Resource Directory /

Peoria Resources

  • American Sign Language Lessons

    If you are interested in learning or practicing the basics of American Sign Language (ASL), these sites provide free lessons to get you started:

    There are also free YouTube videos available to help you learn, practice and supplement your sign language instruction:

  • Cued Speach Program for Families of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children

    Cue College’s Cue Family Program provides a free, online Cued Speech class to families of deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

    Cued Speech combines a small number of simple hand cues with the natural mouth movements of speech to make the sounds or “phonemes” of spoken language clear through vision alone.

    The Cue Family Program includes free access for one year to the online Cue College course, “CS100 – Introduction to Cued American English – Self Study”, for parents, guardians, additional family members and caregivers of a child with hearing loss or other communication challenges.

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments and COVID-19 Financial Assistance

    The Social Security Administration updated its rules about what financial assistance can affect an individual’s eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or their monthly SSI payment amount.

    The administration no longer counts Economic Impact Payments, State Stimulus Payments and other COVID-19 financial assistance against an individual’s eligibility or payment amount. Visit the Social Security Administration’s website for the full list of financial assistance programs that do not affect SSI eligibility or payment amounts.

  • Toilet Training Children with Special Needs – HealthyChildren.org

    The American Academy of Pediatrics’ website HealthyChildren.org provides parents of children with disabilities information for determining when to start and how to begin the toilet-training process.

    The information includes:

    An overview of physical and developmental challenges and how they can impact toilet training
    Tips on when and how to begin toilet training
    The importance of having a parent support network and focusing on celebrating your child’s overall growth, not the mistake

    This information is also available in Spanish.

  • American Society for Deaf Children / Sociedad Americana para Niños Sordos

    The American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) is a national, non-profit organization providing support, encouragement and information to families raising children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

    ASDC offers deaf mentors and online American Sign Language (ASL) classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.  To help support language development, families and providers can also access ASL stories to watch and read together.  Resources are available in English and Spanish.