March 13, 2008
Marlee Matlin Ready for Dancing Debut
Marlee Matlin had never danced before — well, other than at weddings and bar mitzvahs — but for the past two weeks, she's been cha-cha-ing and quickstepping for seven hours a day in preparation for her "Dancing With the Stars" debut.
Despite the unforgiving schedule and complaints of constant soreness from past contestants, Matlin, 42, says she's remained pain-free.
"Everyone asks if I'm sore," she said after a recent rehearsal at a nondescript dance studio northeast of Los Angeles. "Am I supposed to be sore?"
Posted @ 08:53 AM
Inner noise of tinnitus is maddening
Dear Dr. Donohue: I hope you can help me with a problem I have had for a year. I have a buzzing sound in my ear. My family doctor had me on antibiotics, but they didn't work. My dentist made me a new set of dentures, but that didn't work. The buzzing can drive me crazy. I have had a CT scan and an MRI. I have seen an ear, nose and throat doctor and have had a hearing test, but have not gotten any suggestions for what to do.
What can I do to rectify this problem?
Posted @ 08:51 AM
Sign-language interpreters in demand
In response to growing national and international demand, the University of Alberta and Lakeland College are launching a new program to train sign-language interpreters.
The diploma program, which will begin this fall, will be the first such course in Alberta and the fifth offered at a Canadian postsecondary institution.
"Alberta, like every other province in this country, has a critical shortage of sign-language interpreters and so the demand for interpreters far outweighs the supply," said Debra Russell, director of the Western Canadian Centre of Studies in Deafness, which is based at the U of A, and a consultant for the program.
Posted @ 08:50 AM
Protecting hearing is no cheap trick
What do rock stars, soldiers and factory workers all have in common? Careers with a potential for significant hearing loss.
So it was no surprise that Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen eventually hooked up with Donald Kleindl, a certified audio prosthologist who owns 15 hearing clinics, including the Professional Hearing & Audiology Clinic in Libertyville.
The result was custom-made ear monitors -- in Cheap Trick's black and white checkered motif, of course -- that protect Nielsen's hearing and allow him to control his own audio mix when the band plays.
Posted @ 08:48 AM
Deaf boxer Kalucza overcomes odds to book Olympic ticket
A young Hungarian boxer, who was born deaf, has against the odds booked his ticket to the Beijing Olympics.
Norbert Kalucza, 21, one of seven children born into a poor gypsy family from Debrecen, eastern Hungary, will compete along with the world's best in the flyweight category this summer.
Suffering from congenital deafness like most of his family members, Kalucza did not learn to speak until the age of 10.
Posted @ 08:47 AM
Deaf dancer will be watching Marlee Matlin on "Dancing With the Stars."
Heather Wagley was putting her best foot forward on a recent afternoon, but her instructor Larry Nemeth wanted a better best foot forward, and then another.
So Nemeth, who teaches at the American Dance Exchange in Highland Heights, led Wagley to repeat a sequence of steps here, a sequence there, allowing the music to pace them through a medley of dances, from West Coast jitterbug to fox trot to tango to cha-cha -- as other students and instructors danced around them.
Posted @ 08:46 AM
Class action for deaf students allegedly abused at schools
A Saskatchewan-based law firm that specializes in class actions is moving ahead with a claim on behalf of deaf students who say they were physically and sexually abused at boarding schools across Canada over four decades beginning in the mid-1950s.
The first of what lawyer Tony Merchant promises will be several claims against provincial governments was filed Tuesday in Edmonton on behalf of students who stayed at the Alberta School for the Deaf between 1955 and 1996.
Posted @ 08:44 AM
Gallaudet's First Deaf President Not Invited to Anniversary Celebrations
Members of the American Deaf community may have set their clocks to "spring forward" during the second weekend in March 2008, but they are experiencing other milestones as well which mark the dawn of a new day in the forward advance of Deaf politics. Deaf leaders and educators of the deaf are now taking bold new strides in the advancement of Deaf education and Deaf culture generally, says Gallyprotest.org.
Posted @ 08:43 AM
Students Protest at St. Mary's School for the Deaf in Buffalo
Parents and students at St. Mary's School for the Deaf are angry over the dismissal of a longtime math teacher. As news 4's George Richert reports, some students openly protested the move during school hours.
At dismissal time the protest spilled outside, these 31 students of St. Mary's School for the Deaf spent the day inside, but refused to go to class, because one of their favorite teachers, Nettie Brewer was being let go.
Kylea Stewart, student, "She was great, she taught us a lot of things, and we felt motivated in that class and all the students loved here, right...yea"
Posted @ 08:42 AM
'Aren't you supposed to be deaf? How come you can talk
Starting in late summer, thousands of salmon will return to statewide rivers and creeks to complete their life cycles. This annual event attracts thousands of anglers from all walks of life.
Last August, I had an opportunity to take a young apprentice for his first king salmon experience. Our hands silently danced and flashed with excitement as we walked toward my favorite hole on the Skokomish River. Without a verbal word, we reviewed drift fishing techniques and the challenges of landing the "big one."
Posted @ 08:41 AM
School for deaf keeps president
More than one year after students at Gallaudet made national news by forcing its new president out of office, the school decided last week to keep its interim president for an extended period before seeking a new one.
On its campus in Northeast D.C., the turmoil, which swept the nation's only deaf college, continues to have a significant effect on present-day policies. But Robert Davila, the school's new leader, is making inroads in restoring confidence on the once-divided campus. Though it was an interim appointment, his contract has been extended until December 2009, and a spokesperson said there is currently "not an official timeline for a (new president) search."
Posted @ 08:41 AM
Thugs left man deaf in one ear
Thugs left a man deaf in one ear after attacking him when he confronted them for messing about with a shopping trolley.
David Haslam, aged 56, from Farnworth, smashed his head on a pavement after falling to the ground when one of the two attackers punched him in the face.
The fall caused a six-centimetre fracture to his skull and the trauma of the fall has resulted in him losing his hearing in one ear.
Posted @ 08:40 AM
College Hosts Pivotal Deaf Conference
Last weekend, Swarthmore College hosted a conference that brought together members of the international Deaf community to explore a wide range of topics related to sign language and Deaf culture. Linguistics professor Donna Jo Napoli organized the conference, entitled “Around the Deaf World in Two Days (It’s a Small World): Sign Languages, Social Issues/Civil Rights, Creativity,” and the William J. Cooper Foundation sponsored the event.
Posted @ 08:39 AM
Record Medical Negligence Lawsuit Over Deaf Child
The parents of a three-year-old girl who became deaf after a series of antibiotic injections at Thinadhoo Regional Hospital are suing the Ministry of Health for a record Rf 7.1 million.
A Malé doctor and several overseas paediatricians have told them the antibiotic was inappropriate in her case and was probably the cause of her hearing loss.
Posted @ 08:38 AM
Via Internet, NY doc helps deaf Ugandan man hear
Through the power of Internet technology, medical experts in New York have switched on an inner-ear device, allowing a man in Uganda to hear for the first time in two years.
Activating the device from halfway around the world is a first, and highlights a trailblazing way in which the growing realm of telemedicine - conducting medical procedures from remote locations - can enhance the lives of people in struggling nations.
Posted @ 08:38 AM
Dancer provides inspiration for all
Dressed in black and sitting in the corner of the room, Tai Lihua strikes an inconspicuous pose.
The one thing that would draw people's attention to the 22-year-old is the intent of her gaze, at the gestures of the sign-language interpreter beside her.
For some, the very idea of a deaf person attending a CPPCC group discussion seems incredible, but for Tai, one of the country's most acclaimed dancers, it was just another opportunity for the voice of her heart to be heard.
Posted @ 08:37 AM
Man charged with killing deaf pregnant teen girlfriend
Twenty-seven years after the body of a deaf teenage girl was found in a Palos Township forest preserve, prosecutors say they have solved her murder -- charging her high school boyfriend, who also can't hear.
Gary Albert, now 45, faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly stabbing Dawn Niles more than 30 times. He appeared at a brief hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse Tuesday morning and was being held on $1 million bond.
Posted @ 08:36 AM
Deaf Mother of 3 Denied Service at Restaurant
Karen Putz has been deaf since the age of 19, the result of a rare family gene. As a feature writer for the web site disaboom.com, Putz often chronicles issues relating to those with disabilities, including discrimination.
But it wasn't until she was denied service at an Illinois fast-food restaurant and found herself face-to-face with discrimination that the mother of three wound up writing about herself.
Read Karen Putz's account of her incident on her blog, DeafMom World, in her own words. Watch the ABC News video of her story here.
Posted @ 08:35 AM
