ICAAT was developed through a collaborative effort between Gallaudet University, the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), and the American Institutes for Research (AIR). After completion of the development phase, ICAAT has operated under the sole direction of the Hearing Loss Association of America.

Seed funding for the development of ICAAT was provided by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (DHH-RERC), funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), a center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), grant number 90REGE0013. The DHH-RERC was led by Gallaudet University.

The contents of this site do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS and should not be assumed to reflect endorsement by the Federal Government.

ICAAT welcomes consumers and consumer advocates, along with participants from industry and research.

Consumers and consumer advocates include people with hearing loss, caregivers and family members, clinicians, educators, and others who advocate for effective, technology-based communication access solutions.

Participants from industry and research include professionals from companies that develop, sell, or market communication access technologies or services, and researchers who study new and existing technologies.

ICAAT supports collaboration across all participants, keeps consumer experience at the center, and maintains a non-endorsing environment.

Creating an account is free and easy. Click here and follow the prompts to complete the appropriate fields. Other than the required fields, you are welcome to share as much as you feel comfortable in the account profile. Please note that Industry accounts will be reviewed by the Hearing Loss Association of America. 

After creating an account, you will receive a confirmation email. Industry and researcher accounts require additional review before full access is granted.

Your welcome message may be in the spam folder of your email account rather than your inbox. Check your spam folder for a message from Alliance for Access <noreply@allianceforaccess.org> and a subject line that reads “Welcome to ICAAT’s Tech Forum.”

If you do not find a welcome message in either your inbox or spam folders, Contact Us and let us know you are having a “Problem with log-in or accessing the website.” Mention in your message that you did not receive a welcome message and you checked both the inbox and spam folders of your email account.

Only logged-in ICAAT users and HLAA staff can see profile information associated with ICAAT Tech Forum activity. Profile information is not publicly searchable, and your data is not shared with third parties.

• Select your account name in the top right corner of the site.
• Choose "My account" from the menu that appears.
• Select the "Edit" tab near the top of your account page.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page.
• Select the red "Cancel account" button.
• Follow the prompts to confirm.

Industry users can participate in discussions, share relevant resources, and engage with content across the platform. Participation is subject to added moderation and guidelines that limit promotional activity, marketing language, and endorsements.

• After you've logged in, select your account name in the top right corner of the site.
• Choose "My account" from the menu that appears.
• Select the "Edit" tab near the top of your account page.
• Scroll down to the "Contact Settings" section.
• Under "Would you like to receive updates and announcements from ICAAT?", select "Yes."
• Open the "Notifications" dropdown and choose how often you want updates, such as Weekly.
• Select "Save" at the bottom of the page.

On the User Stories page, you will find an icon on the right-hand side of the page that says “Contribute a Story.” Click the icon or go to the Contact Us page. You will need to provide your name, an email address so we can contact you, and the topic of your suggested story. We review user story submissions on quarterly basis.

We will contact you at the email you provided when contributing a story idea. Assuming the topic or experience is not already a user story, we will ask you to provide a full story (max. 800 words). We will edit the story to fit the website style and may contact you in follow up if we have any questions. Submissions should not include mention of any particular technology brands, device models or service providers. User stories are selected by the ICAAT team based on topic and relevance.

Yes. Contributors can request updates or removal of their user stories by contacting ICAAT through the contact form.

Co-Design Connect is where technology companies and researchers post recruitment opportunities, and where consumers can find them and respond.

Postings cover market research, product testing, product literature reviews, and product reviews. Most are looking for consumers with hearing loss and Deaf consumers, though some also welcome family members, caregivers, or professionals in the field. Each posting sets its own criteria.

You need an approved industry or research account. Select Industry/Research when you register, and HLAA will review the account before granting full access.

Once approved, go to Co-Design Connect and choose the Recruit option under the type of activity you are running. ICAAT reviews each posting before it goes live, checking that it fits the purpose of Co-Design Connect, describes the activity clearly enough for someone to decide whether to respond, and follows the non-endorsement and marketing policies. Postings written as promotion rather than recruitment will be returned for revision.

No. ICAAT does not endorse, promote, or advertise any product or service, and the site cannot be used for marketing. HLAA maintains a strict policy of non-endorsement of goods, products, and services.

A listing is not a judgment about the product or the company. It means the posting met ICAAT's requirements for what can be posted.

The policy applies to participants too. Consumers taking part in ICAAT activities may not use the names, logos, or images of ICAAT or its parent organization (HLAA) to suggest or imply endorsement of any product or service encountered through ICAAT.

You need an ICAAT account to view posting details or enroll. You can create an account for free by clicking here.

Once you are logged in, go to Co-Design Connect to browse current opportunities or filter by type of activity. Each posting describes the activity, who the organization is looking for, and how to respond.

The organization running the opportunity decides. ICAAT does not set eligibility criteria for any posting and does not screen, select, or approve participants.

ICAAT is the platform where opportunities are listed. Each posting states what the recruiting organization is looking for, which might include hearing loss history, device use, age, location, language, or technical experience. Those requirements come from the organization, not from ICAAT.

If you are unsure whether you qualify, or if a posting does not say, ask the contact named in the posting. ICAAT staff cannot tell you whether you are eligible or advocate for your inclusion in a particular activity.