- December 7, 2021 CSJ Institutions
By Zareena Koch, SJI Director of Development
On Nov. 11, iHear, one of St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf’s (SJI) signature programs, celebrated its 10th anniversary. This program, designed to bring listening and spoken language services to every child everywhere through internet delivery, has been a game-changer for families all over the world. To date, more than 22,787 sessions have occurred since the launch of the program. We caught up with Cheryl Broekelmann, M.A., LSLS Cert. AVEd, St. Louis executive director and first iHear program director, to ask her about iHear today. SJI is a St. Joseph Educational Ministry sponsored institution of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.
This program is now 10 years old—congratulations! What were those first months like?
We knew that providing therapy through the internet was possible, but we were also concerned about the quality of the auditory signal. We’re working with children who have a hearing loss. A loss in sound quality or video lag meant children who were struggling with developing language through listening would now have to struggle with the quality of the internet signal. We piloted the program in 2009 with financial investment from the CSJs. We were and still are so grateful for the gift of time they gave us. We fined tune the program, the technology and our curriculum to provide therapy that was as good as what we were providing in-person. We launched the program in 2011 and have been going strong ever since.
I think you’ve mentioned before many hands helped get this off the ground. What was the effect of such a combined, concerted effort?
We are deeply blessed with the team that launched this program: the CSJs, board members and other volunteers. Their commitment is inspiring. They produced forecasts and financials, and considered business models. As professionals, they knew it was essential to demonstrate accurate and comparable data for parents and school districts. They also coached me on how to launch a product—lessons I’ve used daily. And they kept their eyes on the mission to serve those that were not served. All of this love and effort translated to every child, everywhere receiving services. Children as close as Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, or as far away as Russia, learned how to localize sound, begin language and access their school curriculum like never before.
For the children and families using this program, what were their results?
The initial results surprised all of us. Thanks to the philosophy of education that St. Joseph Institute developed over its 185-year history, we created a quality curriculum for the therapists to access. Thanks to board members, the data proved that the children progressed at the same rate as with in-person services. Thanks to our IT programmer, we had incredible software that was easy for families to use. And thanks to our incredible therapists, relationships with families formed as deeply as in-person services. Children offered a snack to their therapists in the camera. Parents cried as they shared the devastating news of further hearing loss and next iHear steps. Visiting grandparents and relatives participated in sessions and deepened knowledge about their child. And the children made progress in their listening and language. That improvement continued as the program continued. Over the years, we’ve watched children:
- Begin kindergarten with their twin brother
- Play trombone in the middle school band
- Go hunting with their dad and uncle
- Take a summer job and donate all the earnings to iHear for the next generation
- Continue on to college
We are so proud to be a part of their stories!
What’s next for iHear?
We are not sure what is next for our students—that is their chapter to write and live. We are sure of one thing. This program, borne out of love and many hands, helped them reach their fullest potential. They reached this potential, and will continue, while at home with their families and in their home school districts. The promise of iHear meant families could stay intact, parents became empowered and children found their voice.
Today, I say thank you from our entire team. Because of everyone’s work, we have arrived at this moment, a decade of service later. iHear is still strong, still serving and still making a very direct difference in children’s lives.