The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) conducted a root cause analysis of current data and existing literature to identify four underlying root causes that affect postsecondary outcomes for deaf people:
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Topics: Research & Data
Useful For: Administrators, Disability Services Professionals, Employers, Parents, Teachers, Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals -
Topics: Research & DataThis report is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) data collected from 2012-2016 and provides both national and state statistics, including District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
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Topics: Testing
Many different test-taking issues affect deaf students, but linked to all of these issues are the differing experiences with English, professionals who do not have a full understanding of the learning experiences or backgrounds of deaf individuals, and the lack of testing standards. This summary for professionals will look at ways test accessibility for deaf individuals can be addressed.
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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.
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Topics: Research & Data
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.
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Topics: Other Access Topics
The term universal design was coined by architect Ronald L. Mace to describe the concept of designing all products and the built environment to be aesthetically pleasing and usable to the greatest extent possible by everyone, regardless of their age, ability, or status in life. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) brings this concept of inclusive design into the educational setting. UDL research shows that each student learns in a unique manner, so a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective.
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Topics: Assistive Technology
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.
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Topics: Research & Data
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.
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Topics: Interpreting, Speech-to-Text (Services)
Interpreting and speech-to-text services are commonplace accommodations for an audience that comprises several deaf individuals who rely on different communication modes (e.g., ASL, lip reading). This type of dual accommodation most often occurs at large magnet events such as conferences. Dual accommodation for an individual student in a postsecondary setting occurs less frequently but is appropriate under certain circumstances.
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Topics: Deaf 101, Legal/Policy
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.
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Topics: Interpreting, Testing
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.
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Topics: Interpreting
Although visual language interpreters have become more visible and prominent in the classroom since the Americans With Disabilities Act was passed in 1990, they have been a part of the educational landscape since the early 1970s. Still, their role is often confusing and distracting.
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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.
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Topics: Captioned Media, Other Access Topics
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.
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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.
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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.
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Topics: Transition
Having high expectations for deaf individuals' postsecondary success means believing in their capability to succeed and not believing their opportunities are limited due to being deaf. These high expectations are important as deaf youth navigate the transition from high school to postsecondary education or training.
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Topics: Research & Data
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.
Useful For: Parents, Teachers, Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals -
Topics: Assistive Technology
For those who are new to assistive listening technology, selecting the right systems for a college campus can be daunting. When selecting assistive listening technology for a college campus, institutions should consider a number of factors, including the legal requirements for providing access and the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of systems.
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Topics: Research & Data
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.
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Topics: Research & Data
This study used criteria from the What Works Clearinghouse to assess the quality of single-case design studies in research with deaf populations.
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Topics: Research & Data, 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.
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Topics: Mental Health & Well-Being, Research & Data
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.
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Topics: Transition
Self-advocacy is a lifelong endeavor that can never be learned too early or too late in life. Practicing self-advocacy is a critical element of the self-advocacy developmental process, and individuals who do it are better prepared to self-advocate in the future.
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Topics: Research & Data, Transition
This study explored how vocational rehabilitation counselors promote the self-advocacy knowledge and skills of their deaf consumers within postsecondary employment and educational contexts.
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Topics: Research & Data, Transition
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.
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Topics: Research & Data, Testing
This study explores frameworks surrounding assessment policy and practice for deaf and deafdisabled students, current research related to standardized assessment, and potential implications.
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Topics: Research & Data
Deaf individuals who live in rural areas face a different set of challenges from those living in more populated regions. As a result, deaf individuals who live in rural areas require support and services that address their unique needs. This document briefly summarizes the research surrounding the unique needs/challenges of deaf individuals in rural communities.
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Topics: Research & Data, Testing
This study reviewed the current literature, focusing on the factors that are important to keep in mind when considering the use of accommodations for assessment for deaf students.
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Topics: Research & Data
The research brief summarizes the research and relevant resources related to the Common Core State Standards for teachers of deaf students.
Useful For: Administrators, Teachers, Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals