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June 30, 2008
Deaf Teacher Finds Connection with ESL students
The small classroom where John Kuhlman teaches English to immigrants is a far cry from the large lecture halls and auditoriums where he used to lead 1,000 students in lessons on economics.
He no longer teaches on a platform, but sits just inches from his students, intensely concentrating to understand what they are saying.
Thirty-five years ago, while a professor at the University of Missouri, Kuhlman lost his hearing. A cochlear implant, lip reading and sheer dedication now allow him to spend five days and 21 hours a week teaching 15 immigrants how to read, write and speak in English.
Posted @ 7:35 AM
Sudden Hearing Loss Could Indicate Future Stroke
Preliminary research culled from a national medical insurance records database in Taiwan suggests that sudden loss of hearing might be an early sign of vulnerability to stroke, foreshadowing an actual cerebrovascular event by as much as 2 years. The study that led to these results is reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Five-year follow-up data on 1,423 patients hospitalised for an acute episode of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) showed that those patients were 1.5 times more likely to suffer a stroke than a control group of 5,692 patients who had been hospitalised for an appendectomy.
Posted @ 7:33 AM
Protests Held at Conference for the deaf
The deaf, their parents and advocates disagree on whether children are best off learning sign language or using hearing implants and aids to thrive in a hearing world, a split that was on public display today as 1,500 convention-goers and about 600 protesters converged on the Midwest Airlines Center.
Inside, the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was holding its 48th biennial convention sponsored by groups including Gallaudet University and the National Institutes of Health.
Posted @ 7:32 AM
National Technical Institute for Deaf: 40 years
Dave Killam arrived on the Rochester Institute of Technology campus as a frustrated 19-year-old.
He was born deaf to hearing parents and went through elementary, middle and high school ostracized as the only deaf kid in class. His first few moments at RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf changed his life.
"I walked in and saw so many flying hands, people actually signing to each other. I had never been around so many other deaf people in my life and I immediately started feeling comfortable," said Killam, 59, who now lives in Orlando, Fla.
Posted @ 7:31 AM
Pair get prison term for stealing disability check of deaf victim
Through an interpreter for deaf people, a young man told Hampden Superior Court Judge Constance M. Sweeney this week what it felt like to be held captive in a car by two men and robbed of his disability check.
The man said the crime against him has left him unable to walk alone.
"I'm afraid of who I speak to, who I meet," the man said. "I was afraid to come to court. I wanted to wear a disguise so I wouldn't be recognized."
Posted @ 7:29 AM
Why we won't let our disabilities get in the way of our modelling dreams
At first glance, Debbie Van der Putten's portfolio looks like that of any aspiring young model.
She seems to have both the face and figure to make it in such a competitive world, and it's easy to imagine her catching the eye of casting directors and magazine editors.
But look more closely and it becomes clear that Debbie, 22, is not your average jobbing model. In most of her pictures, only one arm is visible - and this is not because the other is somehow obscured.
Posted @ 7:27 AM
As personal technology explodes, deaf and blind people feel left behind
Olivia Norman's fingers fly across her laptop keyboard, dexterously tapping out instant messages to friends and entering search-engine queries without committing a single typo. A minute later, she's listening intently to the voice cues that help her read e-mail and send text messages on her smartphone.
Norman is blind, so the cues help her navigate the tiny keypad and understand the words on the screen.
She can't order an on-demand movie because she can't read the on-screen menus. She had trouble setting up an online music account because the speech-synthesizing software she relies on couldn't find the right link on the Web site.
Posted @ 7:27 AM
For Deaf Rider, Frustration Mars Metro Experience
A Gallaudet University student who is deaf wrote to describe the communications hurdles involved in riding the transit system. The writer compared his experiences this year with his first impressions of Metro.
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I want to express my frustration as a Metro customer. When I was a freshman, I used Metro quite regularly. It was pretty efficient, quick, on time quite often, and communication was pretty good.
Fast forward: It has been a colossal nightmare. The first major delay [Metro Center platform rehabilitation on President's Day weekend] wasn't too bad, but the next one [switch replacement at Van Ness] was extremely frustrating.
Posted @ 7:26 AM
Hands Of Hope For Students
Sahuarita's Shellie Shipley is on a mission, a quest that is garnering results for deaf students in Southern Arizona.
Shipley is a teacher for hearing-impaired students at the School for the Deaf, located on the campus of Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind on Speedway Boulevard in Tucson.
The accredited school provides education to children from kindergarten through high school. Its goals are to provide comprehensive learning, and promote student academic achievement. ASD prepares students to meet their social, cultural and language needs, and teaches both English and American Sign Language.
Posted @ 7:25 AM
Twist on Texting Gives Voice to the Deaf
Most people might think of texting or online chatting as a fun way to pass the time, but a twist on the idea could bridge the communication gap for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The UbiDuo is basically two keyboards with a wireless connection which can allow people to type back and forth instantly. Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka recently purchased one.
Posted @ 7:24 AM
Rape Crisis Center Bringing Awareness to Deaf Community
Rape doesn't discriminate. In fact, the Rape Crisis Center is increasing its efforts to help the deaf and hard of hearing community when it comes to this crime. It's called Sign No to Rape.
The deaf and hard of hearing community are a group that often go unheard of when it comes to rape. We talked to a deaf victim who wants this to end.
Sign language is how Donna Gura communicates everyday. She's been deaf since she was born. But growing up deaf hasn't been her only challenge in life.
Posted @ 7:23 AM
June 12, 2008
Smoking, Obesity Linked to Permanent Hearing Loss
A new study has found that obesity and smoking could be linked to permanent hearing loss.
Although scientists involved in the Antwerp University study noted that high levels of work-related noise remains the biggest risk, they added that both smoking and obesity could cause hearing loss by decreasing blood flow and oxygen to the ears.
The study was conducted jointly between the University of Paris and University College London.
This causes a build up of free radicals in cochlear tissue, causing damage, hair cell death and ultimately loss of hearing, scientists said.
Others have suggested such a link, but the most recent report, involving more than 4,000 men and women between the ages of 53 and 67, made the most solid conclusion to date.
Posted @ 9:52 AM
Noise On The Farm Can Cause Hearing Loss
One of the most important ways to obtain information and know what is happening around us is through sound. We talk with others, get weather information by listening to wind, thunder, and rain, know if a machine is working properly or if a pig is stuck in a hole in the fence, and we listen to beautiful music. Thus, sound can be useful and pleasing, or it can be unpleasant, irritating, and damaging to one's health. The latter, or unwanted sounds, are called noise.
What Is Sound?
Movement of people, animals, machines, and other things cause pressure waves in the air. If these pressure waves are within a certain range of frequencies, our ears interpret them as sound.
Posted @ 9:49 AM
People with Disabilities May Underestimate Benefits of SSDI
Individuals who become disabled regularly encounter a number of choices and new challenges, including treatment for their injury or chronic illness. Allsup, which represents tens of thousands of people in the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) process each year, finds people often underestimate and lack information about the benefits of SSDI.
One example is that many people think SSDI benefits are means based, or only available to individuals with little or no income.
Posted @ 9:43 AM
Blind, deaf professor to be awarded doctorate
A blind and deaf associate professor at Tokyo University Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology will be granted a doctoral degree, it has been learned.
Satoshi Fukushima, 45, will become the first blind deaf person to receive a doctorate in Japan. An award ceremony will be held for him at Tokyo University's Komaba campus Wednesday.
Posted @ 9:43 AM
Kids Learn To Sign To Reach Out To Deaf Classmate
Getting fifth-graders to skip lunch and recess to study is no easy task. But a local student managed to inspire her classmates to do just that.
NewsCenter 5's Bianca de la Garza reported that the students spent the extra time learning Michaela Borstel's language: American Sign Language.
"I feel really welcomed here," Borstel said of the Governor Winslow School in Marshfield.
Posted @ 9:42 AM
Caregiver Accused In Deaf Man's Abuse
A Siloam Springs caregiver charged with abusing a deaf and mute man appeared in Benton County Circuit Court on Monday.
Pat Pokrzywinski, 47, is charged with abuse of an adult. He was arrested June 5, 2007, and released on a felony citation after another caregiver reported injuries to police. A status hearing is planned July 31 before Circuit Judge David Clinger.
Pokrzywinski worked more than one year as live-in caregiver for the handicapped man as an employee of Bost Inc., according to court documents.
Posted @ 9:41 AM
Deaf Youth USA set to launch
America’s deaf youth are “brilliant, technological savvy, and burning up with potential, ideas, and passion,” says Gallaudet graduate Melissa Malzkuhn. As of yet, however, this demographic has no national organization. That is why, this July, she will help launch Deaf Youth USA (DYUSA) with a gathering in Bayou Segnette State Park, La., July 3 to 7, prior to the biennial National Association of the Deaf (NAD) conference. This event will harness the energy of up to 200 individuals representing 47,000 deaf youth and, she hopes, set in motion a new youth movement.
“We'll have forums, discussions and workshops,” Malzkuhn said, that will cover “politics, issues and advocacy work (what can we do, what do we want to do), and youth activism (how, why, and what tools), to media (how we can utilitize it as a tool), and international opportunities, to the future/direction of DYUSA.”
Posted @ 9:40 AM
Deaf People Can Do Anything
Emily A. Isberneur, 9, a third-grader at Wilson Elementary School in Adams Center, is hearing-impaired, and Friday she had a chance to socialize with other hearing-impaired children.
Through the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Emily and about 20 other hearing-impaired pupils learned how to dance at the Clayton Opera House.
"I always loved dance," Emily said. She is the daughter of Melissa A. and Donald F. Isberneur.
Posted @ 9:39 AM
Author recalls how blind, deaf woman touched the world
Today the name probably won't ring many bells, but in the mid-1800s Laura Dewey Bridgman was once as famous as Queen Victoria of England.
Pittsburgh couple Robert Alexander and Sally Hobart Alexander say Bridgman was so famous that little girls would name their dolls after her and then poke out the dolls' eyes because the blind and deaf girl was so admired.
Robert Alexander teaches English and writing at Point Park University. Sally Hobart Alexander teaches literature and writing at Chatham University and is the author of children's books. She is blind and has some hearing impairment as well. The book grew out of her discovering Bridgman when she started experiencing hearing problems some years ago.
Posted @ 9:38 AM
Child's kiss leaves mother deaf in one ear
A New York woman who partially lost her hearing after her daughter kissed her on her ear two years ago says she's getting some of her hearing back.
Gail Schwartzman of Hicksville said her daughter -- who was 4 at The Time -- gave her an affectionate kiss on her left ear and the suction from the kiss managed to displace her eardrum and paralyze three bones in her ear, Newsday reported Sunday.
Posted @ 9:37 AM
High-scoring deaf Tavares High bowler wins Spirit Award
Although Tavares High's Deanna Walden is a bowler, she never has heard the sweet sound that her 15-pound ball makes as it knocks down all 10 pins.
She is a weightlifter, too, but hasn't heard the clanking as weights are placed on their racks.
She also has missed the sounds that most teenagers take for granted: the ringing of a phone when a friend calls, the sounds a video game makes, the music flowing from an iPod.
Posted @ 9:36 AM
June 7, 2008
Bill seeks to expand captioning for deaf
For many years, hard of hearing and deaf individuals have used caption decoders to aid them in watching their favorite television shows. About two decades ago, the federal government required television networks to provide closed captioning for viewers with hearing loss.
More recently, the Internet has boomed, moving well past the point of only being used as a research tool to find information on numerous topics and to keep updated on local, national and world news. Not only is the Internet filled with information, it is also used as a communications tool, including e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms and message boards.
Posted @ 4:49 AM
Nothing gets in way of Miss Deaf Colorado
Kathy Ronci is getting used to being perched.
Whether it's a few feet above the ground in a horse saddle, or thousands of feet up in the cockpit of an airplane, this college student doesn't see limitations for herself.
Most people would consider Ronci's inability to hear the hooves pounding the ground or the radio blaring takeoff instructions as a drawback, if not an outright limitation.
Posted @ 4:47 AM
Deaf Vineland student learns art of cooking with interpreter's help
Having Luis Franco in a culinary arts class at Cumberland County Technical Education Center has proven to be a learning experience for three people.
Deaf since birth, Franco, 20, of Vineland, graduated from Vineland High School last year, but through a special education program, he's been able to continue his education for two years at CCTEC.
His educational interpreter, Angela Jones, 36, of Vineland, who is employed by the Vineland School District, said she is learning many new words such as French culinary terms which she practices at home.
Posted @ 4:46 AM
Man jailed for stealing from deaf parents
A 31-year-old man who stole more than £8,000 from his profoundly deaf parents was branded “despicable” by a judge today.
Cardiff Crown Court heard father-to-be Gareth Gunning acted as a carer and interpreter for parents Glenda and Ernest, and looked after their financial affairs.
Steve Harmes, prosecuting, told the court Mr and Mrs Gunning’s banks became concerned last year at the number of transactions between their two accounts and one set up by their son.
Posted @ 4:45 AM
Spy Museum more accessible to blind, deaf patrons
A popular museum that explores the world of espionage is offering tactile maps, audio tours and other features to help visually and hearing impaired visitors under an agreement announced Tuesday that settles a federal investigation.
The agreement between the International Spy Museum and the Justice Department establishes a new level of access to museums for disabled visitors, officials said. The changes include providing tactile maps of the museum's floor plan, adding closed-captioning to many audiovisual exhibits, and offering audio tours in which guides describe various films and exhibits.
Posted @ 4:44 AM
Gene therapy might help deaf kids
Gene therapy involving antibiotics could help deaf children with an inherited defect from losing their sight, suggests preliminary research published today.
The findings, which were presented to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Barcelona, Spain, today, show that the approach might be worth exploring further after promising laboratory results.
Posted @ 4:43 AM
June 5, 2008
High-fidelity hearing aid design
The latest offering from innovative industrial design team think/thing is the OSPA (Optical Speckle-Pattern Analysis), a unique hearing aid which is non-invasive, has a visually attractive design and uses a process called speckle-pattern analysis to read vibrations and produce sound.
According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, one in ten Americans suffer from hearing loss, and with a rising aging population, that number is likely to increase. However, many patients dislike the look and feel of traditional hearing aids and it may take some time to find one that works effectively.
Posted @ 10:35 AM
Vibrating bracelet for the deaf
I think this is one of the most interesting and wonderful designs I have come across. Invented for the deaf to move around much more easily, this could save their lives. And I'm not talking about hearing aid.
The bracelet is created by three designers, Kwang-seok Jeong, Min-hee Kim and Hyun-jonng Kim. The "Vibering" consist of two rings and a wristwatch. The two rings are worn on both hands. They are designed to act as the ears, by listening for sounds coming from behind, while at the same time determining the distance and position, and vibrate according to the source.
Posted @ 10:29 AM
Freshman overcomes disability to lead team
Long before Coastal Carolina third baseman Scott Woodward stepped in a batter's box, he had two strikes against him.
Stricken with meningitis at 14 months old, he was left severely hearing impaired in both ears and facing imposing daily challenges.
A hearing aid helped, but he had to tune in more attentively to what people said, read lips and work diligently on speech development.
"It made me feel I wasn't like a normal person," Woodward said.
Posted @ 10:27 AM
A quiet advantage
Born deaf, Zach Fox naturally took to visual stimuli at a young age.
The youngster immersed himself in books, prompting countless trips to the library for his family. “That is what really helped him through the years,” Cheryl Fox said of her son’s reading.
Gravitating toward information transcended Zach’s hearing loss, molding him into a ravenous consumer of current events, geography and history.
Posted @ 10:25 AM
She's deaf, a college valedictorian and planning FBI career
For Dave Collins, it was an epiphany, the moment when he realized that his special-needs daughter was very special indeed.
Sara, then 7, had spent four years in an alley behind Farnsworth Middle School doggedly trying to ride a bicycle — a major undertaking for a girl who was profoundly deaf and struggled with her balance. She had the cuts and scrapes to show for it.
"I begged her to stop and she never stopped," he said, estimating that Sara fell more than 1,200 times.
Posted @ 10:22 AM
Trial nears in sex abuse at deaf school
A lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse at the South Dakota School for the Deaf is scheduled to go to trial in one week.
Former students who say they were abused by a 17-year-old student during the 2002-03 school year sued bus company Jack Rabbit Lines, the Board of Regents, and the school and its former superintendent, Jon Green, for failing to respond to reports of abuse.
Posted @ 10:21 AM
Harris Co. investigators seek hit-and-run driver who struck deaf teen
Friday night, a deaf teenager was struck by a hit-and-run driver along Wallisville Road.
The 14-year-old victim was walking with her best friend, who is also deaf, and another teen. The group was returning home from a nearby Jack in the Box when the car served into them.
The teens could only watch in horror as the 14-year-old girl flew helplessly through the air and landed unconscious on the side of the road.
Posted @ 10:20 AM
Deaf D.C. Residents Hit By 8 Home Break-Ins
Deaf people have been victims in a rash of home break-ins near Gallaudet University in Northeast Washington, putting students on edge and prompting police to increase enforcement in the area.
At least eight burglaries or attempted break-ins have been reported in the past two weeks, police said. Laptops, cellphones and cameras have disappeared; in one incident, thieves made off with a midnight snack from the refrigerator.
Posted @ 10:19 AM
Deaf child to attend baseball camp thanks to Boxford boy
A shared passion for baseball has brought together two boys from two different worlds.
Elvis Calcano, 12, who is deaf, will learn more about the game when he attends the Mike Bush Fantasy Baseball Camp for the deaf and hard of hearing in Missouri from June 23 to 27.
It's all thanks to Anthony D'Ambrosio, 11, of Boxford, who cleaned neighbors' garages and washed their cars to raise more than $1,000 to enroll Elvis in the camp.
Posted @ 10:17 AM