Louise and
Spencer Tracy's son, John, was diagnosed with
nerve deafness in 1925; the cause of his deafness was
Usher syndrome, which rendered him blind as an adult. His family never
signed with him, when he went blind they traced letters into his hand instead of using the
manual alphabet. They were initially told that nothing could be done to help it, but they continued looking for help. A specialist in New York told them John could live a “normal” life if he learned to
lip read and talk. She then started an oralist daycare in 1942, next to the
University of Southern California. Since its founding, JTC has helped more than 250,000 children develop speech, language and listening abilities. Today, JTC serves more than 3,200 children and families worldwide each year. The organization is recognized as the leader in early childhood listening and spoken language education, as one of the top three centers for pediatric
audiology in the Los Angeles area, and as the world’s largest private provider of services to young children with, or at risk of, hearing loss. ==References==