The impetus of the Center came from a trust established by the
estate of Mrs. Lena Callier. A committee including Miss Nelle Johnston,
Mr. Eric Jonsson, former Mayor of Dallas and Dr. Aram Glorig, founding
Director of Callier, all civic-minded, concerned citizens of Dallas made
the decisions regarding the use of the trust.
In
June 1963 the Callier Hearing and Speech Center was incorporated as
a non-profit, community-based institution to provide educational programs
to deaf children in Dallas county, clinical programs to children and
adults with communication disorders, and basic and applied research
programs in communication disorders. Initially housed in the basement
of the primary Dallas county hospital facility (Parkland Hospital),
new construction of a unique, state of the art facility began in 1968
where the Center is located today (1966 Inwood Road, Dallas Texas).
Three
existing agencies: The Pilot School for the Deaf, The Dallas Speech
and Hearing Center and The Dallas Council for the Deaf were merged with
Callier’s services to form one cooperative program. The new services
were developed to expand existing services and add new services to meet
local community needs.
In
1972, the Center’s name was changed to the Callier Center for
Communication Disorders to reflect the broad scope and distinctiveness
of the programs and the services represented within the Center.
In 1975, Callier was merged with UTD as a compnent of the School of
Human Development (March 2003, the School of Human Development was changed
to the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences).
In
the summer of 2003 Callier branched out and opened the doors of a satellite
facility on the UTD campus in Richardson.
Today,
the Callier Center is an important part of UTD and plays a vital role
in the medical and educational systems of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex,
serving the needs of those with communication disorders and providing
rich training and research opportunities for students and scientists
in the Callier programs.
There
are three clinical areas represented within Callier: audiology, psychology,
and speech-language pathology. The clinical programs serve an equal
number of children and adults. The three programs work individually, as
well as together as interdisciplinary teams focusing on specific areas.
As
a United Way agency, all clients meeting established criteria
are eligible for financial screening to reduce the costs of clinical
services. A brief description of the three Callier clinical programs
follows.
The
audiology program provides services primarily within Callier,
but there are several off-campus sites. Off-campus sites include
the main UTD campus (located 20 miles away in Richardson, Texas): the
Dallas independent School District, where educational audiology services
are provided to students with hearing impairments at several different
campuses within the district; and two private practice otolaryngology
offices. The audiology program also has a contract with Dallas
County Head Start to monitor audiometric screening for thousands of
children annually. Children failing the Head Start screenings
are referred to Callier for diagnostic testing and otological treatment,
when needed. Callier’s Hearing Moblie Unit is another project
of the audiology program. The unit is equiped with a sound booth,
audiometer and a wheelchair lift. Several audiologist use the
moblie unit to conduct community research projects as well as hearing
screenings within several local senior citizens communities.
The
psychology program has staff members that provide mental health
services for clients with communication disorders. Much of the work
involves diagnostic assessments of children with delayed language who
are under the age of five, for the purpose of gathering information
about the child’s overall cognitive and social development. This
assessment of overall developmental status is viewed as crucial for
comprehensive treatment planning. The psychology program also offers
services to individuals and families with special communication devices
and cochlear implants.
The
speech-language pathology program serves contracts at Baylor
University Medical Center, providing services primarily in the area
of neurogenic speech disorders. Some of Callier’s speech-language
pathologists provide services to the children enrolled in the Dallas
County Head Start Program. The speech-language pathology program like
all the clinical programs at Callier serves both children and adults.
Traditional speech, language, voice, and fluency treatment are provided
on an individual basis, as well as in small groups. Special programs
include agumentative communication, preschool language group intervention,
parent education, and an adult aphasia group.
About
Callier
The Callier Center for Communication Disorders/University
of Texas at Dallas is a multifaceted, university based institution containing
a large number of interdisciplary programs. The programs are staffed
with professionals who focus their efforts on communication and communication
disorders. The mission of Callier is to provide clinical services to
the community; educational programs to children with hearing impairments;
basic and applied research in communication disorders; and university
training for undergraduate, master’s level, and doctoral students.
The diversity of the Callier mission has provided a unique blend of
resources, personnel, and programs that together manifest comprehensive
approaches to understanding the bases and treatments for communication
disorders.
Support
Programs
There are several people that provide the support
services necessary for the Callier programs. In addition to the standard
support services (maintenance, personnel, secretarial, etc.), unique
support programs include a technical service staff that maintains, calibrates,
and repairs clinical and scientific equipment, and a time-shared computer
facility with programming support, providing office automation, scientific
computing, and research support.
Other
Callier’s medical director is an
otologist who is on the faculty of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology
at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The medical
director works closely with Callier staff to develop and review policies
relating to clients for each clinic.
The
public information office is staffed by one full-time person.
This office provides information about Callier programs to the local
and national media, as well as to other units within the university.
This office also provides brochures and other written materials to the
community either by request or through occasional health fairs.
Through appointment, on site tours are conducted for large/small groups
or individuals interested in the center.
UTD
March 2003, UTD changed the name of the School
of Human Development to the School of Behavorial and Brain Sciences.
Callier
is a component of the UTD School of Behavorial and Brain Sciences.
UTD was incorporated into the University of Texas System in 1969.
Until 1991, UTD enrolled only junior, senior, and graduate students.
The first freshman class was enrolled in September 1991.
The
School of Behavorial and Brain Sciences is one of seven schools within
UTD. Faculty members have specialties in developmental, cognitive, and
social psychology; neuroscience; linguistics; hearing science; audiology;
and speech-language pathology.
There
are three master’s degree programs in the school: Communication
Disorders, Applied cognition and Neuroscience, and Human Development
and Early Child Disorders. The school also has an interdisciplinary
doctoral program in Human Development and Communication Sciences. Doctoral
students choose from three areas of concentration: Communication Sciences,
Cognition and Neuroscience, and Human Development. The clinical program,
educational program, and research laboratories at Callier are available
for master’s theses and doctoral dissertations.
Since
2001, UTD/Callier provides the Doctor of Audiology Degree also.
Education
Programs
The Callier educational programs have both hearing
children and children with hearing impairments. The child Development
Preschool offers services to children 2 to 5 years old. The program
blends a regular preschool and day care with the Dallas Independent
School District’s program for preschool children with hearing
impairments. The program for children with hearing impairments offers
both total communication and auditory verbal educational options. Together,
these two programs served about 150 children daily throughout the regular
nine month academic year and approxiate 75 children daily during the
summer months.
The
fact that the preschool program of the Dallas Regional Preschool for
the Deaf is housed on the campus of the Callier Center significantly
enhances the practicum program. This location facilitates placement
of both audiology and speech-language pathology students in this setting.
The practicum may also be scheduled at both the elementary and high
school sites of the Regional Day School. There are many opportunities
for students in educational audiology, as four suburban school districts
offer experiences through the schools’ screening programs and
services for children with hearing impairments. Futhermore, graduate
students in the Program in Communication Disorders provide hearing and
speech-language screening to the UT Southwestern-UTD/Callier Child Development
Preschool, also at the Callier Center.
