News 10NBC talked to the superintendent of the Rochester School for the deaf today, and he is overjoyed that funding to their school has been restored.

The joy has not eased nervousness over the fine details, however, and administrators want to know more.

The school was facing big cuts because of the budget, and they didn’t take it lightly; they went to Albany to fight for their money.

Under proposed budget cuts, the school would have lost 30-to-40 percent in their state aid allocation of about 11 million dollars.

Superintendent Harold Mowl says the loss of the money could have meant the end of the school

He said he’s happy that there were so many people who stood up and fought for the funding and he believes it was those voices that made the state change their mind.

Students we talked with today couldn’t be happier.

“When the governor proposed the cut to the 4201 budget, I was shocked,” said Marissa Woodruff, a student at the school. “I would never have dreamed that that would happen to us. Because this school is so, so essential to me, and not just to me but to all deaf people, to all the blind students, to all the physically disabled students.”

“RSD and all of us owe deep, deep gratitude and appreciation to all of the people who have been involved in the budget development for New York State,” said Superintendent Mowl.

Mowls says that if the budget cuts went through, it would have created a burden on local schools, not only to provide services for the blind and deaf students, but to also pay for those services.

One student we talked with rides a bus to RDS from Elmira every week, and she says the cuts would have been detrimental to her education.

The budget is officially due on Friday, April 1.

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2039295.shtml?cat=566

The department’s lawsuit, filed yesterday with a consent decree in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleged that Inova Health System violated the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act by failing to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including sign language interpreter services, to deaf individuals at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Because of the hospital’s failure to provide sign language interpreter services, deaf individuals were denied the benefit of effective communication with hospital staff, the opportunity to effectively participate in medical treatment decisions, and the full benefit of health care services provided by Inova Fairfax Hospital, according to the complaint.

“The ADA protects the right of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to be able to access medical services, and this settlement is the latest example of the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to enforcing the ADA,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “This settlement also demonstrates Inova Health System’s commitment to provide effective communication to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

“This settlement shows that Inova and the government share the same goal – making sure that deaf and hard of hearing patients can communicate with their doctors, especially at critical moments in their medical care,” said Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The consent decree, which must be approved by the district court, requires Inova Health System to pay $95,000 to aggrieved individuals and a $25,000 civil penalty; provide training to hospital staff on the requirements of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act; and adopt specific policies and procedures to ensure that auxiliary aids and services are promptly provided to patients or companions who are deaf or hard of hearing. Inova Health System has also separately agreed to pay a total of $25,000 to two other aggrieved individuals.

The ADA and Rehabilitation Act prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities by hospitals. Among other things, the ADA requires doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to provide equal access to patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing. When medical services involve important, lengthy or complex oral communications with patients or companions, hospitals are generally required to provide qualified sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids, free of charge, to individuals who are deaf, are hard of hearing or have speech disabilities. The appropriate auxiliary aid to be provided depends on a variety of factors, including the nature, length and importance of the communication; the communication skills and knowledge of the individual who is deaf or hard of hearing; and the individual’s stated need for a particular type of auxiliary aid.

Those interested in finding out more about this settlement or hospitals’ effective communication obligations under the ADA may call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information Line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD), or access its ADA website atwww.ada.gov . ADA complaints may be filed by email to ada.complaint@usdoj.gov .

http://7thspace.com/headlines/377288/usdoj_justice_department_settles_americans_with_disabilities_act_lawsuit_with_virginiaand8217s_inova_health_system.html

In online education, start-ups built around video lessons were the first on the market in late 2007. Most of them had a clear focus on language learning. It made a lot of sense as it is the easiest thing to realize. Connect a student with a native speaking teacher from the other end of the globe using video chat and later on the so called virtual classroom, a web meeting where student and teacher can work together using slides and writing tools. Interestingly, nearly all of the platforms missed a very interesting customer group that is now becoming more and more active in the video call space, deaf people.

The French language learning / teaching start-up Lingueo was amongst the first to notice that their service was ideal for teaching sign language and therefore included sign language as an own category on the platform in 2008, already.

Yesterday I read an article about the different ways the Internet brings people together. The part that caught my attention was the adaption of the iPhone 4 and Facetime amongst deaf people. Thanks to its front facing camera the iPhone 4 is the first mobile phone that they can use for making phone calls. All other devices before were just good for sending and receiving text messages. Using Facetime, deaf people can talk in sign language. This is a huge step. As an interesting side note, the person interviewed in this article stated that sign language is his mother tongue and German his second language, something obvious I had never thought about before.

But let’s take this a step further, looking back at my Big Think article on the future of travelling using your mobile device as personal interpreter. The next logic step in the evolution of controlling our devices is gesture. There are rumors that Apple, who else, is working on something in that direction, similar to the famous gesture based computer in the movie Minority Report.

What if the mobile phone or tablet could not only recognize click, pinch and swipe gestures but sign language? Combined with Google Translate Conversation Mode everyone of us could then understand sign language as the device translated it into English, German, French etc. And of course the device could then display what you answer in sign language on the display for the deaf person you are talking with.

http://bigthink.com/ideas/31778

Calling the show a hit would be an understatement. Within four minutes of the doors opening, the Drama House was packed, and students had to be turned away. It was evident that members of the community at large were also present at the show, a mark of the program’s true outreach and success.

Co-directed and written by junior Mel Balzano and sophomore Sura Lutvak, “Exposure” integrated popular songs into an overarching story line in a “Moulin Rouge”-esque manner, with the added, or rather integral, element of ASL. The story line was basic- — a mere narrated backdrop to the dramatic and musical scenes presented by members of TOOP, Vocal Point and After Hours. Some of the music was piped in to accommodate the pre-existing set lists of the a cappella groups.

The point, though, was ultimately the ASL interpretations of the music and dialogue. The fluidity of the performers as they translated the music into ASL, an incredibly beautiful language, provided an exceptionally captivating experience for the audience members. ASL, like any other language, has its own syntax and grammar, rendering exact translations impossible. This was especially evident in the signing of Sara Bareilles’ “King of Anything,” where the signer flipped off the audience, and if you’re familiar with the lyrics, you know that’s not exactly a direct translation.

Balzano explained that the object of the translations was to capture the sentiments of the lyrics, rather than attempting to directly translate every phrase, which may not have an ASL equivalent. Even for someone with little to no knowledge of ASL, discrepancies were evident between the English and ASL versions of the scenes, but this immutably enriched the “Exposure” experience.

The result of the combination was rather like one person patting your head and another rubbing your stomach, and it is part of the magic of sign language that even without understanding everything, one can still follow the more obvious signs.

I do, however, wish I could have appreciated some of the subtler aspects of signing — fluent audience members would frequently laugh and clap at jokes and artistic licenses that I could not understand.

The show sought — and was able — to expose members of the hearing community to the standard life trajectory of a deaf or hearing-impaired child born to hearing parents. The story followed a profoundly hearing-impaired boy who was not taught ASL until his early teen years.

Up to that point he relied solely on speech therapy and hearing aids for communication, but these insufficient measures negatively impacted his social and academic abilities.

Ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, and raising a deaf child can be an unexpected burden for many unprepared parents, who are then faced with the necessity of learning a new language at the drop of a hat in order to raise their child.

The music that was selected to support the show all wove into the story arc, with themes that connected to and complemented the episodic sketches, which depicted the boy’s life.

Although it was evident with every song how the message of the music played into the show at large, the songs were isolated entities in themselves. The music had no flow from number to number, even when performed consecutively, but this didn’t negatively impact the show.

Balzano provided some further insight into the phenomenon of signing songs, describing it as a means of bridging the gap between Deaf and hearing cultures. After attending the “Exposure” show, it was easy to see why; ASL is like a pure form of performance art in itself.

One of the most meaningful moments of the show came during the last song. The entire cast got on stage to sign the grand finale together, and during the last 30 seconds the sound was suddenly cut.

This sudden sensory deprivation was certainly a big shock for the hearing members of the audience: A sudden injection of insight into what it would be like to no longer experience any auditory input.

Throughout the course of the show, I had been enjoying songs that I was familiar with, from Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and I was continually amazed by the grace and beauty of the signed interpretations.

But somehow it was not impressed upon me until those last moments what it would be like to never hear the music that is part of a college student’s everyday life.

http://www.campustimes.org/2011/03/31/%E2%80%98exposure%E2%80%99-performance-sheds-light-on-deaf-culture/

The “Deaf Pub”, a night out for people with a hearing disability, takes place every two months in the Ox Pub.

The event is organised by Teresa “Terry” Peacock and Clive Young, who have both lived in South Oxhey for six years.

Ms Peacock said: “We asked the staff at the pub and they agreed with the idea and we started to organise the event by advertising it on facebook.

“The event is for people to meet up, catch up with their news and have a good time. People who attend can have a chat, debate, watch sport on the television and play pool or darts.

“We even arranged to meet up for the David Haye and Audley Harrison Boxing match.”

The Deaf Pub has gone from strength to strength since its inception a year ago, attracting new members to its event in the Bridlington Road pub.

Ms Peacock added: “The average number of attendants is about 40 people of all ages, from Watford, Harrow, Ruislip, Slough and London.

“There there was even a lady who came from Scotland.

“There is a band going on at the same time, we enjoy them too even though we are deaf. Some can hear the music and the others who can’t listened to the vibrations.”

The next Deaf Pub event takes place on May 14 from 7pm, at The Ox Pub, Bridlington Road, South Oxhey.

http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/8942983._Deaf_Pub__looks_back_on_a_successful_first_year/

There’s only one potential dogleg in the 2-year-old brothers’ road to a permanent home: The foster couple willing to care for them has six cats.

“This will be a foster situation with the intention of adopting, if their six cats are kind to the pups,” said Nancy Campbell, operations manager for Peninsula Friends of Animals, which has taken care of Frosty and Snowman for several weeks.

Campbell said the dogs will go to their new family sometime next week after adequate fences are put up at the foster home.

“We are very excited but sad to see the little guys go,” Campbell said.

“They also saw the eye specialist and have been on some eye- and eardrops to clear up some allergy and infection issues.

“They will get a bath and be healthy and pretty to go on their big adventure.”

The dogs lost their parents with children a month ago when the family moved to Scotland, so the pet-loving people at the Peninsula Friends of Animals sought a temporary foster care arrangement or, preferably, a permanent “special” home.

Several inquiries came into the nonprofit animal care facility after a story and photo ran in the Peninsula Daily News with a video running with the story on Peninsula Daily News: Local Sports, Shopping, Dining, Lodging, Medical, Jobs, Homes, Cars, Classifieds, Obituaries, Services for Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim, Forks, Jefferson County, Clallam County, Washington.

While the group mostly is known for its Safe Haven facility, where it shelters an average of 50 adoptable felines just north of U.S. Highway 101 and east of Shore Road, the group also takes in small dogs with special needs until they are adopted.

Frosty and Snowman function much like other dogs and appear to have a heightened sense of smell and feel for vibrations that help them navigate around the yard.

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110330/NEWS/303309995/two-deaf-blind-dogs-to-move-to-foster-home-on-peninsula

Jeffrey Levi Palmer held a lecture in the Davis Center on Thursday, March 17, offering up a dynamic view into the culture of sign language locally and beyond.

Palmer, who grew up in Vermont, has studied and researched American Sign Language (ASL) extensively. As a child of deaf parents, he currently works as a professional interpreter.

Palmer’s presentation, titled “ASL Regional Variation: The Case of Vermont,” focused on the differentiation between many signs present in American Sign Language, and how such signs differ in meaning based on outside factors such as geography. The lecture emphasized the question of whether or not sociolinguistic factors play a role in the various levels of knowledge and use of Vermont signs.

“I was studying in Vermont, with no intention of judging, and I wanted to explore what individuals knew about ASL in terms of the signs being prescriptive or descriptive,” Palmer signed.

Taking a look at such factors as gender, age, ethnicity, education and socioeconomic status, Palmer attempted to uncover the reasons behind differing signs in one language.

Palmer said he was particularly interested in the difference between Vermont signs and signs throughout the rest of the world. Palmer’s lecture discussed topics relevant in Vermont signs and beyond.

“All over the world you have varying deaf cultures and I wanted to explore that,” Palmer signed. “ASL varies in its characteristics based on region. Signs differ, develop and are modified with each generation.”

“People, I’ve found, often think that there’s one universal sign language,” said Cat Healey, sophomore member of Sign House. “This is a huge misconception.

There are actually over 200 different types of sign language. Mr. Palmer discussed Vermont signs and the certain ways people from different areas sign. Think of it as an accent.”

The event, which was conducted in ASL, featured speaking interpreters for non-ASL understanding attendees.

Palmer questioned the audience to get their take on his lecture. He frequently
asked audience members to share, aiding in the information gathering on what Vermont-originating signs they knew and why.

“I really liked the event,” Healey said. “Mr. Palmer was very engaging and had a great sense of humor. He was also very accessible. I spoke to him after the event and he was friendly and helpful. I think the audience felt at ease and interested in the material he was presenting.”

http://www.vermontcynic.com/life/the-university-welcomes-guest-in-celebration-of-deaf-history-month-1.2523649

Trystan and his brother Taylor are deaf, but the two had cochlear implants in mid-February — a surgery that is somewhat controversial in the deaf community.

A cochlear implant consists of two parts. The first is a magnetic implant screwed onto the inside of the skull that shoots electrodes into the cochlea. The second is a piece that hooks behind the back of the ear.

Personal choice

The boys told their mother, Jennifer Mort, last summer that they wanted cochlear implants to speak more clearly. They make sounds and use hearing aids but are severely limited in speech.

She was adamant at first about not having her boys implanted, especially because the family moved to Jacksonville from the Quad Cities six years ago when they learned that the boys were deaf.

After attending an Illinois School for the Deaf summer camp, Jennifer Mort realized there was no better place for her boys to grow and develop than in Jacksonville.

Bob Dramin, Illinois School for the Deaf American Sign Language instructor, was strongly opposed to cochlear implants at one time but said his only concern was the boys’ reasons for wanting the implant.

“My first answer was do you really want it?” he said.

The boys told Dramin they wanted to be like their hearing brother.

“It’s sad to see and I hate to see that age getting a cochlear implant because there wasn’t much explanation,” Dramin said.

Dramin’s opinion is in line with the position of the National Association of the Deaf on cochlear implants, which supports the wellness model of the deaf and encourages people to understand the majority of deaf people who have successfully adjusted to life, have healthy personalities and reach high levels of functioning without the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants or other devices.

The boys will continue school at Illinois School for the Deaf and interact with their friends who are deaf, Jennifer Mort said.

“Nobody’s really said anything,” Jennifer Mort said. “I don’t think it’s really that deaf people are against it. I think it’s your personal choice.”

The deaf community is also concerned that infants and young children who receive implants may struggle with identity issues as they mature, trying to figure if their cultural roles are in the deaf or hearing community. The hope among the deaf is that these children don’t feel ashamed or broken because of their deafness.

“You’re supposed to be proud of yourself and I’m proud of myself for being deaf,” said Ariella Dramin, 13, a fourth-generation deaf individual who chooses not to use hearing aids or receive a cochlear implant.

The deciding factor

What persuaded Jennifer Mort was the success of 3-year-old Colin Kuhn.

Kuhn spent the first two years of his life in a Russian orphanage and was completely low-functioning when adopted, unable to feed himself and lacking basic communication skills.

Craig and Angie Kuhn decided to implant Colin to ensure he had every opportunity to develop and succeed as a child.

“I want Colin to be able to read,” Angie Kuhn said. “We’re not hurting anything if Colin has well established English language skills when he’s adult.”

The implant has jump-started Colin by stimulating his brain and enabling him to develop his sign and language communication skills at a faster pace.

Craig and Angie Kuhn attribute this success to their constant effort to work both in sign and in speech, as Angie Kuhn is principal of the Illinois School for the Deaf high school and Craig Kuhn, who is deaf, is the American Sign Language coordinator.

The deaf community wants the assurance that parents and children realize that a cochlear implant is not a cure to deafness. The implant transmits the sensation of sound to the brain around a person’s damaged cochlea. When the boys remove it to take a shower or swim or go down a slide, they are still deaf.

A new sound

On the downtown square for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the boys excitedly indicated they could hear the fire trucks approaching, a sound they don’t usually pick up with their hearing aids.

It’s been about seven years since Jennifer Mort first found out Taylor and Trystan were deaf, but seeing their reactions to new sounds has made the implant something good.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration has listed more risk factors to the implant than advantages, including the possibility of losing what residual hearing a person may have, but the Morts decided to implant the sides of their brains where they have the least amount of hearing to avoid that.

The boys increased speech therapy at Illinois School for the Deaf to three times a week and started therapy in Springfield once a week. The boys have to learn the language, which is not immediate, but Jennifer Mort can already understand their words a little better, she said.

“Just me being able to yell their names and not have to stomp on the floor and clap my hands to have them turn around — and then for them to know it was I who called them — is amazing enough,” Jennifer Mort said. “I love them regardless if they’re deaf or not, but it’s been a long road.”

http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/old-32371-boys-tune.html

Learning in a classroom when you have no way to hear what’s going on is the fate many students face. Many deaf students in the state of Indiana rely on interpreters. Right now, though, there is no standard for interpreters in the Hoosier state. Interpreters don’t have to prove that they can sign before being put into a school.

Interpreters currently get a certification to work in Central Indiana schools. They don’t have to take a test showing skill to get the certification. The Department of Education is slated to take over the program July 1, and has been given the task of creating a standard. The proposal that is now at the Attorney General’s office requires new interpreters to pass a nationally recognized skills test with a score of a 3.5 out 5. The proposal grandfathers in current interpreters.

Geoffrey Bignell is a senior at Ben Davis High School. He is involved in school activities and is currently the Senior Class President. He takes honors and AP classes. He also relies on interpreters for those classes. He said he thinks all interpreters should prove they can relay information at a minimum standard.

“I had a business law class. The interpreter didn’t know vocabulary for that class so I didn’t know how I could participate in that class.”

“He has to go above and beyond. He has to do that much extra work at home with research on the internet because of things he may have missed,” said Doug Bignell, Geoffrey’s father.

While Geoffrey said he’s been fortunate to have a lot of good interpreters, he said not all have been qualified. He had a football interpreter who didn’t know the sign for football and another who didn’t realize that there were assignments due.

Geoffrey said the current proposal is a step in the right direction, but not enough.

“A lot of us in the deaf community aren’t really satisfied with that because it affects our lives.”

Geoffrey plans to attend Rochester Institute for Technology in New York in the fall on scholarship. He said he hopes to become the first deaf senator one day.

http://www.fox59.com/news/education/wxin-education-lack-of-qualified-interpreters-negatively-impacting-deaf-students-20110328,0,5201510.story

“I was alone and, really, I was depressed,” Scott, 60, said recently through a signing interpreter.

Fourteen years ago, that changed. Scott joined DEAF Options, a mental health agency in Redford Township that serves the deaf. Counselors took her to doctor appointments, visited her apartment and introduced her to other deaf clients.

“They’ve helped me with medications, with budgeting my money,” Scott said. “They are always checking and making sure I’m OK.”

After more than two decades in operation, DEAF Options is set to close this month because of state budget cuts. Advocates say this is the latest casualty in an era of dwindling funds for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Though a few places in Metro Detroit offer sign language interpreting, DEAF Options is the only low-income option for the deaf seeking mental health services.

“We’re losing services everywhere,” said Marcy Colton, director of Deaf C.A.N.!, based in Sylvan Lake. “We represent a very large disability group, but we have so few services.”

Many deaf people grow up in hearing families and feel disconnected even in their own homes. Living in social and psychological isolation, some struggle their entire lives with paranoia and depression.

Psychological counseling for the deaf, then, needs to be tailored to them with therapists who also are either deaf or familiar with nonverbal cues, advocates say. More than 90,000 people in Michigan are deaf, according to the state Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

“If you’re not picking up these cues as a therapist, you can misread everything that’s going on,” Colton said.

At DEAF Options, case managers who are also deaf individually counsel clients. Assistance extends outside the office, with rides to doctor appointments and home visits to help with things like grocery shopping and cooking. At hospital visits, staff members often act as advocates, ensuring that the facility provides a signing interpreter, as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act.

In the last few months, as the facility prepared to close, client rolls have been cut, from 100 to now about 20.

For 25 years, the facility relied heavily on state funds, disbursed by the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency. Last fall, the agency cut its direct funding to the facility, which had averaged $500,000 annually. Those dollars made up about 95 percent of the nonprofit’s operating budget.

“It’s a sign of the times,” said Reichelle Tucker, who founded DEAF Options. “The county, the state — they’re broke.”

In 2009, state legislators, faced with a potential $1.8 billion deficit, cut $40 million statewide in community mental health programs. Of that total, $20.7 million came from Wayne County.

“For many of them, that was the only funding that they had,” said Veda Sharp, executive director of the Detroit-Wayne County Community Mental Health Agency. “The cut we received was disproportionate.”

The cut eliminated funds for counseling the deaf, as well as those with developmental disabilities, serious emotional disturbances and substance abuse disorders, Sharp said.

“We couldn’t fund those as well,” she said.

The few clients who remain at DEAF Options will soon be transferred to the county’s managed care network — an arrangement that includes hiring subcontractors to provide therapy at a lower cost to the county, Sharp said. Deaf clients will be provided with interpreters, she added.

That gives little comfort, though, to Scott, who has come to view staff at DEAF Options as friends.

“How am I going to get help?” Scott asked. “I just feel like giving up, disappearing.”

Funds are scarce

Advocates say that in recent decades, public funds for the deaf and hard of hearing had become scarce.

In contrast to the growing awareness in the ’80s and ’90s of deafness as a disability, there are few remaining funding sources specific to deaf populations, said Nan Asher, who was director of the Michigan Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing until it, too, closed its doors in October.

The agency, which had served the Lansing area since 1931, relied mostly on private donations and some public grants, she said.

But in recent years, agencies like hers had to compete with other disabled populations for grants and foundation dollars, she added.

“We had nobody with deep pockets to help us, really,” Asher said.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110328/METRO/103280324/1020/nation/State-help-for-deaf-is-casualty-of-fund-cuts