About

The Artz Center is the creation of the merger between The Hearing & Speech Institute and the Northwest Early Childhood Institute. The Hearing & Speech Institute was a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, founded in 1927 as the Portland Lip Reading club by two noted teachers of the deaf, that expanded during a period of rapid growth and change with a mission of “empowering people of all ages to achieve their full communication potential.” Through the merger with the Northwest Early Childhood Institute, which was formed in 1999, the new mission of the Artz Center focuses upon both creating an innovative, coordinated, clinical approach that promotes each child’s ability to reach their developmental potential, and ultimately raising the standard of children’s developmental health care so that all children can thrive.

While much of the work of the Center has traditionally focused on rehabilitation of people with specific clinical needs, our work is always accomplished in the context of that which makes us distinctly human – relationships – with a focus on all communication, both emotional and cognitive.

The three major areas of focus for our work here at the Artz Center include:

Services for Children and Families: We provide specialized, team-based developmental care to help children realize their full potential.

Community Change: We act as a catalyst in the community to raise the standard of developmental health for all children.

Hearing Health Services (link to audiology page): We provide professional compassionate audiologic care to enhance communication ability, strengthen interpersonal relationships and enrich quality of life for people of all ages. Through these services we envision a community in which no person suffers the loss of personal relationships and emotional connections.