National Association of the Deaf
Founded in 1880, NAD is the oldest and largest organisation of Deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans, advocating for civil, human, and linguistic rights including captioning, Video Relay Service, and the recognition of American Sign Language as a full language.
About the National Association of the Deaf
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was founded in 1880 in Cincinnati, Ohio — significantly, in the same year as the Milan Conference (an international gathering of educators that voted to ban sign language instruction in favour of oral methods, devastating Deaf education for generations). NAD was founded in part as a response to growing oralist pressure, asserting the value of sign language and Deaf cultural identity.
NAD is a civil rights organisation led by and for Deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans. Its membership spans the range of people with hearing loss, from culturally Deaf ASL users to oral deaf people and hard-of-hearing individuals.
What they do
NAD engages in policy advocacy, litigation, and public education on issues critical to Deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans. Key areas include:
Captioning: NAD has been a leader in captioning advocacy, pushing for closed captions on television (a key driver of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act 1990 and the Telecommunications Act 1996) and for captioning in movie theatres and online video.
Video Relay Service (VRS): NAD advocates for robust funding and quality standards for VRS — the telecommunications service that allows Deaf ASL users to communicate by phone through a video interpreter.
ASL recognition: NAD advocates for the recognition of ASL as a full, legitimate language and for ASL instruction in schools serving Deaf students.
Legal rights: NAD files amicus briefs in major cases affecting Deaf rights and provides legal referrals.
Key programs and resources
- Policy briefs and position statements on captioning, education, healthcare, legal rights, and technology
- Captioning and media access advocacy
- Youth leadership programmes
- Scholarship Programme for Deaf and hard-of-hearing post-secondary students
Who they serve
Deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans, with a particular historical connection to the culturally Deaf community (ASL users who identify with Deaf culture). NAD increasingly serves the broad spectrum of people with hearing loss.
Why it matters
NAD's advocacy has shaped telecommunications policy, captioning standards, and legal protections for Deaf Americans for over 140 years. For anyone who relies on captioning, VRS, or ASL interpreting, NAD has been instrumental in creating and protecting those access mechanisms.