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Showing posts with label Deaf News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deaf News. Show all posts

Thursday, March 3, 2016

CPD Gets New VRS Equipment To Assist Deafies

VIDEO: Deaf News - Cleveland Police Department gets new video relay service equipment to assist Deaf community.







CLEVELAND, OH -- The Cleveland Police Department has invested in new equipment to help its officers better serve the Deaf community.



The department announced Wednesday that all officers have been trained to use video technology that gives them instant access to an American Sign Language interpreter.







Officials from the police department and local advocates for the hearing-impaired demonstrated the new equipment Thursday.



"The reality is there are barriers in place for some members of our community," Cleveland police Capt. James McPike said. "This grant was intended to try to remove those barriers for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community."



Each of the city's five police districts is stocked with an iPad equipped with the ZVRS video interpreter application. The application gives officers dealing with a Deaf crime victim, suspect or witness access to an interpreter within seconds.



The technology was purchased using a portion of a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women that was awarded to the department in 2011, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said.



The Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center and the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center helped train the police force.



Deaf women in the U.S. experience domestic and sexual violence at rates twice those of hearing women, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for fairness in the justice system. Yet they often encounter barriers when seeking help, from a phone-based 911 system to having their credibility as witnesses in court questioned.



The police department purchased the equipment after getting feedback from the Deaf community, said Maria O'Neil Ruddock, coordinator of training and outreach services for the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center.



"The reason it's here is because the Deaf community has told us, 'We want access to the police, we want to be able to communicate, but it's difficult,'" O'Neil Ruddock said.



Cleveland is only one of two large police departments in the country using this technology, she added.



The department is also updating its general police orders to include a policy about communicating with the Deaf, McPike said. A draft of that policy is still in the approval stage.



Ciaccia said the interpreting technology is not related to a binding agreement with the Justice Department that requires the Cleveland police to improve the way they interact with citizens. The addition of the technology is the latest in a string of efforts by the department to expand training.



Mayor Frank Jackson announced in December that officers received first aid training and emergency medical kits.



The Cleveland Police Academy class that graduated in October was the first to receive 40 hours of crisis intervention training.



SOURCE

Gallaudet How Architecture Changes For The Deaf

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Curbed's feature on DeafSpace at Gallaudet University campus for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and staff.





WASHINGTON -- Vox: We live in a world made for people who hear. But what would our cities looks like if they were designed for the Deaf? DeafSpace is an emerging approach to design and architecture that is informed by the unique sensory experience of those who don't hear. In conjunction with Curbed's feature on DeafSpace, we visited Gallaudet University to see what DeafSpace looks like in action:



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People who hear might not realize what role sound plays in everyday life. If you want a passerby's attention, you shout his name. If a professor needs to explain a math problem, it's not a problem to talk while writing concepts on the board.



But people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing depend on different senses to navigate everything from social interactions to academics. The concept of DeafSpace uses that experience to inform the design of environments.



Gallaudet University - a school located in Washington, DC, and the world’s only institution of higher education for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is in the process of modifying the historic university’s campus to create a more inclusive environment for the Deaf student body.



Hansel Bauman, the architect behind DeafSpace, has redesigned parts of Gallaudet's campus around five basic principles: space and proximity, sensory reach, mobility and proximity, light and color, and acoustics. DeafSpace is the project that has grown up around Bauman's work and is quickly gaining recognition both inside and outside deaf communities.



On our recent visit to the campus we sat down with Derrick Behm, a former student who now works in the Office of Campus Design and Planning. He walked us through some of the background of the DeafSpace project while also giving us a demonstration of how these concepts play out in action, which you can see in the video above.



For a more in-depth look into the history, traditions, and design elements driving DeafSpace, read Amanda Hurley's feature about DeafSpace on our sister site Curbed. SOURCE

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Learn American Sign Language For Deaf Student

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Signing club helps Deaf student feel at home.





PEORIA, IL -- WMBD/CNN: Inside the library at Mark Bills School, class begins with the Pledge of Allegiance. But here, they’re doing things a little differently.



Students are using American Sign Language to say the pledge.



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“It’s like they want to be like me,” said fifth-grader Rhemy Elsey, who was born almost completely Deaf. A set of cochlear implant help him hear, but he relies heavily on sign language and his interpreter, Tammy Arvin, to communicate.



“It’s tough for a kid that has an interpreter,” Arvin said. “Following them around all day, you know, especially if the rest of the class can’t really communicate.”



Rhemy’s classmate Dexyrae Clarke said, “I wanted to be able to talk to Rhemy, and I wanted to be able to communicate with him.”



That’s how the American Sign Language Club was born at the school - with a group of students who wanted to be able to talk to a friend.



“I was thrilled that they were interested and that they wanted to learn some sign language,” Arvin said, “and that they were taking some initiative to able to communicate more effectively with one of their classmates.”



And this is not like their Spanish or French classes - students say they are finding there’s a lot that goes into learning this language, and things aren’t always easy. Tabria Smith explained the difficulty.



“Sometimes you really want to talk while you’re signing, but then you have to get used to just using your hands instead of your mouth to communicate with other people,” Tabria said.



But in Rhemy, they have a teacher and friend, showing them that so much can be said without saying anything at all. “It makes me feel, like, happy,” Rhemy said. SOURCE

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Alexander Graham Bell - Theft Of The Century

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Alexander Graham Bell of history's most famous inventor, but shockingly his most famous invention was stolen.



WASHINGTON DC -- If you answered Alexander Graham Bell, then you, along with millions of people around the world have been misinformed. In 2002, even the US Congress succumbed to the nagging truth and “changed its mind” on the issue, according credit to the real inventor and declaring that the original telephone was in fact invented by Antonio Meucci, a penniless Italian who did not speak a word of English and could not afford to patent his discovery.



Alexander Graham Bell? He was just a successful patent applicant and some would say, THIEF.



According to the US Congress, Bell was a cunning opportunist who took all the credit for a more brilliant scientist’s work. The House of Representatives voted to recognise mechanical genius Antonio Meucci as the father of modern communications, following a protracted battle by historians and Italian Americans.



From Monopoly to the lightbulb, AllTime10s brings you 10 famous inventions stolen from other people.

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The real invented of the telephone, Meucci, born April 13, 1808, had been working in Cuba in the 1830s, developing methods for treating illnesses using electric shocks, when he discovered the ability of sound to travel through electrical impulses. He later moved to Staten Island to follow up on his discovery. In 1860 which was 16 years before Bell claimed to have invented the telephone Meucci demonstrated his teletrofono in New York, but could not afford the $250 required to register a patent.



Bell, who took an interest in Meucci’s invention, convinced him to share his research material. They shared a lab together and Bell had full access to Meucci’s materials. Bell made good and clever use of Meucci before coming up with his own “invention” and applying for a patent in his own name. Meucci duly protested, but lacking connections, was unable to convince anyone that Alexander Graham Bell had stolen his ideas. Under general patent laws, then and today, Bell should have credited Meucci and agreed to share royalties with him.



Beset with debt, Meucci could not afford the $10 fee for maintaining the patent caveat and temporarily gave up pursuit of Bell in 1874. Two years later, Bell, uncontested by Meucci, was granted ownership of the patent. Interestingly, another contender, Elisha Gray, had also submitted a patent for the telephone some hours before Bell, but due to a technicality, Bell was the registrant whose application won.



Meucci finally decided to sue Bell, charging him with fraud in the Supreme Court. The case looked rather promising for Meucci, but unfortunately, before any proceedings could begin, Meucci died on October 18, 1889.



In 2001, the United States Congress took the extraordinary decision of doing justice to Meucci, passing a resolution officially according recognition to Meucci as the real inventor of the telephone, stating that “if Meucci had been able to pay the caveat after 1874, no patent could have been issued to Bell.” The US Congress further stated that given all the facts of the patent disputes between Gray and Bell, under no terms should Alexander Graham Bell have been awarded the patent for the telephone by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 1876. Alexander Graham Bell was posthumously stripped of his dubious honor as the inventor of the telephone.



“Justice” was finally served - well, sort of.



In effect, the Congressional resolution served only as a declaration and did not technically annul or modify the patent which Bell received in 1876. The resolution was also subsequently followed by another legislative declaration upholding Bell’s priority and his status as the inventor (patent holder) of the telephone.



Credit where credit is due:



Both Antonio Meucci and Elisha Gray should be credited with successfully inventing telephones in the United States before Alexander Graham Bell did so in 1876. Others who performed pioneering experimental work with electrical voice transmissions over wires included Thomas Edison, Innocenzo Manzetti, Charles Bourseul and Johann Philipp Reis. The telephone as we know it today, is largely based on improvements made by Thomas Edison on the original design which was not Bell’s but Meucci’s. Source.



All Lies: The history of Alexander Graham Bell was a professor of elocution at Boston University and tutor of Deaf children while pursuing his own research into a method of telegraphy that could transmit multiple messages over a single wire simultaneously, a so-called "acoustic telegraph". Bell formed a partnership with two of his students' parents to help fund his research in exchange for shares of any future profits by which does still exists these today for instance, cochlear implant, hearing aid and oral that exploitation from Deaf and Hard of Hearing children to adult that suffering from audism and oppression by the Alexander Graham Bell Association is a "Thief" from the Deaf community's souls (Culture).



Former Deaf and Hard of Hearing students are victims by Alexander Graham Bell Association.

This MADNESS must be stopped!



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Related Post: #AG Bell

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Nyle DiMarco Is Joining 'Dancing With The Stars'

Deaf News: Exclusively: America's Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco is joining 'Dancing with the Stars' will be on March 21 at 8pm on ABC.



LOS ANGELES -- America's Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco is trading his smize for dancing shoes: the 26-year-old model/actor/Deaf activist will compete on season 22 of Dancing With the Stars, a source tells E! News exclusively.



Sources confirm that the most recent champion of Tyra Banks' modeling competition is heading to the DWTS ballroom, where he'll be joining rumored fellow cast member Jodie Sweetin on the series which our insiders have also confirmed, and will be the second-ever Deaf contestant on the show.



Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin competed on the series in 2008, coming in seventh place with partner Fabian Sanchez during the ABC reality hit's sixth season. Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi eventually took home the Mirrorball Trophy that year.



The new cast will dance in the footsteps of 17-year-old Bindi Irwin, who took home the trophy with six-time champion Derek Hough, beating out Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, soldier Alek Skarlatos and Grease Live star Carlos PenaVega.



ABC declined to comment on the casting report, but the official cast announcement will be made on Good Morning America on March 8, ahead of season 22's March 21 premiere.



One certainty for next season: We won't be seeing Julianne Hough anymore. The pro-turned-judge is stepping away from the series after two years at the judges' table, she confirmed on Feb. 17, but there's good news too: Len Goodman, who left for a season to spend time with his newborn grandson (and continue judging on the original British series, Strictly Come Dancing), is coming back.



DWTS season 22 debuts Monday, March 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC - SOURCE



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Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested

Deaf News: Deaf woman denied interpreter by cops who arrested her after car accident sues city and NYPD.



NEW YORK CITY -- A Deaf woman was mocked and wrongly arrested by New York City Police Department cops after a minor car accident - all because they refused to get an interpreter to hear her side of the story, a new Manhattan federal lawsuit alleges.



Tanya Ingram's alleged ordeal began around 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2013, when she and another car collided at the intersection of Second Ave. and E. 120th Street.



The other driver got out of her car and rushed toward Ingram, apparently angry and shouting, the suit claims.



Ingram felt threatened by the other driver’s behavior so she "picked up a small metal pipe that she had in her car and exited the car, gesturing to (the other driver) to back away with her free hand. At no time did Ms. Ingram swing the pipe, nor did she ever attempt to strike (the other driver)," the suit states.



The cops who arrived on the scene some 45 minutes later spent considerable time speaking with the other driver in the accident, the suit says.



They refused to provide Ingram with the means to communicate, however - though she repeatedly pointed to her ear and shook her head to show her hearing impairment, she says.



One of the responding officers asked Ingram for her keys and opened the trunk. He then made several gestures to indicate a pipe, and she retrieved it from the car.



As the officers mulled about the scene of the accident, an EMT dispatched to the intersection approached Ingram. She explained that she was Deaf through gestures, and he gave her a piece of paper and pen so that she could speak with him. The officer who had opened her trunk was 10 feet away.



"You did not understand me. That's not right. I know she's lying to you. How can I tell you my story? I want my rights. Call interpreter," the note stated.



Ingram, 51, tried to show him the note, and while he glanced at it, the cops "expressed visible annoyance" and ignored her.



She then saw several officers speaking with each other and they "appeared to be mocking her use of gestures."



When the cops moved to arrest her, Ingram had no idea what was happening and became "extremely frightened and utterly bewildered as to the reason for her arrest began crying and repeatedly tried to audibly shout, 'Why?,'" her lawyers maintain.



Ingram was ultimately detained for 24 hours and never received an interpreter as required by law, she alleges.



She had been charged with four misdemeanors menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, harassment, and resisting arrest but all charges were dropped in July 2013, the suit contends.



Ingram is seeking unspecified damages.



Asked about the lawsuit, a city Law Department spokesman said that: "The complaint will be reviewed."



Ingram’s lawsuit is one of several recent false arrest claims in which Deaf individuals allege they were denied an interpreter.



Also Thursday, Susan Herman, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Collaborative Policing, said the department is hosting an outreach event for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing this March at the former police academy building on E. 20th Street.



At the event, they hope to distribute visor plaques for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing so they can better communicate with police officers, she said.



These plaques would say that the driver is Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and the driver's preferred method of communication, as well as various symbols and words, to explain things such as why an officer has stopped the driver.



Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will also be able to indicate whether they're having a medical emergency, Herman says.



The NYPD will soon launch a pilot program in three precincts to increase access to in-person and tablet-based American Sign Language translation. The department also worked with the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community to create a roll call training video, she told The News. SOURCE



Related:

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested & Assault

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Denying Interpreter

Deaf Schools In Belleville Worried About Future

Deaf News: Dozens of local Deaf and students and their service providers are dreading a recent announcement Deaf Schools into closures in Ontario.





BELLEVILLE, ON -- Intelligencer: Dozens of local Deaf and learning disabled students and their service providers are dreading a recent announcement of the need for efficiency at five specialized institutions across the province will translate into school closures.



Union representatives held a meeting in Belleville Friday to rally students, staff and parent support in their bid to stave off what they say will be imminent school closures unless action is taken to demonstrate a strong case for why local public schools aren’t properly equipped to provide the specialized services delivered by institution like Sir James Whitney and Sagonaska Demonstration Secondary School.



“Closure are going to happen if we don’t do something,” said Daryl O’Grady, local president for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). “We’re getting a campaign together to fight.”



He said the Education Ministry is linking planned reductions to declining Deaf student enrollment.



“They sat back and watched these programs get to where they are now so they can come and say we don’t have the numbers,” O’Grady said. “As a union we will be calling them out on that. This is a good turnout and it shows that people are concerned here,” he said, of the meeting held at the Travelodge Hotel on Friday.



Ann Carr, a former counsellor at the local schools, warned that inaction will be costly once the school year ends and changes are implemented in the fall.



“These children need people qualified to be with them,” Carr said. “When these children go into the regular system they’re just going to have someone who took a regular sign language course. If I were you guys I would go to the local public board and find out what they’re going to do for your kids before the cuts come.



“You are in danger,” Carr said. “These kids have a right.”



She urged students and staff to lobby the mayor and other levels of government to back their campaign to protect jobs and specialized student education here.



“If you don’t do it now, at the end of June you guys are going to have nothing,” said Carr. “At the end of June they’re going to say goodbye. This is for real, you have to start moving today.”



Sarah Colbeck is not only a social worker providing services at both aforementioned schools, but she’s also speaks from the unique perspective of being a mother with four children taught at the Dundas Street West site.



“Deaf children get full access to certain services for free,” Colbeck said of the current system, which if changed will force parents to either send students to schools farther away or foot the bill to find services and American Sign Language tutors.



“Once you close that school it’s going to be a disaster,” Colbeck said. “It’s going to have a big impact on the hearing schools (public schools) as well because they’re not prepared to cater to each student’s needs. Many professionals in these schools have no idea how to approach a Deaf child and their needs.”



The other option is send children to public schools with limited resources to tailor to each student’s individual needs.



“The community and parents have to work together and fight,” Colbeck said. “We have to spread more awareness that the schools actually benefit the children.” The prospect of job losses also hangs over her head.



In her current role, Colbeck is employed .5 at Sir James Whitney and .5 at Sagonaska, so “if Sagonaska closes I would lose .5 of my job this fall and how am I supposed to support my family,” she said through an interpreter. Source



Related Post: #Deaf Canadians - #Deaf Schools

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Deaf 'Peg Faced 'Disrespect' During Traffic Stops

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf drivers faced with disbelief, disrespect during Winnipeg traffic stops due to communication barriers in Canada.



CBC WINNIPEG -- Two young Winnipeggers are urging Winnipeg Police Service to be more professional when dealing with people who are Deaf after both experienced officers who didn't believe them and refused to try to communicate with them at traffic stops.



Dana Zimmer and Jenna Irwin both experienced incredulous officers who didn't initially believe they were Deaf during traffic stops.



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"It's happened a few times. I'm not a bad driver but it has happened a few times, and sometimes my interactions with police are very cordial – very simple, I'll get a ticket and that's it, but every once in a while it's just a little bit different," said Zimmer.



Zimmer remembers a time a few years ago when she was pulled over, and the officer started talking to her after she rolled down her window.



"Of course they'll be talking, that's natural, that's what they would normally do, and I gestured that I'm a Deaf individual and I use sign language," she said. "They just kind of gave me this look like they didn't believe me. They didn't actually think I was a Deaf person so they just kept talking to me as if I could understand them."



Zimmer said she tried again to communicate that she was Deaf, but the officer seemed frustrated.





"I felt that I needed to prove myself as a Deaf individual, and I didn't know how I was going to do that other than saying that I was Deaf. I felt that they just didn't believe me," she said.



Zimmer said the officer motioned for her to get a pen and paper, which she didn't have handy, so he went to his car and came back with a ticket.



She said the ticket had to do with a new rule she wasn't aware of.



"When someone says they're Deaf, they need to be able to interact with them in an appropriate way," said Zimmer. "You're going to be interacting with different people in the community, and it needs to always be professional."



Irwin has experienced the same thing. She says it usually takes several gestures and requests to have officers believe she is Deaf. "I think the first and second time they try to talk, and they think I'm lying, and then I'm like, 'No, I can't understand you,'" she said.



She recently had an experience on her way home from work where she tried to use a pen and paper to communicate with an officer, but he refused. He went back to his cruiser car and she waited 45 minutes for another officer to show up who knew some sign language.



She says the officer could've communicated to her he was calling someone who knew sign, but he refused to use a pen and paper to communicate.



"I think sometimes the police officers just don't want to take the time or make the effort to communicate with us," she said. I think we all want to be treated equally. We want to feel as though we're the same as everybody else, and communication is very important. Eye contact is very important. I'm not too sure why they would assume we should be treated any differently just because we're Deaf."

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Wednesday, February 24, 2016

National Geographic - What It’s Like To Read Lips

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: National Geographic - "What It’s Like To Read Lips" This eye-opening video beautifully depicts what it’s like to be Deaf.





Have you ever tried to hear what a person was saying based on the way they move their lips?



It’s a well-know that many of those who are Deaf converse through lip-reading. But have you ever stopped and thought about just how hard that can be?



In a video produced by Little Moving Pictures, one woman, Rachel Kolb, perfectly articulates what it feels like to experience a world that you can’t physically hear.



The video shows a range of people speaking about every day experiences. Each story is subtitled. But as their stories continue, the subtitles begin to blur until they completely vanish and the audio fuses out until the video is completely silent – with only lips moving on the screen.



The Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the web and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic's mission of inspiring people to care about the planet. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of the National Geographic Society.



But as people talk faster, the lips become pretty much impossible to read – seriously giving us an in-depth look into what those without the ability to hear have to focus on every day.



Rachel also highlights the fact that speech is not just movements of the lips and sound. It is accents, it is people’s mumbles, the way some may cover their mouths when they talk – the list is endless. All things that many of us unknowingly take for granted.



Rachel describes lip-reading as ‘putting together a puzzle without all the pieces’.



She said: ‘There have been times when I’ve questioned why I even try to lip read.



‘To wade through this swamp, when I could just use sign language.’



She compares the use of sign language to being in a different world – a world filled with ‘rich expression and culture.’



But for Rachel, when lip-reading works, she feels something that she thinks sign-language cannot offer her all of the time. ‘When I focus on one legible face, and launch into a conversation, something clicks.



‘Right then, I feel something extraordinary. Human connection.’ Source



See more from National Geographic's Short Film Showcase: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/short-film-showcase



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National Geographic - Deaf Culture in Cambodia

'Bad Lip Reading' Of The Democratic Debate

'Bad Lip Reading' Of The Republican Debate

Bad Lip Reading Of The Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy

Bad Lip Reading Of 'The Walking Dead'

A Bad Lip Reading Of The NFL 2016

Deaf-Blind Housing Project In Winnipeg, Canada

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf-Blind housing project will be first of its kind in Manitoba, Canada.



CBC WINNIPEG -- 10 suites at Gas Station Arts Centre redevelopment will be designed for Deaf-Blind people. Winnipeg will soon be one of the first cities in Canada to have specialized housing designed for people who are both Deaf and Blind.



Bonnie Heath, executive director of the Resource Centre for Manitobans who are Deaf-Blind, has put down payments on 10 suites in the residential portion of the new Gas Station Arts Centre, which is slated for the corner of River Avenue and Osborne Street.





"We're very excited," Heath said, adding that the need for this kind of housing is great.



"The Deaf-Blind individuals that I'm in contact with in their own homes right now feel isolated and unsafe."



She added, "You have a combination of you can't see and you can't hear; you don't know who's coming into your place. You don't know, for example, one of my Deaf-Blind friends said she wouldn't even know the toilet was running over until the water was at her ankles in the dining room."



Heath works with dozens of Manitobans who are Deaf-Blind - people with a combination of no vision or low vision and hearing that rely on interpreters to communicate.



The apartments will not only bring members of the Deaf-Blind community under one roof, the apartments will be designed with them and for them for safer and easier living, said Heath.



"Sharp edges, you know, things that we take for granted when we can see, getting around corners - those types of things will be avoided."



Winnipeg-based architect Steve Cohlmeyer, whose resume includes The Forks, will tackle the project, which he acknowledges will be a first for him.



"At the level of problem-solving, I think it's really exciting - and exciting because there's a whole service aspect and a kind of integration of a whole group I was unaware of when I first got the call," he said.



Some of the features Cohlmeyer is considering is a tactile approach to design - for example, surfaces that will distinguish between rooms.



"For people who have no sight and zero hearing, we'll certainly want to explore the kinds of things you can help feel your way through a space," he said, adding that for people with partial sight, high-contrast spaces may be important.



"Exaggerated colour difference or dark and light contrast will be a helpful thing to have," he said. "So you can see where a door cabinet is against a light floor as opposed to all-white cabinets and all-white floors."



In the coming months, Cohlmeyer will visit Deaf-Blind clients to "watch how they live" to source his design solutions. He said he is also travelling to Toronto and the United States to visit existing Deaf-Blind housing to learn what works well and what doesn't.



"Even when you're well-acquainted with an environment you can still bump into things, so we want to be watching and learning as much as we can about how we facilitate movement and operation of equipment within the unit itself and how they can move again between the unit and even elevators and an outdoor terrace." Source



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Deaf 'Peg Faced 'Disrespect' During Traffic Stops

Study on Sarcasm and American Sign Language

Deaf Canadian's Gallaudet Dream

Manitoba Deaf Athletes To Get More Sign Language Help

Manitoba Swimmer At Deaflympics

Deaf Homeless Man In Compassionate Gesture

Deaf Canadian Curling Champion Dies

Winnipeg Most Racist City In Canada: Maclean's

Monday, February 22, 2016

Deaf Man Receives Note From Starbucks Barista

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Starbucks employee's kind act for Deaf patrons goes viral on social media in the United States.





LEESBURG, VA -- ABC News: A Virginia man's Facebook post is creating some internet buzz after he shared a note from a Starbucks employee who offered a kind gesture.



Ibby Piracha, who is Deaf, told ABC News through an interpreter that he was surprised Friday morning to be greeted by the familiar barista with sign language.



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"I usually use my phone and I'll text them what I want to order," Piracha of Leesburg, Virginia, said. "She was saying she looked on YouTube because she had a lot of customers that came in using text. I was very surprised she was willing to learn sign language and it shows she respects Deaf people ... she's an inspiration."



Piracha, 23, said the female barista handed him a note that read, "I've been learning ASL just so you can have the same experience as everyone else."



Piracha posted a picture of the kind words to Facebook, where it received over 2,000 “shares.”



"I was very shocked to go in there one day and have her sign a little bit and I kind of smiled, thinking about it and I even told the Starbucks manager, 'You know, I was very impressed by your employee."



The manager at the Starbucks where Piracha received the note told ABC News that while he could not comment on this particular incident or name the employee, he confirmed Piracha's account.



“We are proud that our store partner employee is taking this initiative to learn American Sign Language to better assist and serve her customers,” a Starbucks spokeswoman told ABC News. “We always love to hear stories of meaningful connections between our partners and customers.”



Piracha said he hopes his Facebook post gets the message across that "the hearing world and the Deaf World are trying to communicate."



"I definitely want people to understand that Deaf customers can have a really great review," he added. Source



Related Starbucks:

Deaf Customers Sue Starbucks Over Mocking

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Gunpoint Robbery In Broad Daylight Near Gally

Deaf News: Masked men with gun rob at Florida Avenue and Pennsylvania Ave in broad daylight near Gallaudet University campus.



WASHINGTON DC -- Masked men held up a liquor store in Hill East this morning, police said.



The armed robbery happened in the World Wine & Spirits at 1453 Pennsylvania Ave. SE about 11 a.m.



Authorities said they’re looking for:



(1) B/M, slim build, 20 years of age, greyish jacket with a hoodie, white tennis shoes with red laces, armed with a handgun, wearing a mask.



(2) B/M , slim build, 20 years old, wearing a mask.



Both last seen running south in the 900 block of 15th Street SE.


Three men also robbed a man at gunpoint near Gallaudet University in broad daylight yesterday, police said. The armed robbery occurred on the 700 block of Florida Avenue NE about 12:30 p.m. Sunday.



The victim was in the area when the three men surrounded him, according to authorities. One of the men then put a gun to the victim’s head, while demanding money.



The men soon after took the victim’s wallet. They then ran to a car and drove away. Police haven’t released detailed descriptions of the suspects. Source

Deaf Woman Allegedly Raped By Two Irish Men

Deaf News: Profoundly Deaf woman allegedly raped by two men in caravan through a social media site in Belfast, Northern Ireland.



BELFAST -- A profoundly Deaf woman was allegedly raped by two men in a caravan after arranging a meeting over social media, a court heard today.



Police claimed one of the pair had manipulated and coerced her into getting a taxi to the traveller site in west Belfast. The woman has also alleged her drink may have been spiked during the incident on the Glen Road early last Friday.



David Spence, 18, and Francis Gavin, 23, appeared before magistrates in the city accused of carrying out the sex attack. Both men deny charges of rape, insisting all contact with the woman in her thirties was consensual.



Spence, a trainee joiner from Ardcaoin Avenue in the Dunmurry area, was granted bail on conditions that include a ban on accessing computers. But Gavin, of Glen Road Heights in Belfast, remains in custody while checks are carried out on proposed addresses.



A judge was told the woman had been in contact with Spence through a social media site before a meeting was arranged. Describing her as vulnerable, an investigating detective said she made it clear that she was not interested in having sex at the encounter.



The officer claimed Spence had ignored requests to come to her house, instead arranging for a taxi to bring her to the Glen Road traveller encampment. Following the alleged attack he said she left the caravan and walked a quarter of a mile down a lane in the dark before reporting the incident at the first house with lights on.



Defence barrister Tom McCreanor, for Spence, put it to the officer that his client and the woman had "intimate and suggestive" social media exchanges before meeting.



The detective replied: "She does mention she likes sex. However, she is saying that's within a long-term relationship." Photographs were also sent between her and Spence, the court heard. Asked if the woman's vulnerability related to a hearing issue, the officer said: "This lady is profoundly Deaf."



He also claimed: "From the content of text messages there was bit of manipulation or coercion." But Mr McCreanor argued that his client had been in "consensual and encouraged communication" with the woman.



He told the court she willingly got a taxi to the caravan and was never prevented from leaving.



Granting bail for Spence to return to court in four weeks, District Judge Fiona Bagnall ordered him to live with his parents under curfew. He was banned from using mobile phones, computers and accessing social media sites, and must not go near either the alleged victim's home or the traveller site.



Gavin also faces unrelated charges of common assault, criminal damage to a window and possession of a knuckle duster over an incident on January 25.



Defence solicitor Eamon O'Connor stressed his client is not accused of making any of the arrangements to meet the alleged rape victim.



"He was at the site when the alleged injured party arrived," Mr O'Connor said. "He made the case in ten interviews that any contact between himself and this lady was entirely by consent."



During cross-examination the detective confirmed the woman claimed her drink may have been spiked. Forensic tests are still being carried out to establish if there is any substance to her concerns. But with police claiming Gavin has used six addresses in the last five years, his bail application was adjourned for further checks on where he might live if released. Source

Mastyl Signs - A Deaf-Owned Business Interview

VIDEO [CC] - Exclusive interview with a Deaf-Owned business of the Mastyl Signs company in Flint, Michigan.



The Daily Moth is a new ASL radio show, delivers news in video using American Sign Language. The Deaf host, Alex Abenchuchan, covers trending news stories and Deaf topics.



Exclusive interview with a Deaf-owned business-Mastyl Signs is a small family owned custom sign business located near Flint, Michigan.



Mastyl Signs specialize in small sandblasted signs for home and businesses, do also provide other types of custom signage.



Deaf people can sign. This Deaf man can also make signs.



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Feel free to explore this site and see what we have to offer, check out his shop and order your custom sign at www.mastylsigns.com



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Related Post: #The Daily Moth -- #Deaf Business

Friday, February 19, 2016

Teacher Slaps Deaf Toddler For Wanting Food

Deaf News: Teacher slaps toddler caused Deaf for wanting food in bother’s school in India.





AGRA, INDIA -- A hungry two-and-a-half-year-old boy was allegedly slapped so hard by a teacher for asking for food at his older siblings' school during a mid-day meal service that he has lost his hearing. Doctors have confirmed that the minor has suffered "at least partial loss of hearing" after the incident which took place in Mansukh Pura, Bah, on Wednesday.



The boy, Rajat Singh, had on Wednesday gone to the government school where his three older siblings Rohini Singh, Radha Singh and Rohit Singh study. During the mid-day meal he sought food from teacher Raghuvir Raghuvir, who then slapped the minor as he was "not a part of the school".



"My son has lost his hearing ability in one ear," said Rajat's father Shyamvir Singh, "Rajat is yet to enrol in primary school but he wanted to attend class with his brother and sisters. He was hungry and asked for food, when Raghuvir slapped him hard on the face. The slap caused Rajat's ear to bleed. Later we found out from doctors that he had partially lost his hearing ability."



Rubbishing Shyamvir's claims, the accused teacher, Raghuvir, told TOI: "Shyamvir is not telling the truth. The child was normal till the end of school. The matter was sensationalized after the child reached home."



He said, "I did slap Rajat for wandering around the school ground alone, where stray dogs could have attacked and hurt him. The blame for that would have fallen on me for being negligent."



A written complaint has been received in the matter from Shyamvir Singh and police said they will take the appropriate course of action after conducting a thorough investigation. Source

Police Uses Sign Language Saved Deaf Teen Life

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Raleigh police officer uses sign language to talk Deaf ratchet teen off bridge in North Carolina, Mom says:





RALEIGH, NC -- WNCN-TV: A Raleigh police officer used sign language to talk a Deaf 16-year-old off the Rock Quarry Road bridge over I-40 on Tuesday, according to the officer’s father and witnesses at the scene.



The mother of a Deaf teen says a Raleigh police officer saved her daughter’s life after he used sign language to help talk her off a bridge.



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Maria Daley says she was “terrified and didn’t know what to do” as her daughter was standing on a bridge over Interstate 40 Tuesday afternoon.



She says she’s grateful for the officer who used sign language to communicate with her 16-year-old daughter until she came down off the bridge.



“If the officer had not been there, she probably would have jumped,” said Daley to WNCN. “Normally when the police are called, none of the officers know sign language. I’m very excited someone was out there to communicate with her.”



Raleigh police blocked all lanes near Rock Quarry Road starting around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The girl came off the bridge around 4:45 p.m. She was unharmed, police said, and was being evaluated at a local crisis center.



Daley says her daughter “got upset and said she was going to hurt herself” after Daley took away her phone. Daley later found a note left for her saying she was going to the bridge.



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Daley says she was trying to protect her daughter by taking the phone away after she caught the teen using anonymous messaging apps on her phone, such as Kik. The popular messaging app has been linked to a growing number of child sexual abuse cases.



The officer has declined to be identified and the Raleigh Police Department says they have no American Sign Language training program. The officer learned how to sign on his own, police say.



One of the North Carolina Department of Transportation cameras picked up the officer making gestures to the girl. Witnesses tell WNCN they saw the officer communicate with the girl by sign language for about 30 minutes.



“It’s good that he knew sign language, I feel like more people need to learn it,” said witness Sean Day. “It shows that he had a lot of patience and he didn’t let whatever he had on his mind interfere with what was going on.”



Daley hopes the powerful moment will encourage more people to learn sign language, leading to more shared connections and maybe saved lives. Source

Deaf Students Abused By Priests Win $30-Million

Deaf News - Deaf students abused by priests at Clercs de St. Viateur win record $30-million settlement in Quebec, Canada.





MONTREAL, PQ -- For the 150 victims, Deaf and severely traumatized, it took decades to come forward with their accounts of sexual abuse at the hands of the Clercs de Saint-Viateur.



But they finally named the 33 priests and religious staff and five lay people who they say abused them at the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, a boarding-school for young boys run by the Clercs, and on Wednesday they were awarded $30 million – by far the largest settlement for sexual assault in Quebec history.



At the top of the list is Father Anthime Paiement, accused of sexual assault by 24 young boys at the Institute. Most of the boys were around 10 or 11 years old at the time; some were as young as seven. Paiement’s obituary in 1998, at the age of 91, said he devoted his entire life to the Deaf, as a teacher and chaplain at the Institute, among other places.



Then came Brother Philippe Paquette, who 10 victims said repeatedly assaulted them, in the dormitory or the classrooms or priests’ quarters, where he lived from 1949 to 1984.



According to his obituary, his tasks included teaching the “little ones,” surveillance, cinema, and discipline. He died in 2009 at the age of 82.



Brother Gérard Barrette, meanwhile, was accused by seven plaintiffs in the class action suit of anal rape, among other things. Perhaps he is still alive.



The abuse spanned from 1940 to 1982. Some of the victims were abused over the Christmas holidays. Some were abused throughout their first year at the school on St-Laurent Blvd. in Villeray in 1962. Others were assaulted on a regular basis, over their entire stay – up to seven years’ time.



The list of abusers also includes the director of the institute, the nurse, the dormitory supervisor, and the priest at the confessional. According to one victim, the boys soon stopped going to confession. Another said he was abused by a priest, and when he sought help at the infirmary, he was assaulted there too.



For Robert Kugler, who has represented the victims since the class action lawsuit was launched in 2010, the amount of the award reflects the extent of the abuse and the vulnerability of the victims.



“All the victims were handicapped – they were Deaf and had difficulty communicating. They were stuck,” said Kugler, of the firm Kugler Kandestin. “It’s simply tragic.”



While no amount of money can replace what the victims lost in their lives, Kugler continued, it can help them move forward, get therapy and improve the rest of their lives.



The Clercs de Saint-Viateur du Canada will pay $20 million, while the Institut Raymond-Dewar – the new name for the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, as of 1984 – will pay $10 million.



If divided equally among the 150 victims, the $30 million would amount to $200,000 each.



But Kugler expects more victims will likely come forward, now that they have reason to believe it will lead to compensation. And an adjudicator, former Court of Appeals Judge André Forget, will be tasked with interviewing the plaintiffs, in private, to determine whether they deserve the base amount of compensation, 25 per cent more, or 50 per cent more, depending on the gravity of the abuse, and the gravity of the consequences of the abuse.



In 2011, the Congrégation de Sainte-Croix accepted to pay $18 million to former students who were sexually abused between 1950 and 1991 by members of the order in various schools, including Notre-Dame College in Montreal. Read The Full Story.



Related:

Montreal Institute For The Deaf Ex-Students Allege Horrific Abuses

Sexual Abuses Children At Montreal School For The Deaf

Mea Maxima Culpa Silence In House Of God



Related Post: #Deaf Canadians

Oregon's Snow Camp For Youth Deaf Students

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Youth snow camp held for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, instructors communicate with campers by American Sign Language.





BEND, ORE -- KTVZ: People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing have to navigate a world of sound, where the primary means of communication is spoken language. But or one week a year, that all changes.



This weekend at Mt. Bachelor, Oregon Adaptive Sports hosted a snow camp. This was the third annual camp held just for teenagers and young adults who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.



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Although the ski and snowboarding skill levels vary between volunteers, they do all have one thing in common. They are all fluent in American Sign Language.



With the help of an interpreter, we talked to some of those taking part in this special program. Will Roach is a volunteer instructor and one of the people behind the idea.



"We thought about all the Deaf students who are isolated, and we thought, 'Why not get them all together, and we could have instructors who are Deaf, so they could have direct communication?'"Roach said.



For the participants, communication makes all the difference.



"Well, Will was teaching me, and it's really nice to talk to other Deaf people here. That's really the best part," said one of the campers.



Officer coordinator and instructor Cara Frank knows how important this camp is first0hand. She was born Deaf.



"It really has a special place in my heart," she said. "Just having another role model that you can relate to growing up, it's really key. And that's what this camp is about."



Everyone we talked to said they will absolutely be back next year.



Oregon Association of the Deaf has a variety of other programs. Their goal is to provide outdoor recreation experiences to people with physical and cognitive disabilities. More information can be found at oregonadaptivesports.org. Source

Starkey Hearing Foundation 'Exploitation'

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Starkey Hearing Foundation's exploitation becomes boycott from the Deaf community around the globe.





SAN FRANCISCO -- Thousand of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people around the world concerns with Starkey Hearing Foundation issues over exploitation from celebrates and NFL players who does not knowledge in Deaf Culture nor Sign Language, but just "Hears" which a lead under fire in the Deaf community. Here's the story covers about the Starkey Hearing Foundation's exploitation.



The Daily Moth is the most popular Deaf News in the United States, sharing the extremely important message to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community about the Starkey Hearing Foundation issues.



California Association of the Deaf's concerns with Starkey Hearing Foundation - During a pre-Super Bowl 50 event hosted by Starkey Hearing Foundation, over seventy people received free hearing aids. While it was hailed by the media as a good deed, parents of Deaf children felt it was exploitation. In this interview, Alex discusses why they felt that way and how Starkey could better frame Deaf people.



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To view California Association of the Deaf's letters. To learn more about ASL and early language acquisition, go to http://www.asl4deafkids.org. Warning: California Association of the Deaf's website may be hacked, claimed by Google. The Deaf community believe it comes from the Starkey Hearing Foundation. What a shame.



There's more about the Starkey Hearing Foundation issues from the United Kingdom "Deaf Culture and the Starkey Hearing Foundation."



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A Deaf vlogger Genki Steph from the United Kingdom sharing the video in British Sign Language discussion topic regarding the Starkey Hearing Foundation and the open letter sent by Stefanie Ellis-Gonzales.



Nice to see the patriachy alive and thriving! Open letter from the United Kingdom: Letter Here.



Related Post: #Starkey Hearing Foundation
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