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Resources for Deaf People

Three out of every 1,000 people in the United States are functionally deaf, according to the federal government's National Health Interview Survey. Many more have some degree of hearing loss. Deaf people face many challenges in educational settings, in the work place and the world in general. Resources exist to help deaf and hard-of-hearing people navigate the hearing person's world.

  1. National Association of the Deaf

    • The National Association of the Deaf is a clearinghouse for information related to deafness. They advocate for the deaf on legislative issues and provide legal representation for deaf people in discrimination cases.

      8630 Fenton Street, Suite 820
      Silver Spring, MD 20910
      301-587-1788 voice
      301-587-1789 TTY
      nad.org

    Alexander Graham Bell

    • Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing provides legal advocacy services for deaf and hard-of-hearing children that need help getting early intervention and educational services. They provide a number of programs for teens, college students and other deaf people that primarily use oral communication techniques.

      3417 Volta Place, NW
      Washington, DC 20007
      202-337-5220 voice
      202-337-5221 TTY
      agbell.org

    Association of the Deaf-Blind

    • The American Association of the Deaf-Blind advocates for deaf-blind people and educates the public about deaf-blindness.They offer a publication called "The Deaf-Blind American," which contain articles of interest to deaf-blind people and their families.They also work to improve access to interpreters for the deaf-blind.

      8630 Fenton Street, Suite 121
      Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-3803
      301-495-4403 voice
      301-495-4402 TTY
      aadb.org

    Dogs for the Deaf

    • Dogs for the Deaf rescues dogs from animal shelters and trains them to serve as "hearing ear dogs" for deaf people. These service dogs respond and alert their owners to a variety of sounds in the environment, including smoke and fire alarms, doorbells, oven timers, telephones, alarm clocks, someone calling their owners' names and crying babies. Dogs for the Deaf does not charge deaf people for service dogs.

      10175 Wheeler Road
      Central Point, OR 97502
      541-826-9220 voice
      dogsforthedeaf.org

    Gallaudet University

    • Gallaudet University is the only liberal arts university in the world designed specifically to meet the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students. Hearing students are welcome, but the predominant language is American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf culture predominates. In addition to offering all the typical majors found at a liberal arts university, Gallaudet offers majors in ASL, interpreting and deaf studies.

      800 Florida Avenue, NE
      Washington, DC 20002
      202-651-5000
      gallaudet.edu

    Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf

    • The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf certifies interpreters and provides continuing educational opportunities for interpreters to ensure high standards. They also maintain a database of registered interpreters that deaf people can use to locate qualified interpreters in their area.

      333 Commerce Street
      Alexandria, VA 22314
      703-838-0030 voice
      703-838-0459 TTY
      rid.org

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