National Association Of The Deaf

Our Mission

The National Association of the Deaf was established in 1880 by deaf leaders who believed in the right of the American deaf community to use sign language, to congregate on issues important to them, and to have its interests represented at the national level. These beliefs remain true to this day, with American Sign Language as a core value. As a nonprofit federation, the mission of the NAD is to preserve, protect, and promote the civil, human, and linguistic rights of deaf Americans.The advocacy scope of the National Association of the Deaf is broad, covering the breadth of a lifetime and impacting future generations in the areas of early intervention, education, employment, health care, technology, telecommunications, youth development, and more.On the global front, the NAD represents the U.S.A. as an affiliate of the World Federation of the Deaf, an international human rights organization.