Central Institute for the Deaf

In nineteen fourteen, Saint Louis ear, nose, and throat physician Max Aaron Goldstein opened Central Institute for the Deaf in the rooms above his medical office. His goal, teaching congenitally deaf children to listen and speak using what remaining hearing they possessed, was considered impossible by most of his colleagues. His inspiration came from a Viennese professor he had met during postgraduate training in Europe; his encouragement came partly from Helen Keller.

Goldstein's school was the first in the United States fully dedicated to what is now called listening and spoken language education for children with hearing loss. By nineteen thirty it had added a second building with research laboratories, and scientists came from around the world to study there. Central Institute for the Deaf remains an internationally recognized leader in auditory education, training both children and the professionals who serve them.