The Katherine Hamm Center Preschool builds the foundations of literacy.
Language is critical to acquiring knowledge. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing need intentional, proven instruction to access that language and the endless possibilities that language holds for them. At the Katherine Hamm Center, every interaction is based on building a foundation of literacy that follows the current science of child development.
Let's build something great.
We are not born with the circuitry for reading. Rather, deep reading is constructed throughout life. The earliest blocks for literacy include listening to the spoken word and playing with the sounds of language.
Children in the Katherine Hamm Center access the spoken word through hearing technology (hearing aids or cochlear implants) and are taught within an environment steeped in the principles of Listening and Spoken Language.
Children advance from the Hamm Center prepared to join classrooms of their choosing with skills commensurate of their peers.
Every child is born with a drive to communicate.
At the Katherine Hamm Center, intentional and natural language learning opportunities are presented to build all aspects of language, laying a foundation of literacy through playful games, rich story telling, dramatic play, fun experiments and lots of lots of conversation- ensuring that each child builds and refines their communication skills.
The children in the Hamm Center are exposed to academic concepts and join enrichment activities that include music, PE, PE/OT, art and STEAM exploration. Classroom and enrichment teachers together work to reinforce language development across all areas.
Hamm teachers work together to reach each child.
The curriculum of the Katherine Hamm Center (for children from 14 months to 5 years of age) is delivered by teams of highly-qualified Masters-level teachers of the deaf, certified Listening and Spoken Language Auditory-Verbal Therapists/Educators, teaching assistants, speech-language pathologists, an educational audiologiist, a preschool counselor / developmental specialist and occupational therapists.
Together, the team works collaboratively to provide instruction designed to meet child's unique learning profile.
The Katherine Hamm Center offers even more than preschool.
The early years are the most important time for brain development. In Georgia, all children are screened for hearing loss before they leave their birthing hospital, allowing for the immediate intervention that is so critical to language development.
The Hamm Center Auditory-Verbal Therapy (for children from birth) ensures that children receive the audiological management and support they require to have access to all sounds of speech - giving them the opportunity to communicate through spoken language and learn alongside hearing peers.
Through weekly hour-long one-on-one family-centered Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT), caregivers in the program create a world of listening and talking to their child, and how to apply what they learn at home through simple daily interactions to advance their child's pre-literacy, literacy and language success in school and life.
AVT sessions are conducted in the Jerry Sanders Suite, which replicates a home environment on the Atlanta Speech School Campus. Sessions are available for Katherine Hamm Center Preschool families as well as for those not currently enrolled.
Atlanta Speech School
The Katherine Hamm Center is one program of the Atlanta Speech School, which has evolved over its 83 year history to become one of the nation's most comprehensive centers for language and literacy. In addition to the nearly 400 children on campus, another 1000 individuals of all ages are served through our clinical programs.
The mission of the Atlanta Speech School is to help each person develop their full potential through language and literacy, so that each child has the tools to decide their own future cofidently, empathetically and thoughtfully.
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The Atlanta Speech School 3160 Northside Parkway NW Atlanta GA 30321
404-233-5332