To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Noréal Armstrong and I am a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I am looking for willing deaf adults who have struggled with substance abuse and attended Alcoholics Anonymous to take part in a study to help those in the counseling field learn about your lived experiences attending Alcoholics Anonymous.
The literature supports the idea that Alcoholics Anonymous is helpful in helping addicts maintain sobriety. The literature also states that there are very few AA meetings and other addictions services available to the Deaf community. AA is a voluntary organization and is not required to provide interpreters or other assistive services. Another problem lies with finding enough interpreters and trained mental health professionals to meet the need of Deaf adults suffering with alcoholism. This study will ask each participant various questions by email, in-person, or Skype with the hope of discovering the essence of Deaf adults who attend AA meetings experiences. Gaining this information will hopefully provide answers to what works for Deaf attendees and what improvements can be made with the resources available.
If you are a deaf adult with one to three years sobriety and have attended at least three Alcoholic Anonymous meetings to maintain sobriety; we invite you to take part in a research study. Personal information collected will be kept confidential. If you are willing please email Noréal Armstrong at [email protected]. If you know someone who may qualify for this study please pass this information along.
Respectfully,
Noréal F. Armstrong, LPC
Principal Investigator