advocacy for the deaf

How to Use Letters to Advocate for the Deaf

For most Deaf/Hard of hearing people, the majority of interactions with service providers become another battle for equal access which should be granted under ADA laws without pleading and long negotiations.

The provider’s strategy for avoiding responsibility to provide access is to engage the complaining person in a long verbal discussion in which there is no evidence of a request being made.

Using this technique, providers get plausible deniability needed to avoid operating at a financial loss when accommodating for access.

The Deaf have a right to equal access to services. If a Deaf person is only comfortable with a sign language interpreter, their requests must be respected.

At Deaf.app we have developed resources to stop the discrimination, exclusion and exploitation of the Deaf community.

Below you will find PDFs that help you through the process of advocating for your accessibility needs. I hope these tools are useful when navigating this complex and confusing world we live in.

Our representatives at Deaf Advocate are here to receive your messages:

Email: help@deafadvocate.app
Calls or Texts: +1-315-552-0222.

We take messages and calls 24 hours a day and respond to messages in the order they are recieved.

Advocate for yourself, for your pursuit of happiness. Accomplish your dreams and affirm your dignity.

Sincerely,

Reporting ADA Violations

This interactive PDF is enabled with click through links.

We recommend sharing this form with deaf clients, family and associates as well as service management and staff who are refusing meaningful access to programs they offer to the public, relevant to ADA laws. 

NAD | Deaf Advocacy Letters

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is the nation’s premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America.

Below you will find the advocacy letters published by NAD, they outline the responsibilities:

Established in 1880, the NAD was shaped by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. 

The advocacy scope of the NAD is broad, covering a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth leadership, and more – improving the lives of millions of deaf and hard of hearing Americans.

Videophone

Purple/ZVRS: 301-587-1788
Sorenson: 301-328-1443
Convo: 301-338-6380

TTY: 301-810-3182
Fax: 301-587-1791

Email: nad.info@nad.org

Mailing Address:
National Association of the Deaf
8630 Fenton Street, Suite 820
Silver Spring, MD 20910