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| Liam, 7 | Sean, 4 | From Left: Janissa, Dylan, Christina, Phil, Cithlali, Liam, Ray | Dylan, 8 | Kaylee and Heather, both 2 |
Presbyterian Ear Institute (PEI) is committed to providing services that enable deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults to develop and strengthen their auditory and oral communication skills to a level that will allow them greater independence and success.
Presbyterian Ear Institute, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, was established in 1987 to serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing population of New Mexico and the Southwest. We serve as New Mexico's only center dedicated to education, research, diagnostic, and clinical services for children and adults with hearing loss.
Our Oral School Program and four other complimentary programs offer hope in Breaking the Silence for the thousands of adults and children with hearing loss.
Presbyterian Ear Institute was the force behind the creation of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program in New Mexico. To give infants the best possible chance to communicate and to avoid developmental delays, newborn hearing screening is performed on infants prior to discharge from the hospital. The earlier the hearing loss is identified and intervention is initiated, the greater the opportunity for the development of auditory, language, and speaking skills.
Founding Belief
Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School was founded on the belief
that many children with hearing loss can develop the
ability to listen, learn,
and speak. Presbyterian Ear Institute
Oral School provides an educational program in which children with hearing loss learn to communicate using spoken language. We
provide a supportive and stimulating learning environment in which children who
are deaf and hard-of-hearing can grow socially and emotionally as well as
linguistically and academically.
Educational Philosophy
It is the goal of Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School to teach children with hearing loss to talk by providing an educational environment that fosters oral communication. Our school offers an innovative teaching plan for children who use hearing aids and/or cochlear implants and provides a curriculum individualized to meet the specific needs of each child. The small student teacher ratio of 3 to 1, combined with teachers trained in oral deaf education ensures active student participation and high motivation. Our goal is to ensure that all children develop their speech, language, audition, academic, and social skills to a level that will bring them success in a mainstream classroom setting and in the larger hearing world as they grow older.
Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School is a Moog Curriculum School. The Moog Curriculum Schools follow a curriculum and approach to teaching that is based on principles and techniques that were developed through the Experimental Project in Instructional Concentration (EPIC) by Jean Sachar Moog and the EPIC teaching staff over 20 years ago (1978-1981).
Features of the Moog Curriculum include:
A focus on children talking and talking well.
A unique organization structure that promotes independence and learning to talk.
Maximum access to sound through hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Objective driven instruction.
A focus on pre-academic and academic subjects.
Advantages of being part of the Moog Curriculum Schools include:
Support from the Moog Center for Deaf Education and support from other Moog Curriculum Schools
Part of a larger national network of Option, Inc.
We enroll children between the ages of two and eight years. Two year olds attend a half day, four days per week, and all other children attend a full day, five days per week program.
Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School is accredited by North Central Association and Children, Youth, and Families Department of the state of New Mexico. The New Mexico Standards and Benchmarks along with Performance Standards and Benchmarks for three and four year-old children are integrated into the school curriculum.
The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational programs.
For more information on the Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School Program, please contact us.
| Parent-Infant Program | Speech and Language Program | Cochlear Implant Program | Research and Education Program | Summer School Program | Oral School Program |
Universal Newborn Hearing Screening makes it
possible to identify infants with hearing loss at birth, increasing the
opportunity of early intervention and prevention of speech and language delays.
The Parent-Infant Program services families of children who are deaf and
hard-of-hearing birth to two years of age. Trained
professionals working in this program are dedicated to helping parents cope with
and understand their infant's hearing loss. Information and support are
provided to families as they begin to consider communication options for their
infants who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The program also provides direct
therapy to the family and child to help the child learn to communicate orally.
If you would like more information about this or any of our programs, please contact us.
The nationally and state certified Speech Language Pathologists who are part of Presbyterian Ear Institute's Speech and Language Program provide therapy services and diagnostic testing services to students of PEI Oral School on a daily basis.
This program also provides services to community members of all ages who present with a variety of communication disorders including those not related to hearing loss, such as, articulation delays, expressive and receptive language delays, cleft lip and palate, fluency disorders, and language disorders related to Down's Syndrome and other developmental disorders.
Our Speech Language Pathologists work closely with other professionals in the community, including Physical and Occupational Therapists, Early Interventionists, Medical Professionals, and Educators to provide a team focus in order to provide the best possible therapy for our clients. Graduate students from the University of New Mexico Speech-Communications Department participate in clinical rotations onsite.
If you would like more information about this or any of our programs, please contact us.
Presbyterian Ear Institute houses New Mexico's oldest and largest cochlear implant program. In 1987, the program was established for adult implantation, and in 1989, was one of the initial sites in the FDA study of cochlear implantation for children. Presbyterian Ear Institute published the first study documenting the benefits of cochlear implants for the elderly deaf in 1991. Presbyterian Ear Institute continues to be an active pediatric and adult cochlear implant program for both clinical use and research.
A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device for profoundly deaf individuals who receive no benefit from hearing aids. The device provides electrical stimulation of the hearing nerve, allowing the deaf person access to the world of sound. As a major advancement in the hearing field, the device continues to be a strong option for individuals with both congenital as well as acquired deafness. We currently work with two cochlear implant companies, Cochlear Corporation, and Advanced Bionics Corporation.
If you would like more information about this or any of our programs, please contact us.
Presbyterian Ear Institute offers a unique collaboration among educators, audiologists, and speech language pathologists to conduct investigations of audition and deafness. Our dedication to professional education has resulted in the publication of research involving the treatment of otosclerosis, skull base surgery, large vestibular aqueduct syndrome, auditory neuropathy, cholesteatoma, demographics of deafness, and identification and early intervention of infants with a hearing loss.
The Institute is an educational resource center for hearing and deafness in the Southwest. A library containing journals and books related to hearing and deafness is available to professionals and families. The staff at Presbyterian Ear Institute is frequently asked to participate in regional, national, and international educational meetings and programs.
If you would like more information about this or any of our programs, please contact us.
Presbyterian Ear Institute Oral School provides a half day summer program that runs between four and five weeks. The oral deaf educators and speech-language pathologists summer school program continues to help children develop and maintain speech, vocabulary, syntax, conversational language, and auditory skills. The early childhood teacher provides reinforcement in academic areas.
If you would like more information about this or any of our programs, please contact us.