication problems hinder their learning; Thorough evaluation of existing communication impairments; Elimination of communication problems to the fullest extent possible; Maximum support to parents and school staff; Prompt referrals to other professionals when appropriate; and Follow-up on all referrals made.

    Audiologists provide diagnostic services to:

    • Eligible students in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) program
    • Students within the Detroit Public Schools
    • Non-public agency Head Start affiliates and pre-school aged residents of Detroit
    • Re-screen site for State of Michigan Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program
    • Students in several catchment areas: Hamtramck, Highland Park, Harper Woods, and the Grosse Pointes
    • Eligible hearing impaired students attending private, parochial and charter schools

    Diagnostic services include audiologic evaluations (otoscopic exams, middle ear analysis, otoacoustic emission testing), and hearing aid checks. The Hearing Conservation Program consists of follow-up after the Institute for Population Health (formerly the Department of Health), has completed its hearing screening in the schools. Other services include parent counseling, consultation with DPS teachers, and speech/language evaluations by speech-language pathologists.

    Speech Pathologists at the Speech and Hearing Center evaluate and coordinate the communication needs of children who are not yet enrolled in school or who are in a Head Start program.

    Services at the Speech and Hearing Center are FREE to Detroit residents, age birth to 26 years who have not graduated from high school or completed an equivalent educational program, and who attend public, private or parochial schools. Students attending charter schools are not eligible for diagnostic procedures, but may be eligible for Programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH). Referrals often come from parents, school personnel, medical sources or community agencies. A child’s demographic information will be needed to make a referral.

    General Guidelines for Families

    • Hearing loss can be progressive, fluctuating, or minimal (mild or unilateral hearing loss)
    • A student may have acquired a hearing loss over time due to illness, trauma, noise or experience a sudden hearing loss
    • A student could have a conductive hearing loss due to wax, foreign body, or ear infection
    • Hearing loss can be confused with a student who has a learning disability, ADD/ADHD, behavior problems/resistance, speech/language disorders, daydreaming or boredom, or “selective hearing”

    Referrals may be needed if:

    • Your child is not talking by age 2.
    • Your child’s speech is hard to understand.
    • Your child doesn’t seem to understand others.
    • Your child says “huh”, doesn’t respond to directions, or turns TV and radio up loud.
    • There is a family history of hearing loss.
    • Your child has frequent drainage from ears or ear infections.
    • Your child was labeled a “high-risk baby”.
    • Your child gets angry or upset when unable to make needs or wants known.

    General Location Information

    1/2 block south of Forest, between Trumbull and the southbound Lodge Service Drive. The Center sits back from the street, between Edmonson School and Center for Specialized Services (formerly the Day School for the Deaf). The Center is located in the parking lot of the Woodbridge Community Youth Center.

    Driving Directions

    From southbound Lodge Freeway: Take the Forest/Warren exit; stay on the service drive. Cross Forest, turn right at next corner (Canfield). Make a right turn into the second driveway.

    From northbound Lodge Freeway: Take the Forest/Warren exit. Turn left onto Warren, cross over the freeway, and turn left onto the southbound Lodge Service Drive. Cross Forest, turn right at next corner (Canfield). Make a right turn into the second driveway.

    From southbound Woodward Avenue (toward downtown Detroit): turn right onto Warren. Cross over the freeway, and turn left onto the southbound Lodge Service Drive. Cross Forest and turn right at next corner (Canfield). Make a right turn into the second driveway.

    The eastbound Cross-Town bus stops on Forest. Walk a half block south to the Center.

    The westbound Cross-Town bus runs on Warren. Transfer to the southbound Linwood bus, which travels down Trumbull. Exit at Canfield and walk one block east to the Center.

Contact Information