Presented are the proceedings from a 1973 national conference on the development of service programs for and with deaf people. Opening papers include an introduction to the use of American Sign Language in community programs, a deaf woman's view of her world, and guidelines for the family physician in diagnosing and treating the deaf. In the next section, personal experiences are recounted by a deaf parent with hearing children, hearing parents of deaf children, and four deafened or hard of hearing adults. Described are various resources to help the parent and child (such as the school for the deaf and the community college) and to help the deafened adult (such as a university hospital and the Lions International). Federal programs serving the deaf are reviewed and the role of the volunteer is discussed. Future program development plans (which resulted from the conference) are reported by representative teams from seven states: Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Conference exhibitors are listed and conference evaluation forms are provided. Appendixes include hints for the new user of manual communication, an outline of how the Lions Club can help the deaf, and the program agenda. (LS)