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Empowering

Empowering infants and children
to reach their fullest potential.

Listening for Life

No matter where your child is on
the journey, WISE is here for you.

What parents say

WISE Parent

Thank you for walking this journey with us and giving our boy a voice. We did not know what we were going to do, and felt very lost and alone. WISE poured into our son and gave us the confidence to work with him at home. Words can not begin to express our gratitude for all that you have done for our family this year.”

Kay, Parent

WISE Grandparent

“When you decided your career in life, I suppose you never dreamed of how many lives you would impact! Thank you for all you do to help these children! Your love and dedication are so evident to everyone.”

Sharon, Grandparent

WISE Grandparent

“Our little guy has come such a long way since he started with you. WISE will always hold a very special place in our hearts.”

Lynn, Grandparent

WISE Parent

“WISE is a blessing to all of the children here. We have watched Jordan blossom this year and we can’t thank you enough for all that you have done.”

Sue, Parent

WISE Parent

“Thank you does not remotely express the gratitude I feel towards all you have done for our daughter. You have given her the gift of communication with her family, her friends, and the world, and for that I will be forever in your debt.”

Terri, Parent

See Wise In Action

State Wide. Family Focused.

A Little About WISE

The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE), is a 501 © not for profit organization dedicated to teaching deaf children to speak. We are a statewide, family focused program working in collaboration with Alabama’s Early Intervention System, local school systems, and private and public entities which advance the education of deaf children who use listening and spoken language.

“We empower Alabama’s infants and children with hearing loss, speech, language, and communication delays to reach their fullest potential. We understand that children with communication needs are best served when their families are engaged, educated, and intentional in promoting their child’s development. We guide families on their journey, cultivating their understanding of their child’s needs and building their capacities for addressing those needs in family-focused ways. Not only are WISE families guided by Alabama professionals with unparalleled expertise in the Listening & Spoken Language (LSL) communication mode, we also connect them to a larger community of people, who like them, have faced the challenges pediatric hearing loss, speech, language, and communication delays but are farther along on the journey. Our programs are specifically designed to empower families toward resiliency and joy.”

Andi Hill, WISE Board Member

Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education

○ Grades: Early Intervention and Preschool For over a decade, Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE) has educated, supported and empowered families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, children who have speech and language delays and children who have typical hearing and speech. “Being able to work with families at a critical time in their child’s life and provide them with support and expertise so they can help their child succeed is a privilege,” Executive...

The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education adds new programs, boosts enrollment

BY INGRID SCHNADER NOVEMBER 25, 2020 1:11 PM The Woolley Institute for Spoken- Language Education (WISE) is a place of hope for deaf children or children with hearing loss. WISE helps prepare students to attend mainstream schools, like those in Homewood and Mountain Brook. The nonprofit Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education, or WISE, located at Shades Valley Presbyterian Church (SVPC), is a place of hope for deaf children or children with hearing loss and their families. WISE classes...

Breaking the silence: Woolley Institute teaches hearing-impaired children to speak

BY Sam Chandler | Published by Village Living on October 17th, 2019 Sandy King reads to a group of children at the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education at Shades Valley Presbyterian Church. The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education, and it teaches children who are deaf or hard of hearing to talk. You wouldn’t know it was there. Not if you were driving along Montevallo Road into Mountain Brook Village or zipping downtown along U.S. 280. But tucked away in the back corner of...

Now Hear This

Article By Emily Williams | Published In OTMJ on February 5th, 2020 According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, roughly one in 1,000 children are born deaf. “In Alabama, that’s going to be about 30 to 40 kids, because there are about 30,000 to 40,000 live births a year,” said Dr. Audie Woolley, chief of pediatric otolaryngology at Children’s of Alabama. Many of those babies end up at the Children’s Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, started by Woolley in...

Testimonials

Julianne

Julianne

https://youtu.be/vgSdIV4xExE My story with deafness and cochlear implants begins long before I was even born,with my family’s story of hearing loss and my older siblings, Jessica and Jared. My oldestsister, Jessica, was born with severe to profound sensorineural...

Bella

Bella

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5w0GK5Xsz0 Bella Grace Brady was born February 22, 2012.  While at the hospital, Bella's newborn hearing screens were normal.  At the age of two, I requested a speech evaluation Bella only because her older brother needed...

Vivi

Vivi

WISE was the answer to our journey of Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). Watching Vivi struggle for 2 years (her first 2 years of life) was heartbreaking.  Out of the womb, Vivi had a dynamic personality, even with her hearing loss.  We knew we wanted...

Kailin

Kailin

Today my daughter speaks her mind. Her vocabulary has increased tremendously and she now speaks in sentences instead of grunting and pointing. We quickly saw her frustration go down and behavior problems improve as a result of the new communication skills she was learning.

Luke

Luke

Luke started learning on his first day at the Hearing School. I got a video from the teacher after I dropped Luke and sat down in my office. I watched such a simple and short video again and again with tears in my eyes and joy in my heart. I was amazed how good he was in mimicking his teachers with the hearing aids on. I knew I needed to do the same thing at home every day.

Caroline

Caroline

I will never forget the hours we spent at the table inputting the learning to listen sounds and the sheer delight I felt when Caroline said her first “word”, if you could call it that. We were working on “ho, ho, ho” when I heard Caroline say “hmm, hmm, hmm.” I called everyone I knew and quickly realized that they were not nearly as aware what a milestone this was as I was, but I knew we were on our way!

Amelia

Amelia

She has attended the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE), formerly known as the Alabama School for Hearing for three years. I can never express in words what this school did for Amelia. Thank you doesn’t seem enough.

Ben

Ben

The two years of therapy he received at the school optimized the AVT he had already received and, in my opinion, is the single factor that has contributed most to his current day success. Being immersed in spoken language and receiving AVT from certified therapists at WISE was one of the best decisions we could have ever made for our son

Allie

Allie

Our miracle came through a group of people who have dedicated their lives to children like our daughter. She will leave this school with a hope and future that didn’t seem possible a couple of years ago. Please accept our sincere appreciation for what the entire staff does for these children, especially our daughter. We will be forever grateful.

Tuition Free Programs

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New Friends for life

Loving and Caring Staff

Contact

Location:
400 Corporate Parkway
Birmingham, Alabama 35242

Telephone: (205) 728-5480

Email: [email protected]

The Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education (WISE), is a 501 © not for profit organization dedicated to teaching deaf children to speak. We are a statewide, family focused program working in collaboration with Alabama’s Early Intervention System, local school systems, and private and public entities which advance the education of deaf children who use listening and spoken language.