These papers deal mostly with Garretson’s work as an assistant to Gallaudet’s presidents, and to a lesser extent his work as an advocate for the deaf and a leader of the deaf community. There is nothing related to his earlier life or his work at MSSD, and only a small amount of material from his work at The Deaf Way. Garretson’s correspondence as the presidential assistant is arranged in several series based on the recipients, reflecting his original arrangement. There is only a small amount of correspondence between Garretson and two of the presidents he served, Merrill and Lee; most of the rest are with various people and groups seeking help or advice from the Office of the President. Of possible interest is a large collection of reports from Gallaudet’s Deafness-Related Concerns Council from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

There is also some material related to Garretson’s work at the NAD and a smaller amount from the WFD. The NAD material includes board minutes, convention records, and publications, and position papers. The WFD material is mostly publications by the group, but it does include some material from their Commission on Pedagogy, where Garretson served. These papers also include the text of numerous speeches and papers that Garretson gave at events around the country. While this is far from a complete collection of Garretson’s writing, it helps give a picture of the issues he worked on and the issues that were of the most concern to the deaf community in the 1980s. In particular, there is extensive material on Public Law 94-142, which affected the placement of deaf children in school, and other laws governing deaf education.