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Every Child Deserves a Voice - It's Our History
For more than 50 years, the Northeast Georgia Speech Center has been guided by one simple belief: every child deserves the ability to communicate, connect, and be heard.
Our work is dedicated to helping children develop the speech and language skills they need to thrive in school, build relationships, and confidently express themselves.
In the late 1950s the Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County realized the desperate need for a local speech and hearing center for Gainesville and Hall County residents since the nearest one was over an hour away in Atlanta. For the next several years a committee of women from the League visited speech centers and met with speech and language specialists across the South as they prepared to open a speech center for the Gainesville community.
In 1970 Gainesville First Methodist Church, then in historic downtown Gainesville off Green Street, offered a second-floor suite of two rooms to be used as a starting place for the speech center. In 1971 the doors were officially opened with a newly graduated speech pathologist from the University of Georgia and a small staff of Junior League volunteers. An advisory board was formed and a professor from UGA’s speech and hearing department served as an advisor to the board.
In four years the Northeast Georgia Speech Center, Inc. moved into a larger facility made available to rent on the campus of Brenau University. Staff increased to two full-time speech-language pathologists and a part-time administrative assistant while the Junior League continued to support the center with volunteers, finances, and other assistance. The Northeast Georgia Speech Center achieved national recognition in 1976 by earning American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) accreditation. This was an especially important achievement as only 5 speech programs in Georgia were accredited to provide speech-language services at that time. The speech center later received accreditation for professional services by the National Association of Speech and Hearing Centers, a network of not-for-profit, independent centers who pass stringent peer review qualifications and criteria.
Every Child Deserves a Voice
In 1982 the center purchased its first free-standing building in Gainesville on Spring Street and, thanks to generous donations, the center was able to pay off their mortgage in only 7 years. With a staff of 3 full-time speech-language pathologists and a full-time office manager, the center provided therapy to area hospitals, nursing homes, head start programs, preschools and to individual clients. In 1992 the center began their Therapeutic Language for Children (TLC) program for 3-5 year old preschoolers. In 1996, the Lil B.U.D.S. (Babies Understanding and Developing Speech) program began for toddlers. This program offers individual speech-language therapy and parental education and training.
After out-growing the facility on Spring Street, the speech center board began searching for a new location and larger facility. In October 2009 the center purchased space in the Gainesville Business Center on Washington Street in downtown Gainesville which has allowed the center more visibility and more spacious rooms for therapy, conferences, and the potential for growth.
In December 2012 the Speech Center was selected by the Medical Center Foundation to be the recipient of the 2013 Medical Center Open Golf Tournament proceeds. Through the money raised on the center’s behalf, the center was able to install a sensory room with state of the art equipment for autistic and sensory involved students and a sensory garden.
The speech center has also been blessed with donations from the Rotary Club of Gainesville through the Dr. Hart Joiner Endowment for Children and Youth, the Roy C. Moore Foundation, the Junior League of Gainesville-Hall County, the Clorox Company, Motorola Foundation and the many individuals who remember the speech center with memorial gifts and annual support. We are excited about continuing to provide quality and affordable language and speech services for children in Gainesville-Hall County in the many years to come.
Support Our Mission
The Northeast Georgia Speech Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing life-changing speech therapy services to children in our community. Your donation helps ensure that every child — regardless of financial circumstances — has access to quality speech and language care.