Resources: Parents

Mental health professionals and researchers have worked to address the lack of evidence-based, culturally relevant, and accessible approaches to mental health services for deaf individuals.

Transition is the process all students go through as they move from a high school setting to what lies beyond. Transition programs assist students and their parents as they plan for life after high school in a proactive and coordinated way. An effective transition program provides students with the tools and the confidence to assume responsibility for their educational and employment decisions as they move into adulthood.

Assessment accommodations are changes in testing materials or procedures that lessen barriers to access but do not change the test construct, or what the test is intended to measure. Deaf individuals are diverse with varying needs.

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.

Strengthening community networks and connections increases social capital, the advantage gained through relationships and social networks. Social capital can help individuals navigate complex school and workplace situations.

Background noise and distance from the instructor may present barriers for some deaf students. When this is the case, assistive listening systems can play a role in reducing or eliminating these barriers.

Regardless of one's role in administering an assessment—as a professor in a college course or a psychological examiner conducting an evaluation—test providers recognize the importance of obtaining an accurate measurement of student learning, knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and skills.

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.

This two-part video explains the Americans With Disabilities Act and how it applies to postsecondary education for students who are deaf.

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.

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.

The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes conducted a review of the literature on practices that address root causes of challenges to deaf individuals' postsecondary attainment and identified five key impact areas. Evidence-based summaries of each of the five key impact areas are included in the document.

This study used data from National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 to explore the hypothesis that increased access to English through computer-mediated communication (CMC) can increase direct access to language and literacy for deaf individuals.

This study assessed the influence of English literacy skills on postsecondary outcomes for deaf individuals, through a secondary analysis of data from National Longitudinal Transition Study 2.

This study explored how communication technology use may predict postsecondary outcomes for deaf individuals through a secondary analysis of data from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study.

This study reviewed education and disability literature to find that students with disabilities who employ self-advocacy skills achieve greater academic and lifetime outcomes, suggesting that deaf students would benefit from self-advocacy skill development.

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.

This brief summarizes the research related to mental health care for deaf individuals.

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.

This study explored professionals' perspectives on what contributes to successful transition for deaf individuals, as well as their perceived professional preparedness to support that transition.

Note taking is the practice of capturing important pieces of information in a systematic way. It is not limited to the classroom. Note taking is an important accommodation in any situation requiring learning, including job sites and internships. Effective note taking is a skill that is acquired through training and strengthened through practice. It is an accommodation that deaf individuals rely on when they are in an environment of learning. In fact, research conducted with deaf college students indicates that most students view note taking as a very useful support.

This study explored how vocational rehabilitation counselors promote the self-advocacy knowledge and skills of their deaf consumers within postsecondary employment and educational contexts.

Approximately 20% of the adult population has a disability. Most deaf individuals do not seek vocational rehabilitation services, but those who do most often want employment-related services or education and/or training to prepare for employment.

This study explored how accommodation needs may differ according to deaf individuals' additional disability status, if present, through a secondary analysis of the second National Longitudinal Transition Study.

Telecommunication technology has significantly changed the communication landscape for deaf individuals. For more than 40 years, text telephones (TTY) and amplified phones were the only options. Today, videophones, smartphones, and instant messaging most often replace TTY as preferred communication tools.

Late-deafened individuals experience a variety of challenges navigating the postsecondary environment due to a variety of internal and external factors. This document summarizes the research related to postsecondary outcomes for late-deafened individuals.

Deciding how, when, and why to disclose a disability to an employer is an important part of the job-seeking process. The decision can significantly affect one's ability to obtain and maintain employment. The different stages of the employment process and the potential impacts of disclosure at each stage deserve thoughtful reflection.