Who Are We?
Our Mission: To provide funding for the unmet medical, educational, and therapeutic needs of children with hearing loss. The Baker Institute provides training for families of children with significant hearing loss, empowering them to maximize the child's potential for hearing and speaking with cochlear implants or hearing aids. We envision a world in which, one day, every child with hearing loss, regardless of financial standing, will have the opportunity to learn to listen and speak and will have all the opportunities in life enjoyed by their hearing peers.
In 2009, we pioneered our flagship program, Listen to Me™, at Stanford University in California. Driven by the belief that every community deserves access to transformative resources, we expanded our program's impact nationally in 2022 and globally in 2024. Guided by the success of our model, we now serve communities in Hawaii, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, working to inspire resilience, empower local leaders, and create sustainable change in hearing healthcare worldwide. Our commitment is to build inclusive and thriving communities through strategic, scalable programs that adapt to diverse cultural needs and contribute to a more equitable future for children with hearing loss.
Our Goals:
- To educate families about the medical, audiological and educational options available to their child
- To help families understand their child's potential for listening and language development and to teach them the strategies needed to develop these skills
- To empower parents to be advocates for their child and help them to navigate the medical and educational systems they will encounter
- To support families on the often challenging journey of raising a child with hearing loss
The groundbreaking work of the Baker Institute can transform a child's life from one of isolation and disheartenment to full engagement in the hearing and speaking world. Doors open to enhanced social interaction and employment. Both individual and society benefit as substantial resources in long-term assistance are saved, and as these children become adults who will contribute fully to our economy and society.
Our Collaborators: The Baker Institute works in collaboration with the Otolaryngology department of Stanford University. It may also support other programs, organizations and individuals that address similar needs. The Institute assists children with funding to supplement government and insurance benefits for hearing aids, cochlear implants, speech pathology, audiology, and psychological support for children and families before and after the provision of hearing assistance.
Our Programs
Listen to Me!™
Listen to Me! is a research-based training on how to maximize listening and spoken language (LSL) outcomes for children with hearing loss.
We currently offer four training programs:
- LTM! Conference for New Families: a hands-on training program for the entire family, offered in-person at Stanford University for California families, in Oahu for Hawaii families, and in Kenya for families in Kenya. 18 families are accepted per year for each location. Children participate in a LSL class setting and receive daily LSL therapy sessions. Parents participate in educational presentations, therapy and class observations, skill-building activities, and parent support groups. Siblings participate in a fun and engaging experience designed just for them, including crafts, games, and outdoor activities.
- LTM! Reunion: a weekend experience for families who have previously completed the new families LTM Conference, designed to continue educating and supporting parents as they continue on their journey of having a child with hearing loss.
- LTM! Professional Conference: a three day training for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, teachers of the deaf and other related service providers. Content focuses on addressing the unique needs of children with cochlear implants, understanding the technology, and learning strategies to facilitate strong listening and spoken language outcomes.
- LTM! International: Supported by the Hear the World Foundation, hearing healthcare professionals who reside in developing countries can deepen their LSL intervention skills to support children with hearing loss through our zoom workshop series.
Our curriculum was created by leaders in the field, including presentations from Stanford's surgeons, audiologists, certified LSL specialists, and deaf & hard of hearing teachers.
Baker Scholars
The Baker Scholars Program supports families who have limited access to listening and spoken language intervention services. It is operated by the Baker Institute for Children with Hearing Loss in collaboration with the Stanford Ear Institute. The Baker Scholars Program delivers parent coaching and direct therapy services so that children with cochlear implants can learn to listen and speak, regardless of the family's geographic proximity to appropriate services.
Baker Scholars are children who are in greatest need of therapeutic services for learning to listen and speak.
We provide Baker Scholars services over a three- to five-year period, which includes the following:
- Weekly listening and spoken language therapy (either in-person or through tele-intervention)
- Parent education to optimize listening and language opportunities in the child's natural environment
- Spanish-speaking therapists provided when needed
Our Team
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- Julie Cooper
- Executive Director
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- Eryn McHan
- Facilitator of Professional Learning
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- Nikolas Blevins
- LTM Presenter, Medical Director, Stanford Cochlear Implant Center
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- Matthew Fitzgerald
- LTM Presenter, Chief of Audiology at Stanford