Virginia

• Virginia Hearing Aid Loan Bank
  http://www.vahealth.org/hearing/valoanerbank.htm

• Virginia Guide by Your Side
  http://www.vahealth.org/hearing/gbys.htm

• Virginia Early Hearing Detection and Intervention
  http://www.vahealth.org/hearing/

• Eastern Virginia Medical School Department of Otolaryngology
  Hearing and Balance Center and Cochlear Implant Program 
  http://www.evmsent.org 
  http://evmsent.org/hearing_and_balance.asp
  http://evmsent.org/cochlear_implant.asp

• Lions Clubs International and Local District 24-D 
  http://www.lionsclubs.org
  http://www.district24d.com

Advocacy

• The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing 

  http://www.agbell.org
  An international membership organization on hearing loss and spoken language approaches and related issues.
  
  
• Family Voices 
  http://www.familyvoices.org
  Family Voices is a national, grassroots clearinghouse for information and education on the health care of children with special health needs. It advocates for health care services that are family-centered, community-based, comprehensive, coordinated and culturally competent for all children with special health care needs; promotes the inclusion of all families as decision makers; and supports essential partnerships between families and professionals. A contact person is listed for each state as well as available state resources.
  
  
• Cochlear Implant Association
  http://www.cici.org/advocacy
  Provides information on being an effective advocate.
  
  
• Families and Advocates Partnership for Education (FAPE)
  http://www.fape.org
  This project is a partnership that aims to improve the educational outcomes for children with disabilities. It links families, advocates, and self-advocates to information about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  
  
• Listen-Up
  http://www.listen-up.org
  Offers a variety of links on advocacy, including tips, self-advocacy, a self-help tutorial for parents, and more.
  
  
• The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
  http://www.copaa.net
  This independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization of attorneys, advocates and parents was established to improve the quality and quantity of legal assistance for parents of children with disabilities.
  
  
• American Society for Deaf Children
  http://www.deafchildren.org/services/parentconnect 
  The Parents Connect Network provides e-mail communication that makes it possible to inform legislators of parents' perspectives rapidly and efficiently. When issues concerning deaf children are being decided, an email will be sent informing you about the issue and who needs to receive a letter from you. 
  
  
• Hard of Hearing Advocates
  http://www.hohadvocates.org
  A non-profit foundation run by volunteers dedicated to helping the hard of hearing. The web site covers a variety of topics including information on assistive hearing devices, educational issues, digital hearing aids, legal issues, a message board and more. 

Organizations and Associations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

• The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
  http://www.agbell.org
  An international membership organization on hearing loss and spoken language approaches and related issues.
  
  
• Disabled Children's Relief Fund 
  http://dcrf.com                                                                                  
  DCRF focuses special attention on helping children throughout the U.S. that do not have adequate health insurance, especially the physically challenged, get the help they need, including hearing aids. Grant applications may be used for modest awards for assistive devices and rehabilitative services. Applications may be submitted by families (parent or guardian) for an individual child, or by a non-profit organization for a small group of children.
  
  
• Association of Late-Deafened Adults
  http://www.alda.org
  Works collaboratively with other organizations around the world serving the needs of late-deafened people and extends a welcome to everyone, late deafened or not, who supports our goals.
  
  
• Virginia Early Hearing, Detection and Intervention Program
  www.vahealth.org/hearing                   
  The goal of the Virginia Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program is to identify congenital hearing loss in children before three months of age and support intervention.
  
  
• My Baby's Hearing
  http://www.babyhearing.org
  Website for parents regarding identification of hearing loss and what can be done to help their children.
  
  
• The League for the Hard of Hearing
  http://www.lhh.org
  The League for the Hard of Hearing provides hearing rehabilitation and human services for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, andtheir families, regardless of age, ability to pay, or mode of communication, and by striving to empower consumers to achieve their potential.
  
  
• The National Association of the Deaf
  http://www.nad.org
  NAD is the oldest and largest constituency organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and telecommunications.
  
  
• The National Information Clearing house on Children who are Deaf and Blind
  http://www.tr.wou.edu/dblink
  DB-LINK is federally funded information and referral service that identifies, coordinates, and disseminates (at no cost) information related to children and youth who are deaf-blind (ages 0 to 21 years). Four organizations have pooled their expertise into a consortium-based clearinghouse.
  
  
• Self Help for Hard of Hearing People
  www.shhh.org
  SHHH is a consumer, educational organization devoted to the welfare and interests of those who cannot hear well, their relatives, and friends. SHHH has 12,000 National members and 9,000 chapter members in all 50 states.
  
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org
  The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.
  
  
• Exceptional Parent
  http://www.eparent.com
  EP's on-line resource, provides information, support, ideas, encouragement and outreach for parents, families, organizations, healthcare professionals and educators serving the special needs and disabilities community.
  
  
• Federation for Children with Special Needs
  http://www.fcsn.org
  The Mission of the Federation for Children with Special Needs is to provide information, support, and assistance to parents of children with disabilities, their professional partners, and their communities. We are committed to listening to and learning from families, and encouraging full participation in community life by all people, especially those with disabilities.
  
  
• National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities
  http://www.nichcy.org  
  NICHCY's Web site provides information about specific disabilities, special education and related services for children in school, individualized education programs, parent materials, disability organizations, professional associations, education rights and what the law requires, early intervention services for infants and toddlers, and transition to adult life.
  
  
• American Society of Deaf Children
  http://www.deafchildren.org 
  ASDC is a national, independent non-profit organization whose purpose is providing support, encouragement, and information to families raising children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  
  
• National Parent Information Network
  http://www.npin.org 
  The mission of NPIN is to provide access to research-based information about the process of parenting, and about family involvement in education. We believe that well-informed families are likely to make good decisions about raising and educating their children.

Modes of Communication and Education

• Auditory - Verbal International (AVI)
  http://www.avli.org
  Auditory-Verbal International is a private non-profit international membership organization whose principal objective is to promote listening and speaking as a way of life for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  
  
• The National Cued Speech Association
  http://www.cuedspeech.org
  An organization that promotes utilizing cued speech as a communication mode.
  
  
• Oral Deaf Education
  http://www.oraldeafed.org
  Oral Deaf Education provides information and resources.
  
  
• National Information Center on Deafness -- Clerc Center 
  http://clerccenter.gallaudet.org
  The Clerc Center has been mandated by congress to develop, evaluate, and disseminate innovative curricula, instructional techniques and strategies, and materials. The aim of the Clerc Center is to improve the quality of education for deaf and hard of hearing children and youth from birth through age 21. 
  
  
• Deaf Education: A Parent’s Guide
  http://home.inreach.com/torsi/frame.html   
  An online guide to educational placement, mainstreaming, Individual Education Programs (IEP’s), assessments, and more. 
  
  
• Deafness: Choices of Communications
  http://www.answerpoint.org/columns2.asp?column_id=204&column_type=webliography
  resources on American Sign Language, Deaf Culture, Auditory Verbal Approach, Cued Speech, Signing Exact English, Total Communication and Assistive Devices 
  Produced by the Central Rappahannock Library, this document provides links to informative
  
  
• Educating a Child who has a Cochlear Implant
  http://www.cici.org/educ.html  
  An informative fact sheet produced by the Cochlear Implant Association and funded, in part, by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Oberkotter Foundation, and The New York Community Trust. 
  
  
• A Guide to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/iepguide/index.html  
  A good overview of the process of implementing IEP for children with disabilities, including preschool children, from the U.S. Department of Education. 
  
  
• Choosing an Educational Setting
  http://clerccenter2.gallaudet.edu/KidsWorldDeafNet/e-docs/CI/ModuleH.html
  An overview of placement options and issues involved in choosing an educational placement from the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University. The Clerc Center has been mandated by Congress to develop, evaluate and distribute innovative curricula, instructional techniques and strategies, and materials in order to improve the quality of education for deaf and hard of hearing children and youth from birth through age 21. 
  
  
• Mainstreaming the Student Who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing http://www.agbell.org/docs/mainstreamingDHH.pdf   
  Available on the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing web site, this 69-page report provides a comprehensive background on the issues of educating those with hearing loss. 
  
  
• 2004 Summer Camps for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/infotogo/142.html
  The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, Gallaudet University web site provides a list of camps, family learning vacations, and remedial clinics for deaf and hard of hearing children. Some programs are designed for the entire family.