Advocacy

Regional Parent Technical Assistance Centers has resources that you can learn and become connected to locally in your community, they have a "Find a Parent Center" portion to the site where you can access materials with support. 

IN*SOURCE has a mission to provide high quality information, training, and support to families of children and young adults with disabilities and the individuals and organizations who serve them while building family capacity to advocate for their children who are identified with disabilities.

Indiana Family to Family provides information, training, and one-on-one support to Indiana families of children and youth with additional health and education needs, and provides families with tools to make informed decisions, advocate for improved systems and policies, and build partnerships.

American Sign Language Support & ASL Skill Development FREE Resources

1. ASL University Lifeprint: www.lifeprint.com

Offers free online lessons, a rich vocabulary of signs, and structured courses taught by Dr. Bill Vicars, a well-known Deaf educator.

2. Gallaudet University ASL Connect: www.gallaudet.edu

Gallaudet, the premier university for Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, offers ASL courses, webinars, and resources for both self-learners and educators.

3. Signing Savvy: www.signingsavvy.com

A sign language dictionary featuring videos of thousands of signs, with options for searching by topic or alphabetically.

4. Start ASL: www.startasl.com

Provides online ASL courses, study guides, and ASL dictionaries. It includes both free and paid course options, from beginner to advanced levels.

5. SignSchool: www.signschool.com

A free, interactive platform for learning ASL. The site offers lessons on vocabulary, conversation, and Deaf culture, along with a feature to learn a "Sign of the Day."

6. Handspeak: www.handspeak.com

An online ASL dictionary and resource hub that also covers Deaf culture, fingerspelling, and a “Sign of the Day” feature.

7. Oklahoma School for the Deaf: https://courses.osd.k12.ok.us/ 

These are classes taught by OSD’s ASL Specialists. These are non credit American Sign Language (ASL) courses and do not count towards professional development hours or continuing education units. They are simply basic courses in conversational ASL.

Listening and Spoken Language Support & Auditory Skill Development

1. Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: www.agbell.org

AG Bell is a leading organization for families and professionals focused on listening and spoken language development in DHH individuals. It offers resources, certification for professionals, webinars, and support groups on auditory-verbal therapy.

2. Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center: www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org

This site, a part of AG Bell, provides a wealth of information for families and professionals, including guidelines, evidence-based practices, and resources on auditory-verbal techniques.

3. The Hearing First Organization: www.hearingfirst.org

Hearing First offers courses, resources, and a community to support professionals and families. It focuses on evidence-based practices and listening and spoken language skills for children with hearing loss.

4. The John Tracy Center: www.jtc.org

The John Tracy Center provides parent-centered services for DHH children, with a focus on auditory-verbal therapy. They offer webinars, parent support programs, and educational resources for spoken language development.

5. The Listening Room by Advanced Bionics: www.hearingjourney.com/listening_room/en

The Listening Room offers a variety of resources, including games, activities, and lesson plans to help DHH children and adults improve their listening and spoken language skills.

6. The National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL): www.nal.gov.au

NAL provides research-based insights and resources related to hearing loss and rehabilitation, including strategies for clinicians and educators.

7. Cochlear Corporation: Resources for Professionals: www.cochlear.com

Cochlear offers resources for professionals working with cochlear implant recipients, including auditory-verbal therapy techniques, rehabilitation programs, and webinars focused on spoken language and listening skills.

Accessibility...

Captions in the classroom and allowable assistive technologies which have become inexpensive and widely available accommodations are a huge passion of mine. These supports open up access incredibly for students, below are laws that govern access supports and resources to support captioning.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973)

Prohibits discrimination based on disability in programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance, including schools and universities. Deaf students are entitled to accommodations such as interpreters, note-takers, and captioning under this law.

Telecommunications Act (1996)

Expanded access to telecommunications for people with disabilities. It includes requirements for telecommunications services (such as relay services) and equipment (such as captioned telephones) to be accessible for Deaf individuals.

Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) (2010)

Requires advanced communication services and digital content to be accessible to individuals with disabilities, including Deaf individuals. This covers online videos, streaming services, and video conferencing.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (developed 1999, most recently updated WCAG 2.1 in 2018)

These guidelines, though not laws themselves, are widely referenced in legislation such as the ADA and CVAA to ensure websites and digital content are accessible. Compliance includes making video content accessible through captions and providing text alternatives for non-text content.

Below are tools that Dr. Kelly J. Grillo collected during the course of study at ISU pursuing her DHH Licensure.