About WE Hear Here
Our story
We serve children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families who have chosen a
listening and spoken language outcome for their child.
Early identification, early use of technology and early intervention and education
with a Certified Listening and Spoken Language professional open a world of possibilities.
We provide: Direct Service and Referrals; Consultation, Collaboration and Advocacy;
Listening and Spoken Language Mentoring for teachers of the deaf (TODs)
and speech language pathologists (SLPs) who serve these families.
There is no charge for consultation. We are here to help.
Cynthia S. Robinson, M.Ed., CED, LSLS, Cert. AVEd.
Cynthia S. Robinson's Story
I am a Certified Educator of the Deaf
and a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, Certified Auditory Verbal Educator.
I am a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Richmond and earned my Master of Education from the University of Virginia. I developed The Mainstream Assessment of Readiness for Children Over Five and wrote “APT/HI and Literacy: Practical Applications for the Kindergarten and First Grade Child” in A Guidebook for the Auditory Perception Test for the Hearing Impaired. I co-authored The Mainstream Assessment of Readiness-Preschool, publication pending, and have presented on issues in auditory-oral intervention, early literacy and successful mainstreaming both nationally and internationally. I have been working with children with cochlear implants for many years in self-contained classrooms, resource rooms and in the mainstream.
I was a child who loved listening, learning and talking. I enjoyed being a student. When I graduated from college and had my first job, I missed being a student so I decided to take a sign language class at a local church.
I met wonderful people, but I was struck by the fact that their education, careers and social interaction
were marginalized because they had no spoken language.
My instinct was "We can do better." I had discovered my career! I feel so fortunate. The first part of my career, the dream was there, but the outcomes were just not that great. Without sufficient access to sound, spoken language was learned primarily through vision and tactile stimulus. The quality of speech was often unintelligible and understanding of spoken and written language structures was insufficient for higher level comprehension. Then came cochlear implants. My first two students were a brother and sister. He was six; she was three at implantation. They became my teachers. I discovered by working with them what was possible. They were educated in the mainstream and went on to graduate from the University of Virginia and Washington and Lee, respectively.
The second half of my career has been living the dream through working with children
and families to help children develop listening and spoken language skills comparable to hearing peers.
From 1998 until 2020, I was at at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Jacksonville, Florida. The last nine years I served as Co-Director. I stepped back from that role in August 2020 to found We Hear Here.
The goal is to reach more families who are looking for listening and spoken language outcomes
for their child who is deaf or hard of hearing and direct them to the professionals who are providing the services they need.
We Hear Here
1703 Windjammer Lane
Saint Augustine, FL 32084-5221
crobinson@wehearhere.org