Seeking more than $1 million in damages, Juan Jose Garcia and Esther Garcia filed a lawsuit June 4 in Jefferson County District Court against Motiva Enterprises.

The couple claims Juan Garcia, who works as a carpenter for Austin Maintenance and Construction, was performing subcontract work at Motiva's refinery in Port Arthur on Dec. 3.

"As he passed by an enclosed bank of transformers a transformer exploded, making a deafening sound, and caught on fire," the suit states.

In addition to his hearing loss, Juan Garcia sustained head injuries that have affected his balance and equilibrium, the complaint says.

At the time he filed the complaint, Juan Garcia said he still has not been released to return to work, where he was making $26 per hour and a per diem payment per week of about $400. He had a work expectancy of about 17 more years.

"He has a life expectancy of at least 28 more years during which time he will be hearing disabled and will require the use of hearing aides," the complaint states.

Because of the incident, Juan Garcia incurred medical costs, lost wages and his wage earning capacity, experienced pain, suffering, mental anguish and physical impairment and lost his enjoyment of life, according to the complaint. He also suffered emotional distress and nervous shock, the suit states.

Esther Garcia says she suffered loss of consortium and loss of household services.

According to the plaintiffs, Motiva failed to provide a safe work place, failed to properly inspect the transformer in question, failed to maintain the transformer, failed to maintain the integrity of a safe work place, failed to discover that a hazardous condition existed, failed to warn Jose Garcia that a dangerous condition existed and allowed a dangerous condition to exist.

In addition to $1 million, the Garcias are seeking pre- and post-judgment interest at the legal rate, court costs and other relief to which they may be entitled.

Gregory W. Allen of Houston will be representing them.

The case has been assigned to Judge Milton Shuffield, 136th District Court.

http://www.setexasrecord.com/news/219497-carpenter-seeks-1m-over-hearing-loss-while-working-at-motiva

Justus was aiming to make what Ernst heard through the computerized device closely resemble the nuanced notes that used to come through her trained musician's ears. A retired teacher and choir director, Ernst is one of an estimated 36 million Americans with hearing loss, but one of only about 38,000 who have received cochlear implants.

"At first, all voices came through like they were computer-generated," said Ernst, who received her implant in May and uses a conventional hearing aid in her other ear. "If I had just my implant, I couldn't tell the difference between a male and a female."

Hearing loss is often age-related, affecting nearly half of people older than 75, so the numbers will increase dramatically as baby boomers hit their Social Security years. The industry has already seen 20 percent growth in recent years. Manufacturers such as Med-El, an Austrian company with U.S. headquarters in Durham, compete by sharpening their customers' ability to enjoy music as well as pick out conversation in crowded and noisy settings.

"Music is a particularly difficult thing to restore with a cochlear implant because so many different things go into it," said Dr. David Kaylie, a Duke hearing specialist and neurologist.

Pitch, rhythm and timbre all contribute to the overall impression music makes, Kaylie said, and to a lesser degree make up the elements of speech. Ernst, who taught music in Long Island schools for 30 years, says her ability to distinguish speech has improved dramatically while working with Justus and others at Duke.

"I could understand what my husband said without looking at him and without reading his lips," she said. "I wouldn't even answer the phone, and now I can. Those two things have been very positive and encouraging."

But Ernst is still working on hearing music.

"I know that will take more time because it is a much more complex sound than speech," she said. Ernst has gotten encouragement from people such as Ruth Miller, a resident of Chapel Hill, N.C., who performed on piano, trumpet and French horn before having profound hearing loss.

"Music has become much more enjoyable for me," said Miller, 65, who has had two cochlear implants for about five years. "And I understand they are coming out with new programming to address that issue."

The Holy Grail, according to Kaylie, is a device under development that combines the properties of a conventional hearing aid with digital enhancements in the same ear. "That's going to be the big thing," he said.

http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/43721

Rizwan Patel, 27, and Alliah Bradshaw, 29, of Hebden Bridge, pleaded guilty to child cruelty at an earlier hearing at Bradford Crown Court.

The court heard the baby was left brain-damaged, blind and deaf due to a lack of medical attention.

Patel had also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm after admitting shaking his daughter so hard "in a fit of temper" he broke nine of her ribs and her collar bone.

'Obvious pain'

The judge who jailed the couple described their actions as "inexplicable, deplorable and indefensible".

The court heard the baby was placed on the Child Protection Register after Bradshaw, a drug addict, had two other children in her care taken from her for neglect and ill-treatment.

The girl, known as Baby H for legal reasons, was born addicted to drugs because of her mother's drug problem and suffered withdrawal symptoms in the days following her birth.

The court heard social services from Calderdale Council were "determined to keep a watchful eye" on the child but it was deemed "appropriate" for her to remain with the couple on her release from hospital.

Health and support workers visited regularly and advised Patel and Bradshaw to take their daughter to hospital for an X-ray on her legs when she was in "obvious and demonstrable pain".

But the couple failed to take her and lied to the professionals about booking an appointment.

Patel admitted shaking Baby H one evening when Bradshaw went out to buy drugs and did not come home until the following morning.

He said he was anxious about Bradshaw and became angry when his daughter would not stop crying.

The couple did not initially seek medical attention for these injuries or when Baby H became increasingly unwell, vomiting and passing blood. Patel eventually took her to the doctor.

Cerebral palsy

Baby H was immediately rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where she was diagnosed with septicaemia and meningitis, as well as fractures to her legs, ribs and collar bone.

Sentencing the couple, Judge Jonathan Rose said: "These actions were inexplicable, deplorable and indefensible.

"The consequences of her untreated illnesses was that this baby suffered brain damage, she has blindness, she has deafness, she has required surgical intervention, she has cerebral palsy.

"The real suffering is to come for a long time in the future because her life has been effectively ruined. She is condemned to a future of suffering, she will need constant and indefinite care."

A serious case review is currently being carried out into the neglect of Baby H and is due to be published later this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bradford/8082478.stm

Students from elementary schools, junior and senior highs and KSD alumni said KSD provides barrier-free communication where all staff, teachers and students can communicate freely in sign language. The result, they said, is education is good at KSD.

One deaf student said it was hard to understand her public school teachers and other students when they do not know how to communicate in sign language. One student said she felt isolated because she could not communicate with anyone in sign language, except with her interpreter, who only understood some sign language.

One interpreter told me it is common in some small public schools to hire interpreters who learn sign language while interpreting for a deaf student.

The quality of interpreting provided to deaf students in some public schools is simply not good. Even with good interpreters, some deaf students have not done well.

It’s hard to blame smaller school districts, which typically may have only one or two deaf students. There’s also the problem of finding qualified interpreters in rural Kansas.

Because of annual state tests, school districts and parents realize it is important to have KSD as a choice for education for their deaf students. Some deaf students who transfer to KSD have lower reading, writing, and math test scores. KSD staff has done a great job to raise many of these students’ education skills.

Unfortunately, there is more bad news on the horizon. The interpreter training program at the Cowley Community College branch in Wichita closed last year. The program at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City will close this year. Only Johnson County Community College has an interpreter training program.

The interpreter shortage, which already hurts rural Kansas, will get worse in bigger cities.

Deaf education in some public schools will continue to suffer. Fortunately, KSD is still a viable option for deaf students.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/neighborhood/olathe/story/1230567.html

The second we attach her magnet, her vocalization goes through the roof," said Jalena Pitzo, Reya's mother. "She is singing, humming, and she does that all day long until we take it off at night, and then she's quiet again."

The Pitzos were lucky: Their insurance, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, covered both of Reya's cochlear implants. That's not always the case, said Dr. Nancy Puetz, an audiologist with the Wausau School District.

"The implant is a surgical procedure," Puetz said. "You're looking at extensive costs regarding an implant, upwards of $50,000 to $60,000."

A new law, unique to Wisconsin, will require that health insurers cover the cost of hearing aids and cochlear implants for children. Puetz said the bill, authored by Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, and signed into law in late May, addresses a real need.

When the advcacy group Wisconsin Families for Hands & Voices surveyed families in 2007, it found that 54 percent of parents it surveyed did not have insurance that covered any kind of hearing aid or cochlear implant.

There are foundations that provide funding, Puetz said, like the Children's Miracle Network and the Lion's Club, and there is a program that allows clinical audiologists to give "loaner" hearing aids to children.

"But all of that takes time," Puetz said. "There's always the time factor. You need to get hearing aids for that child."

'Through broken glass'

The external parts of a cochlear implant, sometimes called a "bionic ear," look a bit like a traditional hearing aid. But unlike hearing aids, they do not simply amplify sound.

"The implant bypasses the ear altogether," Puetz said. "Electrodes implanted in the inner ear don't even go through the cochlea. It directly stimulates the inner ear, and bypasses the damaged ear."

The result is that those who are deaf or severely hard of hearing are given access to the audible world. The way they experience sound is not precisely the same as the way we do, but it is similar enough that they are able to carry on spoken conversations.

"The best way I can describe it, based on adults who have lost hearing and then had (cochlear implants) ... is that it's like listening through broken glass," Puetz said.

Still, there is a process, including auditory training and "listening therapy," to teach even very young children with cochlear implants how to hear.

"When you put on glasses, it's fixed," said Barbara Arndt, a deaf and hard of hearing teacher with Wausau schools. "It's not like that when you get a cochlear implant. As a baby, you have heard words from the day you were born. ... These kids haven't heard that."

With Reya, for example, Puetz said she has her practice identifying the sounds different animals make without letting Reya read her lips. And although Pitzo and her husband, Joe, have been sanguine about what an implant can and cannot do, that is not the case with all parents.

"That's another huge issue: unrealistic expectations of what an implant does," Puetz said. "It doesn't just make you hear. There is a lot of work and rehabilitation that has to take place."

Puetz also emphasized the importance of parents making decisions early in their children's lives, as soon as they find out their kids have severe or profound hearing loss. The sooner the cochlear implants are added, the sooner children can adapt to the hearing world.

Kai Jones, 25, of Wausau learned that her daughter Jayda was deaf at the hospital just after she was born.

"I almost went through a denial stage," Jones said. "I kept thinking, well it's just mild (hearing loss), or she's just a baby. Once we had the final diagnosis at 7 months, it was like, OK, now we know for sure. Where do we go from here?"

The first thing Jones did was start learning American Sign Language.

"That was her main source of communication," Jones said.

Jones also got her daughter involved with the deaf community through a mentor program that provides families with social and sign-language support, through social events and networking with other families of deaf children. For her, the process of getting cochlear implants for her now-3-year-old daughter -- Jayda has one implant, and will have a second surgery this summer -- was secondary.

Opposition from the deaf

For some in the deaf community, though, the idea of a cochlear implant is something of an insult, and its promotion in state law is a sign of discriminatory attitudes.

"I'm against it, myself, because it's not worth it to have people having surgery to make them able to hear," said Patsy Mais, 57, of Wausau.

Mais, who spoke through a video-phone interpreter, has been deaf since she was about 3 years old. She belongs to the Wausau-Rib Mountain Association of the Deaf, a group that provides social support and resources to deaf people locally.

"I know that parents are wrong," Mais said. "They should leave their children as they are. If they are deaf, whether they are born deaf or if they grow and become deaf, they can learn sign language. They can learn deaf culture and they can associate with other deaf people."

"God made them that way," Mais added.

Mais was echoing the opinion of many within the deaf culture. A group called Audism Free America (AUDISM FREE AMERICA) circulated an online petition requesting that Gov. Jim Doyle not sign the cochlear implants bill into law.

"The notion that being deaf is an affliction and an abomination which alienates one from society ... is a myth," the petition said. "Not only is there a danger that some infants and children can be harmed by cochlear implants, there is also the potential danger that people interpret this bill to mean that they must have their child implanted."

The petition asked that, if the bill were to be signed, that it be amended to include insurance coverage for the removal of cochlear implants, as well as mandatory coverage of American Sign Language "materials, therapy and support services."

Though the bill was ultimately signed into law, that petition garnered more than 700 signatures.

For the parents of children with cochlear implants, and those who work with them, the issue should be a matter of a parent's choice -- and later, Jalena Pitzo said, it will be her daughter's choice.

"It's something she's going to have to consciously decide to put on every day," Pitzo said. "When she gets (old enough), she's going to decide for herself. At least this way she has the choice. We wanted to do this early enough for her that she had the chance to learn spoken language."

It is hard to separate the fact that many parents find cochlear implants desirable from the idea that deafness is a disability -- but like Mais, many people who are deaf experience deafness as a culture instead.

"I feel strongly that it really is a parent's decision," Puetz said. "If a parent is completely deaf and that's their language, they may decide that this is not what they want to do."

For parents such as Pitzo and Jones, the decision to get cochlear implants for their daughters is not a way to "fix" them or take them out of the deaf community. Instead, it is a way to give them options.

"Jayda gets to have the deaf community in her life for the rest of her life," Jones said. "And she will also be in the hearing community. She's just going to be bilingual."

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/article/20090607/WDH06/906070321

Her deaf friends responded just as enthusiastically.

On Saturday, behind Calvary Baptist Church, Armstrong was acting as an interpreter for a deaf social that welcomed the deaf and hard of hearing from across the state.

The last social was in February, but Saturday’s event was the biggest so far, event organizer Staci Nichols said.

“It’s nice because everyone can talk to each other,” Nichols said. “And it’s important to expose hearing people to our culture.”

In attendance was Greg Hannah, an American Sign Language teacher at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton.

“Lots of deaf people are coming,” he said, with the help of interpreter Margie Benes. “Because we love to socialize.”

He said he was at the event to learn more about the Lord, as well as meet other deaf and hard of hearing people. He said he was glad that hearing people were invited.

“It’s neat to have them come and learn about deaf people and deaf culture,” he said.

Different cultures
Many of the deaf who attended Saturday acknowledged the rift between the deaf and hearing cultures.

Armstrong said that it was unfortunately common for deaf people to isolate themselves.

“We feel that there are a lot of deaf who are maybe in hiding, and these events help them feel like they are not alone,” she said.

Richard Poulson, of Grand Junction, said the deaf and the hearing can learn to understand one another through education and communication.

“Deaf people see with their eyes and their minds,” he said, also using Benes as an interpreter. “Sometimes hearing people see with their ears, and it just comes right out their mouths, and they talk a lot.

“Some people think that deaf people are dumb. But when they learn to talk to the deaf and communicate, they start to understand.”

Christopher Harvey, the event’s scheduled speaker from Broken Arrow, Okla., is deaf and has been a pastor at a church for 11 years.

He also works with heavy equipment for the city of Tulsa, a job he thinks he is just as qualified for as any person who can hear.

“I don’t need to hear for my job,” he said with the help of Benes. “I am completely equal.”

He said that, at first, his co-workers and superiors had to adjust to his form of communication but that it was important for the hearing to be exposed to and learn about his culture.

“My goal in life is that deaf people are on an even playing field,” he said. “And I have the experience, I can teach them. I believe the Holy Spirit wants to touch the deaf and the hearing.”

Aside from Harvey’s speech, the guests were treated to barbecue provided by the Calvary Baptist Church, family games, and an interactive skit performed by Nichols.

The skit was performed in sign language by Nichols and translated by an interpreter. The story, called ‘The White Owl,” was designed to generate ideas from the deaf and hearing members of the audience about how the hero of the story can go about catching the elusive white owl that he wants to keep as a pet.

Benes said that the deaf community has a strong need for opportunities like this event.

“The deaf really need to socialize,” she said. “Many of them are so isolated. When they learn about an event like this they get in their cars and drive four, five hours so that they can be here.”

http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2009/jun/08/deaf_hard_hearing_across_colorado_join_together_cr/

For the first time, this year's festival featured two hearing impaired dancers. Jordan Watson comes from Canada and Samuel Phillips is from California. They're a couple who arrived here in Oklahoma to meet again.

Wilson interpreted from Watson,"I have not seen him for a long, long time and I miss him so much and I wanted to meet him and we wanted to dance."

Wilson interpreted from Phillips,"I came here because she's my only girlfriend I have. I have no other and I'm able to see her."

Wilson has volunteered at the Red Earth Festival for about 15 years. She said she has never met a hearing impaired performer throughout her experience.

"Oh my gosh! It just gives me goosebumps all over, because I was in the arena today and they walked over to me and they said, 'Hey, we're deaf and we're dancers.' I was so excited, because they were excited. They were asking me all kinds of questions.

Now that Watson and Phillips have reunited, they're enjoying their time dancing together. They feel that dance is the best way to demonstrate their cultural pride.

http://www.ksbitv.com/news/47070667.html

Deaf students are spread over a wide area, so this cutback would require many more trained teachers of the deaf and licensed interpreters. Also, it would make necessary new accommodations in public schools while nearby NCSD has two recently renovated buildings already specifically designed for the needs of the deaf.

Has anyone figured out what the cost of this transition would be, both in money and in classroom quality where teachers already have more than enough challenges? Can public school teachers be spread any thinner?
As for the people most involved, please try to imagine what it would feel like to be in a school where almost no one speaks your language, and you are unable to speak theirs.

http://www2.morganton.com/content/2009/jun/02/letter-closing-ncsd-may-not-save-much-money/

Addressing an Annual General Meeting of the Deaf Association on Sunday in Colombo, the Minister said though the Deaf Association had been making this request from the relevant Authorities for the last 25 years it was all to no avail.

He said that deaf people are capable of becoming good drivers and should be allowed to hold a legal driver's licence, instead of relying on public transport or buying licences on the black market, "Their hearing is impaired but their other senses and reactions are naturally trained to be extremely acute which is an advantage over other drivers." the Minister noted. "In a lot of developed countries deaf people are allowed to get their driver's licences as long as they pass the tests," he further said

http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/06/03/news48.asp

Half-term saw the launch of the exciting new club which will run for 14 weeks of the year at the West Norfolk Deaf Association (WNDA) in Lynn.

During half-term week, the children took part in a ball skills session, organised with West Norfolk Council's sports development team, a crafts and stories day and an Italian day, which saw around 14 children try their hand at pizza-making at Pizza Express restaurant in Lynn.

WNDA manager Amanda Kenny said a number of activities and trips were planned, including bowling, subtitled cinema visits, laser quest, circus skills sessions and theatre workshops with Heacham-based drama club the Lavender Hill Mob, all designed to keep children entertained and give parents a break.

There are also plans to start an All About Me project, which will see deaf role models visit and give talks to the older children.

It is an exciting time for WNDA, which has applied for a second Pathways grant to transform the upper level of the deaf centre in to a self-contained youth club, with a lift, a soft play area, a kitchen and a computer suite for the older children.

Mrs Kenny said: "We are one of many organisation applying for capital funding, so we are keeping everything crossed at the moment. The facilities could also be available for other similar groups to use, such as for Saturday clubs."

Mrs Kenny said the association also hoped to train teenagers in sign language and start a "buddy" scheme.

The teenagers would be able to go along with the deaf children to clubs with hearing members and serve as translators, or "buddies".

She added: "The children can go to mainstream clubs and be embarrassed because they don't understand the instructions given, or else miss them all together.

"The scheme could appeal to young people doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award or those who have an interest in learning sign language."

The holiday club, run with the help of volunteers, can cater for up to 20 children and sessions cost £5 a day.

l To find out more, call West Norfolk Deaf Association on 01553 773399.

http://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/Deaf-youngsters-get-taste-of.5322467.jp

The study underscores the importance of appropriate follow-up of newborn hearing screens that determine whether a more detailed evaluation of a baby’s hearing by an audiologist is needed, according to Jareen Meinzen-Derr, PhD, a researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the study’s main author.

The researchers studied 328 children enrolled in Ohio’s universal newborn hearing screening program. As is the case in many states, all infants born in Ohio hospitals or birthing centers receive hearing screenings before discharge. These screenings determine whether a more detailed evaluation of a baby’s hearing is needed.

Newborns enrolled before 6 months of age were more likely to have age appropriate language skills than children enrolled at or after 6 months, the study found. They also maintained age appropriate skills through the age of 3 – the age at which early intervention services cease. Children enrolled at or after six months had lower baseline language skills but made significant language progress, possibly catching up to the group enrolled at an earlier age, irrespective of severity of hearing loss, according to Dr. Meinzen-Derr. The researchers did not study children past the age of three to determine the level of their language skills.

“It is important for pediatricians and family physicians to ensure that families follow up on initial screenings that indicate a possible problem with a more thorough evaluation,” says Susan Wiley, MD, a developmental pediatrician at Cincinnati Children’s and a co-author of the study.
“Early intervention can and does have a great impact. We need to preserve early intervention services during these difficult economic times.”

Approximately 150,000 children are born in Ohio each year. About 6,000 of them do not pass their newborn hearing screening. Ohio infants who are identified with a permanent hearing loss are eligible for home-based language education, assistance with audiology follow-up appointments, connections to community resources, planning for transition to preschool and other services – all at no cost to families. The Regional Infant Hearing Programs in Ohio are funded by the Ohio Department of Health.

The PAS meeting, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, is the largest international meeting to focus on research in child health.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504211844.htm

Even the routine sounds of early morning in a Palm City home are a marvel for the Honduran boy brought to Florida for a cochlear implant.

At a Saturday breakfast last month, Luis began to show for the first time he was discerning individual sounds from the jumble of noise that bombarded him since the implant was installed in his left ear, recalled Melanie Gallagher, who cares for Luis in her family home.

“He jumped off the stool and came over to see what it was because it was so big,” Gallagher said last Friday as Luis ate breakfast.

The morning was a landmark in Luis’s development, but it will take time, discipline and money for Luis, born deaf, to adapt to his new ability to hear.

Luis’s journey to Florida began with the efforts of Jeanne Teter and Light of the World Charities, a Palm City-based, Christian nonprofit that provides surgical aid to Honduras and Africa.

Teter, a nurse and volunteer with the charity, spent about a year raising money and procuring donations before bringing Luis, who is also unable to speak beyond a few words, to Florida.

Teter and Luis left Luis’s family in Comayagua, Honduras and arrived in Florida in early March. Luis received the implant April 3 in a surgery performed at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in the University of Miami Health System for free by Dr. Fred Telischi, director of the college’s Ear Institute. The implant and programming, donated by Advanced Bionics, total $35,000 to $45,000, estimated Teter. She estimated the donated surgery and current run of therapy totaled $70,000. After the surgery, Luis moved in with the Gallaghers so he can adjust to his newfound ability.

Learning to adapt to the new sense at times has been taxing and uncomfortable.

Luis turned down the volume on his donated implant after it was activated late last month, setting back his progress by two weeks.

Luis, who currently communicates in a unique form of sign language, screeches and a few words, just finished speech therapy in Miami. Money is now being raised for him to continue speech therapy with Lima Therapies Group in Port St. Lucie. Teter also is attempting to bring his mother to Florida to help him learn to speak Spanish.

Luis lives wih his mother in Comayagua and has two older sisters, one of whom is an adult and the other, younger.

“When it all clicks, I really do think the world’s at his feet,” Gallagher said.

In the meantime, the Gallaghers are trying to make Luis feel at home until he returns to Honduras, tentatively in August.

Luis’ return to Honduras will be bittersweet, said Melanie Gallagher. Luis will continue receiving therapy in Honduras and will go to Tegucicalpa, the nation’s capital, for programming. “It will be wonderful to see the progress that he’s made, and it will be sad to see him” go, Gallagher said.

DONATIONS FOR LUIS

Money is now being raised for a once-deaf Honduran boy to continue speech therapy on the Treasure Coast.

• Make checks out to Light of the World Charities, PO Box 273, Palm City, FL 34991 Specify the money is intended for Luis.

• For more information, contact Light of the World at (772) 221-4688.

A hearing on the case was scheduled for Friday morning in federal court but has been canceled.

The suit was filed April 23 by attorney Drew Christian on behalf of parents of three students at SSSD to stop the implementation of a transition plan that has since been executed between the state Department of Education and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.

Christian’s clients were listed as Robert S., a minor, and D.S., individually and as parent and natural guardian of Robert S.; K.N., a minor, and M.N.K., as parent and natural guardian of K.N.; and R.S. and V.S., minors, and E.S., as a parent and natural guardian of R.S. and V.S.

Students who attended SSSD will continue learning at their current campus this fall when the school begins operating under the leadership of WPSD under a transition plan announced May 9 by the state.

Under the three-year transition plan, the Scranton campus will become a permanent day program for kindergarten through eighth-graders, and its residential program will be discontinued by the 2011-12 school year. After 2012, residential programs will be available only at the Pittsburgh area campus.

Day and residential programs will be continued through the 2009-10 school year for all grade levels, during which time WPSD will assess the Scranton campus and its students and programs.

SSSD’s high school grades will be phased out at the end of the 2010 school year. Any high school student who decides to continue attending the special education school will have to attend the Pittsburgh campus.

“We were confident the transition plan involving the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf would sufficiently address the concerns raised in the complaint,” said Mike Race, state Education Department spokesman. “We are glad the plaintiffs share our satisfaction with that plan. Now, all of us can move forward to ensure the deaf and hard of hearing students in the Scranton region will continue to receive the services and support they deserve. WPSD is committed to that goal, and so are we.”

Race said the agreement between the state and WPSD has been signed and was submitted to the federal court in Scranton as an exhibit. He said it is available to the public for review in the court’s docket system.

All SSSD employees will be furloughed June 30 when the state quits operating the school. WPSD Superintendent Donald Rhoten said there will be interviews of SSSD employees who are qualified and interested in working for the new school.

Ruth Gerrity, president of the SSSD Education Association, said staff members have been invited to apply for jobs with WPSD.

The state has estimated it will save $2 million this year when WPSD, a private charter school, takes over operations. That savings will increase to $2.5 million annually for 2010-12 school years.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Deaf_school_parents_drop_suit_05-28-2009.html

After chatting with Grilli this afternoon about his involvement in this years "Signs of Summer Event" in Golden, Colorado, it is clear that Grilli is one of the good guys. Soft spoken, humble, and committed to helping those less fortunate than himself are attributes that don't show up on the scoreboard.

Grilli became involved with the Rockie Mountain Deaf School (Charter School) shortly after he was traded to the Rockies last season and has become a regular fixture at the school to this day.

"I really wanted to do something for the community, because that's the type of person I try to be, explained Grilli who posted a 3-2 record with a 2.93 ERA for the Rockies last season. "My sister was a sign language interpreter, so when I got the letter from the school, I figured things happen for a reason."

The letter Grilli refers to was part of a fund raising campaign sent to him by Kay Bohan, who's son Troy is a student at the school. When the school was forced to move for the fifth time in 11 years Bohan started the "Sign's of Summer" event to raise money for a permanent building.

"I sent out letters along with sports memorabilia to over 1000 athletes across the country. My hopes was to get them to autograph the items so we could auction it off at our first event. I got back about 600 items, which was great," explained Bohan.

"But I only got one phone call from an athlete asking how else he could help. And that was from Jason."

Bohan explained that when Grilli got the letter he was so touched that he called his dad, Steve, who was also a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays from 1975-79. Then he called his wife and his sister and read them the letter as well.

"I knew I had to help," explained Grilli. "I called Kay and told her that signing autographs is the easy part, what else can I do to help?"

The two started talking about communication and how challenging it is for the deaf to communicate. At that point "a light went off" and Grilli told Kay about the Globallinx Video Phone, which he brings on the road so he can see his family when he calls them.

"I bring it so I can see my family and they can see me during times away from home", explained Grilli. "So I sent Kay and Troy a video phone to see if it helped him communicate."

Grilli has since donated several to the school to help the other 55 deaf students who attend. The 5 Linx company that manufactures the phones is also giving away two video phones at tomorrow's big event as well as paying for a one-year phone bill subscription for each one. Grilli is now a company rep for 5 Linx and markets the phone through his Perfect Pitch Marketing company.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/188359-jason-grillis-commitment-is-a-good-sign-for-denver-area-deaf-school

"She is an incredible advocate. She knows hearing and deaf, knows how to connect people, she has a vision. She's wonderful," says deaf student Kat Burland.

In 2000, Lolling became a certified yoga instructor. She got involved with the deaf community after being inspired by a book she read about Helen Keller and went on to get a degree in sign language interpretation. Five years ago, she decided to combine the two.

Starting the Deaf Yoga Foundation, Lolling teaches both hearing and deaf participants, instructing her students through voice and sign language.

"Communication is there, the eye contact. They hit the floor when we need to wake up or use a fan or use lights. It's just totally visual, it's wonderful," says Burland. "And because of that I have relaxed and my total health has improved tremendously."

Lolling says she is one of only 20 teachers in the world who teaches deaf yoga, and she is helping to create a unique sign language for the different yoga poses.

"One of our goals is to create a standardized dictionary so that people around the world can have access to a yoga-signed vocabulary," says Lolling.

The Deaf Yoga Foundation also provides scholarships for teacher training for the deaf.

"They help many of us who need assistance with finances, and I think the Deaf Yoga Foundation is great," says deaf scholarship student Don Miller.

Lolling has inspired other yoga teachers to learn sign language.

"She's really an amazing gift for a lot of people. Not only the deaf community, but just an inspiration for other teachers that want to branch out and open yoga up to a wider community and really be able to share it with all of humanity, regardless of what things they're not capable of," says yoga instructor Tammy Lynne Humphrey.

So, for opening yoga to the deaf community, Lila Lolling is the latest New Yorker of the Week.

http://www.ny1.com/content/features/99946/-i-nyer-of-the-week---i--teacher-brings-yoga-to-the-deaf/Default.aspx