Heartspring "Firsts"

In 1925, the American Speech and Hearing Association was created by 19 individuals attempting to expand the field of speech and hearing. The field of treating what was then known as communicative disorders was emerging as a growing profession. Communicative disorders included stuttering, aphasia, cerebral palsy and many other diagnoses.

In 1934, when Dr. Martin F. Palmer and the University of Wichita created the Department of Speech Sciences, there were limited services available for individuals with disabilities. Across the nation a few public school systems and experimental research clinics in connection with large universities were the only resources for individuals with special needs. Professional standards of practice had yet to be created or developed.

A $2,000 gift to establish the Flo Brown Memorial Laboratory as a part of the speech science department was given in 1934. By 1939, the laboratory evolved into what would be known as the Institute of Logopedics (IOL). At the Institute, research and clinical practice would be performed and the academic curriculum would remain under of the Department of Speech. The Institute was a place for logopedics (speech-language pathology) majors to take classes and receive hands on experience.

Dr. Palmer's vision was unique because it was he sought to create the first organization to establish a triad of services under one roof: clinical services, professional education and research. He founded an organization with complete residential care for individuals with multiple disabilities instead of sending individuals with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other disabilities to a state institution. Dr. Palmer created an opportunity. Heartspring continues to honor Dr. Palmer's vision today.

Heartspring "Firsts":

• First speech and hearing clinic to require medical examination of all entering cases (1934)
• First speech and hearing clinic to require daily record reports of rehabilitation procedures (1934)
• First professional training school to require actual clinical experience comparable to other professions before recommendation (1934)
• First professional training course in speech and hearing that a student must complete before recommendation (1934)
• First separate Department of Logopedics (1934)
• First full time speech and hearing clinic to provide complete services for cerebral palsy (1934-39)
• First specialized professional and research library in logopedics (1934-1949)
• First full time community service center for persons with speech and hearing disorders (1936)
• First specific state legislative social welfare act for communicatively handicapped children (1937)
• First academic lecture course in the speech disorders of cerebral palsy offered to students with basic preparation (1937)
• First specific state legislative appropriation for children with speech disorders (1939)
• First full time field enter program for persons with speech and hearing disorders (1939)
• First clinic with residential facilities limited to children with speech and hearing disorders (1939)
• First comprehensive special education program for children with multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy, aphasia and hearing loss (1949)
• First complete residential rehabilitation center for children and adults with language disorders (1949)
• First department at WSU to offer a Ph.D. program (1959)
• First to host the U.S.'s international conference on Tactual Communication (1982)
• First Assistive Listening Device Center in Kansas (1985)

Other notable Heartspring achievements:

• Dr. Palmer travels to Japan sponsored by the World Health Organization in order to make recommendations regarding speech and hearing services in that country (1960)
• Dr. Palmer travels to India sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare as part of an international activity in the field of communicative disorders
• IOL begins developing vibrotactile aids for the hearing impaired (1983)
• Heartspring staff travel to Yangon, Mynamar to provide technical assistance and equipment to the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf. (1995)
• Heartspring enters into a "sister" agreement with the Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism in China creating a cultural and informational exchange between staff and teachers (2005)
• Heartspring enters into a "sister" agreement with the Open Door school in New Delhi, India (2007)