From Jamie Berke,
Your Guide to Deafness.
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The nation's deaf Hispanic (or Latino) community is continuing to grow, with more conferences, organizations, and websites about deaf latinos.

Conferences about the deaf latino community are being held. For example, in 2005 the National Deaf Latino Conference was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A previous conference was held in 2003.

Deaf Atzlan is a website for the deaf latino community. The site is in English, although it does provide a link to a Spanish language translation service.

On the Deaf Atzlan web site, there is a page set aside for trilingual ASL/Spanish/English interpreters to advertise their services. If you are looking for a local or regional organization, there is a listing of deaf Hispanic organizations on the Deaf Atzlan site. Plus, the site offers a message board and a mailing list.

Another deaf latino website is the The Latino Deaf website. The site offers pictures and biographies of some of the best-known latinos in the deaf community, including Dr. Robert Davila.

What other organizations for the deaf Hispanic community have a web presence? At the Rochester Institute of Technology, there is a Hispanic Deaf Club. On the Club's site there is a history, activities, member information, and large photos of the young men and women who are the executive officers. The only state association with a web site is the Wisconsin Hispanic Association of the Deaf.

California is a state with a large Latino population. On the Latino Deaf web site of the California Latino Council of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing there are biographies of successful Latino deaf, a listing of agencies that assist deaf latinos, and information for parents. Also in California, DCARA offers services for the deaf Latino community.

Another good resource for parents of deaf/hoh Hispanic children is Signing Fiesta. This organization sells Spanish and English sign language videos and books, including a video on visiting the audiologist.

Additional Resources

Finally, the National Multicultural Interpreter Project has downloadable PDFs for a curriculum on cultural awareness and sensitivity. In addition, the University of Arkansas Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Persons who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing has a web bibliography of articles on deaf and Latino people.