History of the Capland Center
The Capland Speech Therapy Center is a community speech-language-hearing center located at 2660 Aero Drive in Port Arthur, Texas. The agency provides diagnostic evaluations and therapeutic remediation for individuals of all ages experiencing speech and language communication disorders. The Capland Center also offers a hearing screening program that is designed to provide audiological hearing screenings for pre-school through adult age clients to identify potential hearing deficits. Clients failing the hearing screening are referred to hearing specialists or physicians as appropriate. Further, the agency has plans to provide a remedial language program to promote emergent literacy and language comprehension skills for school-aged children.
The Capland Speech Therapy Center was founded in 1953 by the Service League of Port Arthur and was originally named Sunnyside School. The mission was to serve children with speech and hearing disorders. The agency changed its name in 1958 to Sunnyside Speech and Hearing Center and broadened its service to people of all ages experiencing communication disorders. The agency was renamed in 1976 to honor Lethale Capland, a dedicated community member that actively participated in the formation of the organization. Ms. Capland served as the first president of the Capland Center’s Board of Directors.
The Capland Speech Therapy Center celebrated its 54th anniversary of service in May 2007 and has continued its original mission of providing affordable speech-language-hearing therapy services to residents of Jefferson, Orange, Hardin and the surrounding counties. The Capland Center’s financial assistance program allows economically disadvantaged clients to receive speech-language-hearing therapy services at a reduced cost based on their financial need. The agency receives approximately 34% of its income from United Way donations and generates the remaining 66% of revenue from clinical program services, individual donations, and donations/grants from area civic organizations. The Internal Revenue Service has determined the Capland Center to be a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization.
In January 2008, Capland Center relocated to a new office building that was constructed on 2660 Aero Drive.
