Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) work together to protect children and adults with disabilities from exclusion, discrimination, and unequal treatment in education, employment, and the community.
Deaf people are a highly diverse population with a wide range of communication preferences, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and additional disabilities that shape their interactions with their environment. It is important to recognize that for many deaf individuals, “identity” is fluid and can change over time. Some experiences are shared by all members of this diverse community but there is also value in honoring differences such as communication preferences. This section is dedicated to understanding more about the diversity within the deaf community and working with individuals to create accessible environments.
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Topics: Deaf 101, Legal/Policy
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) work together to protect children and adults with disabilities from exclusion, discrimination, and unequal treatment in education, employment, and the community.
Useful For: Administrators, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Parents, Students, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101, Other Access Topics, Transition
This two-part video explains the Americans With Disabilities Act and how it applies to postsecondary education for students who are deaf.
Useful For: Administrators, Audiologists, Employers, Interpreters, New Users, Parents, Students -
Topics: Deaf 101
The characteristics of Deaf culture are formed out of many shared life experiences rooted in a visual world designed for communication ease.
Useful For: Audiologists, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101, Interpreting
The role of the interpreter appears to be very straightforward—to effectively facilitate communication between deaf individuals and those who are hearing. However, the complexities of the task, the varieties or types of visual interpreting, and the enormous range of qualifications brought by the interpreter make it anything but simple.
Useful For: Audiologists, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101, Other Access Topics
Effective communication affords deaf individuals the ability to share and/or receive information in a manner that is successful for them. Effective communication increases the opportunity for full and equal participation in any situation. Effective communication is fluid and allows all parties to receive and respond to information equally.
Useful For: Administrators, Audiologists, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Parents, Students, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101
The ability to communicate defines us as human beings and as a society. It forms a foundation for decision making and relationship building. Communicating with deaf individuals is an achievable goal, even when accommodations (e.g., interpreters) are not present. The tools available to us are considerable and limited only by our creativity and desire to communicate.
Useful For: Audiologists, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Teachers -
Topics: Captioned Media, Deaf 101
Captions are the textual representation of audio content in a video format, communicating spoken dialogue, sound effects, and speaker identification. Captions provide essential access for the more than 30 million Americans with a hearing loss. They also benefit emerging readers, visual learners, non-native speakers, and many others.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals, New Users, Parents, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101, Interpreting, Other Access Topics, Speech-to-Text (Services), Transition
This collection of handbook templates is designed for a disability support service provider to download and personalize for his or her institution's needs. These handbooks contain information for orientation to and standardization of procedures as well as general information about how these service providers can work effectively within a postsecondary education setting and with deaf students. Templates are included for faculty, interpreters, note takers, speech-to-text providers, and students. (Revised: 2017)
Useful For: Administrators, Disability Services Professionals -
Topics: Deaf 101, Speech-to-Text (Services)
Today's technology affords deaf individuals access to the world like never before. Speech-to-text is one example of technology that brings access to individuals who are visual communicators.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals, Employers, New Users, Parents -
Topics: Deaf 101
This brief summarizes the research about attitudes toward deaf individuals as critical factors that influence their academic and employment outcomes.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals, New Users -
Topics: Deaf 101
This study describes the results of a large nationwide study of accommodations use by deaf students in secondary and postsecondary settings.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals -
Topics: Deaf 101, Other Access Topics
This study explored how successful college readiness is dependent on the readiness of both the deaf student and the institution.
Useful For: Administrators, Disability Services Professionals -
Topics: Deaf 101
This study used data from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study to assess differences in academic achievement among deaf students with and without learning disabilities.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals, Parents, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101, Other Access Topics
This resource is for professionals who want a better understanding of the legal foundations in serving deaf students. Disability law attorneys and experienced practitioners explain institutional responsibilities and provide tips for implementing policies and procedures.
Useful For: Administrators, Disability Services Professionals -
Topics: Deaf 101, Transition
This brief summarizes the research related to deaf culture as a potential resource to be drawn upon in support of postsecondary education and employment outcomes for deaf individuals.
Useful For: Disability Services Professionals, Parents, Students, Teachers -
Topics: Deaf 101
This brief summarizes the research related to effective communication between deaf and hearing individuals.
Useful For: Employers, Interpreters, New Users, Students