The Virginia LEAD-K Campaign is a direct response to the high number of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind children at risk for language delays and arriving to kindergarten without a language foundation for literacy development. This leads to poor reading outcomes, lower graduation rates, psychosocial problems, and higher rates of unemployment later in life. 

The Campaign aims to end language deprivation through information to families about language milestones, assessments that measure language milestone achievements, and data collection that holds our current early intervention and education systems accountable.

At LEAD-K, we believe that Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Children benefit from American Sign Language (ASL), a natural visual language, however our goal is language acquisition regardless of the language used - whether ASL or English or both. Deaf children who have language are Kindergarten-ready!