Showing posts with label California. Show all posts
Showing posts with label California. Show all posts

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Deaf-Blind Woman Surfer Rides California Waves

VIDEO [CC] The incredible moment a Deaf-Blind woman learns to surfing at the beach in California, 'I'm not afraid to get in the water, try something new'





SAN DIEGO, CA -- A 27-year-old Deaf-Blind woman decided to challenge herself this weekend when she learned to surf in San Diego, California.



Haben Girma, who was born Blind and Deaf and is now a disability rights attorney, took to the waves on Saturday at Swami's Beach with help from a surf instructor.





'One of the biggest barriers facing people with disabilities are negative attitudes, people assuming that someone who's blind can't do something, or assuming that someone that uses a wheelchair can't do something, but anything's possible,' Girma, from Berkeley, told CBS 8.



So Girma, the first Blind and Deaf Harvard Law School graduate, has decided to keep challenging herself.



'I've decided to explore the question, 'Can I learn to surf?',' Girma said.



Girma was named a White House Champion of Change and has given a TEDx talk on disability advocacy and public-service lawyers.



Her surf instructor, coach Matt Allen of the Maui Surf Academy, was worried about communication, but they persevered and used physical queues to get their timing in sync.



'It's obviously going to be tough to communicate as well as we normally can,' he told CBS 8. 'There's nothing i'd rather do than help someone's dreams come true.' ... Read More.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications: California

VIDEO [CC] Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program: Equipment & Services for Individuals with a Speech Disability.





This archived webinar introduces participants to the free equipment and services available to disabled Californians through the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP),



• The California Telephone Access Program (CTAP), AKA California Phones, and

• The California Relay Service (CRS) with a focus on consumers with a speech disability.



Video from Ability Tools



Learn how you can assist your speech-disabled clients to receive free phones that accommodate their needs and how to use operator-assisted relay services that allow them to have conversations over the phone even if most other people have difficulties understanding their speech.



Love Miller is an Outreach Specialist for the California Telephone Access Program, specializing in consumers with speech difficulties. Love provides outreach and information for people with speech difficulties through presentations and informational booths. She earned her BSW from San Jose State University and her MPA from National University.