Speech, hearing clinic fills community need

The Salem club is the only one that operates a hearing and speech clinic.
By LINDA M. LINONIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
SALEM -- Kristy Hinchliffe will graduate from Salem High School this spring.
Part of the success of the 18-year-old woman with cerebral palsy could be credited to the Salem Area Speech and Hearing Clinic, where she's taken classes since she was a year old.
"The cerebral palsy had affected Kristy's speech. Now it is so much better," said Betty Hinchliffe, Kristy's mother. "She's benefited so much. ... She's able to read and sound the words out. And it's helped in social situations as well."
Fills a need
The unique clinic fills a need and a niche in Mahoning and Columbiana counties, offering services, accessibility and a sliding-fee scale to its clients, who range from children through adults with communication disorders.
Mrs. Hinchliffe offers the best testament to the clinic's work. She said that when she or husband Barry take Kristy to the clinic for a therapy session, they are impressed with how the therapists not only interact with the pupils but with the parents.
Kristy is in developmentally handicapped classes at school and is also mainstreamed in the student body. And she "just loves the clinic and the therapists," Mrs. Hinchliffe said.
"She loves getting homework because she likes it so much," she added. "And they help her with the regular schoolwork."
The Salem club's distinction
Quota International of Salem, a community service organization, operates the clinic using fund raisers and community donations. Quota International, an 84-year-old international service organization with 319 clubs in 14 countries, has focused on speech and hearing projects since the 1950s.
That philanthropic project has its roots in Ohio's Sixth District of Quota, which sponsored the program, "Shatter Silence," to educate people about hearing loss. The Salem Quota club holds the distinction of being the only club that operates a hearing and speech clinic.
And for its 28 members, that's both a source of pride and a challenge.
"They saw a need and are filling it," said Pat Saltsman, clinic coordinator.
Club members, who serve as volunteer receptionists at the clinic, see firsthand the clinic's impact on lives. Some students did not meet government criteria to get speech therapy at school but needed help, and the club reacted to that need, Saltsman said.
The clinic began in 1971 as a Kent State University satellite, where undergraduates in speech and hearing completed internships for graduation. This arrangement continued until 1985, when student clinicians were no longer available. The clinic closed but remained in the hearts of Quota members, some of whom have careers in the speech and hearing field.
Reopening
Quota members initiated a reopening of the clinic in 1995. With seed money donated by a Salem businessman George Wallace, now deceased, and the Salem Community Foundation, Quota bought necessary equipment and supplies, Saltsman explained.
Emmanuel Lutheran Church, on South Broadway, donated the use of its educational building for the clinic. KSU master's degree students provided therapy from 1995 to 2000. When the arrangement with KSU ended, Quota members decided to continue the clinic. "We believe in the clinic and the positive impact it has had," Saltsman said.
Paid employees are clinic director Ann Smith and three speech therapists.
The clinic's annual budget of about $4,500 comes from club fund raisers like its fashion show, craft show, and trip raffles, as well as contributions from the United Way of Northern Columbiana County, the Ruritan Club of Salem, and Wal-Mart. Not all the Quota funds go the clinic -- the club also awards a scholarship to a college student in the speech and hearing field.
The current 24 students and their families are charged fees on a sliding scale, depending on income. "The family fills out a financial form. We try not to turn anyone away," Saltsman said. She said families who experienced a job loss have paid a lower fee but, when financial circumstances improved, wanted the fee to reflect that.
Fees range from $3 to $20 for 40-minute sessions that are conducted from 8:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturdays. The clinic operates a fall session from September to the first week of December; winter session from January to the first week of May; and summer, end of June into August.
Clients
Smith, who is a speech and language pathologist in the Salem school system, said clients have ranged in age from the very young to a man in his late 40s who had a stroke that impaired his speech. Clients face a variety of situations including hearing impairment, stuttering, articulation problems (faulty speech sounds), auditory processing problems (they don't understand what they hear), traumatic brain injury, consequences of a stroke and autism.
"Quota has been wonderful to us; and we have a dedicated staff," Smith said. "We want to try to improve the communication skills of people.
"Early intervention really helps," she added, referring to young students. She noted one hearing-impaired client who started as 3-year-old. Now in the first grade, the boy uses hearing aids and other help devices.
"He is doing beautifully," she said, "getting A's and B's."
XFor information on the clinic contact Pat Saltsman at (330) 337-8136.