The mission of Mental Health and Deafness Resources is to provide high quality, individualized mental health and educational services to children, adolescents and young adults, ages 3-21, who are deaf or hard of hearing and are further complicated with emotional/ behavioral issues, developmental delays, a history of neurological insult, or multiple problems.  Toward this goal, we offer a continuum of services including diagnostic assessment, elementary through high school level day and residential therapeutic school, and both partial and inpatient psychiatric programs.  We serve children and adolescents who have not succeeded in less intensive therapeutic environments.  We value family involvement and, whenever possible, aim to return clients to their home and school.  We accept all children who meet the criteria irrespective of their mode of  communication. We utilize a total communication system but do our best to adapt to the child’s primary mode of communication. Our program is well known in the Midwest, but we are available to serve children and adolescents from anywhere in the country.

In addition to individual, family and group therapy, we believe that art, drama, play and dance provide creative, appropriate avenues for emotional expression along with

increasing self-esteem. Within our school programs, students work together to participate in holiday presentations.  Some of our students act in the signed community theater productions put on by our sister organization, International Center on Deafness and the Arts (ICODA), where the Academy Award winner, Marlee Matlin, made her acting debut. 

Each of our programs—Center Glen Therapeutic Residential and Day Program, Prairieview Program and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Scott Nolan Hospital – are highly staffed by screened, trained individuals who are either deaf or hard of hearing themselves, or are hearing signers.  Our multidisciplinary professional team, who provide our clients with psychiatric, psychological and nursing services, are all mental health and deafness specialists.  In our group homes we offer a total communication, reduced stimulation environment with limited daily transitions and homelike settings.  Our classes are small and our students receive much individual attention given a staff to child ratio of 2:1 or in some cases 1:1 

MHDR is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and approved by the Illinois State Board of Education.