Other Resources and Tools for Families and Professionals
Alexander Graham Bell Association
American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) a source of information for people making decisions for children who are deaf: providers, educators, legislators, and advocates.
Apps for children and adults with hearing loss
ASL Resources
- ASL Nook
- ASL online dictionary– “Signing Savvy”
- ASLU
- Deafined – online ASL tutorial (fees)
- Should All Deaf Children Learn Sign Language? from Pediatrics, Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Volume 136, Number 1, July, 2015
- Sign with Your Child video series, produced by Challenge Discovery Project’s Parent Child Advocate Program, through funding from the Virginia Department of Education and the Richmond Eye and Ear Foundation Fund.
- Start Learning American Sign Language (online classes)
- ASL STEM Terminologya resource with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math subjects (STEMS) terminology and information in ASL.
- Through Your Child’s Eyes: American Sign LanguageA video about the importance of language access in the development of children. It explains that for deaf children, this often means early access to American Sign Language (ASL). (In English and Spanish.)
Boystown Hospital Knowledge Center – including “How Do You Hear?” a 40 second video.
Can You Read My Lips? a 4 minute video featuring Rachel Kolb that demonstrates the complexity of lipreading.
Captions: Why Accessibility is So Important a very brief, very effective video that shows why captions are important in providing accessibility to students who cannot hear clearly.
Captioning ⁄ Transcribing Readiness Checklist (Word)
The Center for Accessible Technology in Sign (CATS) – is a joint project between the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and the Georgia Institute of Technology. CATS is dedicated to providing accessibility to learning via sign language, and to enhancing language, literacy and general world knowledge for deaf learners, particularly children.
Center on Technology and Disability -Parents and service providers can use CTD to increase their capacity to advocate for, acquire, and implement effective assistive and instructional technology (AT/IT) practices,devices and services. This website was formally the Family Center on Technology and Disability ) (FCTD).
Children’s Assistive Technology Service (CATS) provides for the re-use of pediatric rehabilitation equipment and devices in Virginia. CATS serves as a no-cost resource to children with disabilities who need adaptive equipment and whose families have limited resources.
The Clarke Schools Wednesday Webinar Series is intended to make information about listening and spoken language development for children who are deaf and hard of hearing accessible to all.
Classroom Interpreting – information for interpreters, teachers, administrators, parents and students.
Conference Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD)provides an opportunity for professional educators to work together for the improvement of schools and educational programs for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Cornerstones Building Blocks of Literacy – (a division of PBS Read Between the Lions) offers online, research-based literacy units for teachers of young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and use sign language.
Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature – offers a list of books with characters who are deaf, websites, author interviews, and book reviews.
Deaf Education: Educational Enhancement for the field of Deaf Education – Collaborative website of the former Deafed.net and Hands and Voices, featuring “Knowledge Base”, “Jobs and Resumes”, “Collaborative Opportunities”, and “Topical Conversations”.
Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) – promote and provides equal access to communication and learning for students who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. Through funding by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Association of the Deaf, families and professionals can borrow from over 4,000 described and captioned media titles.
DHN – a news agency using American Sign Language, spoken English and captions in each broadcast
Discover Interpreting allows you to learn more about ASL-English interpreting, search for interpreter training programs and ASL or Deaf Studies programs, and more.
Educating Deaf Children from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf – International experts answer questions about choices, controversies, and decisions faced by parents and educators of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Engaging Video Resources – for teachers and students. These are great for providing visualswith lessons.
English Language Learners’ Tool Kit
Evidence-Based Practices for Students with Sensory Impairments, by Ferrell, Bruce, & Luckner, published by University of Florida, 2014
Expanded Core Curriculum for students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing,revised 2013 – Iowa has identified skills that can be worked on for each of the eight content areas of the ECC: Audiology, Career Education, Communication, Family Education, Functional Skills for Educational Success, Self-Determination and Advocacy, Social-Emotional Skills, and Technology.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence – links to many other websites containing hundreds of instructional units and activities in all subject areas, from Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
Funding for Audiology Services and Hearing Aids from the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association
Gallaudet University
Parents’ Package from Visual Language and Learning Center (VL2) provides information about all aspects of raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.
Research Briefs from the Visual Language and Visual Learning Center (VL2) of Gallaudet University present research and recommendations addressing the challenges of educating children who are deaf and hard of hearing; available in English, Spanish and Mandarin.
Graphic Organizers can be used to: (a) provide an advanced organizer for content, (b) provide assistance for difficult reading passages or concepts, (c) highlight key points, (d) preview reading material, (e) assess prior knowledge, (f) review, and (g) assess. See also http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html
Google Apps – provides a list that professionals working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing may be interested in acquiring.
Handbook of Language and Literacy Development, 0 – 60 months – provides evidence-based information on children’s language and literacy development
Hearing First – a virtual connection point for families and professionals to assist in improving outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing through Listening and Spoken Language (LSL)
How Listening Supports Learning This tutorial consists of 15 short videos, and is designed to assist educational teams in understanding the importance of auditory access to sounds and information for students who are deaf/hard of hearing and who use hearing assistive technology. It includes suggestions and tips for teachers on how to ensure optimal listening conditions in the classroom.
The Hearing Journey: The Listening Room – activities and ideas to support the practice of listening and language skills in children
How do you hear – 40 sec video from Boystown Hospital
Ideas for teaching reading, math, science, history and other subjects
Internet Teachers of English as a Second Language with online lessons, student activities, and articles, many that may be appropriate for students who are Deaf and learning English.
The Itinerant Connection – a resource specifically for itinerant teachers working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing (currently in transition.).
John Tracey Clinic – offers free distance education courses for parents of children ages birth to five with hearing loss. Course materials emphasize listening and spoken language, but can be adapted for any communication approach including sign language. Courses are available in English and Spanish, and can be accessed online or via mail.
JCIH (Joint Committee on Infant Hearing) 2007 Position Statement: Principles and Guidelines for Early Intervention After Confirmation That a Child Is Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Supplement, 2013 The appendix to this document, appendix includes a listing of broad competencies (knowledge and skills) related to the provision of early development services for children who are D/HH and their families.
Resources to help providers implement JCIH Recommendations in Appendices 2 and 3 gathered by Outreach Services, VSDB, 2015
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education CenterResources for families and educators
- “Info to Go” on ASL, Assistive Technologyincluding cochlear implants, Deaf Culture, deaf education, early intervention and early childhood education, interpreting, language and literacy, and transition;
- Onsite and online learning and webcasts, including:
- “Educating Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in General Education Settings (3 self-paced modules)
- Setting Language in Motion: Family Supports and Early Intervention for Babies Who are Deaf or Hard of HearingSeven self-paced online modules from the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program of Boston Children’s Hospital.
- Communication Language Milestones– Module 4 of “Setting Language in Motion”, from the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program of Boston Children’s Hospital.
- The Standardized Visual Communication and Sign LanguageChecklist for Signing Children by Laurene Simms, Sharon Baker, M. Diane Clark
- Students with Cochlear Implants: Guidelines for Educational Program Planning (2015)– developed by Boston Children’s Hospital and the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center.
- Supporting Linguistic Competence for Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
- What the Eyes Reveal About the Brain: Advances in Human Language Acquisition– Dr. Laura-Ann Petitto from Gallaudet University’s Brain and Language Laboratory addresses the impact of that on brain structure and function and findings on how this applies to early language acquisition.
Lesson Plans – offered by the International Reading Association
Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center of A.G. Bell offers resources and information for professionals who work with children with hearing loss who use listening and spoken language.
Family Resources
Resources for professionals
Mano a Mano provides access to trilingual interpreting resources, including a directory of Spanish English sign language interpreters
Directory of Spanish English Sign Language Interpreters
Methods and Materials for Teaching Science to Deaf Students – lesson plans, strategies for differentiating instruction, signed dictionaries of science lexicon, and more.
Mental Health services for children and adults who are deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, or deaf-blind, provided through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS)
More Than Baby Talk: 10 Ways to Promote the Language and Communication Skills of Infants and Toddlers – a brief guide based on the latest research findings on optimal adult-child interaction, describing ten practices that early childhood teachers can use to foster language and communication skills among infants and toddlers.
Multimedia Resources for Project-Based Learning and Flipped Classrooms – 30 online resources
National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC)
National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM)
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP),Ideas that Work – designed to provide easy access to information from research to practice initiatives that address the provisions of IDEA and NCLB. This website will include resources, links, and other important information that supports OSEP’s research to practice efforts.
Oxford Journal Article “Look Who’s Being Left Behind: Educational Interpreters and Access to Education for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students” by Brenda Schick.
Access: The Fundamentals, an introduction to the nature of hearing loss and its implications for communication and learning in educational settings; provides basic information about accommodations that can make education, employment, and other activities accessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
Principles and Guidelines for Early Intervention After Confirmation That a Child is Deaf or Hard of Hearing: 2103 Supplement to the 2007 Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) position statement
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf – including standards of practice for educational interpreters
Rewordify – provides free, online software that simplifies difficult vocabulary and provides definitions for those words.
See-the-Sound Visual Phonics – a literacy tool for early reading development with children who are d/hh.
Story Book Apps – provides apps in both English and American Sign Language (ASL). Features include: (a) an original story told in ASL and English, (b) easy and accessible navigation designed for children, (c) rich interactive narrative with direct English to ASL vocabulary video translation, and (d) a 170-word ASL glossary so parents can learn ASL along with their child
Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss
Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH)
Virginia Infant and Toddler Specialist Network
Virginia Early Intervention Professional Development
Virginia’s Resource Guide for Families of Children with Hearing Loss