A program that helps children who are deaf or hard of hearing communicate is getting a new home in Kirkland.

The Lee Johnson auto group will be leasing office space for Listen and Talk, the specialty school formerly housed in Seattle’s Maple Leaf neighborhood. Located at 8244 122nd Ave. NE, the auto family office will be renovated for the listening and spoken-language services. Lee Johnson will donate leftover office furniture to the school.

President of Lee Johnson, Tod Johnson, stated in a press release that the auto group purchased the location for a licensing agency but it was much bigger than needed, so it started looking for a tenant.

“We are excited to become part of the Kirkland community and we are grateful for this opportunity with the Lee Johnson Auto Family,” Maura Berndsen, Executive Director at Listen and Talk, stated in a press release. “Early services set families and their children who are deaf/hard of hearing on a path for lifelong learning. Our new facility in Kirkland provides the space for our team to realize our vision that no child is limited by hearing loss.”

Listen and Talk provides family-centered services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing, ages birth to school-age. Their team includes teachers of the deaf and speech-language pathologists with specialized training in listening and spoken language development. Listen and Talk’s pediatric audiologists provide families support and on-site educational audiology services.

The organization is enrolling children with hearing into its blended classroom program where they benefit from small class sizes, high-quality sound systems, and a language-rich environment provided by highly-qualified teaching teams.

Listen and Talk will open it’s Kirkland location in August. More information is available at listentalk.org.