General Resources

Deaf or hard of hearing students face a host of unique challenges in the classroom and on campus.  With this guide, we've attempted to highlight those struggles as well as provide helpful advice and showcase resources which may aid the student.

One of the oldest and most comprehensive organizations focused on pediatric hearing loss. The Organization also educates the general public about technological advances for the deaf and hearing impaired and advocates legislation.

Boys Town National Research Hospital is recognized for model programs relating to childhood deafness, language and learning.  The Hospital provides leading edge research in the identification of hearing loss, fitting of hearing aids, and educational materials for hearing impaired children and their parents.

CID is a unique network of resources central to knowledge and the progressive treatment of adult and childhood deafness.

A highly recognized international support group for the hearing children of deaf parents, CODA offers newsletters, a discussion forum, and information about upcoming conversations.


With more adaptive technologies and progressive legislature, prospective college students with disabilities have countless resources available to make the transition to higher education less stressful. This guide was created to help these students and their families better understand the resources available to them. Key elements of the guide include a comprehensive overview of the various cognitive, physical, or other types of disabilities students face while attending school and reviews of several technologies and advocate groups available to students who face various disabilities, such as deafness and hardness of hearing.


Dangerous Decibels has many resources that can be applied in practices, schools and other settings to promote hearing loss prevention, especially in children.

Deaf Linx is your resource for information on deafness, deaf culture, American Sign Language (ASL), and all other related topics. Deaf Linx firmly believes that deafness is not a disability, but a condition that produces a sub-culture that should be celebrated.

Read back issues, take opinion polls on deaf issues and more at this deaf community magazine's website.

National organization whose goal is the cure and prevention of all forms of hearing loss.

Gallaudet is the world's only university geared specifically to the needs of the deaf. The site includes links to other deaf schools in the United States.

The NAD advocates the civil rights of the deaf and hard-of-hearing in a variety of areas including education, employment, health care, social services, and telecommunications.

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is the nations's leading organization representing people with hearing loss. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 48 million (20 percent) Americans have some degree of hearing loss. It is the third most prevalent chronic health condition in older adults, after arthritis and heart disease, making it an issue of national concern.

Professional Resources

Resource site for professionals who test, treat and provide care to the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Information for professionals working in audiology, speech-language pathology, and the speech and hearing sciences.  The organization is also an advocate for people with communication disabilities.

Provides ASL professionals with information on deaf culture, instructional methods, materials and evaluation techniques.


This site is dedicated to the exchange of information about deaf education, from recommended teaching strategies to curriculum materials.

Cochlear Implant Resources

This cochlear implant FAQ, published in 1996, contains everything from statistics on cochlear implants to warnings about false advertising.


The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) web site on cochlear implants.


A cochlear implant primer prepared by the Hearing Loss Association of Washington.

Sign Language Resources


Michigan State University's ASL Browser web site, an online American Sign Language (ASL) browser where you can look up videos of thousands of ASL signs and learn interesting things about them.

This online ASL dictionary, reportedly the largest on the Web, offers 3,090 animated signs, from "accounting" to "Zen".

This detailed, award-winning site offers extensive information on how to read and write in signed languages.

Telecommunication Resources


Deaf people can face communication issues, but the advances in technology are helping to make it easier to overcome these issues. In addition to making communication easier, technology can make it easier for interpreters to help deaf people remotely through video conferences or video phones. A list of resources is provided.


The mission of the Montana Telecommunications Access Program is to improve the quality of life for all Montanans through education, innovation, and technology by enhancing communications options. MTAP does this by overseeing the Montana Relay program, which allows people who are Deaf to use telephone services, and by offering assistive equipment and services to Montanans whose disabilities make it hard for them to use the phone.


MonTech specializes in assistive technology (AT) and oversees a variety of AT related grants and contracts. Their overall goal is to develop a comprehensive, statewide system of assistive technology related assistance. They strive to ensure that all people in Montana with disabilities have equitable access to assistive technology devices and services in order to enhance their independence, productivity, and quality of life. In pursuit of this goal, program staff work with consumers, service providers, educators, therapists, state agencies, private industry, researchers, legislators, and other interested individuals.