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August 31, 2009
Neural Pathway Missing In Tone-deaf People
Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf – unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.
"The anomaly suggests that tone-deafness may be a previously undetected neurological syndrome similar to other speech and language disorders, in which connections between perceptual and motor regions are impaired," said Psyche Loui, PhD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, one of the study's authors.
Posted @ 11:59 PM
Gene Associated With Language, Speech And Reading Disorders Identified
A new candidate gene for Specific Language Impairment has been identified by a research team directed by Mabel Rice at the University of Kansas, in collaboration with Shelley Smith, University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Javier Gayán of Neocodex, Seville, Spain.
The finding, reported in the current issue of the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, was discovered by examining genes previously identified as candidate genes for reading impairments or speech sound disorders.
Posted @ 11:56 PM
New hearing solutions change lives, says cochlear recipient
Susan Young was just five when her hearing began to deteriorate.
By her early 20s it was all but gone and, although she had hearing aids fitted to both ears and learned to lip-read, she spent the next two decades avoiding social situations, the telephone and many opportunities.
"I was bluffing my way through life," Mrs Young said.
Posted @ 11:54 PM
An argument for the continued teaching of ASL to deaf children
Hi! I would like to share about the article written by Francois Grosjean who provided his perspective by researching Deaf children. The article mentioned that ASL should be the primary language of a Deaf child. Despite the use of various technological aids ( i.e. cochlear implants), sign language is mandatory period. Why? I will explain the reasons for you to think about it.
When hearing babies are born, they normally acquire language in the very first years of life that their parents communicate with them and that babies receive information by listening to surrounding sound environment such as T.V., radio, people having conversations, etc. Even some parents sign with their hearing babies making it more accessible. "Language in turn is an important means of establishing and solidifying social and personal ties between the child and his/her parents. What is true of the hearing child must also become true of the Deaf child."
Posted @ 11:51 PM
Northeast Iowa county set to receive 911 texts
A northeast Iowa county has begun implementing technology that will make its 911 call center the first in the nation to accept text messages, officials said Tuesday.
The service is currently in test mode, but Black Hawk County officials say their plan is to go live with the service as early as July.
The technology is designed to allow people with speech and hearing impediments to text 911, and for the emergency operator to communicate back by texting.
Posted @ 11:50 PM
Raritan Borough business offers 'Bridges to Employment' for the deaf
A local business is helping the deaf and hard of hearing reach their career goals while also serving employers' needs.
The Bridges to Employment Career Development Center, at 600 First Ave., provides people who are deaf and hard of hearing with a range of vocational assessment, employment training, placement, job coaching and support services.
It is one of three such centers in New Jersey funded by the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services, and it serves people in Somerset, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Posted @ 11:49 PM
Group helping hearing-impaired students left stranded at oasis
The Hinsdale Oasis overlooking the Tri-State Tollway is no place to spend four hours waiting for a bus.
But there were Raven Stromek and a group of families on April 27, waiting patiently for a ride to the Illinois School for the Deaf in Jacksonville, west of Springfield.
The bus, from Sleepless in the City Mini Bus Service Inc., never showed, Stromek said. The Melrose Park-based transit company did, however, cash the $1,725 check from the Illinois Service Resource Center for the phantom journey.
Posted @ 11:48 PM
Miss Deaf Utah on her way to fulfilling dreams
Natisha Luke believes in the positive nature of life, something she credits to her Mormon upbringing.
"I try to focus on my abilities rather than my disability," she said.
Although she lost her hearing as a newborn because of an ear infection, she hasn't let it stop her from achieving her dreams.
Posted @ 11:47 PM
Deaf teacher could learn more this week about her future in Andover
The American Sign Language teacher fighting for her job at Andover High School may learn more this week about her future working in the school district.
Daniela Ioannides, 44, of Methuen, was told in June that she would not be asked back to teach at Andover High after repeatedly failing a state teacher certification exam.
Ioannides, who was born deaf, contends the Massachusetts English competency exam for prospective teachers is discriminatory against the hearing-impaired.
Posted @ 11:45 PM
Local teacher interprets president's message for deaf
Being in the same room with the president of the United States is not something most people have the chance to do.
Being in the same room while helping to relay his message to deaf people in the audience is even more unusual. Luce Aubry, the newly hired coordinator of the deaf studies program at Northern Essex Community College, did just that this week.
Aubry was chosen to be the sign language interpreter for President Barack Obama during his town meeting in Portsmouth, N.H. At the meeting, the president talked about his plans for health care reform. Aubry translated his message for deaf and partially deaf people.
Posted @ 11:44 PM
Ridiculous rise in HIV/AIDS cases among deaf
Officials at the Jamaica Association for the Deaf and the Jamaica AIDS Support are reporting a "huge" increase in the number of deaf persons contracting the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV) and engaging in risky sexual behaviour.
Reports of loose, multi-partner, unprotected sex, and what Jamaica AIDS Support officials call "inter-sexing", which involves homo and bisexual intercourse, have emerged, as the organisation grapples to deal with the growing number of deaf clients on its hands.
Posted @ 11:43 PM
Former deaf-school student sues archdiocese
A civil lawsuit filed Thursday against the Milwaukee Archdiocese is the first by a former student of St. John's School for the Deaf in St. Francis, where the late Father Lawrence Murphy is believed to have molested as many as 200 boys from 1950 to 1974.
The lawsuit, filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court by Dean Weissmuller, 50, of Phoenix, is the 11th civil fraud case pending against the archdiocese alleging sexual abuse by priests.
Posted @ 11:42 PM