State Agencies
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) / Deaf and Hard of Hearing – The DARS Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services provides information about deafness and/or hearing impairment, local resources, and communication access services. It includes phone and fax numbers to obtain more information and provides links for more resources.
Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) / Early Childhood Intervention– Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services provide support and assistance for families with children (birth to three years old) with disabilities and developmental delays. Services are provided by a variety of local agencies and organizations across Texas.
State Board of Examiners of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology – This state board adopts rules to regulate the qualifications and practice of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists licensed in Texas. The board also issues registrations for audiologists and interns in audiology to fit and dispense hearing instruments.
Texas Health Steps – This program assures that comprehensive health services are available to children, teens and young adults through 20 years of age who are enrolled in Medicaid. This includes medical and dental check-ups, eye and hearing screenings, lab tests and shots, eye glasses and hearing aids, prescriptions, and case management for children with special health care needs.
Texas School for the Deaf – State agency and public school that provides educational services to persons who are 21 years of age or younger and who are deaf and hard of hearing. The school also serves as a statewide educational resource center on deafness.
Texas Education Agency Services for the Deaf – The Texas Education Agency manages activities required to maintain a statewide program for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and provides leadership to local regional day schools for the deaf in the planning, implementation and operation of comprehensive education programs for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services– The agency offers a program called the Deaf Blind with Multiple Disabilities (DBMD). This program provides services and supports for people who are deaf blind and have one or more other disabilities as an alternative to living in an intermediate care facility.
Other Websites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Provides information relating to hearing loss in children including facts, causes, prevention, testing, treatments, research, articles and free publications.
National Center for Medical Home Implementation– Works in cooperation with federal agencies and other partners and stakeholders to ensure that all children and youth, including children with special needs, have access to a medical home.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) – Provides causes of hearing loss in children.
National Domestic Violence Hotline – Hotline for persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and are victims of domestic violence.
Boys Town National Research Hospital (My Baby's Hearing) – Answers questions about universal newborn hearing screening, provides information on hearing loss and amplification, discusses the importance of early intervention, and includes experiences shared by parents to assist families with decision-making.
Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children – Teaches children with hearing loss to listen, talk, and become part of the hearing world. The school teaches children with moderate to profound hearing loss how to communicate with speech without the use of sign language.
National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) - Serves as the national resource center for the implementation and improvement of comprehensive and effective EHDI systems. As a multidisciplinary center, the goal is to ensure that all infants and toddlers with hearing loss are identified as early as possible and provided with timely and appropriate audiological, educational, and medical intervention.
Pediatrics Journal – The Newborn With Hearing Loss: Detection in the Nursery - Terese Finitzo, Kathryn Albright, and Joy O'Neal.
Deaf Linx– Resource on deafness, deaf culture, American Sign Langauge (ASL) and all other related topics.
Oberkotter Foundation – Focuses its efforts on supporting families who have chosen listening and spoken language for their child and on opportunities for children learning listening and spoken language to develop their social, emotional, language and educational skills.
Texas Connect (UTD/Callier Center for Communication Disorders) – Provides educational materials for health care providers and families of infants and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Texas Parent To Parent – Support and information for families with children with disabilities, chronic illness and other special needs.
Texas Guide By Your Side™ (GBYS) – A family support program that embodies the mission of Hands & Voices, which is to provide unbiased support to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Guide services to families 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.
Hands & Voices – A nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them. A parent-driven, parent/professional collaborative group that is unbiased towards communication modes and methods. Diverse membership includes those who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing impaired and their families who communicate orally, with signs, cue, and/or combined methods.
Texas Chapter of Hands & Voices – Established in Texas to support 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 unbiased towards communication modes and methods. View Texas Chapter of Hands & Voices website in Spanish.
John Tracy Clinic – Provides free services to families with infants and young children (age birth to five years) who are deaf or hard of hearing. A non-profit educational center offering correspondence education programs, free local audiological services, parent classes and support groups, international summer sessions, parent-infant/early intervention services and a full onsite preschool program for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. View John Tracy Clinic website in Spanish.
Marion Downs Center– The Marion Downs Center has a "cradle to grave" approach of working with infant hearing programs, early intervention programs, family-centered support programs, and geriatric hearing concerns. They value and promote individual and family choice in treatment, technology and communication options.
Position Statements
American Academy of Pediatrics Position Statement – Endorses the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening. The statement reviews the primary objectives, important components, and recommended screening parameters that characterize an effective universal newborn hearing screening program.
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing 2007 Position Statement (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.
External links are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Texas Department of State Health Services. These sites may not be accessible to people with visual impairment.