CID was founded in 1914 by
Max Aaron Goldstein, MD, a renowned ear, nose and throat physician, with the encouragement of his friend, deaf-blind activist
Helen Keller. Dr. Goldstein set out to do what most thought was impossible at the time – teach deaf children to talk. Goldstein built on techniques he had learned at the Vienna Polyclinic in Austria from Victor Urbantschisch related to methods of teaching the deaf how to speak using "remnants" of hearing. When CID's new school building opened two years later, it had become enormously successful and its methods for speech and auditory training, now known as listening and spoken language, were groundbreaking. Goldstein's vision included more than a school. He believed having physicians, teachers and researchers work side by side on issues related to hearing and deafness was essential. He began training teachers of the deaf in 1914. In 1931, that teacher training program affiliated with
Washington University in St. Louis, becoming the first deaf education teacher training program in the country to be offered through a college or university. The 1930s also saw the development of a research department that aimed to better understand the anatomy and science of hearing. Under the direction of
Hallowell Davis, MD, who came to CID from
Harvard University, the research department would become world-renowned for its work related to hearing and deafness, attracting some of the world's top faculty over the next seven decades. Davis' early work there was done during World War II on behalf of the
Veterans Administration, developing improved hearing aids for those who had sustained hearing loss in combat. This research laid the foundation for what would become the field of audiology. It was in 1947 that CID established one of the country's first two university training programs in audiology, a PhD degree, through its affiliation with Washington University in St. Louis. Within a few months of each other, both CID/Washington University in St. Louis and
Northwestern University had enrolled students and officially launched the country's academic training efforts in audiology. Both programs continue today as top-ranked leaders in audiology education. It was also in 1947 that CID added a master's program in deaf education, also the first such program in the country. CID principals and clinical directors Helen S. Lane, PhD, Mildred McGinnis, Ann E. Geers, PhD and Jean Moog were pioneers who made major contributions to listening and spoken language deaf education and audiological science, helping children across the world. S. Richard Silverman, PhD, Donald Calvert, PhD, and Ira J. Hirsh, PhD, were among notable CID directors who moved the field forward during the decades after Dr. Goldstein's death. In September 2003 in the wake of CID's financial difficulties, Washington University in St. Louis acquired the graduate education, adult clinical and research divisions, formalizing a longtime connection between the two institutions. These programs are today known as "CID at Washington University School of Medicine." Clinical and research programs are operated through the Department of Otolaryngology; the graduate education programs are operated through the Program in Audiology and Communication Sciences (PACS). The CID school remains a separate, non-profit agency focused on educating children who are deaf and hard of hearing, supporting their families and providing continuing education, consulting and resources for listening and spoken language professionals. ==Campus==