This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
The John Tracy Clinic was founded in 1942 by Louise Tracy, wife of actor Spencer Tracy. In 1925, the couple's son John was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at 10 months old. Mrs. Tracy worked with him and taught him lip-reading and encouraged him to learn how to speak. She opposed sign language. The clinic established programs to educate and offer emotional support to parents and their preschool deaf youngsters, free of charge. The clinic has locations in Los Angeles and Long Beach, and offers online services to families. Photograph caption dated October 8, 1963 reads "Ronnie, a 3-year-old Burbank deaf child who attends classes at John Tracy Clinic in Los Angeles, is shown during a demonstration lesson for members of the clinic's Northridge guild. Through use of earphones, he can hear some vowel sounds and vibrations, but mostly learns to communicate through lip-reading. His eyes substitute for ears as his teacher tells him to pick out the mommy, daddy and boy out of a collection of dolls. He learns to give the baby a bath and to put the boy in the car. In this way Ronnie can associate every-day objects with words and sounds."; See images #00125782 through 00125784 for all photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 18 cm. on 27 x 19 cm. board. Photographic prints
John Tracy Clinic John Tracy Clinic--Students Boys--California--Los Angeles Deaf students--California--Los Angeles Deaf children--Education--California--Los Angeles Deaf children--Means of communication--California--Los Angeles Headphones--California--Los Angeles Toys--California--Los Angeles Northridge (Los Angeles, Calif.) Valley Times Collection photographs
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