Idaho Community Foundation donates $1,000 to ISU-Meridian’s TELL Program

Treasure Valley toddlers with significant hearing loss will be better prepared for mainstream preschool, thanks to a $1,000 grant to the Toddler Early Listening and Learning Program at the Idaho State University-Meridian Health Science Center.

The program is a service provided through ISU-Meridian's Speech and Language Clinic.

The grant is from the Walter & Leona Dufresne Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation, which assists hundreds of organizations throughout Idaho in their efforts to support families and the elderly, advance the arts, and preserve the environment.

"We're very grateful for this gift," said Cally Stone, the coordinator of the Speech and Language Clinic.  "It will enable us to provide scholarships for children who want to participate in our program."

The 4-week Toddler Early Listening Program—known as TELL—started in summer 2010, a service provided by the ISU Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.  Children from 18 to 36 months old with cochlear implants or a severe hearing impairment are eligible to participate.

TELL is enrolling students for the summer 2011 session. For more information, call the ISU Speech and Language Clinic at 208-373-1725.