THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF
“The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more – improving the lives of millions of deaf and hard of hearing Americans. The NAD also carries out its federal advocacy work through coalition efforts with specialized national deaf and hard of hearing organizations, as well as coalitions representing national cross-disability organizations.”
https://www.nad.org/about-us/
About NAD’S Commitment to Technology
“…people who are deaf or hard of hearing were early and eager adopters of accessible text-based communication and information systems, such as pagers, e-mail, instant messaging, and the Internet, as well as early adopters of videophones.
“Today, we have assistive listening technologies, real-time captioning services, Internet captioning applications, movie caption display systems, a wide range of relay services that provide access to the telephone network, digital televisions with digital captions, and video remote interpreting services.”
https://www.nad.org/resources/technology/
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS
“The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. The purpose of the law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA is divided into five titles (or sections) that relate to different areas of public life.”
https://adata.org/learn-about-ada
National Association of the Deaf
“The mission of the National Association of the Deaf is to preserve, protect and promote the civil, human and linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States of America.” For a list of Civil Rights Laws, see:
https://www.nad.org/resources/civil-rights-laws/
United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
“The Department enforces the ADA through complaints, lawsuits, consent decrees, settlement agreements, and alternate dispute resolution (mediation).”
https://www.ada.gov/
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
“The disability laws forbid discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.” Review the specifics of Disability Discrimination at:
https://www.eeoc.gov/disability-discrimination-and-employment-decisions
SCHOOLS & EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Alphabetized by location – California, Michigan, New York and Washington D.C.
California
Northridge, California: CSUN – Michael D. Eisner College of Education, Department of Deaf Studies.
https://www.csun.edu/eisner-education/deaf-studies
Michigan
Bloomfield Hills Schools: “One of the best public schools in Michigan.”
https://www.bloomfield.org/
Detroit Public Schools: Community District ‘Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program’
https://www.detroitk12.org/Page/11712
Flint – Michigan School for the Deaf: Offers a variety of services to meet the needs of deaf students.
https://www.michiganschoolforthedeaf.org/
Grand Rapids School Districts: Northview Public Schools’ ‘Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program.’
https://nvps.net/dhh-program/
Redford Union Schools Program for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing in western Wayne County, MI. https://www.redfordu.k12.mi.us/beck-education-center/opc/about-us/
Roseville School Program: ‘Program for Students Deaf/Hard of Hearing.’ https://www.misd.net/seform2/Low_Incidence_Classroom_Programs/Program_Hearing_Impairment.html
Washtenaw ISD in Ann Arbor: Deaf & Hard of Hearing Program.
https://www.washtenawisd.org/our-schools-programs/dhh-classrooms/
New York
Rochester, NY: National Technical Institute for the Deaf, offering unmatched opportunities for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
https://www.rit.edu/ntid/
Washington, D.C.
Washington, DC: Gallaudet University, “the educational, political, social, and economic engine of the deaf and signing community on a national and global scale for more than 150 years.”
https://gallaudet.edu/
Washington, DC: Kendall Demonstration Elementary School: a demonstration school of the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University.
https://kdes.gallaudet.edu/about/
Washington, DC: Model Secondary School for the Deaf.
https://mssd.gallaudet.edu/
LAWS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or ‘IDEA’
According to the U.S. Department of Education, this is “a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children.”
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
The U.S. Department of Education says “Section 504 is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the department.”
Learn more about IDEA and Section 504 at:
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/
Compare IDEA, Section 504 and ADA side by side:
https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/at-a-glance-which-laws-do-what
SOURCES FOR EQUIPMENT
Diglo (formerly known as Harris Communications) is “a modern, refreshing take on the age-old problem of hearing loss. Better products, better pricing, better value.”
https://diglo.com/
https://www.icanconnect.org/
Red Cross ‘Bed Shaker’ smoke alarm. “Red Cross services, such as smoke alarm installations, are free of charge thanks to generous partners.”
https://www.redcross.org/local/south-carolina/about-us/news-and-events/news/special-alarm-installed-by-red-cross.html
VIDEO RELAY SERVICES
https://convorelay.com/
Sorenson specializes in innovative video relay products.
https://www.sorenson.com/
Purple VRS Original Complete Package; receive P70 or Laptop or OneVP, choose iPad or POP.
https://get.purplevrs.com/complete
ZVRS Z Complete Package; Receive OneVP, Z70 or laptop as primary videophone. Choose iPad with keyboard or Samsung Tablet as secondary videophone. Firefly signaler or POP Light and Socket are included.
https://www.zvrs.com/complete/
