DHHS Resources

Numerous organizations across Texas serve people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The partial resource list below is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a recommendation. Additional entities can be located through an internet search.

National Organizations – For Professionals

• American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association brings together professionals from vocational rehabilitation, mental health, chemical safety, education, interpreting and related fields to share best practices in working with people who are deaf and hard of hearing, to address policy and program concerns, and to network.
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association helps ensure that people with speech, language and hearing disorders receive services to help them communicate effectively.
• DeafTEC provides resources for high schools and community colleges that educate deaf and hard of hearing students in STEM-related programs.
• Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. provides training for new and professional interpreters, certification through RID's National Testing System and self-regulation through a national Ethical Practices System.

National Organizations – Others

• Hearing Loss Association of America is a volunteer, international, educational nonprofit that provides support, training and advocacy for people with hearing loss, their relatives, and friends.
• National Association of the Deaf advocates for people who are deaf or hard of hearing by promoting early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, and youth leadership.
• National Cued Speech Association is a nonprofit membership organization to promote and support the effective use of cued speech.
• National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes supports postsecondary success and employment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health, conducts and supports research on hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language.

National Support Networks

• Association of Late Deafened Adults provides a support network by working with other organizations and service providers so people with hearing loss can share experiences, challenges and coping strategies and find practical solutions and emotional support.
• DeafLEAD serves people and their families with a trauma-informed approach as they navigate severe distress, disaster, or being the victim of a crime. They provide emotional support and access to resources to allow people to thrive.
• Deaf Women of Color empowers and advocates for its community and educates the community by recognizing the contributions of people who are deaf or hard of hearing through networking, resources, and services.
• Deaf Women United focuses on advocacy, education, and awareness, as well as providing leadership opportunities to empower women who are deaf.

State Organizations – Children and Families

• Partners Resource Network is a nonprofit that operates the Texas statewide network of Parent Training and Information Centers for families with children who have disabilities.
• Statewide Outreach Center at the Texas School for the Deaf works collaboratively with many agencies and organizations to provide services and information to students, their families and the professionals who serve them.
• Texas Association of Parents and Educators for the Deaf is dedicated to promoting excellence and equality for all students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Texas Education Agency Division of Deaf Services is a state agency that provides services regarding deaf education.
• Texas Hands and Voices provides services to families and their children who are 21 and younger and are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Texas School for the Deaf provides a positive learning and living environment that addresses the unique needs of a diverse population of deaf learners and enables them to become productive members of society.

State Organizations – Others

• Texas Association of the Deaf is a membership organization providing information and education on various issues affecting the lives of people who are deaf or hard of hearing at all levels of the community.
• Texas Court Reporters Association contains a list of court reporters trained to provide real-time captioning (CART Providers) around Texas as well as information for court reporters.
• Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf is a nonprofit established for the purpose of developing and strengthening the profession of interpreting in Texas.
• Texas Workforce Commission’s Vocational Rehabilitation Services provides services for youth, students and adults with disabilities to help prepare for, obtain, retain or advance in employment.

Services

• Deaf Network, Texas’ largest subscribed newsletter and website for the deaf and hard of hearing community, includes resources and information of interest to deaf and hard of hearing Texans.
• Described and Captioned Media Program provides people who are deaf or hard of hearing equal access to communication and learning through captioned educational media and collateral materials. The DCMP also acts as a captioning information and training center.
• Healthy Hearing offers consumer-based hearing health care articles, testimonials, interviews and other related content.
• Hearing Health Foundation provides information regarding deafness and hearing loss.

Deafblind – HHSC Programs

• The Blind Children's Vocational Discovery and Development Program provides information and works with each child and family to create a Family Service Plan tailored to the child’s needs and circumstances.
• The Blindness Education, Screening and Treatment Program provides blindness education, vision screenings and urgent eye medical treatment services.
• The Deaf Blind with Multiple Disabilities program provides home and community-based services to individuals of all ages with deafblindness and another disability.
• The Independent Living Services program works with people who have significant disabilities to maximize their empowerment, independence and productivity through integration and full inclusion into society.

Deafblind – State and National Organizations

• DeafBlind Community of Texas empowers people who are deafblind through equal opportunities to live fully and productively, including full access to employment, technology, education, and socialization to reduce isolation.
• Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas promotes and improves the quality of life for all Texans who are deafblind and multi-handicapped by supporting the establishment of educational, rehabilitative, vocational and independent living opportunities.
• Helen Keller National Center enables individuals who are blind, visually impaired, deafblind or have combined hearing and vision loss to live, work and thrive in the communities of their choice.
• iCanConnect provides free equipment and training for people with both significant hearing and vision loss who meet the program’s disability and income eligibility guidelines.
• Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who Are Blind under the Texas Workforce Commission assists people 55 or older gain confidence to live independently.
• National Center on Deafblindness, funded by the federal Department of Education, works to improve the quality of life for children who are deafblind and their families.
• The Texas Deafblind Project located at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin, is a federally funded grant program whose mission is to support individuals who are deafblind (birth through age 22) and their families.
• Deafblind specialists with Texas Workforce Commission’s Vocational Rehabilitation Services provide support to vocational rehabilitation counselors as they serve deafblind youth, students and adults who are preparing for, obtaining, retaining or advancing in employment.

Civil Rights – Federal Agencies

• The Federal Communications Commission investigates complaints regarding a variety of accessibility issues such as closed captioning, hearing aid compatibility for telephones, relay services and other issues.
• The HHS Office of Civil Rights enforces federal civil rights laws that protect the rights of people and entities from unlawful discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, age or sex in health and human services.
• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development investigates violations of the Fair Housing Act, which protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying or securing financing for housing.
• The U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act website provides access to ADA regulations for businesses and state and local governments, technical assistance materials, and more.
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

Civil Rights – State Organizations

• Disability Rights Texas protects, advances and advocates for the legal, human and service rights of people with disabilities.
• The Texas Civil Rights Project uses legal advocacy to empower Texas communities and create policy change.
• The Texas Medical Board is the state agency mandated to regulate the practice of medicine by doctors of medicine and doctors of osteopathic medicine in Texas.

American Sign Language

• American Sign Language University is a resource site for American Sign Language (ASL) students and teachers. Here you will find information and resources to help you learn ASL and improve your signing.
• The ASL App for iOS and Android teaches conversational ASL.
• ASL Connect through Gallaudet University provides online lessons in basic ASL at no cost, plus ASL and deaf studies courses online.
• Baby Sign Language is a project for parents teaching infants and toddlers early communication skills.
• Family Signs, offered through the Educational Resource Center on Deafness at Texas School for the Deaf, provides free, online ASL or Signing Exact English classes for parents and guardians of deaf and hard of hearing students in Texas.
• The Gallaudet Children’s Dictionary of American Sign Language features a video dictionary of signs and sentences.
• Marlee Signs, a free app for iOS, teaches ASL.
• Signing Savvy is a sign language dictionary containing several thousand high-resolution videos of ASL signs, finger-spelled words, and other common signs used within the U.S. and Canada.

Service Animals

• Assistance Dogs International is a worldwide coalition of not-for-profit programs that train and place assistance dogs.
• Dogs for Better Lives is a national nonprofit with a mission to professionally train dogs to help people and enhance lives while maintaining a lifelong commitment to all dogs they rescue or breed and the people they serve.
• International Hearing Dog, Inc. empowers individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing by purposefully training specially selected dogs to alert to sounds, carefully matching these dogs with handlers who are deaf and hard of hearing and supporting the paired teams throughout the lifetime of the match.
• Paws with a Cause Hearing Dogs are custom trained to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing by physically alerting their partner to common sounds such as a smoke alarm, doorbell, alarm clock, telephone ring or child’s cry.
• Service Dogs, Inc. builds better lives for Texans overcoming challenges through partnerships with custom-trained assistance dogs provided free of charge.

Emergency Preparedness

• Texas Department of State Health Services has videos in ASL on disaster preparedness.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides a document, “Tips for Effectively Communicating with the Whole Community in Disasters.”
• The National Association of the Deaf website contains information about preparing for emergencies.

Others

Visit the hearing aid information page for financial resources.

The entities contracted by our office may provide additional services. Locate the ones near you.

Contact DHHS for additional information and referral services.