Deaf Appropriate Services

The National Association of Deaf in the United States released a position statement on Mental Health Services for People who are Deaf and Hard Hearing in 2003.

This statement provided some key recommendations and advice regarding mental health service provision for deaf and hard of hearing consumers. Some key services that NAD listed were to provide:

• sign language interpreters
• captioned video tapes
• telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTY)
• close captioning.

NAD also proposed that mental health policy statements on multicultural approaches to care, cross cultural and cultural care should use this position statement to inform care practices and policy.

Hard of hearing and deaf groups should be included as another ethnic and cultural grouping to eliminate disparities in health care. NAD provided some key skills for

CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY COMPETENT PROVIDERS

The position statement also argues for:

An expectation that services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals be equal in quality and effectiveness to those provided to persons who are able to hear;

An expectation that service providers be able to communicate directly with deaf and hard of hearing individuals and be aware of and sensitive to the cultural and linguistic factors of such individuals;

An expectation that service providers understand the psychosocial impact of hearing loss has on these individuals;

Recommended actions for US States from NAD included, establishment of an advisory committee, the provision of a continuum of services, and the involvement of deaf and hard of hearing consumers and their families in the decision making process.

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Modified: 23 Aug 04