November 27, 2008
People with disabilities encounter many hidden barriers
Let's face it, because of weather-related delays, long security lines and crowded planes, traveling during the holidays is a hectic time. Offering designated security lanes for families is an improvement. As a person who has baby-sat, I know that a stroller or a car seat are necessary objects to have for babies and for young children; when accompanying children on a trip, there is no such thing as traveling light.
The needs of other passengers who routinely need help have often been overlooked. Shouldn't there be security lines for all physically disabled passengers as well? People needing wheelchairs are routinely accommodated, but other disabilities are not acknowledged at airports and train stations. Other than braille signs at elevators, I am not aware of accommodations for blind and deaf passengers.
Posted @ 4:48 AM
Dogs for the Deaf expands its scope to include autism
They unexpectedly shared the limelight November 17 in the Rogue Valley Mall, where Dogs for the Deaf inaugurated its newest program. He's not quite six; she's almost four. He's Kiefer Morris; she's known simply as Ginger.
Sporting a specially-equipped purple vest, black Lab mix Ginger, proudly becomes DFD's Autism Assistance program's first graduate.
DFD President and CEO Robin Dickson greeted three Trail residents who arrived first. Little Butte School student Kiefer accompanied his parents, Shannon and Scott Morris, who'd read of the presentation in a previous issue of the Upper Rogue Independent.
Posted @ 4:48 AM
Japanese foundation honors former NTID dean
While most people back in the Rochester area were tucked into bed last Monday night, professor James DeCaro of Pittsford was 9,500 miles away in Japan, where it was Tuesday morning.
Decaro was one of 50 people — and the only one from the United States — who were in the Far East to receive awards from Japan’s Foundation for Encouragement of Social Contribution for contributions in areas such as social welfare and education.
DeCaro, director of Postsecondary Education Network-International (PEN) at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology, was honored for his contributions to the education of deaf and hard-of-hearing people around the world. He is one of only five non-Japanese recipients.
Posted @ 4:47 AM
Deaf to get help at Secretary of State branches
The Michigan Secretary of State’s Office is testing out technology to help deaf and hard of hearing people when they visit branch offices.
The Web-based technology uses a video camera and audio equipment to connect deaf and hearing-impaired customers to a remote person who can read and translate sign language to branch office workers.
Posted @ 4:45 AM
Special weather alert system for deaf sought
A weather bureau official yesterday urged disaster managers and radio and television station owners in the country to establish a system that would help provide timely, critical warnings of life threatening events to the deaf and those with difficulty in hearing.
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) weather branch chief Nathaniel Cruz issued the call in line with the celebration of National Deaf Awareness Week.
Posted @ 4:44 AM
Anita Buel Helps Deaf Cancer Patients Overcome Odds
As a deaf person, Anita Buel is well acquainted with the language, comprehension and communication barriers experienced by many in the same position when seeking medical care. Members of the deaf community are often excluded from the national health agenda and are rarely mentioned when talking about people for whom spoken English is a second language.
Posted @ 4:42 AM
No contest plea in killing
JoAnne McCann had mixed emotions Friday after the woman accused of killing her brother more than three years ago pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.
"I would have preferred life in prison. She took my brother's life," said McCann, 56, as she started to cry. But she added: "I'm glad (the case) is coming to an end."
Mary Ann McBride, who is deaf and cannot speak, will be sentenced Jan. 14 before Macomb Circuit Judge Peter Maceroni in connection with the stabbing death of Robert Adelsburg, her live-in boyfriend, on April 22, 2005. Adelsburg was also deaf.
Posted @ 4:40 AM
Shane Van Boening Holds Pool School for TSD
In two separate “Challenge the Pro” fundraisers for the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), former U.S. Open champion Shane Van Boening raised over $500 for the school, including a personal donation. School administrator Keena Miller expressed to Shane how touched she was by a thoughtful note that was sent to the school, along with a donation from Shane’s grandfather, a former senior Billiard Congress of America champion. After these fundraisers, TSD invited Van Boening to the school to meet the students.
Posted @ 4:40 AM
Deaf-hearing relations activists visit College
Members of the local deaf community joined students to attend a presentation given by the two founding members of Discovering Deaf World (DDW), a recently developed national association that encourages the development of deaf organizations across the globe.
The Nov. 5 presentation, which was co-sponsored by the Deaf Hearing Connection and Kappa Delta Pi education honor society, was given by DDW founders Christy Smith and Dave Justice.
Posted @ 4:38 AM
Rosseau man linked to deaf camp thefts
A Rosseau man appeared in a Bracebridge court last week after police found two stolen ATVs, a stolen snowmobile and a stolen outboard motor on his property.
Assistant Crown attorney Mike Newell explained that on May 1, 2007, Ontario Provincial Police officers executed a search warrant on the property of Terry Deschamps, 40, because they believed him to be connected with a number of thefts throughout the Muskoka area.
Posted @ 4:38 AM
MSD graduate crowned Miss Deaf America
It was love at first sight for Michelle Lapides.
"I was in the first grade when Miss Deaf America 1995-1996 came to my class. When my eyes first saw her crown, I fell in love with the concept of being Miss Deaf America," she said in an e-mail interview.
It's not all glitz and glam for Lapides, though. "I also loved the purpose of the (National Association of the Deaf) Miss Deaf America program," she said.
Posted @ 4:36 AM
October 27, 2008
Deaf Comic Doesn't Take Self Too Seriously
Instead, Kathy Buckley -- whom everyone dismissed as retarded when she was a little girl growing up in Wickcliff, Ohio -- diffused the serious side of life with laughter at two appearances in Muskegon Wednesday.
"I love to make people laugh," she said. "It's disarming."
In other words, if you can't laugh at what Buckley's been through, you're sure to weep. She has.
"But I want to be in the 'now,' " she said. "I don't want to miss anything by being in the negative."
Buckley, 54, was 8 years old before anyone realized she couldn't hear. Until then, school officials and her family labeled her hopelessly "retarded" and sent her to a special school for the disabled. There, isolated, she went through the motions of learning in a world of silence.
Posted @ 2:50 AM
16-year-old Arrested in Rape of 6-year-old LA School for Deaf student
Louisiana State Police have arrested a 16-year-old male for the alleged rape of a six-year-old female student at the Louisiana School for the Deaf.
The incident was reported last month and was part of a series of sexual assault allegations that led to the school being temporarily shut down. The school was closed October 8th and is not yet expected to reopen until November 3rd.
Posted @ 2:48 AM
Blood from slain deaf man found on accused, court hears
Blood from a slain Brampton man was found on the jeans and jacket worn by the man accused of murdering him, jurors have heard.
Anthony Medwid, 20, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the March 23, 2007 stabbing death of Brian Wainman, 27.
But a forensic investigator had told jurors that the jeans and jacket identified as Medwid's clothing had impact blood stains from the deceased man.
Posted @ 2:46 AM
Mentoring deaf students breaks the sound of silence
Sitting in the Lawrence High School cafeteria, an engineer at Raytheon and three students developed a quick friendship without speaking a word. The four communicated using sign language. They learned about each other's families, school, work, and the students' futures.
The engineer, Donald Slate, 26, is a key to their futures. Slate will tutor Jose Geronimo, Carmen DeLeon and Lizbeth DePena, all 21 and Lawrence High seniors, in math and English using sign language. He is tutoring them through a program called Stand and Deliver.
Posted @ 2:45 AM
Signs of improvement at School for the Deaf, Riverside
New courses and tutoring sessions aren't the only steps the School for the Deaf, Riverside, has taken over the last two years to bring up student achievement.
Even making sure to use sign language in every conversation is a way to help students learn, according to Superintendent Mal Grossinger.
Efforts to improve student performance at the school may not show results for years. Many students arrive at the school after years in traditional public schools, often lagging far behind.
Posted @ 2:43 AM
'Survivor' Star Gives Lesson to Deaf Children
It looks like fun and games, but these kids are learning a very valuable lesson.
As hearing impaired students at Rochester's School of the Deaf, they're being taught how to live in a listening intense world - something Christy Smith knows all too well.
The 30-year-old Smith was born deaf. Smith said she's never let her disability stop her, Including her run on the CBS show "Survivor." She applied, accepted and made it 33 out of 39 days on the reality series.
Posted @ 2:41 AM
Robbers leave man deaf, blind
He had always been the heart and soul of a party, but now Clint Kerr, 44, from Johannesburg is blind and deaf and his family is desperate to get him to communicate again.
"He wants to know why we won't talk to him. He really doesn't seem to realise that he has become deaf and blind," his son Darren said on Thursday.
After robbers tortured Clint at his house in Glenvista in March and hit him on the head with a hammer, he contracted meningitis and lost his sight and hearing.
Posted @ 2:39 AM
Deaf people feel silenced by telecoms
A consortium of deaf organisations have come together to launch a campaign to improve telecoms services for deaf people by demanding better services at affordable prices.
TAG, which represents all the main UK deaf organisations, is taking its case direct to Parliament. As part of the ‘Bringing Deaf Telecoms into the 21st Century’ campaign, TAG called on the Government and telecoms regulator Ofcom to put deaf people on to an equal footing with hearing people in their use of the telephone.
Posted @ 2:38 AM
Deaf get new hope with IT training
Ten previously unemployed deaf youth are about to be given new hope for the future after embarking on an internationally certified IT training course which will give them key skills for employability.
The 10 will receive their Microsoft Certified Application Specialist training from two deaf trainers, Kabelo Moloi and Nandipha Jongizulu, who are employed by the Johannesburg-based Employ & Empower Deaf (eDeaf), an entrepreneurial service provider to the deaf community in South Africa.
Posted @ 2:37 AM
Parents of LA School for the Deaf students frustrated about post-closure plans
The shock over the shutdown of the Louisiana School for the Deaf in the wake of an investigation into alleged sexual conduct is now producing a different kind of confusion.
Parents with children in the school say they are having trouble finding out where to go next. An information hotline has been set up so parents could get information about alternative classes and transportation.
Parents say they are frustrated from getting the run around. Also, the students themselves are having a hard time adjusting to the sudden changes in their routines.
Posted @ 2:36 AM
October 3, 2008
Deaf School Abuse
Fourteen years ago, 13-year-old Daniel Lewis enrolled as a boarding student at the Louisiana School for the Deaf, a place that was supposed to give him the skills to engage with the world.
That August, Daniel — with bright blue eyes and blond hair, but borderline mentally retarded and smaller than his peers — moved into a room in the middle school dorm on the school’s Baton Rouge campus with three other boys.
Posted @ 7:57 AM
Deaf adults have lifetime literacy needs
Emerging through the awakening phase of their adulthood, some deaf people face difficulties with literacy and feel inferior when using English. Their English skills are not equal to those of some hearing students receiving a Grade 12 diploma when they have graduated.
I often hear the statement, "I have poor English," made by the deaf adults with minimal literacy, and they don't feel confident to write sentences to communicate with the hearing.
Posted @ 7:54 AM
School for deaf changes name, mission
The Louisville Deaf Oral School, celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, has changed its name to the Heuser Hearing & Language Academy.
The school is merging boards with a sister organization, the Heuser Hearing Institute. The board includes representatives of the University of Louisville, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Norton Healthcare.
Posted @ 7:53 AM
Teachers learn to instruct deaf, hard of hearing
An unusual program at California Lutheran University is training teachers to work with deaf and hard of hearing students.
The Thousand Oaks university started the program last year because there is a shortage of those trained teachers in California, said Maura Martindale, the program's director.
"This started at the request of parents of deaf children," Martindale said. "The real drive comes from parents."
Posted @ 7:46 AM
Beverly School for the Deaf 'rebranding' is underway
After 132 years, changing your name isn't easy.
But the Beverly School for the Deaf — or what is now The Children's Center for Communications — is doing just that.
"It's going to really help broaden and communicate what we do on campus," Executive Director Mark Carlson said. "So many people don't realize what we do."
Posted @ 7:45 AM
Music for the Deaf
For many of us, going to see live music on the weekend is something we take for granted. We obsess over a band, listen to their music and go to their shows.
There's a smaller segment of the population that has been mostly ignored by musicians, but they're just as passionate about the music: the deaf and hard of hearing.
Sean Forbes is a music fan, even though he hears about 10 percent of what most people hear. He's been partially deaf since he was an infant.
Posted @ 7:42 AM
Deaf panel offers personal perspectives on daily life
Deaf Redbirds hosted a panel of deaf adults to discuss different perspectives on the day-to-day lives of hearing impaired individuals on September 22 at 7 p.m.
Jessica Strohfeldt, co-president of Deaf Redbirds Association, participated in the panel. She is a second year graduate student in special education with a focus on deaf and hard of hearing students.
Strohfeldt grew up in oral education and really struggled to listen because she only used a hearing aid in one ear. She did not learn sign language until she attended college in California, but she is now learning more about the deaf culture and really loves it.
Posted @ 7:41 AM
Deaf and blind students get on-the-job training
About 65 percent of deaf adults are unemployed. For blind adults, the unemployment rate is about 80 percent.
The Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind is trying to change that grim employment outlook for its students with an internship program funded by an $80,000 state grant. Building on its program for at-risk students, it is working with area employers to give seniors on-the-job training four afternoons a week. The school pays the salary and on Fridays helps the students with life skills such as banking and budgeting.
Haylie Johnson, a 17-year-old senior at the school for the deaf, landed a job at Ancona, a Colorado Springs welding shop. Under the watchful eye of shop foreman Ron Norton, she's learning to cut metal and clean machinery and will eventually learn welding. Owner Jim Thiessen said Johnson is being trained as any other apprentice to the trade.
Posted @ 7:37 AM
September 12, 2008
Ubisoft to include subtitles for hearing-impaired
In order to make games more accessible to those with hearing impairment, Ubisoft Wednesday announced plans to include subtitles in all internally-developed titles.
The first games to support subtitles will be Far Cry 2, Prince of Persia, and Shaun White Snowboarding.
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"This commitment entails modifications to some of our game engines, as well as the inclusion of subtitles in the conception phase of game development," said Ubisoft, the world's sixth largest publisher.
Posted @ 9:59 AM
Kathy Cox outsmarts 5th-graders, wins a million
The fifth-graders never had a chance. Georgia State school superintendent Kathy Cox became the first $1 million winner Friday night on the FOX TV series “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader” by answering correctly the question: Who was the longest reigning British monarch?
It was a giddy performance on screen, recorded Aug. 6 in Los Angeles. Cox watched the show with about 100 supporters and friends at Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill in Peachtree City, all whooping at her big game show gamble that paid off.
She said her entire winnings will be donated to three schools: Georgia Academy for the Blind in Macon; Atlanta Area School for the Deaf in Clarkston and Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring.
Posted @ 9:57 AM
Alan Hurwitz is Deaf Life's Deaf Person of the Month
The joys and challenges of heading NTID
When I came to work at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in 1970, I was an education specialist in RIT's College of Engineering and College of Applied Science and Technology. NTID was still very much in the experimental phase. It wasn't known how well deaf and hard-of-hearing students would fit in on a campus filled with thousands of hearing students.
Coming from a college background that offered little or no support services, I immediately knew NTID was a unique resource. But it is more than that. I consider NTID to be a national treasure.
Posted @ 9:56 AM
Women going to international conference for deaf workers
Two local women will be crossing the globe to represent the 4-States at an international conference for Christian, deaf workers.
Mary Alice Gardner, an instructor of deaf communications at Ozark Christian College, says she'll be working a lot at the event the first week in October.
She says sign language is not universal , so she will assist participants with communicating.
Carole Roper, a retired postal worker, is deaf herself and will also be a delegate.
Posted @ 9:51 AM
Deaf Community Responds To Reading Level Comment
WAPT News was flooded with feedback after airing a story on sign language interpreter Greg Goldman.
Goldman was highly visible during Gov. Haley Barbour’s news conferences on Hurricane Gustav.
However, some members of the deaf community said they were upset about a statistic he quoted about their average reading level.
Goldman told WAPT that his job is extremely important because many deaf people have a fourth-or fifth-grade reading level.
Posted @ 9:50 AM
Early intervention helps infants born deaf
Infants with permanent hearing loss benefit in terms of language development from being enrolled very early -- before 3 months of age -- in intervention programs, according to a new study.
Normally, children with moderate to profound hearing loss exhibit delayed language skills at 12 to 16 months of age, compared with children with mild to minimal hearing loss, the researchers explain in the medical journal Pediatrics.
Previous research indicates that children who are deaf or have hearing loss who are not diagnosed early and do not receive early intervention for language development do not catch up to their hearing counterparts in language skills, or in "social skills, literacy, and academic skills, resulting in lower potential employment levels as adults," Dr. Betty Vohr, of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues point out.
Posted @ 9:49 AM
Teenager almost deaf after waiting too long for ear drum surgery
In the latest bungle involving an Australian hospital, a teenage boy in Tasmania has reportedly waited so long for surgery to repair his perforated ear drum that he is almost deaf.
Though 15 year-old Jeremy Brewer had been listed as a category one case by the hospital, three and a half years down the line he is apparently still waiting for surgery.
The Royal Hobart Hospital has admitted that an administrative mistake has been made but meanwhile the teenage boy's hearing and speech have significantly deteriorated and according to his mother he is failing at school.
Posted @ 9:48 AM
Deaf boxer dogs animal shelter’s budget
The recent rescue of a deaf white, 6-month-old boxer puppy has the Riverbend Humane Society in need of financial help.
Maggie, or so she is called, was rescued around three weeks ago after she was spotted running free in a field miles from the shelter by area mail carriers, said Melissa Fox, a volunteer and board member with the society.
She was starving and skinny and apparently had gotten hold of something that was poisoning her, Fox said. On top of that, rescuers discovered that she was born deaf, a genetic abnormality of her breed.
"I would say she's probably one of the worst ones we've found health wise. Once she got to the shelter she refused to eat," Fox said. "She was very, very thin. She was kind of almost lifeless. Her tongue ended up swelling up - that was when we knew there was something wrong. She was in pretty poor shape."
Rescuers proceeded to take her to a local veterinarian to be nursed back to health in an intensive care unit. Three days later, the organization was stuck with an $800 bill.
Posted @ 9:47 AM
How Technology Changes Deaf History
For generations, Deaf artists and poets relied on personal connections to tell their stories. But advancement in technology through blogs or video "vlogs" has changed the way their message can now be spread.
A first-of-its-kind conference, made possible by a grant from the New York Council for the Humanities, will discuss how changing technology is affecting storytelling in American Sign Language in the Deaf community.
More than 400 people are expected to attend the symposium, "Redefining the Literary Expressions of Deafhood: The Impact of the Digital Age," Oct. 3 and 4 at RIT/NTID.
The conference will trace the emergence of Deaf/ASL literature and explore its roots in the works of contemporary Deaf poets, storytellers, bloggers and vloggers. Scholars, creative artists and the public will discuss the way modern technology is affecting narratives previously passed on in person with American Sign Language. It will also offer a rare opportunity to see live works of Deaf performers.
Posted @ 9:47 AM
Three appointed to commission for deaf
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has appointed two new members and reappointed one to the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
“All Kansans deserve equal access to quality services,” Sebelius said. “This commission works to improve the state services available to those who are deaf or hard of hearing. I’m thankful for their work.”
Jack Cooper, Gardner, attended both the Kansas School for the Deaf and the Nebraska School for the Deaf prior to attending Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. He has served as the president emeritus for the Kansas Association for the Deaf and is currently a representative on the National Association of the Deaf Region II Board. He has been appointed to a three-year term.
Posted @ 9:46 AM
Deaf Child Helped Out In School By...Tennis Balls!
When the roar of the U.S. Open subsides later this week, some of the 50,000 leftover tennis balls will be used to reduce the racket in a Westchester classroom. It's all an effort to help a young boy hear his teacher.
To 4-year-old Luc Bordier, a tennis ball is more than a toy to share with his dog. It's also a tool to create the best possible learning environment when Luc enters kindergarten.
"Luc is deaf, he was born deaf, it's a genetic thing, transmitted from his mother and I," says Robert Bordier, Luc's father.
Posted @ 9:44 AM
River Valley Church Tends To Deaf Evacuees
A River Valley church is making a difficult situation much easier for some Hurricane Gustav evacuees with special needs.
The Hands in Christ Deaf Ministry at the First Baptist Church Of Lavaca is hosting five deaf evacuees.
Church officials said they offered their services as soon as they heard evacuees would be returning to Fort Chaffee.
Posted @ 9:44 AM
6-year-old serves notice at White House
At the ripe age of 6, Declan Hurley of Clarence knows exactly what he wants out of life: to be the first deaf president of the United States.
Standing in front of the Treasury Building after touring his hoped-for future home Thursday, Declan said he wants to be president because he’s smart and wants to help people.
“And I want to make money,” he added, proving that he may some day be one of those truth-telling candidates.
Declan toured the White House with his parents, completing a dream that began when he wrote to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N. Y., to ask for tickets.
Posted @ 9:42 AM
August 29, 2008
Biophysical Method May Help To Recover Hearing
Scientists based in Switzerland and South Africa have created a biophysical methodology that may help to overcome hearing deficits, and potentially remedy even substantial hearing loss. The authors propose a method of retuning functioning regions of the ear to recognize frequencies originally associated with damaged areas.
Hearing loss is an increasingly important problem in societies of growing average age. The conventional hearing-aid and cochlear implant technology have only been partially successful in recreating the experience of the fully functioning ear.
Posted @ 5:17 AM
Cure for deafness now within reach
The transfer of a specific gene is shown today by a milestone experiment to trigger the growth of new hair cells in the inner ear - the usually irreplaceable sensory cells that pick up sound vibrations and that are lost as a result of ageing, disease, certain drugs, and by excessive exposure to loud sound.
The approach, which one day could help millions of people worldwide with deafness and inner-ear disease, is made possible by a technique that is demonstrated in the journal Nature by an American team lead by Dr John Brigande of the Oregon Hearing Research Centre, Portland, who himself is profoundly hard of hearing.
Posted @ 5:11 AM
Communication gap frustrates deaf drivers, police
For a hearing driver, getting a traffic ticket is a relatively straightforward experience.
But if you're deaf, will you leave the scene knowing exactly why you were pulled over and what you should do next?
It depends on the willingness of both parties to bridge the communication gap, say deaf individuals and local law enforcement officials. The resources available to police officers in dealing with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community vary by department, and the deaf community — like any population — is not uniformly aware of police expectations in the event of an arrest, traffic stop or emergency situation.
Posted @ 5:09 AM
Counting the Days Until the World Goes Quiet
Some sounds, like car horns and bad ringtones, are annoying. Some are soothing, like wind through trees or waves crashing on the beach. Some are smile-inspiring, like the perfect song or the laughter of friends and family. These sounds are the symphony of life.
But what if, a month from now, everything suddenly stopped and the world was quiet? Before they disappeared forever, which noises and voices would be savored?
For Jessica Stone, it wasn't a hypothetical question.
Posted @ 5:08 AM
Vibering Jewelry Senses Danger To Help Deaf
Sometimes I come across products and ideas that help make the world better in ways that might not have been imagined. The Vibering by designers Kwang-seok Jeong, Min-hee Kim and Hyun-joong Kim is one such creation.
People who are hard of hearing or deaf miss out not only on the sweet sound of music or the sound of a loved ones voice, they also cannot register more important sounds like car horns or any other sounds of danger emanating from out of sight sources.
Posted @ 5:07 AM
Allstate award of $500 aids Kansas School for the Deaf
Allstate Insurance agent Jeremy Schafer has been was awarded an Agency Hands in the Community award.
With this award comes a $500 donation from The Allstate Foundation to the Kansas School for the Deaf where Schafer volunteers.
Posted @ 5:06 AM
Technology helps Oroville interpreter communicate with deaf community
She's worked as a sign language interpreter for 23 years. And if she could be granted one wish, it would be that people understand how deaf people communicate.
About 23 years ago, Bobbie Holcraft needed a job. She found a newspaper advertisement for a sign language interpreter, and the employer would train. However, they wanted someone who knew something about signing.
Holcraft checked out a library book, studied for three days, and got the job. She has worked as an American Sign Language, or ASL interpreter ever since, and she would like to make people aware of communication obstacles the hearing impaired face.
Posted @ 5:05 AM
August 25, 2008
School For Deaf Plans Overhaul Of Gallaudet Hall
The American School for the Deaf is planning a $31 million overhaul of Gallaudet Hall, the 87-year-old signature structure on the landmark school's North Main Street campus.
The Georgian-style building, with distinctive white columns, opened in 1921 — when the school moved to West Hartford from Asylum Avenue and Cogswell Street in Hartford. It has never had a major renovation.
The school has applied for zoning approval and a public hearing will be held Sept. 3 before the town plan and zoning commission.
Posted @ 1:09 AM
Niagara Falls Teen Teaches Hearing to Understand Deaf
Jena Kramer looked just a little bit nervous as she sat at the front of a group of teens and pre-teens at the 18th Street Community Center.
Then with a big smile and a nod to her mom she began to sign.
Jena, 14, who will become the first fully deaf (she has her own personal translator) student at Niagara Falls High School this year, is on a mission to teach hearing kids how to communicate in sign language. Every Wednesday in August, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the 18th Street Community Resource Center, Jena will conduct classes to teach the language of the deaf to those who can hear.
Posted @ 1:08 AM
Sarah needs sponsors to compete in Deaf Olympics
A young Ashington football star is hoping to compete in next year's Deaf Olympics.
But without vital sponsorship she might not make the games.
Sarah Page, of Houndslow Drive, has just returned from the Women's Deaf World Cup held in Greece, where she helped England finish third in the competition.
Now the 17-year-old, who is profoundly deaf, is preparing to represent Great Britain at the Deaf Olympic Games, which will be held in Taipei next year.
Posted @ 1:07 AM
Deaf Elderly Misdiagnosed with Dementia
Elderly deaf adults may score lower on mental health tests because of a language translation issue, new research shows.
David Feldman, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at Macon State College in Macon, Ga., and colleagues looked at scores on the nationally used Mini Mental Status Exam. The exam is given by doctors to detect early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Posted @ 1:06 AM
VL2 approved for $12 million funding over next three years
The Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2), headquartered at Gallaudet, has been approved for funding for the remaining three years of its five-year cycle at $4 million per year. The approval came August 11 from the National Science Board, and all members of the team are “popping the champagne,” as recommended by Dr. David Lightfoot, assistant director of the National Science Foundation, Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences.
The science board’s approval follows a highly successful second-year review of VL2 in April by a renowned group of researchers, including international scholars that resulted in a recommendation for the continued funding.
Posted @ 1:05 AM
Deaf BMX cyclist fulfils Olympic dream
Maria Belen Dutto fulfilled on Wednesday her dream of competing at the Olympic Games. However, the Argentine could not hear the shouts of the crowd gathered at the BMX circuit, and she will not be able to hear her national anthem if she wins a medal on Thursday.
Dutto is 98 per cent deaf, but she represents Argentina alongside Maria Gabriela Diaz in one of the newcomer sports of the Beijing Olympics.
BMX is a young, spectacular cycling discipline. Protected with helmets and knee and elbow pads, eight cyclists race frantically through a dirt circuit, complete with bumps and jumps, in around 35-45 seconds.
Posted @ 1:05 AM
Awesome Parents Celebrate 50th Wedding Anniversary
James Walter and Barbara Ann Allison Wheeler of Brandon renewed their vows at a celebration of their golden wedding anniversary July 19 at the Tampa Baptist Deaf Church, where Walter is a deacon. The Rev. Ronaldo Feliciano officiated. They were joined by 160 friends and family members.
As part of the festivities, their granddaughter Gabrielle Tatro played harp "for hearing people," Barbara Wheeler said in an interview conducted after the festivities by writing questions and answers on paper. The guests of honor are both deaf.
Posted @ 1:03 AM
Theater to offer captioned movie for deaf and hearing-impaired
It’s only appropriate that members of Chattanooga’s hearing-impaired community will be able to screen a captioned version of the movie “Wanted” this weekend since many of them have wanted such a service for a long time.
Chattanooga State Technical Community College has teamed up with Carmike Cinemas to offer the open-captioned movie at Northgate Cinema 8 at 4 and 7 p.m. on both Sunday and Monday.
Posted @ 1:02 AM
President of School for Deaf, Blind replaced
Pamela Shaw, president of the state School for the Deaf and the Blind in Spartanburg, is no longer in that position after seven months on the job. The commission that oversees the agency isn’t saying publicly why.
After a 4½-hour closed meeting, the school’s Board of Commissioners announced Friday that Shaw, of Spartanburg, would be replaced by Carol Mabry, who will serve as interim president of the school while a search for a new president is conducted.
Posted @ 1:01 AM
Deaf Swimmer Defies Limitations
The sectionals are where Western New York's top high school swimmers come to compete. A sophomore from North Tonawanda, just 15 years old, blends into the crowd of elite athletes. He's earned the right to be here-- among the area's best. This is how family and friends describe him:
"He is determined. He will not give up. He is a fighter and he's very confident." "He has more of a drive than most other kids." "He's just an animal! There's no other way to put it."
And there's something else about Scott Farrell you'd never know by looking at him.
Posted @ 1:00 AM
Local girl places in Latin convention
To Staci Greenberg, her daughter is an example of how much children can achieve when given the proper support and resources.
Peri Himsel, 15, is deaf. Five years ago, Greenberg began investigating several schools that were operating programs for deaf students. Eventually, they settled on Glen Landing Middle School which offered support for deaf students through the Gloucester County Special Services. With the support of both teachers and interpreters, Greenberg felt that her daughter was exactly where she needed to be.
Posted @ 1:00 AM
Center hands out first scholarship
Before she was diagnosed with a hearing problem, Pam Groth said that her life was a lot like living in an old photograph- flat and colorless.
The first-time recipient of the Northville Hearing Center Educational Scholarship, Groth’s winning essay explained how being fitted with a hearing aid changed her life, and opened her up to the type of everyday sensory experiences that most people take for granted.
“I always tell people that is was like everything was in black and white,” Groth said. “Then when I got my hearing aid, my world became color. I could hear music for the first time. Your world changes when you can hear sound.”
Posted @ 12:59 AM
Transatlantic study to help deaf and hard of hearing children with their maths
Parents and teachers of children with hearing problems are well aware that they often struggle in maths as well as in other subjects.
According to a recent study by the National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities in America, children with these disadvantages lag farther behind their hearing classmates in maths than they do in reading.
Other studies have suggested that these children's difficulties with reading are related to language skills, instructional methods, and underlying cognitive strategies.
Posted @ 12:57 AM
August 5, 2008
Woman Won't Let Deafness Make Her Miss a Step in Life
When Marlee Matlin competed this spring on Dancing With the Stars, Antonia Mueller cheered for the award-winning deaf actress in the silence of her living room.
Born with 90 percent hearing loss, Mueller has been taking hip-hop, Latin and jazz lessons for six years at the Simply Dance Academy in Port St. Lucie.
The mother of four knows all about the counting, the cues and other extra things that deaf dancers must do to compensate because they cannot hear the music.
Posted @ 3:41 AM
Deaf Cheerleaders Tops in Contests
The past school year was an exciting one for 17-year-old Shaniqua Felton of Green Bay, who achieved national success on her varsity basketball cheerleading team.
As a sophomore at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delevan, Felton has been part of the two-person team for the past three years. This year, Felton and Nick Shaw of Sun Prairie won two awards in their first competition against hearing cheerleading squads.
In March, the team was invited to the Cardinal Classic competition in Sun Prairie to compete against squads that are not hearing impaired.
Posted @ 3:39 AM
Deaf Children Dance In Music Video
A group of deaf and hard-of-hearing children had the opportunity Thursday to create a music video. The children attend a special summer camp in Broward County that integrates the children with hearing disabilities with hearing children in an educational program.
"I try and plan always opportunities for our deaf and hard-of-hearing kids that they wouldn't have otherwise," said program education coordinator Allyson Dudich.
Posted @ 3:39 AM
The deaf and domestic violence
We all know there is problem with domestic violence in our society, but imagine if you were deaf and experiencing domestic violence. Deaf people are at risk for being long-term victims of domestic violence. There are several issues and barriers that deaf people face and fortunately Vermont is one of the few states that have services specifically for deaf persons experiencing domestic violence.
Some specific issues that deaf people face are...
Posted @ 3:37 AM
Signing Mass, music is a subtle art of hands in motion
On the first Sunday of every month, a very special Mass is celebrated at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Woonsocket.
The first three pews on the left are filled with worshippers who happen to be deaf – as is the priest, Father Joseph Bruce, who celebrates this Mass in voice and sign. Sitting in a chair at the altar is Mary Ann Sullivan. As the choir begins the opening hymn, Sullivan stands and signs along with the song. The deaf participants follow suit, and together, raised in song, both hands and voices fill the church.
Posted @ 3:36 AM
Idaho school for deaf, blind remains in Gooding for now
State Board of Education Director Mike Rush expects the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind to remain in the farming town of Gooding for at least three more years.
The board is contemplating whether to keep the school where it is, move it to a bigger city, or _ what has become the least popular option _ close the 40-acre campus and deliver the education through outreach programs at individual school districts.
Posted @ 3:34 AM
Summer Course Looks at Images of Deaf in Literature, Film
This summer, students at the University of Virginia have been given the chance to look at traditional literature and film with a new eye — or a new ear.
"Deafness in Literature and Film," taught by Christopher Krentz, an assistant professor of English and director of U.Va.'s American Sign Language program, is one of the University's summer course offerings. Krentz examines the representations of deaf people in literature and film during the last two centuries, including works by mostly unknown deaf authors, either written in English or performed in American Sign Language on film.
Posted @ 3:32 AM
July 29, 2008
Marlee Matlin is eliminated from `Dancing With the Stars'
For the third consecutive week, a last-place finish has led to elimination on "Dancing With the Stars."
This week's celebrity casualty was Marlee Matlin, who came into Tuesday's results show with 21 out of 30 points. The actress, who is deaf, lost her timing at various points during her mambo Monday with professional partner Fabian Sanchez, and the judges took note.
Posted @ 5:47 AM
Deaf Rider Ashley Fiolek Inspires Others
The sounds of motorcycles ring out throughout the trees and the hills of Washougal this weekend — for most racing enthusiasts, anyway.
Ashley Fiolek, a 17-year-old who looks even younger, cannot hear a thing. And while that might be a disadvantage at times, she sure does not show it.
Fiolek, born deaf, is in first place in the points race midway through her first full season riding in the Women’s Motocross Association. Already, she has developed quite a following.
Posted @ 5:46 AM
A Breakthrough in Rapid Emergency Alerts for the Hearing Impaired
A series of tests by Twenty First Century Communications (TFCC) has confirmed that they are the first and only major hosted (Software as a Service, or SaaS) notification vendor to provide true TDD/TTY delivery of emergency notification and messages without pre-registration.
Twenty First Century's Universal Communications System is unique in that it can both detect TTY machines and deliver TTY messages, without the need of a relay operator.
Posted @ 5:45 AM
Disability Rights Advocates Celebrate ADA with "Deaf Day"
The Center for Disability Rights kicked off its anniversary celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Tuesday with a "Deaf Day." The event brought presentations from vendors demonstrating technology and resources for the deaf, and discussions about deaf health.
Chris Hildebrandt is the director of advocacy for the Center for Disability Rights. He says Deaf Day, with its showcase of communications technologies for the deaf like video relay and interpretive typing commemorates the legislation that banned discrimination against people with disabilities.
Posted @ 5:43 AM
China updates Olympic website to serve blind, deaf
China has improved its official Olympic website to serve the blind and deaf, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) announced here on Wednesday.
Both the BOCOG website and the China Disabled Person's Federation (CDPF) website were updated to enable the blind, those with low vision and the deaf to get information.
Posted @ 5:41 AM
Near miss for deaf students
It would have been a disaster had the canteen ceiling at the School for the Deaf in SS5 Kelana Jaya fell three minutes earlier.
Fortunately, the children finished their meal at the canteen and returned to class three minutes earlier when the asbestos ceiling came crashing down.
The incident, on Thursday (July 17), was the second such incident in the school within two years.
Posted @ 5:40 AM
Did You Hear the One About the Deaf Rabbi?
It's hard enough to be speak your native language when you're profoundly deaf, but 35-year-old Darby Leigh took it the extra step when he learned Hebrew well enough to become a rabbi.
Last week, he signed on as the new assistant rabbi at B'nai Keshet, Montclair's Reconstructionist synagogue. This YouTube video gives a glimpse of what it took.
Before studying to become a rabbi, Leigh, the child of deaf parents, worked in theater. From the B'nai Keshet news release:
Posted @ 5:39 AM
Implanted Computer Chip Helps Deaf to Hear
A five-year-old girl who has been unable to hear sounds since she was born has been helped by a team of Korean and Italian researchers.
The girl's brain functions normally but what has been damaged is the nerve that transmits sound signals from the ear to a part of the brain called the aural centrum.
Posted @ 5:38 AM
Don’t get frustrated, I’m deaf
About three years ago, a fire truck went speeding through a red light in Buffalo en route to an emergency. The truck hit a vehicle that was passing through the intersection. The deaf couple inside the vehicle never heard the truck coming. Paramedics arrived on scene but were unable to communicate with the couple because they had no idea that the two were deaf.
In a similar incident, police pulled over a man for speeding a couple years ago in Manchester. The man tried to hint to the officer that he was deaf, but the officer did not understand. The officer became frustrated with the man for not cooperating and handcuffed him.
Posted @ 5:36 AM
July 22, 2008
Hearing Test May Measure Cognitive Decline
Central auditory testing may act as an early screen for cognitive decline in the elderly, researchers here said.
In a study of 313 patients at least 71 years old, several measures of central auditory processing were impaired in those diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and, to a lesser extent, those with memory impairment but not meeting criteria for Alzheimer's, reported George A. Gates, M.D., of the University of Washington, and colleagues in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery.
Central auditory processing is the brain function involved in interpreting complex sounds such as speech.
Posted @ 12:07 AM
Hearing birds chirp is music to my ears
Single-sided deafness is a type of hearing loss where there is no functional hearing ability in one ear. This condition can cause many problems such as headaches, irritability, tinnitus, difficulty distinguishing where sounds are coming from (resulting in possible safety issues) and decreased attention during conversation.
All of this can lead to social isolation and even depression. If you are feeling this way, there is a new technology, the Baha implant, that can restore your hearing. You can avoid years of grief and unnecessary surgeries.
I gradually lost my hearing when I was in my 30s. Initially, I had hearing loss in both ears. The first procedure that was used, stapedectomy, was done on both ears. The stapes bone was removed and wire was inserted to vibrate the sound. The surgery worked for years, until a car accident knocked the wire off.
Posted @ 12:06 AM
July 21, 2008
Bill aims to inform about deaf, blind school choice
Students from across the state attend the CSB and the CSD, including many from rural districts where there are insufficient resources to provide adequate services to deaf and blind students.
Currently, parents and guardians of disabled children are given a notice of procedural safeguards that provides them with an overview of their educational rights. The notice must be given to parents the first time their child is referred for a special education assessment.
Under Torrico's bill, the notice would include information regarding the School for the Blind and the School for the Deaf.
The Assembly also voted 64-0 to approve AB 2604, a Torrico bill that encourages cities and counties to defer the collection of development impact fees to the close of escrow, with the exception of school impact fees.
Posted @ 11:58 PM
What's it like to be deaf?
The learning station was about being deaf, and one little girl wanted to know how deaf people learn to talk.
The teacher, 26-year-old Mary Ryan, a certified teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, told the child that to learn to speak, deaf people feel the throats of their teachers while they are speaking. They also watch their teachers lips as they talk and learn to imitate sounds.
The child was attending Ability Awareness Day on June 27 in Elk Grove, a collaboration of the Northwest Special Recreation Association (NWSRA) and Elk Grove Park District day camps. The goal was to provide campers with training on the challenges people with various disabilities face.
Posted @ 11:55 PM
Deaf woman sues over McDonald's snub
A deaf woman is suing McDonald's - because she reckons workers refused to let her order at a drive-through window.
Karen Tumeh of Lincoln, Nebraska, says workers insisted she either order at the electronic speaker along the drive-through lane or come inside to get her grub.
Tumeh wears a hearing aid but still cannot hear while using the drive-through ordering box.
Posted @ 11:54 PM
Students learn sign language for hi-tech link with deaf school
They've already mastered French, Spanish, German and even Mandarin. And now pupils at an Exeter school are using their skills to speak in sign language.
Students at St Peter's Church of England School are using video conferencing to communicate with youngsters from the Royal Academy for the Deaf, in Topsham Road.
The scheme started this term and teachers say it has benefited children from both schools.
Pupils at St Peter's, a specialist language college, already use video conferencing to speak to students in Germany.
Posted @ 11:53 PM
Developer says he hasn't given up on Homes for the Deaf
A developer has withdrawn his plan to build senior condominiums in the landmark Victorian mansion owned by the New England Homes for the Deaf.
Although his plan ran afoul of zoning rules, Gordon Thomson of The Thomson Companies of Danvers is vowing to someday redevelop the Water Street landmark, which still has windows boarded up from the Danversport chemical plant blast more than 18 months ago.
"We now have to redirect our efforts," said Thomson, who declined Monday to elaborate, saying more should be known in 30 days. He is looking at other uses for the property.
Posted @ 11:53 PM
Lack of interpreters halts deaf man's dream
A severe shortage of sign language interpreters in Christchurch means a deaf student has to put his dream of training as a mechanic on hold.
Marlin Flanagan, 20, wanted to enrol in a Certificate in Motor Industry programme at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT), starting today.
The polytech has estimated the cost of interpreters and note takers to assist him in his studies to be more than $60,000.
Posted @ 11:51 PM
Briton Rosanna Mazzocchio wins Miss Deaf World 2008 in Prague
Rosanna Mazzocchio, 19, from Britain became Miss Deaf World 2008 at a beauty contest staged in Prague Saturday, followed by Czech Michaela Theimerova, 21, and Yulina Arslan, 19, from Russia, contest director Josef Uhlir has said.
Sixteen young women from various countries competed in the finals for the eighth Miss Deaf title in history.
German Jasmin Katzberg, 22, was voted Miss Sympathy.
Posted @ 11:50 PM
Former CSDR Teacher Sentenced in Molestation Case
A former California School for the Deaf Riverside teacher was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to molesting two girls.
Daniel Ray Metroka has been in jail since his arrest on June 30, 2007. On that day, Metroka and his wife were baby-sitting the two girls, 5 and 7 years old.
"There are no words that truly describe the betrayal we feel," stated a letter from their parents read by Deputy District Attorney Kelli Catlett. " ... Dan stole our children's innocence forever."
In the letter, the parents requested that he identify any other victims who may be deaf and have trouble communicating.
Posted @ 11:49 PM
Island woman finds her true voice
Every year, thousands of young people go to college to discover who they are and who they want to be.
For Staten Islander Lakshmi "Sasha" Ponappa, self-realization meant finding her true voice -- which she accomplished without being able to hear others speak.
Ms. Ponappa, born deaf, recently received her master's degree in social work from Gallaudet University in Washington, a renowned school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
Posted @ 11:48 PM
July 11, 2008
Deaf Exposition: They Have Cancelled Our Contract
Al Lepre, founder and Executive Director of American Deaf Exposition announced today that the South Street Seaport Deaf Exposition, previously scheduled for August 17, 2008 will not go as planned.
"I am saddened that our contract was cancelled and that we have not been able to resolve this problem in time to hold the South Street Seaport Deaf Exposition this year," said Lepre, a recipient of an award for his leadership in the deaf community by NYC Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. "This event is terribly important to the deaf community. Each year, it brings together over 5,000 deaf people. Like no other event in the northeast, it brings deaf people together, introduces them to the latest developments in technology and promote deaf culture."
Posted @ 11:50 AM
July 8, 2008
Mexican Children Receive Free Hearing Aids
A group of impoverished children in Mexico are hearing for the first time, thanks to a group from the Hill Country’s NewSound Hearing Aid Centers.
The group of 11 volunteers traveled to the Mexican cities of Monterrey, San Luis and Cuidad Victoria last month to provide free hearing aides.
“There is an overwhelming sense of privilege to be a part of this effort,” said Kim Johnson, spokeswoman for NewSound. “It was like having a front-row seat to witnessing lives changed; the children arrive unable to hear, and they leave hearing.”
NewSound organized the annual project with the help of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps impoverished children receive hearing aides.
Posted @ 9:06 AM
Sudden Hearing Loss May Be a Warning of Stroke
Compared with control subjects, patients who had sudden loss of hearing had a 1.64-fold greater risk for stroke during a 5-year period, after adjustment for confounding factors, in a preliminary study from Taiwan, published in the June 26 Online First issue of Stroke.
Using data from a national database, the investigators compared the incidence of stroke during a 5-year period among 1423 patients hospitalized for an acute episode of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) vs 5692 patients who had been hospitalized for an appendectomy (a surrogate for the general population).
"We suggest that SSNHL patients, in particular those with other vascular conditions or elderly patients, should undergo a comprehensive hematologic and neurological examination to help clinicians identify those who are potentially at risk for stroke in the near future," the group, led by Herng-Ching Lin, PhD, at Taipei Medical University, in Taipei, Taiwan, writes.
Posted @ 9:01 AM
Utah Parents of deaf and blind students plan to rally
With 45 days until school starts, parents of some children who attend the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind are unhappy about their children being shuttled every year from one school to another.
A couple of them are taking their concerns to a rally tomorrow at the state Capitol.
There is a building for this group of children, and there is funding for this school year. But these parents say that many young children with disabilities have faced the question of "where?" for a decade now.
Posted @ 9:00 AM
Deaf children find rewarding work at Six Flags
Six Flags guests can hear six international languages spoken by All American Cafe employees this summer — and see one signed.
Morgan Campbell and Laura Lower, both 16 and of Arlington, are two of 11 deaf employees on staff. Five days a week, they don highlighter-yellow shirts and prepare hamburger vegetables and condiments at the restaurant alongside peers who can hear. Campbell and Lower, students at the Texas School for the Deaf, communicate with each other through American Sign Language.
Posted @ 8:59 AM
Transition Workshop Scheduled for Deaf Teens and Their Parents
Deaf Initiatives will host its 6th biennial workshop "Making a Difference with Your Future" on September 12, 13 and 14, 2008 at the Columbus Marriott Airport. This transition workshop is for deaf and hard of hearing high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors and their parents/guardian from the state of Ohio.
There is not cost for the workshop, including hotel accommodations and meals for those students who qualify. The workshop will focus on the students' self-awareness, development and career awareness and how to begin preparing for the future. Transition from school to work or post secondary education will be addressed at the workshop, helping parents and students identify the best path to success.
Posted @ 8:58 AM
Musical frequencies turned into tactile sensations for deaf
For Ellen Hibbard music has never really meant very much.
Deaf from birth, she would only be able to experience a tune by placing her hands on a flat wooden surface near the stereo or radio, or directly on the amplifier.
But now that's all changed. And for the first time she has an understanding of why people love music - be it rock and roll, jazz or classical.
Posted @ 8:57 AM
Miss Deaf Texas stresses need for better education
Miss Deaf Texas can't accept that the average deaf high school graduate only reads at a fourth-grade level, and her quest for better education for the hard of hearing soon could have a national audience.
"It starts by better educating parents so they won't be frightened or indifferent," said Katherine "Katie" Deshea Murch, 22.
"Rarely are hearing parents excited about having a deaf child. Most feel numb and lost and believe it's their fault. Children feel this," she said, placing her hand over her heart.
Posted @ 8:55 AM
Deaf native of Ghana fulfills dream to be citizen
Any time he got a break from his job cleaning the fourth floor at the Nassau County Supreme Court, Joe Sarpong would duck into a closet and study a notebook.
"How many amendments are there to the Constitution?" he would ask himself, or, "How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?"
Sarpong, 36, who was born in Ghana, had a lifelong dream: to become a United States citizen. But a taxing job and a long commute from the Bronx were the least of his obstacles.
Posted @ 8:51 AM
July 1, 2008
Deaf Social Network
The leading deaf social network on the Web was recently upgraded with extra features at www.TagDeaf.com. TagDeaf offers free registration and helps connect deaf, hard of hearing, and any interested hearing parties.
Members of TagDeaf.com are offered a multitude of features with their free registration, including picture sharing, blogs, videos, forums, classifieds, instant messaging, groups, and polls. The simple design and feature set are reminiscent of social networks such as Myspace.com, but with a dedication to the hearing impaired community worldwide. Members of the social network also have the ability to invite others to the site, and search for or browse members with similar interests to help them connect with each other.
Posted @ 8:12 AM
June 30, 2008
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
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
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
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
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
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
May 29, 2008
Deafness No Bar to Woman's Goal of Legal Career
Everything from television technology to text messaging has made life easier for Sonya Smith.
When she watches programs on Lifetime, her favorite cable channel, she sometimes reads the closed captioning - a feature that allows text to be displayed on the screen; at other times she reads the characters' lips.
"I love looking at people and reading their lips," said Smith, who was born deaf.Text messaging also is popular and she uses it as another tool to communicate with family and friends via her cell phone.
Posted @ 4:15 AM
Deafening Call for New Toy Law
Health Canada is examining the way it tests noisy toys to make sure they aren't damaging childrens' tender ears.
Many toys seem to sing, shout, beep and wail at deafening decibels.
And the current testing method -- holding a toy at an adult arm's length -- doesn't reflect the reality that kids hold toys close to their ears, audiologists warn.
Noise-induced hearing loss is growing. Studies in the U.S. show 12.5% of children have hearing problems caused by noise in one or both ears.
Posted @ 4:11 AM
Deaf Groups Warn of TV Complaints
Commercial television networks face the possibility of potentially embarrassing discrimination lawsuits by the deaf after failing to renew an agreement that covers the captioning of programs.
Under a five-year deal signed with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 2003, the networks committed to increase the captioning of their content to 70per cent in exchange for an exemption from claims of discrimination.
Posted @ 4:09 AM
Teen determined that being deaf will not keep her from achieving her goals
As slow music plays, 16-year-old Annette Tavernese moves gracefully across the studio at Jackson Dance Center.
Her muscular legs carry her in fluid backward or forward steps. Her back arches, her head falls back, her arms float.
The 5-foot-1-inch, 114-pound teen has danced since she was 5: ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary and more.
Posted @ 4:09 AM
Woman Scamming Deaf Community
San Diego police are looking for a woman who goes by "Lisa" who they say is suspected of defrauding members of the deaf community with a pyramid scheme.
Police say she offers to pay off credit-card debt in exchange for cash, then pays the bills with bogus checks and online payments drawn from stolen bank accounts.
Posted @ 4:08 AM
St. John’s Schools for the Deaf Gets New Computer Lab
As part of the activities marking the international telecommunication day, a new computer lab for St. John’s school for the deaf was inaugurated at the school grounds in Kanifing.
In his welcoming remarks at the launch, Mr. Daniel Mendy, Principal of the school, gave a brief history of the project.
According to him, it all started in 2007 when the Information Telecommunication Association of The Gambia (ITAG) provided a preliminary training for the deaf girls of the school. ITAG was impressed with their performance and decided to expand the scheme to a computer lab.
Posted @ 4:07 AM
DNR takes hunter education classes to Michigan School for the Deaf
Dressed in camouflage pants and headband, Mike Fisette, 16, looks right at home leaning against a rack of shotguns. Nearby, his buddy Ray McCall, 14, sits on a table heaped high with outdoor gear.
Usually, John Bell's uniformed team of instructors is riding herd over 50-100 youngsters at a time. Here, the two teens are outnumbered three-to-one but no one seems to mind. The class might be smaller but the goal is the same: to teach budding young hunters the basics of Michigan's original outdoor sport.
Posted @ 4:06 AM
School for deaf, blind to close
The Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind and Multi-Disabled in Hampton will close at the end of June, clearing the path to consolidate the state's two schools for students with visual and hearing impairments.
The state Board of Education voted Wednesday to end state-operated programs at the Hampton school, including residential and day-program services, on June 30.
Forty students are enrolled in Hampton's programs this school year, and all but 14 are graduating or moving to Staunton, according to state Department of Education spokesman Charles Pyle. School officials plan to work with those 14 families to arrange for their continued education in their home districts, Pyle said.
Posted @ 4:05 AM
Nearly Deaf Professor Teaches English Literacy
After three degrees, after five universities, after 40,000 pupils, and after 84 years, 10 months and 25 days, John Kuhlman has circumnavigated his way back to the essentials of education: a teacher and a student in a room.
John Kuhlman, left, a retired college professor, helps Jose Cordova, an immigrant from Ecuador, learn English.
Decades ago, he was a student, the 6-year-old son of a wheat farmer in eastern Washington, going to a school that fit all 12 grades under a single roof. His earliest memory of academic life is of hiding behind the classroom stove lest he be called upon to wash the lunch dishes.
Posted @ 4:04 AM
Hawk Relay Becomes Sponsor of Momentum Cycling Team
Momentum Cycling Team announced today that Hawk Relay, a fast-rising Relay provider for people who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Speech disabled, has agreed to sign on as a sponsor for the team, the only USA professional UCI Track Team with 2008 Olympians.
Hawk Relay is a Deaf owned and operated telecommunications relay provider for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Speech disabled people. Hawk Relay operators provide functional equivalence in telecommunications - allowing relay users to communicate with anyone.
Posted @ 4:02 AM
May 18, 2008
School for Deaf employee
A New York State School for the Deaf employee can’t say that she is headed to Afghanistan this year.
But Patricia Brunk told her students before she left, "I am bright enough to surmise that it will be a warm and sandy year, but not in Hawaii or Florida."
A member of the Army Reserves for eight years, Brunk is a psychologist at the school. She left her civilian job recently to begin training for deployment to Afghanistan. She resides in Blossvale with her husband. They have lived in the area since Brunk took her job at the School for the Deaf in the summer of 2006.
Posted @ 1:27 AM
17-year-old makes strong case for granting the deaf drivers' licences
Why should the Government give deaf persons permission to drive?
That was the US$1,500 question that 17-year-old Christophe Phillips asked at the Altamont Court Hotel in Kingston Saturday.
Phillips, a student at Lister Mair Gilby School for the Deaf, placed first in the Caribbean District of Optimist International's Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and won for himself US$1,500 in scholarship money.
Posted @ 1:26 AM
Viable Opens Call Center in Maryland to Serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Viable, a next-generation video relay services provider for deaf and hard of hearing people, has extended its call center activities to downtown Frederick, Maryland. The call center is located at the heart of the city, at the intersection of the Market and Patrick Streets, close to the main campus of Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD).
Established in 2006, Viable works to open new avenues of communication for deaf and the hard of hearing people through its video relay services. This can be accessed using the Internet at home, or via wireless connectivity from other locations.
Posted @ 1:22 AM
A Glove that speaks for the Deaf
Technology has always been of great help to the disabled and given them a helping hand to allow them to live a normal and healthy life like others. Inventors from Carnegie Mellon University have come up with a novel idea of a glove named Handtalk that will convert hand movements into text and allow the deaf to express themselves better.
The Handtalk glove needs to be worn on the hand by the deaf or mute person and depending on the variation of movement, the device will convert it intelligently into text and display it on a mobile phone for the other person to comprehend it easily. The Vibrating Braille mobile lets the blind express themselves using technology, now it’s the turn of the deaf and the mute.
Posted @ 1:21 AM
Church Harnesses Internet For Ministry To Deaf
Karen Kurt steps to the wooden podium and proclaims the word of God—silently.
With her hands and facial expressions, she uses American Sign Language as the lector for an online Liturgy of the Word for deaf Catholics.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to help reach thousands of deaf Catholics. My family thinks it’s neat that I’m doing this! Seeing ordinary, humble, deaf people signing the liturgy can be inspiring to others, to know they can too learn the Word,” said Kurt in an e-mail.
Posted @ 1:20 AM
CETRA Bridges Communication with the Deaf and Hearing
In response to increased demand from clients, CETRA is pleased to announce the addition of Sign Language Interpretation to its worldwide translation and interpretation services. Accordingly, CETRA has joined the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). RID, the leading organization in the U.S. representing sign language interpreters, has established a national standard of quality and promotes the continued growth and development of the profession of interpretation and transliteration of American Sign Language and English.
Posted @ 1:20 AM
Deaf couple take a leap to hear in Hear and Now
Imagine living your life deaf since birth.
Imagine meeting and falling in love with your spouse, who is also deaf, and living decades of happy, productive lives in silence.
Imagine finally having the chance to hear. Would you do it ? How would it change you and your relationship ? That’s the basis for a deeply personal documentary today on HBO.
Posted @ 1:19 AM
Deaf student overcomes barriers in the classroom
For most, technology can be considered an "extra" or a "perk," but for the past several months it has been a necessity for Janel Kendall.
Kendall, who is the first deaf full-time student to attend North Central Michigan College, has been using video conferencing for the past semester to connect to interpreters at Southern Illinois University to sign her professors’ in-class lectures.
Posted @ 1:18 AM
Deaf students take over town for a day
For the average person, a day of running errands usually does not mean a day of struggling with communication.
For a deaf person, it is rare to go from the grocer to the bank to the post office with the ease and comfort of being able to communicate in his or her native sign language.
For 140 deaf and hard of hearing children, on May 2 the ability to easily communicate with every person across the city became a reality.
Posted @ 1:16 AM
Sexual assault hot line expands to serve deaf
The Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault has expanded its hot line to serve those who are deaf or hard of hearing, according to an announcement from the organization.
The TYY crisis hotline can be reached at 327-1721 and is operable 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Posted @ 1:15 AM
Trip to Jackson exposes similarities as deaf, hard-of-hearing
The deaf and hard of hearing can do anything except hear, according to B.J. James, audiologist for Centennial BOCES and the Morgan County schools.
In an effort to connect youngsters who share this “low-incidence disability,” students from many northeast Colorado schools gather once each year for an educational field trip. This year’s trip, held Friday afternoon, was at Jackson Lake State Park near Orchard.
Posted @ 1:13 AM
March 13, 2008
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 @ 8:48 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 @ 8:46 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 @ 8:42 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 @ 8:41 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 @ 8:41 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.