June 10, 2009
Carpenter seeks $1M over hearing loss while working at Motiva
A Galveston County man is seeking $1 million after he says he permanently lost his hearing when a transformer exploded eight feet away from him.
Seeking more than $1 million in damages, Juan Jose Garcia and Esther Garcia filed a lawsuit June 4 in Jefferson County District Court against Motiva Enterprises.
The couple claims Juan Garcia, who works as a carpenter for Austin Maintenance and Construction, was performing subcontract work at Motiva's refinery in Port Arthur on Dec. 3.
Posted @ 12:40 PM
Researchers work to refine cochlear implants
Duke University audiologist Molly Justus looked like a recording-studio engineer as she adjusted a 16-band equalizer designed to improve the performance of Joan Ernst's cochlear implant, a high-tech hearing device inside her ear.
Justus was aiming to make what Ernst heard through the computerized device closely resemble the nuanced notes that used to come through her trained musician's ears. A retired teacher and choir director, Ernst is one of an estimated 36 million Americans with hearing loss, but one of only about 38,000 who have received cochlear implants.
Posted @ 12:38 PM
Abused baby left blind and deaf
A West Yorkshire couple who abused their six-week-old daughter and failed to get medical help for her broken bones and meningitis have been jailed.
Rizwan Patel, 27, and Alliah Bradshaw, 29, of Hebden Bridge, pleaded guilty to child cruelty at an earlier hearing at Bradford Crown Court.
The court heard the baby was left brain-damaged, blind and deaf due to a lack of medical attention.
Posted @ 12:37 PM
Deaf education and poor interpreters
When the Facilities Closure and Realignment Commission recently toured the Kansas School for the Deaf, KSD students and alumni told members about the poor quality of interpreter skills they faced while attending public schools.
Students from elementary schools, junior and senior highs and KSD alumni said KSD provides barrier-free communication where all staff, teachers and students can communicate freely in sign language. The result, they said, is education is good at KSD.
Posted @ 12:36 PM
Cochlear implants help children access the audible world
In the mornings, before her mother attaches the external transmitter of her cochlear implant, 3-year-old Reya Pitzo, who is deaf, is pretty quiet.
The second we attach her magnet, her vocalization goes through the roof," said Jalena Pitzo, Reya's mother. "She is singing, humming, and she does that all day long until we take it off at night, and then she's quiet again."
Posted @ 12:35 PM
Deaf, hard of hearing from across Colorado join together in Craig
Deena Armstrong didn’t greet her friends with “hello” or “how are you?” If she had, they might not have heard her. Instead, she ran up to them with an enormous smile and hugged them repeatedly.
Her deaf friends responded just as enthusiastically.
On Saturday, behind Calvary Baptist Church, Armstrong was acting as an interpreter for a deaf social that welcomed the deaf and hard of hearing from across the state.
Posted @ 12:34 PM
Hearing Impaired Couple Perform At Red Earth
More than 1,200 Native American artists and dancers, from all over the U.S., gathered at the 23rd annual Red Earth Festival. Celebrating American Indian culture and hertiage, the festival began this morning with a grand parade. Then followed with children's activities and dance performances.
For the first time, this year's festival featured two hearing impaired dancers. Jordan Watson comes from Canada and Samuel Phillips is from California. They're a couple who arrived here in Oklahoma to meet again.
Posted @ 12:32 PM
Closing NCSD may not save much money
In a recession it makes sense for everyone to cut back, but will closing North Carolina School for the Deaf really save money?
Deaf students are spread over a wide area, so this cutback would require many more trained teachers of the deaf and licensed interpreters. Also, it would make necessary new accommodations in public schools while nearby NCSD has two recently renovated buildings already specifically designed for the needs of the deaf.
Posted @ 12:31 PM
Driving licences for deaf people
The Government has planned to grant driving licences to deaf people since it is not an impediment to enjoy the right of driving. At present several other countries in the world have allowed people with hearing impairment to drive, said Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma.
Addressing an Annual General Meeting of the Deaf Association on Sunday in Colombo, the Minister said though the Deaf Association had been making this request from the relevant Authorities for the last 25 years it was all to no avail.
Posted @ 12:30 PM
Deaf youngsters get taste of Italy
Children from West Norfolk Deaf Association enjoyed a morning making – and eating! – pizzas while taking part in a new Government-funded holiday club.
The youngsters, aged between five and 16, can look forward to a wide range of activities, from street dance to cinema trips, thanks to a £20,000 grant from the short break Pathfinder project, being piloted in Norfolk.
Half-term saw the launch of the exciting new club which will run for 14 weeks of the year at the West Norfolk Deaf Association (WNDA) in Lynn.
Posted @ 12:29 PM
June 5, 2009
Program Improves Language Skills In Deaf, Hard Of Hearing
Children enrolled before they are six months old in a home-based program that teaches language skills to the deaf or hard of hearing are not only able to achieve appropriate language skills but also to maintain them over time, according to a new study.
The study underscores the importance of appropriate follow-up of newborn hearing screens that determine whether a more detailed evaluation of a baby’s hearing by an audiologist is needed, according to Jareen Meinzen-Derr, PhD, a researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the study’s main author.
Posted @ 11:26 AM
Sounds exciting to Honduran boy with donated cochlear implant
The sensation of hearing is new and strange to 8-year-old Luis Fernando Betancourth Aguirre.
Even the routine sounds of early morning in a Palm City home are a marvel for the Honduran boy brought to Florida for a cochlear implant.
At a Saturday breakfast last month, Luis began to show for the first time he was discerning individual sounds from the jumble of noise that bombarded him since the implant was installed in his left ear, recalled Melanie Gallagher, who cares for Luis in her family home.
Posted @ 11:23 AM
SSSD Parents Drop Suit
The parents of three students at the former Scranton State School for the Deaf have officially withdrawn their suit, according to a representative in U.S. Judge Richard Conaboy’s office.
A hearing on the case was scheduled for Friday morning in federal court but has been canceled.
The suit was filed April 23 by attorney Drew Christian on behalf of parents of three students at SSSD to stop the implementation of a transition plan that has since been executed between the state Department of Education and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.
Posted @ 11:21 AM
Jason Grilli's Commitment is a "Good Sign" for Denver Area Deaf School
Colorado Rockies pitcher Jason Grilli has a career record of 16-16 with a 4.73 ERA. Good by all standards, but the Hall of Fame is not yet calling. According to the record book that really counts, however, Grilli is a winner of the Cy Young Award, MVP and slated for induction into Life's Hall of Fame.
After chatting with Grilli this afternoon about his involvement in this years "Signs of Summer Event" in Golden, Colorado, it is clear that Grilli is one of the good guys. Soft spoken, humble, and committed to helping those less fortunate than himself are attributes that don't show up on the scoreboard.
Posted @ 11:20 AM
Teacher brings Yoga to the Deaf
Lila Lolling uses a wave of a fan, a pound on the floor and sign language to teach deaf students in her yoga class at Cosm in East West Galleries Yoga at Manhattan's Union Square.
"She is an incredible advocate. She knows hearing and deaf, knows how to connect people, she has a vision. She's wonderful," says deaf student Kat Burland.
In 2000, Lolling became a certified yoga instructor. She got involved with the deaf community after being inspired by a book she read about Helen Keller and went on to get a degree in sign language interpretation. Five years ago, she decided to combine the two.
Posted @ 11:19 AM
Deaf student defies the odds
Born profoundly deaf and told she may never speak, Monique Guterres has never been one to stay silent.
The honours criminology student grew up embracing challenges, learning to communicate orally instead of signing and attending the mainstream school system.
"My parents... wanted me to be able to communicate as fully as possible," says Guterres. "It wasn’t until Grade 5 that I first remember having the feeling that I was different."
Posted @ 11:18 AM
Don’t overlook deaf children
Forty percent of children who are born deaf also have eye problems, so a new set of guidelines has been produced to help professionals who work in vision and hearing, to ensure that deaf children receive good vision care. Quality standards in vision care for deaf children and young people: Guidelines for professionals has been produced by Sense, the national deafblind charity with the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS).
Posted @ 11:17 AM
Farm visit helps deaf youngsters
Dozens of deaf children and youngsters with communication difficulties have been treated to a day on a farm to learn about food and healthy eating – thanks to a Northampton supermarket boss.
Kim Thomas, who runs the Co-op in St Leonards Road, Far Cotton, teamed up with signing group Talking With Hands to organise the trip to the Co-op Farm in Ashby St-Ledger, near Daventry, after learning deaf people find it difficult to get information about food.
Posted @ 11:16 AM
Southern actress wins NZ deaf award
An Invercargill film-maker is thrilled the star of one of two films he entered in the 2009 New Zealand Deaf Short Film Competition came away with best actress at the awards held in Wellington this month.
Chris Tottenham entered Polythene Pam and The Butterfly Dream, with the star of Polythene Pam, Joanne Fraser, taking out best actress award.
Posted @ 11:15 AM
Cockerpoo dogs will help deaf people
Dave and Elaine Tarr are proud of how their new ‘children’ will soon be out making a difference to the lives of deaf people.
The couple from Bankside in Headington, Oxford, have joined the charity Hearing Dogs for the Deaf’s breeding programme and are now helping mum Jolly rear her six offspring.
The three males and three females — called Vinnie, Vincent, Victor, Verity, Violet and Vienna — will next week be off to begin their training to eventually become dogs who will help deaf and hard of hearing people.
Posted @ 11:15 AM
Jail term in deaf-mute rapes
A former deputy headmaster at a school for the speech and hearing-impaired in east China's Zhejiang Province has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping seven female students more than 10 years ago.
The Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court issued the ruling after finding the school official, Zhao Yuhuan, guilty, China News Service said yesterday.
Zhao had worked at the deaf-mute school in Wencheng County.
Posted @ 11:14 AM
eaf students demonstrate against inaccessibility and inequity at Ontario
At a protest outside the Accessibility Services building on Wednesday at the University of Toronto (U of T), students described the inequity and inaccessibility issues Deaf people face at some Ontario universities, as they pushed for policy and budgetary changes to improve the quality of interpreter services.
Rally organizer Jenny Blaser has encountered numerous support problems at U of T. The first year linguistics and equity studies major was forced to drop courses when no interpreter was available. Other times, she said: “Some of the course interpreters have been really lousy. There’s no knowledge or awareness of my needs as a Deaf student.”
Posted @ 11:13 AM
Deaf school works with students to resolve concerns
Superintendent Patsy Shank met with staff, students and interested parents at the West Virginia School for the Deaf recently to discuss the list of grievances from students.
Shank said Monday that she was eventually provided a copy of the list, which allowed her to go through the students’ concerns and discuss how they could be resolved.
“Well, the first thing we discussed was the need to get the students back to class; our main concern needs to be education of the students and their need to be in class,” she said. “The issues the students had are being addressed and taken care of because we don’t want minute issues getting in the way of their learning.”
Posted @ 11:12 AM
Convo Relay Launches a New Video Relay Service for the Deaf
Convo Relay today announced the launch of a new Video Relay Service for Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers, Convo. Convo utilizes technology, call centers and video software to provide a service that enables deaf people to communicate with hearing parties.
The vision of Convo includes ensuring speedy connection times, hence providing the best of functional equivalency.
Posted @ 11:11 AM
Los Osos woman is blind and deaf and also a Cuesta College graduate
It might be hard to find somebody on the Central Coast more determined to get her college degree than Corrina Veesart. The 27-year-old blind and deaf student has spent the past nine years working toward her associate degree in general studies at Cuesta College. The fruits of her hard work and dedication were rewarded Friday when her name was announced at Cuesta’s graduation.
“I’m so excited, a little nervous, but very excited,” Veesart said through an interpreter before the ceremony. “It has been a huge effort for me.
Posted @ 11:10 AM
