Parent Infant Financial Aid

The Parent-Infant Financial Aid Program was established in 1986 to provide financial aid support to families of infants who have been diagnosed with a moderate to profound hearing loss who are in pursuit of spoken language education for their child. Grants are awarded to attenuate expenses associated with obtaining services such as auditory support services, speech-language therapy, tuition, etc. Families should be committed to a listening and spoken language outcome for their child or children with hearing loss.

2010 Parent-Infant Financial Aid Program

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible for this program, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• The child must be three (3) years old or younger as of December 31, 2010.
• The child must have a documented bilateral hearing loss.
  Note: Children with unilateral (one-sided) hearing loss do not qualify.
• Hearing loss must be within the moderate to profound range. This means that applicants must have an unaided Pure-Tone Average (PTA) of 55dB or greater in the better hearing ear in the speech frequencies of 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. Children with cochlear implants meet this eligibility requirement.

Formula for calculating the PTA:
On the unaided audiogram, look at the results for the better hearing ear at 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz and add those three numbers together, then divide that total by three.  The result is the Pure Tone Average.  To be eligible for this award, the child's PTA must be 55 or greater.

• Spoken communication must be the child’s primary mode of communication.
• The child must reside in the United States (including territories) or in Canada.
• Parents/guardians must indicate financial need.

 NOTE: While membership in AG Bell is not required, preference may be given to AG Bell members.

Application and Deadline

Click here for an application packet.

The deadline for applications is September 24, 2010.; All materials must arrive together in one package at AG Bell by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 24, 2010.  No supporting materials will be accepted separately from the application.

Application package should be mailed/delivered to:

Parent-Infant 2010 Financial Aid Program
AG Bell
3417 Volta Place, NW
Washington, DC 20007

Please note:

• AG Bell does not accept responsibility for delays or delivery errors on the part of delivery services; applicants are encouraged to submit applications well in advance of the deadline.
• Faxed applications will not be accepted under any circumstances.
• Late and incomplete applications will not be considered under any circumstances.
• Applications will not be returned for any reason.
• Please do not contact AG Bell seeking an exception.

Delivery Confirmation – We do not confirm receipt of applications. If you would like to know whether or not your application was received, we recommend that you send your application using a service that requires a signature upon delivery. The US Postal Service provides this for a nominal fee; Federal Express, UPS, DHL and courier services also offer this service.

Administrative Process

In the weeks after the application deadline, all applications are screened for eligibility. Eligible applications are then forwarded to the award selection committee for review; ineligible applications are discarded.

If an email address is provided on the application, once the screening process is complete (at least two weeks after the deadline), you will be notified via email of the status of your application. In that email, you will also receive information about when you can expect to be notified of the award decisions.

Have Questions?  Need Clarification?

Please send an email to: financialaid@agbell.org

Response time may be up to three business days, so please plan accordingly when submitting your questions.