Oh gawd...I'm deaf...I'm hoh.....

Watch this captioned video. It's great! A deaf/hh guy from the U.K. talking about deafness...his and other people's...and things in general regarding it. Don't be afraid of who you are and don't let your deafness stop you from doing what you want to do in life.

sComm ships largest order

sComm has made history by delivering its largest order of UbiDuo communication devices to more than 1,250 Social Security Administration (SSA) field offices around the United States.

These communication devices will enable Social Security staff to interact directly and immediately with clients who are deaf or hard of hearing who walk into SSA office for assistance to discuss their SSI/SSDI benefits. Rather than using paper and pen or waiting for a sign language interpreter to arrive, the staff can turn on the UbiDuo and within seconds begin engaging a conversation with the client. This portable communication tool can be carried anywhere within an office, and its self-powered battery provides power when electrical outlets are not available.

The UbiDuo has a full-size keyboard and screen on each half. Communication is instant, with text showing on both halves as soon as it’s typed, there’s no delay like with instant messaging programs.

Its speed and ease-of-use will enable Social Security staff to better meet the needs of its clients who are deaf, hard of hearing, or other communication challenges. For example, clients who can hear but have difficulty speaking because of a tracheotomy or a stroke can use the UbiDuo.

Below are additional photos of UbiDuo communication devices at the sComm warehouse prior to delivery and on day of delivery. Photos are exclusive for Kokonut Pundit blogsite.

sComm is the engineer and manufacturer of the UbiDuo communication device. sComm is a privately-held company in Raytown, MO. The company was founded in 2005. The idea of the UbiDuo was born out of frustration when father and son were trying to interact with each other face-to-face over breakfast at a restaurant. sComm stands for "simultaneous communications." Face-to-Face Communication solution offers fast and direct communication for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing

LOcuTUS Two

Spinning off of the LOcuTUS One blog piece I did recently while today I'll discuss perceived rejection from a community and identity of self.

In one Star Trek:TNG show the Borg collective was able to successfully assimilate Captain Picard into their collective by capturing him and forcing him to become a part of the hive as one mind. He lost all sense of personality and identity where as on the Enterprise ship his identity was with his crew, his life experiences and personality that made all the difference.  A ship filled with diversity of  people like Geordi La Forge who is blind but wears a special visor that helps him see better - a technology of the time that allowed him to see more things than the natural eye ever could. Or Counselor Troi who have telepathic abilities. Or Worf's ability as a fearless warrior? A ship where respect for their fellow crew and passengers is seen regardless of race, experience, upbringings, ethnic and cultural differences, and special abilities or even those lacking normal eyesight when it doesn't matter because technology helped overcome blindness.  But the height of irony came when Captain Picard and crew did the unthinkable by welcoming a Borg ("you will be assimilated") named Hugh to come and stay on the Enterprise ship should he decide to do so. Even at the risk of losing the Enterprise when the Borg ship comes looking for Hugh. There were no rejection of Hugh near the end of that episode because the crew on the Enterprise ship finally understood Hugh by getting to know him better once he was disconnected from the Borg hive. He was able to regain some sense of his own humanity, personality and awareness of self to know better about the human race. But in the end Hugh made the decision to return back to the Borg collective for reason not what you might think.

All that reminded me a blog piece I did called "The Solution" about Amy and her experience at rejection and how many people associate with Amy her attempt to communicate in a social setting with a group of signing deaf and hearing people.

I am "Amy," as are about two million other severely hearing impaired walking around… And the abuse we are subject to by the ASL Deafies was so elegantly acted out by none other than an ASL Deafie himself.

But what is interesting is to compare some of the thoughts between an oral and hard of hearing person versus a culturally deaf person regarding the Amy video seen in my "The Solution" blog piece when it came to communicating with other deaf people. Even though Amy made the effort to pick up a few new signs and made an attempt to finger spell her name and picked up a few more signs but was ultimately rejected.

This woman who grew up oral and HOH and appears to have been raised in a non-signing environment responded in the original YouTube video source in the comment section about Amy said this:

I grew up oral and HOH and currently learning ASL. Had this HOH girl a sincere interest in making Deaf ASL friends, she could have at the very least, learned a few signs and bring pen and paper to communicate with both the hearing and the ASL Deaf. This video reinforced what I already knew, being stuck between 2 worlds sucks! I'm rather puzzled this HOH girl still didn't learn to bring pen and paper. Does she want to deliberately make communication harder than it has to be?

Versus Candy who is culturally deaf with culturally deaf parents chimed in another blog about the same video. Candy has a different approach and positive outlook said this:

I happen to know all kinds of deaf/hh folks and when one of them approach me not knowing signs, I do make an effort to involve them, even though they do not know signs. It's rude to be ignoring them and having the mindset that it's too bad they don't know signs. The attitude of those signing deaf folks who treat oral deaf is what hurts the deaf world. I was taught to treat everyone the same and I do. My deaf cultured parents taught me that and they practice the same too.

Typically those that do not want to learn signs would not have made an effort to approach signing deaf people.

Manners is what is lacking among many.

Two different approaches on how to deal with a deaf/hh newcomer to a signing community. Which ones do you think would have had a bigger impact? Candy made a great point seen in the underline bold about those who would approach a group of signing deaf people. Amy would not have made an effort to approach signing deaf people if she didn't want to learn new signs.

And then you have Lotus who is oral and hard of hearing had this to say about the video and more in a discussion forum that took place recently:

Lotus: So, what did you guys think of this video? Personally, I think it makes a compelling argument as to why a hard of hearing person should learn ASL if she wants to integrate into the Deaf community and have the common sense to bring pen and paper if she is struggling to understand what the hearing people are saying. Having grown up oral and HOH, I finally learned that one does not HAVE to remain stuck in between two worlds, that one CAN do something about this and be pro-active about it. They are not doomed to a fate that cannot be changed.

According to one blog by an HOH guy, this video is about how badly HOH people are treated by ASL Deafs even though it's very clear in the video that the Deaf woman tried hard to converse with the HOH girl. In fact, it was the Deaf woman who said hi first. This HOH girl attempts to join an ASL conversation even though she doesn't know the language. The thing is, if two people don't speak the same language, it's rather difficult to hold a conversation. Pretty evident that the HOH blogger harbors negative feelings towards the deaf community, even though he himself also has a hearing problem. I feel sorry for this hearing wanna-be blogger........ One can be deaf and happy although he doesn't seem to think it's possible and that being HOH is a better way to live, even though the video proved that being an oral HOH means being left out of both worlds and it's a miserable place to be in. Have to confess that I was stunned that this HOH blogger seems to think the solution for HOH is to use simcomm where basically you communicate with another person using what looks like a typewriter. yeah, the solution for the deaf/hoh to talk to deaf/hoh is not ASL, it's a cumbersome piece of equipment that looks like a typewriter. Personally, ASL and pen and paper is far far more convenient plus simcomm won't fit in either my back pocket or my evening purse. I'd rather write on a napkin!

Of course, Lotus is talking about me as that "HOH blogger." And she got it wrong about a technological communication solution I often speak of.  But the funny thing is that over the last 24 years I have signed in ASL/PSE and I have never felt rejected by the deaf community because I am in many ways am a part of the deaf/hh community and by convention a part of the hearing community, too. The real problem is the few culturally deaf people who have rejected or not have accepted me for a variety of reasons over something that I have no control of. They are the least of my worries. I have not rejected nor have negative feelings towards the culturally deaf community because I have always recognized their uniqueness and abilities. After all, I did go to Gallaudet University, Lotus did not.

I still interact with both deaf kids and adults and have done so since the days as a student at Gallaudet University since 1988. And it was great yesterday to be with a bunch of deaf kids and their deaf parents helping pull weeds during Earth Day weed round up and help them learn more about the environment. This is one example of many. I think Lotus' confusion and obvious bias rest on the fact that she failed to take the time to know who I am  and instead preferred to make generalized assumptions about myself, wrongly I might add, and what I supposedly believe or how I feel. Instead of assuming, why not ask, Lotus?  My world is not your world, your world is not my world, and I have my own preferences on how and who I want to interact with. I have no desire to make any presumptions about Lotus' own feelings or identity.

I have my own preferences on which culturally deaf people I'd like to be friends with or who I don't mind hanging out with, of course. The same goes with non-signing deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people on who I prefer to be with. I see myself as a hard of hearing person. I also see myself as a deaf person. I wear a hearing aid. I am fluent in sign language. I am fluent in the spoken language and speak effortlessly. I went to Gallaudet University. I like playing ragtime piano. I like listening to talk radio while I drive my truck. I've produced videos in sign language with captioning as part of my signing discussions in DVTV. I am an opinionated person. Yet, I respect other people's opinions rather use ad hominem when some people think it takes the place of an effective argument. I like talking on the phone. I like talking over the video phone. I take advantage of communication technology when I'm at work like real time captioning for video conference meetings or use transcribers at large meetings. I like to talk, listen and be a part of small group of hearing people in a conversation. The same goes for being part of a signing conversation with a group of deaf people as I have done so for more than 24 years. I am comfortable with my identity and who I am. I don't feel "stuck" between two worlds because I enjoy both. I live how I want to live my life. It does not matter if you cannot function at the same level as I can or anybody else. I am happy for who I am and not about what I am. I do not presume what's better for other people to live their lives or be critical of them on how they choose to live their life when it comes to their deafness and the people they associate with. Again, my world is not your world, and vice versa.

As for the supposed limitations there are ways on how a non-signer deaf person could interact with either the hearing or culturally deaf people whether by using pen and paper, sign language, real time captioning, talking and lip-reading, using the hearing aids, cochlear implants or Esteem Envoy implantable hearing device (which is NOT a hearing aid), or using an existing face to face technology that allow communicating in a written language in real time with hearing people. The solutions are many as I've explained many times before for years. Technology has made much of our lives easier when it comes to communication. The real attitude is how you approach a solution that fits you depending on a situation.

The point I made in my earlier blog about the Amy video was about how willing are deaf or hearing people to take the time to have a genuine face to face conversation? Or will they continue to reject others simply because they cannot hear well or do not know sign or have misplaced assumptions about them? The real limitations are those who do not have the patience or take the time to communicate with other people regardless of how it is done and the opportunity to get to know them in person. Candy's example is a powerfully positive one.

Captain Picard and Hugh lived in two different worlds at one time but eventually they had a choice on which world they would prefer to live in. Captain Picard who was once a Borg named Locutus who in the end ultimately accepted Hugh, a longtime Borg, without question and gave him the opportunity to choose which world he wanted to belong. Huge was once part of the human race as a boy was able to experience his long lost identity and human feelings separate from the hive's collective thought while on the Enterprise ship. Huge ultimately decided (as a sacrifice and to save Picard's crew and ship) to return back to the Borg ship and continue to be a Borg. A conscious choice he made. Captain Picard who was once Locutus was able to re-assert his deeply locked away human identity in order to become Picard again who quickly rejoined the human race with the help of the Enterprise crew. Picard was able to retain those feelings and understanding on what it was like to be a Borg, a revulsion and hatred he developed against the Borg collective for violating his human identity when he was forced to become a Borg. But it was that experience that caused him to finally understand Hugh when he became "human" again by asserting his independence using the personal pronoun "I."  There is no "I" for a Borg. And it was Hugh's own past experience once as a young human boy that gave him the ability to understand Picard's human race once Hugh became disconnected from the Borg collective thoughts. Two different worlds and both were able to gain valuable insight from each other only because him and his crew were able to get to know each other in person.

The message? Don't presume to think you know everything about the person until you meet him or her in person and get to know the person better.  It's better not to presume and be critical about it because chances are you'll be horribly mistaken.

UPDATE: A slight edit was done in this blog by removing a nom de plume of one person for the sake of calming people down. Secondly, a clarification. I am not making any parallels between Lotus and Locutus. If you note the spelling and capitalized letters you will see two names. Two different and separate person but the story provides an insight and a message.

UPDATE II:  Linking a person's AD account in my blog? Never did that. Never happened. All I linked was to the YouTube account's name that had the comment response in question that I copied for my blog. There was never any linking to any AD url addresses. I never mentioned anything or linked to anything about AD. There were only two sites that I did discuss and that was YouTube and ND. Instead of jumping to conclusion like always read carefully next time before claiming that I linked to AD.

Noah Buchholz's Journey: Part 1 series.

Part 1 of the Documentary series following Noah Buchholz's journey at Princeton Theological Seminary as the only deaf student. He uses the UbiDuo face to face communication technology everywhere on campus allowing him to interact with his hearing peers. The UbiDuo has given him more communication freedom than ever before.

When comedy isn't really comedy....

There are times when we would shake our heads at a comedian who tries his hands on at being a deaf person doing the fake signing while in the backdrop a fake interpreter would "interpret" to the laughing audience on what he's "saying." One could chalk this one up as ignorance for the crowd of hearing people with a different life and experience who find it funny. But the other group, the signing community, would see that quite differently. One man's comedy is another man's laughter but one man's comedy can also be another man's disdain with the act deserving the trash can, too.

Deaf Blue Man Group

There are casting calls for Blue Man Group Casting for Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles for April, July and August depending on which city. They are asking for your headshot and resume to be sent in prior to the casting dates. If you aren't familiar with Blue Man here's a video of them in action:
I wonder if anybody, deaf or hard of hearing, has ever tried out or plan to try out for the casting this year? I think it'd be great to see a deaf/hh Blue Man Group utilizing their own unique set of skills and ability to interact with the deaf/hh crowd.

LOcuTUS One

It's a strange world sometimes in the deaf community, especially when you participate in a forum attended mostly by deaf people, many of them signers. Some are even CIborgs which is a running joke by those who love their CIs who facetiously say this although nothing like Locutus of Borg when Captain Picard of Star Trek became a Borg. They are still human beings. This strangeness I'm talking about is in the form of misunderstandings and rigid thinking that happens once in a while. This usually happens when suspicion abounds which result in one-sided prejudicial thinking. One instance is not understanding the purpose of the UbiDuo thinking it had to do with Simcom which actually happened in a real discussion.

Have to confess that I was stunned that this HOH blogger seems to think the solution for HOH is to use Simcom where basically you communicate with another person using what looks like a typewriter. yeah, the solution for the deaf/hoh to talk to deaf/hoh is not ASL, it's a cumbersome piece of equipment that looks like a typewriter. Personally, ASL and pen and paper is far far more convenient plus simcomm won't fit in either my back pocket or my evening purse. I'd rather write on a napkin!

First of all, the UbiDuo is a Face-to-Face (F2F) communication device that employs typing wirelessly the words to a person across from you using the same communication device. All done using the written language such as English in this case.  Frankly, it's impossible to do Simcom while using the UbiDuo.

I suppose this person somehow mixed up the name of the company sComm calling it as simcomm. sComm is an abbreviation for Simultaneous Communication. A company that makes the UbiDuo product. A communication device that allow wirelessly typing of words between two people, typically one deaf and one hearing person.  UbiDuo users are able to communicate seamlessly and in real time much like what a real conversation takes place.  Up to four people can use the UbiDuo using two separate units. The UbiDuo could also be used between a hearing mute person and hearing person. Or between a stutterer and a hearing person. Regardless, the UbiDuo fills that niche when signing or writing on a piece of paper simply won't do when it comes down to having full and rich conversations all done in real time.

The second misunderstanding is that some people think the UbiDuo replaces ASL. Not true. Many of the UbiDuo users are native ASL users and signers. Even the co-founder and deaf owner of sComm relies on sign language interpreters in large and small settings. But when it comes to a one to one communication opportunities the UbiDuo fills that niche nicely in communicating with other people in real time whether it's doing breaking business deals with hearing clients, conversations in social settings with hearing people such as in bars and restaurants, interactions with hearing customers, impromptu meetings with your hearing boss or supervisor, or catching up on missed family interactions by those who don't know sign language. That niche to fill is rather large when you think about it.

Instead of assuming what the UbiDuo does, please take the time to ask the company or visit their website to learn more about the UbiDuo communication device and the people who have successfully used it.

BTW, I do not get any commission from selling the UbiDuo. The owner of sComm is a great friend of mine. I've known him since 2005. Ever since 2005 when I first learned about his company and began blogging about it only because I believed in his product was the answer on helping close many of the communication gaps between deaf and hearing people. Both he and I share the same philosophy and vision about communication access using technology as a mean to bridge the communication gap between deaf and hearing people. I simply believe in his patented communication device, the UbiDuo. And so I blog about it exclusively because I know it works. It has given countless deaf people greater independence and confidence in communicating with hearing people in real time. I've seen lives changed because of this. I've seen deaf people get promoted because the UbiDuo allowed them the initiative to forge ahead independently. I've seen family members weep because they were able to communicate fully with their son or daughter for the first time. It's sad, yes, but enlightening at the same time that it has helped open doors to thousands of users, both deaf and hearing, all across the globe. It's about gaining greater independence. It's about more freedom and opportunities.

ASL or sign language will always be there. The UbiDuo simply facilitates the communication in real time between a deaf and non-signer hearing person in a variety of settings and situations. Nothing more, nothing less.

Stem Cell Cure Success for Deaf Babies

Breaking News! Today the St. Moog Catholic University Auditory Clinic and Research Center became the first university in the world to successfully restore sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness) in 20 bilaterally deaf babies (age 8 months to 2 years old) in its year long Phase II human application research stage. A gain of 60 to 70 dB was successfully restored in all of the babies previously born with sensorineural hearing loss who had severe to profound hearing loss. The restored hearing remained stable after a year and showed no signs of loss or change. Ear hair cells were successfully grown in the cochlea using dead viruses as natural vectors to deliver each of the baby's own stem cells into their ears. The restoration rate was similar to birds who have the ability to self-restore their own damaged hearing in a matter of weeks. Researchers and parents were equally delighted by the results. It was said that the regeneration of sensorineural hearing loss would take a few decades to achieve but they have already reached that milestone so quickly.

Mark on your calendar April 1, 2012 as the day when parents of deaf babies will soon have the option to restore their babies' sensorineural hearing loss with this easy to use medical application.

Bookworm

Here's a great website which looks through all of the articles in the pre-print service arXiv where you can compare term usage seen in articles as it search for trends in hundreds of thousands of scientific articles. The trend I looked for are "cochlear implant," "hearing aids," "sign language," "cued speech," and "deaf education."

Here are the results:

As you can see since 2011 the number of articles on sign language has dropped dramatically while cued speech, deaf education, cochlear implant and hearing aids jumped up dramatically. For a better up close graph result go here.

For sign language it has peaked twice around 2010 and mid-2011 but it appears to be waning while deaf education, cued speech, cochlear implant and hearing aids appear to be over taking sign language.

What can we infer from all of this is anybody's guess. Perhaps over the next 5 to 10 years we will probably get a better sense of the on going trend. Although in Google Trends it shows that the term "sign language" is on the downward trend which seems to corroborate the Book worm search while other terms in Google Trends appear to be relatively static.

UPDATE: I also looked separately on trends in Google Books Ngram. For books that discuss sign language from 1880 to 2008 you can see it peaked around 1998 and has been going down ever since.  On cochlear implant it peaked around 2002. On hearing aids it peaked in 2000. On deaf education it peaked around 1995.  And on cued speech it peaked around 1997.