Central Institute for the Deaf

Cid knows how make you feel welcomed and not different! You feel like you’ve become part of the greatest family out their from day one! CID will forever be our home and second family

Mickey started at CID in December 2005 and it was the best decision I made. They was amazing in teaching him hownto talk and be himself. I love this school and would recommend it to anybody who has a def child. The teachers and staff goes ubove and beyound for the children there. Thank you CID.

The education my child receives at CID is absolutely amazing. The one on one attention that she receives is phenomenal. We live an hour from school and I'd drive 3 hours to be able to have her attend this school. We love our CID family.

1978-80 I was in the teacher training program which launch a 35 year career in DeafEd. As I look back at the methods and techniques I learned at CID I feel grateful for the experience. Nothing compares to the devotion and persistence ( and outcomes) the teachers there had and still have! Although I worked at a state school for many years I continued to utilize the hands-on , visual methods, the in- depth language instruction and the attention to speech and auditory training. Parents: please push for excellence in the schools your children transition to, as I have recently witnessed public schools dropping effective teaching as they try to comply with standardized tests.

We love Central Institute for the Deaf!! We relocated our family from Alabama to St. Louis after hearing about this wonderful school. Our son was implanted with Bilateral Cochlear Implants when he was one years old. We really wanted him to learn how to listen and use spoken language and we couldn’t find anything like this school in Alabama. Our son Mason is going on his 5th year at CID and we couldn’t be happier and he is talking up a storm with his peers. His little sister Maddie now attends as a hearing peer and is just as happy. Thank you CID teachers and staff for all your hard work and dedication to our children. We love you guys so much and you will forever be a part of our family������������������

CID provided a priceless service for my family and our daughter. The discovery that our daughter was deaf was the beginning of a very confusing and scary time. Fortunately, we were introduced to the team at CID, who helped our daughter gain the skills she needed to communicate and grow academically very quickly.

In her time at CID, our daughter went from being 2 years behind her hearing peers to 2 years ahead of them academically - within just a few short years!

This experience has inspired in her a lifelong love of learning. She is now a senior in high school and doing wonderfully well, with her eyes set on college.

Our family will never forget the vital role of Cental Institute for the Deaf in our daughter’s success, nor could we ever repay it.

When Logan was about 1½ we learned that our sweet little baby was deaf. At 18 months old, Logan was using 1-2 words total, and he received the tiniest hearing aids I have ever seen. Logan’s future was a little cloudy as we tried to picture how his and (our) lives would change….after a lot of research we learned that we had a choice, and that deaf kids CAN learn to talk!

At age 3 Logan had (maybe) 50 words in his vocabulary, and he would use 1-2 word phrases. He attended a local preschool but we found out that he wasn’t participating in class, so we began the search for something more. Our internet search brought us to CID's web page. My husband and I visited and when we saw the school and heard the kids singing – we knew Logan needed to attend.

I will remember his first day at CID's summer school as a huge turning point.

Logan sat down with three other kids in his class, and he looked at the boy to his left and the little girl to his right. Turning to me and said, “Look! Hearing aid!” At that moment I knew we did the right thing. At the end of six weeks of summer school Logan had doubled his vocabulary, and he was using 3-4 word sentences! To say we were amazed is an understatement.

Logan joined CID full time for the 2008-2009 school year, and continued to make huge growth. He was excited to graduate in May of 2018, and move into his homeschool. He loves school and being with his friends, and he has a great love of learning.

Logan's success is thanks to the dedicated teachers and staff at CID. We can’t imagine what Logan’s life would be without their help.

Our son was born with bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss, which was not a surprise, being that it runs in the family. Even still he was the youngest to have to have assistive devices. It was overwhelming, and CID took that burden and helped carry it. We began our journey with him at 6 weeks old. Tomorrow our little guy will begin classes in the ECC department and we are thrilled. Numerous times throughout the past 3 yrs we have been a part of the CID team for his needs, I have been brought to tears. They really care and have the children's best interests at heart. They not only help our boy, but have gone out of their way to help me with my own hearing loss. They welcome you as part of the child's team. From the moment we set foot in the school on our first tour three years ago, we knew we were at the right place. His hearing loss is progressive, and our goal was to give him as much of a foundation for spoken language and listening as we could, while we could. And that is exactly what they are accomplishing. I am grateful we have this opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful organization.

I am inspired every time I walk through the front doors of CID! We adopted our severely, profoundly deaf son from India at age 4 1/2. Even before we brought him home to the USA, Lynda Berkowitz of CID was willing to look at videos and reports of our son to get an idea of his issues and how he could be helped by CID. Shortly after we brought him home, he received bilateral cochlear implants and started school at CID. Although being nearly age 5 is considered late intervention for a child to receive cochlear implant‘s, CID‘s masterful teaching and
state -of-the- art organization gave our son the opportunity to learn to hear and speak! He is now 15 years old and in a traditional public school setting doing very well! We are so very deeply grateful for the opportunity that our son had to attend CID and for the resulting life-changing opportunities he is now experiencing.

Our family will forever be indebted to Central Institute for the Deaf (CID). Our son, Trey, spent three years at CID. The experience for the entire family was nothing short of amazing. The Family Center and ECC Programs supported him as he minimized language and developmental gaps, established self-advocacy skills, and optimized use of his hearing devices to interpret the world around him. More so, CID provided Trey a firm academic stepping stone that will serve him for years to come. CID also allowed family to remain a priority when Trey and his typically hearing sister, Amelia, were able to share one year together while she was enrolled in the Hearing Peer Program. When asked to talk about his favorite part of CID at graduation, Trey replied, “My friends and teachers are sure fun, and I like doing all the cool stuff and learning. I’m like a genius now!”

My son Mark received an amazing foundation for learning in a caring and loving environment.
I cannot say enough good things about the school. The staff is top notch.

My granddaughter, who was born with microtia, attended the program for 2 to three year olds. I can't say enough about the school. She received daily 1 to 1 therapy, as well as participating in the daily class program. The teachers were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. There was great communication, with weekly progress reports. They had wonderful field trips and creative projects. Its a first class school in every way.

My great-niece has been a part of the CID family since birth. Now 5 years old, she continues to grow with confidence each day. Have heard wonderful things about CID for years but having family member be a participant in your organization confirms beyond words what a great place for her to be a part

I love CID! They were wonderful with my granddaughter. I can think of nothing negative about our experience with CID. The employees were all extremely helpful, knowledgeable, and polite.

I have been around this organization for years now and they do phenomenal work with youth!

My daughter was a student here from 2011-2018. She would not be where she is today without CID. We are forever grateful to them!

Many years ago as a high school volunteer I was truly impressed with all I saw at CID: hard working students, devoted teachers, and a place of learning and joy. Now as a member of the CID board I am even more in awe of the inspiring work they do. They have helped thousands of kids find their voices and learn to navigate a hearing world, while supporting families, educators, and healthcare professionals with expertise and support. It feels great to give to CID because you know that the money is being well used to improve lives. We are so fortunate to have this school as a pillar in the nonprofit St. Louis community.

We moved to St. Louis when my son was 2 1/2 in large part so he could attend CID. It's one of the best decisions I have ever made! It is far and away the best school I have ever seen. The faculty and staff are all so kind, bright, and inclusive; the facility is beautiful with great acoustics; the student-teacher ratio is amazing. Love our CID family! Nico is now a mainstreamed 8th grader and is rocking his classes, most of which are honors/advanced. Thanks, CID! The amazing foundation you gave him is such a huge part of his success.

We moved from Utah to St. Louis so my daughter could attend CID. It was, without a doubt, the best choice we have ever made. CID changed the trajectory of her life. She learned to listen and speak, advocate for herself and to read and love reading. We could not be more thankful for CID.