The NAD is the nation's premier civil rights organization of, by and for deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States of America. nad.info@nad.org This is the official Facebook account for the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). 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. 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 NAD 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.