State
Agencies
- Texas Health and Human Services / Office of
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services – Provides
information about deafness and/or hearing loss, local resources, and
communication access services. It includes the phone, fax numbers, and links to
obtain more information.
- Texas Health and Human Services / Early
Childhood Intervention Services –
Provides support and help for families with children (birth to three years old)
with disabilities and developmental delays.
- Texas Health Steps – Assures that complete health services
are available to children, teens and young adults through 20 years
of age who are enrolled in Medicaid. This includes free medical and dental
check-ups, eye and hearing screenings, lab tests and shots, eyeglasses and
hearing aids, prescriptions, and case management for children with special
health care needs.
- Texas School for the Deaf – State agency and public school
provides educational services to persons who are Deaf and hard of hearing. 21
years of age or younger and
- Statewide Outreach Center
(SOC) at Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) supports the
improvement of educational outcomes for students who are Deaf or hard of
hearing across Texas. Services and resources are provided to students, their
families and the professionals who support them around the state.
- Texas Education Agency Services for the
Deaf – The Texas Education
Agency coordinates the provision of services to children who are Deaf
or hard of hearing (DHH), or Deaf-blind (DB). This coordination is through
collaboration with the 20 Education Service Centers (ESCs), the Texas School
for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI), and the Texas School for the Deaf
(TSD). It
also provides leadership to Local Education Agencies with Regional Day School
Programs for the Deaf for the planning, implementation and operation of
comprehensive education programs for students who are Deaf and hard of hearing. .
- Texas Health and Human Services – The agency offers the Deaf-blind
with Multiple Disabilities (DBMD) program. This program provides services
and supports people who are Deaf-blind and have one or more other
disabilities as an alternative to living in an intermediate care facility.
Other
helpful Websites
- TexasDeafEd.Org - Developed
by the Statewide Outreach Center at the Texas School for the Deaf, this
website has deaf education resources for families, students and professionals.
- Texas Guide By Your Side™ (GBYS) – A
parent guide A family support program that provides unbiased services to
families with children who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Support includes direct parent-to-parent
emotional support, workshops, trainings, and events for parents and children,
networking opportunities with other families, and referrals to other
programs that serve Deaf or hard of hearing children.
- Texas Chapter of Hands & Voices – Supports Texas families and
children who are Deaf or hard of hearing and the professionals who serve them.
Texas Hands and Voices is a parent-driven, parent/professional/community
collaborative group that is impartial in their communication
- Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children – Promotes early identification and intervention for children who are Deaf or
hard of hearing and helps them develop their maximum potential through
listening, spoken language and literacy.
- Callier Center for Communication
Disorders – Offers
treatment, training, and research in communication disorders.
- Texas Parent to Parent – Supports and educates families with
children with disabilities, chronic illness and other special needs.
- Texas
Hearing Institute: Texas Hearing Institute serves
children from infancy to age 21, as well as their parents. Texas Hearing
Institute’s programs have four focus areas: Audiology Department, Speech
Therapy Services, the Melinda Webb School, and Support Services. Children come
from over 419 ZIP codes and 44 counties, demonstrating the vital needs Texas
Hearing Institute fulfills in our extended community.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Provides information on hearing
loss in children including facts, causes, prevention, testing, treatments,
research, articles and free publications.
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and
Management (NCHAM) - Serves as
the national resource center for the implementation and improvement of
complete and effective Early Hearing
Detection and Intervention (EHDI)
systems.
Position Statements
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (PDF) – Endorses early detection of and intervention for infants with hearing loss. The goal of early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) is to maximize linguistic competence and literacy development for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.