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.
Posted @ 8:39 AM
Via Internet, NY doc helps deaf Ugandan man hear
Through the power of Internet technology, medical experts in New York have switched on an inner-ear device, allowing a man in Uganda to hear for the first time in two years.
Activating the device from halfway around the world is a first, and highlights a trailblazing way in which the growing realm of telemedicine - conducting medical procedures from remote locations - can enhance the lives of people in struggling nations.
Posted @ 8:38 AM
Man charged with killing deaf pregnant teen girlfriend
Twenty-seven years after the body of a deaf teenage girl was found in a Palos Township forest preserve, prosecutors say they have solved her murder -- charging her high school boyfriend, who also can't hear.
Gary Albert, now 45, faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly stabbing Dawn Niles more than 30 times. He appeared at a brief hearing at the Bridgeview courthouse Tuesday morning and was being held on $1 million bond.
Posted @ 8:36 AM
Deaf Mother of 3 Denied Service at Restaurant
Karen Putz has been deaf since the age of 19, the result of a rare family gene. As a feature writer for the web site disaboom.com, Putz often chronicles issues relating to those with disabilities, including discrimination.
But it wasn't until she was denied service at an Illinois fast-food restaurant and found herself face-to-face with discrimination that the mother of three wound up writing about herself.
Read Karen Putz's account of her incident on her blog, DeafMom World, in her own words. Watch the ABC News video of her story here.
Posted @ 8:35 AM
February 6, 2008
For a Woman Who Is Unable to Hear, More Difficulties Lie Ahead
For Ramona Palanco, life is silent. It is now becoming darker, too.
Ms. Palanco, who has been deaf since birth, lives with her husband, Gustavo Palanco, and their four children in a duplex apartment on Roosevelt Island. She holds a steady job assembling office chairs at the Pibbs Industries factory in Queens and has joined an online deaf community that speaks in sign language via Web cam.
But some of the light in her life is gradually dimming. Ten years ago, she began to suffer headaches and noticed blurriness in her eyesight. Her peripheral vision darkened; at times, it disappeared completely. A visit to a doctor confirmed the worst: Usher syndrome, a gradual worsening of vision that affects a small percentage of the hearing impaired and leads to complete blindness. At the time of the diagnosis, Ms. Palanco was 26.
Posted @ 2:27 AM
School for Deaf addressing suicide
They live in a world of silence and sometimes isolation. It can be aggravating, maddening and even tormenting.
Courtney Gunville knows well the frustrations of being deaf. The cheerful 19-year-old college freshman was born deaf. She has experienced the anxiety of feeling alone in a roomful of people.
In 2003, Gunville watched a deaf friend slip into such despair that the friend committed suicide.
Both were students at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. So when Gunville learned that the school was launching a suicide prevention program, she was eager to help.
Posted @ 2:26 AM
With an ear for the deaf
To have an ear to hear the pang of the deaf is noble in any way. For Prof. Warren Estabrooks of Canada, it’s a mission too.
Being one among the founding fathers of the Auditory Verbal Therapy, Prof Estabrooks have plenty to share from his own experiences. He had come to Kozhikode for inaugurating one such centre in Kerala - at Govindapuram - for the hearing impaired children.
“Today, with all the available hearing devices and technology, there is no need for our children to remain deaf,’’ he told this news paper. And, implementing the auditory verbal approach could be the first option for these children to relieve themselves from dumbness, he added.
Posted @ 2:25 AM
Verizon Offers More Help to Customers With Disabilities
Consumers who have hearing, visual, cognitive or physical disabilities are receiving more assistance than ever from the Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities (VCCD) in Marlboro.
When the center opened in 1992, it had a staff of six representatives who handled approximately 4,000 calls a year from customers with vision, cognitive, mobility, speech or hearing disabilities. Today, as the center celebrates its 15th anniversary, its staff has grown to more than 100 representatives who now handle some 700,000 calls nationally.
Posted @ 2:22 AM
Through Deaf Eyes makers accept Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University News Award
Makers of the PBS documentary Through Deaf Eyes recently accepted a silver baton as winners of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University 2008 News Award. The award ceremony, held at Columbia University in New York City, honored the creators of 13 documentaries and newscasts chosen from a pool of 510 radio and television news entries that aired in the United States between July 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.
The two-hour documentary, created by Florentine Films/Hott Productions and WETA-TV, Washington, D.C., in association with Gallaudet University, follows 200 years of deaf life in the United States. The award was presented at an event fitting to the art forms it celebrated, showing glimpses of the touching, colorful, thought-provoking, and groundbreaking documentary winners.
Posted @ 2:21 AM
Deaf man opens store dedicated to unusual plants
A visitor to The Silent Seed can open the door with a loud squeak and slam it behind her. A few feet away, hunched over his indoor flower bed, owner Jude Platteborze will never look up.
A light tap on his back, however, stirs Platteborze into action. He straightens up with a wide smile and extends his hand, nodding, leading the visitor into the store.
He makes her feel welcome without uttering one word. He has to.
Posted @ 2:20 AM
Oldest Deaf Man in NY Turns 105
It was a grand celebration for a man believed to be the oldest deaf man in New York State.
Cliff Leach turned 105 years old earlier this week. Saturday, the Advocates for Housing for Deaf Seniors, as well his friends and family put together a surprise birthday party for him.
Cliff credits his health with staying active late into life. He regularly bowled and golfed until he was about 90 years old.
He says he still wants to get out and play America's pastime.
"I played baseball for many, many years, in the semi-pro league. More than 20 years, that's how I kept in such good shape," Cliff said.
Longevity runs in Cliff's family. He has a 98-year-old sister living in Virginia.
Posted @ 2:19 AM
January 16, 2008
Silence is Golden
I was sound asleep when I finally accepted the fact that I have a significant hearing loss in my left ear. Lying on my right side with my "good" ear pressed firmly into the pillow, I didn't hear the telephone ring until my man, Spud, kicked me under the covers to answer it.
At first, I thought post-nasal drip had blocked my sinuses. When decongestants did not relieve the symptoms, I blamed it on the Florida trip from which we had just returned.
Having traveled by plane, I surmised my ears still were under high-altitude pressure. No matter how much I swallowed, though, it didn't help . . . nor did pinching my nose and forcing air into my Eustachian tubes, which resulted in nothing more than stuck-together nostrils.
I decided to give it some time to self correct until the ringing began about a week later. Actually, it's not ringing. It's more of a high-pitch squeal that constantly reminds me that something weird is going on inside my head.
So I began self-testing my hearing by scratching my right shoulder to listen to the sound it made and then scratching my left to listen to . . . nothing.
Posted @ 7:19 AM
Problems persist at School for Deaf
State education officials hoped the hiring of a new director at the Rhode Island School for the Deaf would put the school on an upward path.
Lori Dunsmore, the school’s fourth director in six years, started in September with plans to change the school’s instructional practices and culture after years of troubles that include discontent with the deteriorating condition of the 60-year-old school building, inconsistent leadership, low test scores and poor morale.
Posted @ 7:14 AM
Deaf Puppy Heads to Chicago
60 pounds of love. That's what one Savannah couple is calling their foster rescue dog, a pit bull puppy named Casino. For months, the couple's been searching for the "right home for him." We say that because Casino has a disability. One not everybody may be able to deal with. NEWS 3'S Tristan Tully has the story of the affectionate pooch and his road trip of a lifetime.
Lovable doesn't quite seem to cover the bases when talking about this handsome pup. Cynthia Sharpley and her husband took Casino in as a foster dog after one of her husband's coworkers found him in downtown Savannah. Little did they know, Casino would touch their lives as much as they touched his, "His face, I mean you look at his face and you just fall in love with him. I mean those big ears and the eyes..."
Posted @ 7:10 AM
Interpreter is link for deaf girl, Sartell church
The word of God is not only heard at Messiah Lutheran Church, it's seen.
The Sartell church has taken the unusual step of hiring a sign language interpreter for its Sunday school and Sunday service to accommodate a St. Cloud family with a daughter who is deaf.
"It is one of the moments where the opportunity was presented to us to minister to this family, and we went ahead with it," said the Rev. Vince Bain, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church.
Posted @ 7:08 AM
Deaf Use Online Interpreter In Aberdeen
With more deaf students than interpreters, Aberdeen Central High School has been struggling to serve deaf students. The administration hasn't been able to find additional interpreters in the area, so they are getting help from technology.
If ever there's been such a thing as educational TV, this is it.
"Well because here at school, we have three deaf students, but only have two interpreters," Joseph Hagen said.
Posted @ 7:07 AM
Gallaudet announces honorary degree and professor emeritus awards
Four very deserving individuals were selected to receive honors on May 16 at Gallaudet’s 139th Commencement exercises. Mr. Ed Bosson, ’66, widely known as the “Father of Video Relay Service,” and Mr. Charles Williams, a community activist and former member of the Board of Trustees, will be awarded honorary doctorate degrees. Drs. Virginia Gutman, who will retire this spring, and John Van Cleve, who retired this fall, will be named professors emeriti.
Bosson began his quest to bring video communication to the deaf and hard of hearing community in the early 1990s when he persuaded the Texas Public Utility Commission to test a video conference product to see if it could be a viable form of communication for deaf and hard of hearing people.
Posted @ 7:07 AM
San Antonio suburb refuses permit for deaf seminarians
The City Council in this San Antonio-area community has refused to allow deaf seminarians to use a nine-bedroom house as a study center.
The council voted 3-2 Tuesday to deny a special-use permit sought by the nonprofit House of Studies for Deaf Seminarians to use the home as a study center for hearing-impaired priests.
The city's zoning law allows up to five unrelated people to live in the 8,100-square-foot, nine-bedroom, nine-bath house, but the Rev. Tom Coughlin had sought a permit to allow the religious community to grow larger.
Posted @ 7:06 AM
Deaf dog needs help to get home
It's hard enough to lose a pet, but Helen Margiotta has a bond with her beagle, Clyde, that transcends the typical pet/person relationship. Both Margiotta and Clyde are deaf.
Margiotta adopted Clyde last winter after a close friend found him abandoned, flea-covered and starving.
Since then Helen and Clyde have developed a special relationship.
Posted @ 7:05 AM
Richardson teen's 'Ref for the Deaf' lets athletes feel officials' signals
Celia Beron isn't known for compassion on the soccer field. The wily eighth-grader from Richardson has a reputation for steals and blocked kicks, and she has the trophy collection to prove it.
These days, she's capturing attention for a major assist to other athletes, but she didn't use her legs. She used her heart.
Celia, 13, invented Ref for the Deaf, a special bracelet that vibrates for deaf players who can't hear the sound of a referee's whistle or starter gun.
Posted @ 7:05 AM
Deputies nab teens accused of assaulting deaf man on bus
A quick response by Wayne County Sheriff's deputies assigned to patrol a Detroit Department of Transportation bus led to the arrest of two teens accused of assaulting and robbing a deaf passenger.
Sheriff Warren C. Evans said today that about 3 p.m. Saturday, deputies responded to a complaint of a disabled man who had been the victim of an assault on a coach at Meyers and Curtis on the city's west side. The victim, 36-year-old Highland Park man, was on his way home when the incident happened.
Posted @ 7:03 AM
December 28, 2007
Bellevue Woman Advocates for Deaf Community
Bellevue resident Betty Timon knows what it's like to watch a movie or television show and not understand a thing.
It's not because of a confusing plot or storyline. She's deaf and captioning isn't always available.
This personal understanding of the hardships that deaf and hard of hearing people face has lead Timon to dedicate much of her time to making life better for them.
Posted @ 8:52 AM
Deaf by Design
In October 2004, Carina Dennis published an article in the journal Nature telling the story of a couple identified pseudonymously as John and Karen. The two of them were deaf, and they wished to take advantage of genetic screening to deliberately conceive a deaf child.[1] Their desire to create a child that would inherit their disability raised a number of interesting questions, which must have promptly been forgotten, since I just heard about all this today.
Those questions are raised again in an article published a few days ago in the Sunday Times of London, under the headline “Deaf demand right to designer deaf children.” A bill currently making its way through the House of Lords, the Human Tissue and Embryos Bill, would, if passed, make it illegal for parents in the U.K. to deliberately select for artificial insemination an embryo with a genetic abnormality if other, healthier embryos exist.
Posted @ 8:49 AM
Deaf foster children find a home closer to home
He has bounced from foster home to foster home and state to state over the past decade, searching for a permanent place to lead a normal life.
Such has been the plight of deaf children with emotional or psychological scars who are part of San Diego County's foster care system.
But that same boy is now 17 and an aspiring artist who attends high school and lives in a spacious house tucked in a residential neighborhood in Chula Vista, closer to relatives and friends he had long forgotten.
Posted @ 8:47 AM
Court affirms real-time captioning for 2nd deaf student
The school district last week lost a second battle in its fight to keep from providing a real-time captioning service for two deaf students at Glendora High School.
A state judge ordered the Glendora Unified School District to begin offering the service to Victor Solorzano, 15. In May, Victor's sister Samantha, 17, won her own case against the district, which dropped its appeal of that decision in October.
The two siblings say they need the service - in which an aide rapidly transcribes class discussion onto a laptop seen by the captioning user.
Posted @ 8:45 AM
School for the Deaf and the Blind president retiring
The president of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind is receiving accolades from colleagues, students and others as she prepares to retire next week.
Sheila Breitweiser plans to spend more time with her family.
"She said she would like to make the school the best of its kind in the country, and she's done that," said Norman Pulliam, the former board member who hired Breitweiser in 1996. The school "under 11 years of her leadership is pretty much considered the top school of its kind in this country."
Posted @ 8:44 AM
Sign of the season
Two hands moved with every spoken word as one congregation member watched intently on the day’s service.
Bradley Price, a deaf member of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Louisbourg, is a regular fixture at the church’s Sunday services. One day each month, Price is able to watch the hands of interpreter Wendy MacDonald of Sydney, as she signs the entire service including its choir songs.
“It was beautiful — seeing it in sign — the music was just beautiful, it made everything come to life for me and made me feel part of the service,” said Price as interpreted through MacDonald.
Posted @ 8:42 AM
Parents taught new Ole Miss coach Nutt lessons that led to his success
Decades before he would hear thundering cheers in college football, Houston Nutt's life was shaped by silence.
Mississippi's new coach learned most of the principles he would use in the profession whiling away the hours of his childhood at the Arkansas School for the Deaf, where his parents taught.
He learned communication, perseverance, compassion and the value of hard work as he watched his father, Houston, and mother, Emogene, dedicate themselves to improve the lives of deaf children.
Posted @ 8:41 AM
New thumb comes with new language for a deaf 4-year-old girl
The halls leading to the children's classrooms of the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Edgewood are adorned with the artwork of youngsters. Tiny paper hands, the colorful outlines traced in crayon and cut with scissors, bear the carefully scrawled names of the children who created them.
The hands speak to you.
Dr. Nancy Benham, coordinator for the parent-infant program at the school, walks down a hall into the classroom where her 4-year-old daughter, Grace, is learning American Sign Language.
Posted @ 8:37 AM
Award given to Williamsburg filmmakers
Filmmaker Diane K. Garey and her husband, Lawrence R. Hott, will receive one of 13 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University 2008 Awards for broadcast journalism in January.
Their film "Through Deaf Eyes" was one of 510 submitted for consideration.
"We were very surprised," she said. The film made for the Public Broadcasting System was submitted by public television for the award.
Posted @ 8:36 AM
Deaf community still at risk
The State Member for Gympie, David Gibson MP, is calling on Anna Bligh to go further in protecting all Deaf Queenslanders with a proposal to financially assist the hearing impaired purchase special smoke alarms.
"We had the Government saying back in October that "Smoke alarms are an important life saving initiative, and the Government has recognised the needs of the hearing-impaired community by developing this proposal." quoted Mr Gibson.
Posted @ 8:35 AM
$1.2 Million RIT/NTID Entrepreneurial Scholarship Announced
A Florida-based charity that provides educational opportunities to the disadvantaged or disabled has donated $600,000 for deaf and hard-of-hearing Rochester Institute of Technology students eager to become entrepreneurs.
The Johnson Scholarship Foundation’s Endowed Scholarship for Innovation & Entrepreneurship will annually award $5,000 to 12 RIT students studying entrepreneurship and who receive support services through RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
Posted @ 8:33 AM
Children of deaf parents honored at party
Six children were honored Thursday at a party with meals and gifts for all the things they've done to help their deaf parents.
Thursday's party ---- at the Sizzlers restaurant in Escondido ---- was sponsored by Signs of Silence.
The San Marcos-based nonprofit advocacy group for the deaf and hearing impaired paid for the event with a $1,000 donation from The Giving Challenge, a national nonprofit that doles out money to groups helping other people in exchange for a videotape of the experience for its Web site.
Posted @ 8:32 AM
Sound advocate pioneers new health care approach
Sheri Byrne-Haber has a winning streak any lawyer would envy.
Since she launched a program in 2004 challenging health insurers' denials of a device that allows the deaf to hear, the East Palo Alto-based attorney has won every one of the 325 cases now completed. Hundreds more appeals are in the works, and the odds aren't in the insurance companies' favor.
When she and her clients prevail, however, Byrne-Haber noted they don't get a dime in reparation. All her clients get is the ability to hear.
Posted @ 8:31 AM
Woman leaves millions to university for the deaf
Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., has received more than six million dollars from a Fredericksburg woman who left the bulk of her estate to the university for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Virginia May Binns, a bacteriologist, was 89 when she died last year.
The money will be used to help fund a new language and communication center at the school.
Posted @ 8:30 AM
December 17, 2007
An Earful About Hearing
If your hearing isn't as good as it used to be, you may be thinking about getting a hearing aid.
Then again, there's a good chance you can't be bothered, even though you find yourself cranking up the volume on the TV set or asking a friend sitting next to you to speak up.
Hearing loss affects more than 28 million Americans. With baby boomers starting to turn 60 last year, that number is expected to nearly double by 2030, according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. The likelihood of losing your hearing increases as you get older, with up to one in three people older than 65 having some kind of hearing loss, according to the association.
Although 95 percent of Americans with a hearing loss can be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 22 percent (or 6.35 million individuals) now use hearing aids.
Posted @ 9:54 PM
Opening Up a World of Sound
When 1-year-old Gregory Moeller heard sound for the first time last month, he furrowed his blond eyebrows in puzzlement. Then he made a series of babbling sounds.
"He's hearing something,'' said Annie Vranesic, a pediatric audiologist at the Let Them Hear Foundation in East Palo Alto.
Two weeks earlier, Gregory had received cochlear implants, sophisticated devices enabling the deaf boy to hear the same sounds as everyone else, albeit in a different tone. During this visit, Vranesic turned on one of the surgically implanted devices.
Posted @ 9:51 PM
Caravan to carry gifts to Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
When Norma Rea of Ponte Vedra Beach learned that some children at The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind didn't have coats for the winter, she decided to do something about it.
An e-mail from a friend who was involved in a campaign to get donations of clothing for the St. Augustine school asked Rea to check her daughters' closets to see if they had any coats or jackets they had outgrown.
Rea decided not to stop there.
Posted @ 9:47 PM
Interpreters for the deaf give justice a voice
Justice may be blind, but it isn’t deaf.
Gary Cacciatore of Colorado Sign Language Services and other certified sign language interpreters make sure of that.
For more than 10 years, Cacciatore has provided sign language services for defendants and jurors in the 4th Judicial District.
Much like witnesses who get sworn in, interpreters take courtroom oaths to be truthful. They are paid by the state, which also funds language interpreters for non-Englishspeaking defendants.
Posted @ 9:43 PM
Deaf students sign gift lists to Santa
With eyes glowing, and genuinely bouncing with excitement, a collection of youngsters who can't hear Santa's booming "ho, ho, ho" climbed on the old elf's lap and silently shared their Christmas wishes.
The younsters are students of Butte County Office of Education's deaf and hard-of-hearing, special-ed classes in Durham, where they had a chance Wednesday to "sign" their lists to Santa's surrogate, Jerry Kaminski of Magalia. Kaminski is also deaf and signs.
Nicole Happich-Bowhall, who teaches in the Durham-based program, said this is the first time a signing Santa has come to the school.
Posted @ 9:40 PM
Technology removes ‘dis’ from ability
Bill Johnson is deaf, as were both his parents and many relatives. In the 1940s and ’50s, as Johnson was growing up in Iowa, family members had no easy way to give advance notice when they wished to visit a deaf relative.
They just piled into the car and drove to the residence.
If the relative wasn’t home, they left a note in the box that all deaf families kept outside their homes and drove back.
Posted @ 9:39 PM
Texas School for the Deaf dresses Scarbrough windows
Want a unique opportunity to enjoy some holiday window-gazing while learning something about the young deaf artists who attend Texas School for the Deaf, as well as about their unique culture and the distinguished history of their school? Visit the Scarbrough Building at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue.
Through Jan. 12, the Scarbrough windows are adorned with large 4-foot-by-8-foot holiday multimedia posters depicting still photos of students signing holiday carols, hanging photo montages and elementary student “holiday hand” mobiles. Reflecting the technology that the school is known for, large flat-screen TVs bring to life the work of video technology and digital graphics students teamed up with students studying American Sign Language as a foreign language in a compilation of movies and animated holiday sequences.
Posted @ 9:38 PM
Viable Brings on Carla Mathers as Staff Attorney
Viable Inc. welcomes Carla Mathers, Esq. to the company as its corporate legal counsel. Viable develops and provides relay service technologies, and Mathers will represent Viable on regulatory issues and counsel on in-house matters.
Mathers comes from 14 years in private practice in College Park, Md., where she was a senior associate litigating primarily employment cases. Among her areas of legal expertise are employment law, contracts and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. She has represented deaf and hard of hearing clients in lawsuits regarding access to interpreting and telecommunications services.
Posted @ 9:37 PM
Woman killed in Moreno Valley fire remembered for smile
Several hundred people gathered Saturday to honor Melissa Phoenix, one of two women who died in a mobile home fire Dec. 2 in Moreno Valley.
Friends and family recalled her inclination to take care of everyone and her hunger to learn, both in her classes for deaf students and in mainstream classes.
"It was not enough to learn signs. She wanted to learn how to spell the words in English as well, and even in Spanish," her uncle, Richard Langton, said during the service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Jackson Street in Riverside.
Posted @ 9:34 PM
November 28, 2007
UVa Researchers Lend Aid to Future Hearing Studies
Researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a new method of growing inner-ear hair cells that will aid research to help people regain their hearing.
Dr. Jeffrey T. Corwin, a professor of neuroscience at the UVa Health System, and Dr. Zhengqing Hu, a neuroscience research assistant, have been growing cells from inner ears of chicken embryos. They hope to extend that knowledge to re-grow the inner-ear hair cells of humans.
Mammals grow inner-ear hair cells only before they are born, unlike amphibians and birds, which can re-grow damaged or lost cells. These unique structures are lost over time as mammals age, or if they contract certain infections or undergo trauma. The loss of inner-ear hair cells results in hearing loss and balance impairment.
Posted @ 7:14 AM
Are movies too loud?
After an Eyewitness News viewer contacted us because she's concerned about the volume coming out of theater speakers, we decided to go undercover for our latest investigation.
It's just another night out at the movies. But could you be in for more than a good time?
Marjorie Hopkins lives in Pinehurst. She wrote to us after she saw a movie with her grandson that she says was too loud.
"He almost immediately put his hands over his ears and a little while later started crying and said it hurt it hurt," says Hopkins. "We had to take him out of the movie," she continued, "We didn't even stay to see the end because it hurt his ears too badly."
Posted @ 7:03 AM
Sudden deafness leaves doctors at a loss
Question: I went to bed one Thursday evening, and, when I awoke that Friday morning, my hearing in my left ear was gone. I am a healthy person and have not had any injuries. I did, however, have some medical testing done within the two months prior to my hearing loss. The first was a CT scan, in which they injected me with dye to look at a joint in my clavicle. The other was a biopsy of my thyroid gland.
I went to the local urgent-care facility that day, and they found my ear to be normal except for the hearing loss. I do not have any vertigo or any other symptoms, only the hearing loss. The doctor ordered an MRI and put me on prednisone. I have since been referred to an ear-nose-and-throat specialist. He has performed numerous hearing tests. Yes, my hearing in the left ear is completely gone. He then put me on a stronger dose of prednisone that started with 60 milligrams per day and went down from there. Nothing has worked. I have an appointment with another ENT specialist in order to get a second opinion. Do you have any further ideas?
Posted @ 7:01 AM
Program checks babies for hearing problems
Student Cody Grassham wrapped a blanket tightly around a squirming newborn.
Within seconds, the baby quieted and Grassham went to work, attaching small sensors and earphones to the sleeping infant.
Grassham is a newborn-hearing screener at UNM Hospital, part of a team that tests every child born at the hospital for hearing problems.
"The earlier a hearing problem is diagnosed and treated, the better the chance that person will develop normally - physically and socially," Grassham said.
Alumnus Andre Roybal, also a hearing screener, said the hospital screens about 4,000 babies a year.
Posted @ 7:00 AM
Millville church reaches out to deaf
Jane Layton's hands flowed with movement as the Rev. Dan Gardner spoke.
Through scripture readings, hymns and even general conversation, Layton signed through the 11 a.m. service for the two people sitting in the front pew who would be lost without her help.
Open Bible Baptist Church, a small building turned church on a quieter part of Main Street, east of downtown Millville, started a deaf ministries service three weeks ago.
During the regular Sunday services, Layton or another signer will speak to the congregation through sign language so anyone who wants can learn the lessons Gardner preaches.
Posted @ 6:55 AM
Indiana Deaf seeks to build on best season
It was the greatest football season in the history of the Indiana School for the Deaf . . . and it wasn't enough for the players.
"Our boys took it really hard when we could not clinch the sectional title," coach Michael Paulone said in an e-mail after the 27-8 loss to Cardinal Ritter. "How long it will take for them to move on is something I can't tell you. Our boys were crushed but we believe that after the pain has gone, they will come to the realization that they had (the school's) best football season ever."
Posted @ 6:54 AM
Opening doors for deaf clients
Five years ago, the staff at Ken Gan's auto-repair shop told him they needed to find a better way of communicating with customers who were deaf.
"I said: 'Let me go shopping. I'll buy you whatever's out there,' " said Gan, of Rochester, N.Y., which has a significant community of deaf people.
For three months, Gan came up empty-handed. There wasn't anything in the market to facilitate face-to-face communication in a situation such as a shop or office.
Posted @ 6:54 AM
A deaf person's passion for cooking
Deafness has not deterred Chua Tick Seng from becoming an award-winning chef.
Looking relaxed and youthful, 25-year-old Chua Tick Seng is a far cry from the typical rotund chefs we see in movies.
No one would have guessed that this talented lad, who whipped up his first dish – fried eggs – at the age of nine, would win the Best Apprentice Award at this year’s Culinaire Malaysia cooking competition.
Posted @ 6:51 AM
Study examines healthcare for deaf
Deaf people are being invited to take part in the first UK survey to identify their general state of health and their access to medical care.
SignHealth, the national society for mental health and deafness, has commissioned a study similar to research carried out in Austria, which found there are higher incidents of diabetes, asthma and hypertension among deaf people.
Posted @ 6:51 AM
Anthology of gay deaf writers illuminates intriguing queer subculture
Jon A. Kastrup, a deaf gay man, has loved art since his youth in the 1970s. Yet, Kastrup became a mechanical engineer and a lawyer because he felt the need to prove himself in the hearing world. He later found happiness when he moved to San Francisco and became an artist. “Would I have been an artist if I were hearing?” Kastrup wrote in a recent essay, “I do not know. I could have stayed on as a lawyer … dealing with money-grubbing clients.”
Posted @ 6:50 AM
Tennessee School for the Deaf faculty members are living legacy
For nearly three decades, Barry Swafford has been instructing, coaching and befriending students at the Tennessee School for the Deaf in South Knoxville.
It's an impressive tenure, made even more interesting by the fact he also grew up on campus. In fact, his family album is a virtual history book for the school.
"First, my grandfather came here in the early 1900s," says Swafford.
Posted @ 6:48 AM
Deaf Student Still Aims at Music Career
While he can hear only extremely loud noises and communicates by means of typing on a computer, Vichay Phommachan recently took advantage of an opportunity to fulfill his dream to be the next American Idol.
The 22-year-old living in Tecumseh says his goal is to become the first Asian-American deaf male artist and entertainer.
Although he was born able to hear, Phommachan became deaf after having a high fever when he was 3 years old.
He recently auditioned for the "American Idol" television show in Omaha.
Because Phommachan is unable to communicate verbally, his singing style during the 30-second audition consisted of him interpreting the lyrics of the song through sign language.
Posted @ 6:47 AM
Signs of Friendship
Lots of people make friends with their co-workers. Few go so far as to learn a second language to communicate with them.
That's the story of Timothy Lopez and Brandon Bearce.
The duo have been hauling away piles of discarded furniture, yard debris and other materials for three years as employees of 1-800-GOT- JUNK?, a junk removal service with a branch in Stanislaus County.
Posted @ 6:46 AM
National Deaf Academy Announces New CEO
The National Deaf Academy has announced a new CEO to continue to grow the vision of its founder, Alan Cohen, MD. Dr. Cohen founded NDA in 2000 and it continues to be the nation's only mental health facility to exclusively serve the needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing clients as well as autistic individuals with communication disorders.
Steven Fahey was chosen to lead National Deaf Academy as CEO under new owners, Psychiatric Solutions Inc. Steve has been with NDA since July of 2007, and fully transitioned into the position of CEO, replacing Dr. Cohen, in October. Fahey said he is thrilled to be part of this special organization that offers a unique level of care to the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and autistic community.
Posted @ 6:45 AM
Deaf student fights for help
After a yearlong legal battle, a deaf student at Glendora High School won the right to have an in-class, real-time transcription service.
Now her younger brother, also deaf and a freshman at the high school, is fighting to get the same service.
The two teenagers, Samantha and Victor Solorzano, believe that almost-instantaneous transcription will let them better participate in discussions. But the Glendora Unified School District is continuing to fight against providing a personal transcriber for Victor.
Posted @ 6:44 AM
Principal of hearing, deaf school bristles at school's failing grade
If you believe city educrats, the American Sign Language and English Dual Language secondary school is the single worst school in New York.
Of 1,224 schools given grades by the Education Department this month, the middle school at the former Public School 47 had the lowest score. The high school, which did only slightly better, also earned an F.
But the principal of the innovative Manhattan school that mixes deaf and hearing students in classes taught simultaneously in English and sign language says his school - or at least about a sixth of his students - should be judged by different criteria.
Posted @ 6:43 AM
Gallaudet Taken Off Probation, Putting It Closer to Reaccreditation
Gallaudet University is no longer on probation, its president, Robert Davila, announced last night.
"We are not finished, but we are on our way back," Davila said.
The school in Northeast Washington, known internationally as a center for deaf education, was put on probation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education this summer after a turbulent year. In October 2006, protesters angry over the choice of a new president shut the campus down for several days by blocking the entrances.
Posted @ 6:42 AM
November 6, 2007
A Lost Sense Sparked Scientific Quest
Brad Buran lost his hearing when he was 14 months old, after meningitis damaged the hair cells of his cochlea. He was still a baby, but he can remember a musical train that ran a