Hearing Restoration Project cure for Hearing Loss

Our Mission: Hearing Health Foundation is the largest private funder of hearing research, with a mission to prevent and cure hearing loss through groundbreaking research.  Since 1958 Hearing Health Foundation has given nearly $30 million to hearing and balance research, including work that led to cochlear implant technology.  In 2011 Hearing Health Foundation launched the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP), a consortium of scientists working on cell regeneration in the ear.  HRP's goal is a biologic cure for most types of acquired hearing loss within the next ten years. Hearing Health Foundation also publishes Hearing Health magazine, a free consumer resource on hearing loss and related technology, research, and products.

With your help, we can make hearing loss a thing of the past.

http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/our-research-plan

Join or donate for the upcoming Nov 3, 2013 marathon race in NY for the cure on hearing loss.

Or read their latest Fall magazine.

If cure for hearing loss isn't your thing then perhaps help find a cure for vision loss where blind mice own blindness were successfully restored with stem cells. The restoration of blindness is now within our lifetime.

Walk4Hearing to break donation record

I reported on this earlier this year in April and in 8 months time the Walk4Hearing organization was able to raise another $800,000 with $1.2 million dollars already raised with the goal of $1.4 million dollars this year. From the looks of it they will definitely break the $1.4 million dollar mark this year beating out last year of $1.3 million dollars.

Money raised is shared between national and local programs and services including support of children with hearing loss at www.kidsandhearingloss.org.

National Programs and Services      

• Provide timely and reliable information about hearing loss through HLAA’s website, Hearing Loss Magazine, HLAA e-News, the Hearing Loss Support Specialist Training, message boards/chat forums and annual conventions
• Advocacy at the national level to affect legislation that impacts people with hearing loss, whether it’s funding for hearing aids, cochlear implants, communication access in public places or other important issues
• A nationwide network of chapters and state organizations providing peer support
• Support for parents of children with hearing loss at www.kidsandhearingloss.org
• Outreach to veterans returning with hearing loss
• Social networking site for young adults with hearing loss at www.hearinglossnation.org

Local Programs and Services     

• Captioning and hearing assistive technology at HLAA chapter meetings to make them accessible
• Scholarships toward college tuition for students with hearing loss
• Funding for hearing aids and assistive listening devices for people who cannot afford them
• Installation of hearing assistive technology in public places, such as community rooms and public libraries
• Captioning of live theater productions
• Seminars on coping with hearing loss

The www.kidsandhearingloss.org website is to help

...empower parents of hard of hearing and/or deaf children by providing the resources necessary for them to make informed decisions about their children’s hearing loss.

Deaf man mocks a "deaf" beggar

A recent video came to my attention of a Deaf man mocking a beggar at Las Vegas seen here in a Facebook video. This beggar was holding up a sign saying "Deaf. Hungry." Plus another word below which could not be read due to the blurry video.

Ted, the Deaf man signing in the video, made an assumption that the beggar could not possibly be deaf but hearing simply because the beggar did not know sign language.

Now, there are two possibilities.

1) The beggar could be deaf or hard of hearing and does not know sign language.

2) Or the beggar is hearing and does not know sign language.

Ted assumed the beggar is hearing on the basis he did not respond to Ted's signing to him. And thereby concluded the beggar is lying about his medical condition and not deaf at all.  But the beggar could have been born with a hearing loss or is a late deafened person who is homeless.

There are many deaf people in the United States who do not know sign language.

The majority of people who are deaf and hard of hearing do not know sign language. According to a Johns Hopkins study, more than 48 million people in the United States are deaf or hard of hearing, or a fifth of all Americans. Of these, almost 99 percent lost their hearing or were raised orally–not using sign language–and rely on their residual hearing (aided by hearing aids or cochlear implants), speech reading, and the printed word for communication access. This group of people are greatly aided by text forms of access.

Just because you see a deaf person does not mean the person knows sign language. Bad assumption. Best way is to get the facts first. If indeed the beggar is hearing, then shame on him. If indeed the beggar is deaf/hh, then double shame on Ted.  Either way, it's a bit disgusting to watch.

UPDATE: Good friend of mine, Barry Sewell and his wife, Crystal, produced their own captioned video about the disturbing video they saw in Facebook.

When hearing aids benefit deaf/hh children

While growing up at around age 6 or 7 years old I received my second hearing aid after having worn out my first one that I had since age 2 1/2 years old. It wasn’t the behind the ear hearing aid but a body aid. I’ve gotten a lot of good mileage out of my old hearing aids. Obviously so because without that hearing aid of mine I wouldn’t be here where I am today. Successful and thankful with what residual hearing I had left though not perfect. It has helped me with my ongoing ragtime piano playing ever since I was seven years old. I am proud of all of my past hearing aids I've worn because each one of them I have used it with great benefit. I even remembered how I enjoyed using my hearing aid when I was little because it gave me access to the world of sound, music and voice around me. It took awhile to realize that hearing is a precious thing and a gift even if I couldn't hear perfectly. It was perfect enough for me with the help from the hearing aid technology. I even have a drawing I did when I was around 5 or 6 years old showing me as a happy kid wearing the body hearing aid. There was a time or two when I didn't like wearing my hearing aid but that phase quickly passed once I realized how important my hearing aids were to me.

Below is a picture of my old body hearing aid inside a protective case . It’s a Zenith. Along with a Battery Membership card, and a special yellow button that has as special message.

It’s so well preserved though I am sure my old hearing aid can work if I put in the right kind of battery.

Pretty fascinating on how hearing aids (even cochlear implants) have helped so many people with hearing loss. Isn’t technology great? And perhaps someday hearing aids will become obsolete with the help of biotechnology that have the ability to restore sensorineural hearing loss. It's not a matter of if but when. That day is coming whether in my lifetime or not.

The attacking of Rachel Kolb

I'm not surprise but there are some people who will attack a deaf person for his or her communication preference or approach such as depending on lip-reading to communicate. Rachel Kolb wrote a well written piece in the Stanford Magazine back in March about her life growing up as a deaf person who learned to lip-read to get by.

Lipreading, on which I rely for most social interaction, is an inherently tenuous mode of communication. It's essentially a skill of trying to grasp with one sense the information that was intended for another. When I watch people's lips, I am trying to learn something about sound when the eyes were not meant to hear.

Lip-reading is a skill that not all deaf or hard of hearing people can master. Some do have that skill born out of necessity in the effort to communicate with hearing people.  She has a choice in choosing her mode of communication, nowadays.

Sometimes I feel guilty that I lipread at all. I fear that I am betraying myself by accepting the conventions of the hearing world. I fear that I lack balance—that I am abandoning the communication tactics that work for me, in order to throw myself headlong at a system that does not care about my needs. When I attempt to function like a hearing person, am I not sacrificing my integrity to a game that I lack the tools to tackle, a game that in the end makes me look slow or stupid?

Deaf people—meaning Deaf people who live solely in the Deaf community, and hold on to an inherent pride in their Deafness—often speak of communicating as they please and letting the hearing world "deal with it." They believe in the beauty and, dare I say it, the superiority of sign language. Spoken language, compared with the visual nuances of signing, might as well be caveman guttural grunts.

When I lipread, I leave the clarity of sign language behind. I attempt to communicate with hearing people on their terms, with no expectation that they will return the favor. The standards I am striving for seem ridiculous: I am trying singlehandedly to cross the chasm of disability. Might not my stubbornness be of more harm than good?

I struggle with this. Some days I wonder what it would be like if I refused to speak. I could roll out of bed one morning, decide to take control of my communication on my terms, and make everyone write it down or sign, as other Deaf people do. Some days I resent myself. I wonder if I am weak, ashamed or overly anxious to please.

Although those comments above were not really the reason why some deaf people, most likely culturally deaf, attacked her for that but about how Rachel felt validated and vindicated on being able to use her lip-reading skill at age 12 :

I am 12 and at a summer camp for the deaf. The entire group has just gone whitewater rafting and is stopping to get ice cream. My peers line up by the counter, signing to each other about the flavors they want. I smile and join, finding the conversation perfectly normal. But when the clerk speaks to us, the other kids freeze like mice after the shadow of a hawk has swooped over the grass.  

With a jolt, I realize that they have no means with which to understand this hearing woman. Most do not speak, go to deaf schools, have never had reason to learn to lipread. Their barrier is the same as mine, but completely—instead of partially—insurmountable.  

"What did you say?" I ask the store attendant, looking her in the eye. My voice feels thick from disuse, but still I am aware of its clarity. The other kids stare at me, their hands slack.  

"I said, would you like a free sample?" the attendant says. I understand her and sign the message to the others. They nod, and sign which flavors they want to taste. I repeat, speaking, to the attendant.  

After the ordering, when I finally sit down, my own ice cream in hand, I feel strangely lightheaded. This—being able to endow spoken words with meaning, rather than having them translated by somebody else—is new for me. Because I have so often felt powerless, I have never realized the power that I possess.

It took awhile until the attacks came seen in the comments after many positive comments were made seeing her as a role model in the deaf community.  Seriously, she is seen as a role model in the deaf community whether you like it or not. Others saw her comments as something disruptive and negative in the culturally deaf community. As always, perspectives vary.

Michelle L. Westfall:

Lastly, it's painfully clear to me that the writer has issues with her Deaf identity and is ashamed of being Deaf. How sad. Even worse...it's clear that the writer has been trained by the hearing society that she owes them problem-free communication, and that it's her responsibility to ensure that they never feel uncomfortable and her task to make sure that they never misunderstand her. Wrong on all counts. Communication is TWO-WAY PROCESS and does not lie with *one* person. Dump your misguided guilt, Rachel. You owe them nothing.

Michelle's comment was a bit misapplied if not done in a derogatory way in Rachel's case.  Rachel didn't feel that she owed the hearing society problem-free communication but rather that she attempted to cross the chasm of her own disability by single-handedly reaching out first by speaking and using her lip-reading skill to communicate. There is a difference. Rachel is attempting to enlighten people about her struggles, her fears and hopes. She does explore about herself why she continues to lipread rather than ensuring that she gets the full communication access even though she knows sign language. No use in dumping on Rachel about some supposedly guilt complex of hers.


Meme H. Kerr:

Now, Kolb's comment about discovering the power after the ice cream shop incident, she's basically taking the power away from the other Deaf kids. I've found their reaction hard to believe because we're so used to hearing people talking to us. Well, if that's really the case, then blame on their teachers or parents for not teaching them to find a way to communicate, rather than to rely on someone else to facilitate the communication. Spending time trying to figure what people are saying is a total waste of time. Getting out pen and paper is relatively a simple task. Apparently, many people are either illiterate or lazy. Kolb, you're doing more harm than good, really. You're only perpetuating dysfunctional & paternalistic thinking in hearing people.

I don't see how that day Rachel took "the power away from other Deaf kids" that day. It just happened that day when she was 12 years old. Not much to read into that. Kids were unable to understand what a hearing attendant was saying and so she was able to help them out. The deaf kids were happy to get their ice cream in short order. Kerr is making a mountain out of molehill. Kolb was simply describing her experience when she was 12 years old at a summer camp for deaf kids. As for lip-reading it might be a waste of time for you to figure out what people are saying but not so for others who may have that skill. Personally, it'd be a waste of my time myself to try and lip-read since I communicate much more effectively with my hearing aid on. 

I saw no paternalistic thinking in what Kolb was expressing. She already knows sign language and happens to be a good lip-reader. No big mystery.


John Pirone:

I believe that the statement. "I have never realized the power that I possess.." defeats what you are trying to tell us.  You explain in detail how frustrating you are with the ineffectiveness of lipreading yet now you are grateful for having that "skill" just because you feel the power of using it.

Rachel's article about her struggles growing up as a profoundly deaf person was not "defeated" when she explained on how she felt for the first time that her lip-reading skill were validated that day at age 12 yeas old. She was conveying a realization at the time how she felt vindicated when she discovered she could help others with her lip-reading skill. Nothing more to read between the lines or form conspiracy theories. She simply expressed what she felt that day. Instead, John gets bent out of shape about Kolb's story when she was 12 years old and what she felt at that time.  Just as well, there is nothing wrong with feeling grateful for having a particular communication skill and be able to use that.  Not just a "skill" but a good skill at that.

Is Daniel Winship's art seen as "bullying"?

This what Tara Congdon wrote in her blog piece about Daniel Winship's own drawing depicting a deaf boy's head getting his cochlear implant drilled to his head:

"Precisely because of all the reactions posted on the image and its iterations across the Internet, Winship’s art must NOT be censored, as some demanded, or even labeled as bullying, as the operators of thedeafcommunity.org have done."

Art is fine. It's a form of expression based on many things. Some people don't even consider certain art as being art but a heap of mess instead. I understand that, too. Censoring art isn't a great idea, either (of course, perhaps with extreme prejudice that could depend on some things). Having said that, people do have a right to feel or think that certain art is seen as a form of "bullying." Seeing how it is provocative through the art's view own hyperbolic expression helping spread the myth continue to grow and misinform.

The owner of thedeafcommunity.org has every right to label certain art as the "bullying" kind if the person feels it has that kind of feel to it. Not quite the same thing but I think I understand the reason behind it when people think it's a form of "bullying" such as the claimed example seen in the "Bully File."

De'VIA (Deconstructing the Forced Assimilation of Deaf People) resistent art used as tactis to scare, bully and silence anyone who is pro-options for deaf children. De'VIA art is exhibited in places such as Gallaudet University.  For the an example of one such work, click on one of these links:

http://www.zazzle.com/the_deaf_militants_battle_with_the_hydra_monster_poster-228388261844109024

 

http://pinterest.com/silentmobster42/deaf-militants-battle-with-hydra-monster/

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=349626648493186&id=325226907599827

 

This example was shared among numerous sites on the internet in May 2013. Do note, "The Deaf Militants Battle with the Hydra Monster" poster is available for sale but without the permission of the person(s) represented on the image.
 

But are those art examples truly a form of bullying? Perhaps not. Perhaps not in the bully context as we know it but I believe I understand where this person is coming from. I cannot say that this person's viewpoint or perspective is entirely wrong saying it's a form of bullying. That kind of context need to be explored further.

Maybe some people feel that some art or drawing exhibit a form of "bullying" because of the pushiness it exhibits constantly at certain people or organization through examples of hyperboles and total exaggeration. Or that it mocks, demean, or ridicule certain people. And so on. After all, art is all about interpretation and people interpret art differently. Seeing it as a form of "bullying" is one of them.

Stanford Acquires Advanced Instrument to Accelerate the Quest for Hearing Loss Cure

Stanford Acquires Advanced Instrument to Accelerate the Quest for Hearing Loss Cure.

February 26th was an especially good day for the Stanford team in their efforts to move closer to finding a cure for hearing loss. In addition to the exciting Press Release on Dr. Cheng’s research findings on hair cell regeneration and hearing loss, we were pleased to announce that Dr. Heller and the Stanford OHNS team were the proud owners of a new stem cell sorter. As you may recall, there are currently only about a dozen of these instruments (costing over a third of a million dollars) available in the world. The Stanford team will be the first research group in the world to apply this cutting edge technology to overcome hearing loss.

A bit of tidbit news on the stem cell front. This news was posted in March. Read more here.

Reframing Hearing Gain

Back in the days before electronic hearing aids or cochlear implants became effective the term "hearing loss" was used to described a condition caused either by genetics, disease or accident. It is a medical descriptive term just like "vision loss" that accurately describes the condition.

With the leap-frogging advances of hearing technology the concept of "Hearing Gain" takes on a more meaningful interpretation on what was once lost has now gained new sound and opportunities in the hearing world, yet people can still retain their identity as a person with a hearing loss or deaf. The term "Hearing Gain" has nothing to do with on becoming like a hearing person but rather the opportunity it gives and the opening of doors to a different world.

This is true of one deaf woman, Sarah Churman, who made a Hearing Gain when she was given the Envoy implantable hearing device. The device is not a hearing aid since it has no microphone but uses the ear drum as a natural microphone. Sarah experienced a Hearing Gain going from a world of muted and hushed sound that her old hearing aids could not fulfill to a rich, stereo-sound world with the two devices naturally amplifying the natural sound into her eardrums.  This is probably the ultimate form of "Hearing Gain" so far (short of having stem cells restoring hearing loss naturally) that is done on gaining and using natural sound. This cannot be done with hearing aids since sound goes through a microphone and gets digitized and amplified at the end to the ear drum. The same for cochlear implants where sound is converted into digital form before reaching the cochlea in the ear.

If not that then hearing aids or cochlear implants people would give deaf and hard of hearing people their own kind of Hearing Gain experiences where sound and opportunities would open up for them. We saw the strong reaction of Sarah Churman who experienced a life-changing moment with such a new hearing technology it overwhelmed her expectations. Same for cochlear implants.  And even hearing aids. Putting them on and realizing just how much sound they were missing and the connection with the hearing world.

True Hearing Gain would be the time when the restoration of hearing loss could be reversed and restored. In the mean time, Hearing Gain continues apace every day each time a hearing aid, cochlear implant or implantable hearing device gets turned on.

The Dangers of Cultish-like Behaviors

Over the years I have seen this red flag go up again and again from certain groups of deaf people or even certain deaf run organizations that exhibit certain cultish-like behaviors.  I don't believe that these groups or organizations are cults at all. Just that there were some warning signs that could signal a deeper problem in their effort to control ideological thoughts and actions.

Just an observation of mine.

The year 2006 was the start of Unity for Gallaudet University protest (DPN2) when new array of dazzling terms suddenly appeared all of which reminded me of cult-like speak. These new terminologies were tossed around heavily early on and over the next 5 to 6 years to be used as a weapon of choice against those who disagree or have a different viewpoint or opinion. Terms like "deficit thinking," "deficit thinker," "colonialism," "post-colonialism," "dysconscious," "dysconscious **dism" (i.e. Deaf Uncle Tom), "subaltern rebel," "linguicism," "intergenerational unification," "discursive system," "subaltern," "subaltern-elite," "elite," "subalternity," "unconscious internalization," "minority imperatives,"  and many more. Enough to dazzle all new comers with such impressive array of words. All those terms reminded me of Scientology speak and how they were mostly successful in using their own words to "de-program" their new subjects to fit their new world "reality." In this case, ironically so, many deaf subjects or new comers were taught these new words and new ideological concepts who actually lacked English-literacy skills and are effectively monolingual in their own  (visual) language which happens to be ASL or sign language.  These "leaders," "higher followers" or "sub-leaders" use the written English language to include those dazzling terms in a format much like you would see in a doctorate paper heavily laden with psychological terms. It sounds impressive to new comers. All those fancy terms. This helps to "legitimize" the whole indoctrination process at "de-programming" centers at specialized workshops with the opportunity to simplify those terms further and its ideological concepts using ASL or sign language.

Bait. Hook. Reel them in.

Those were the obvious red-flags that something was amiss. I was actually targeted by one "elite" follower who used ad hominem attacks against me and others using an organization's website as his personal site to be used against me.  That certainly didn't help the situation exhibiting certain cult-like action and attitudes. That organization tried to cover their tracks by deleting that particular webpage the next day but they failed. There was never a public apology to this day from that particular person for his cyberbullying and wholly unprofessional action.  It was an absolutely surreal moment and at the same time a bit fascinating to have witnessed that personally.

Moving on.

The term "deficit thinking" is a form of "psuedo-science."

"process of false persuasion by scientific pretense"

Indeed.

According to a book on “The Evolution of Deficit Thinking: Educational Thought and Practice” (by Richard R. Valencia, which is an interesting read on the history of how that concept came about) the definition of “deficit thinking” is:

“Deficit thinking is tantamount to the process of ‘blaming the victim’. It is a model founded on imputation, not documentation.”

Imputation essentially means acts of accusation.

Words like “deficit” and the prefix “dys” in "dysconscious" are tinged with negative connotations. The prefix “dys” comes from "dus" (bad) spoken by people of Greece starting about 1000 B.C where "bad" modifies the word. And, of course, deficit means “inadequate” or “insufficient.”

So, you can see why people like to use those particular terms with its built in negative connotations as way to attack and bludgeon others for having a different perspective and opinion.  People have different viewpoints, perspectives, life experiences, failures, and successes whose own reasoning may be just as valid as the next person’s.  It’s easy to call somebody a “deficit thinker” or "dysconscious **dist," for example, but then again that person may exhibit that very same attitude as well.  It's like when a person accuses somebody by pointing a finger at him and in response you get 20 fingers pointing back at the accuser. To me, those terms are meaningless psychobabble and are worthy enough to have them drop kicked over a football field goal when it comes to deafness-related discussions. It simply doesn’t help the situation or the discussion. It invites confusion. We have seen it happen again and again. It never stops.  It's full of generalities when used improperly and solves nothing.

Certain deaf leaders and "sub-leaders" like to use those "cult-like" sounding terms in their initial effort to impress and recruit potential new comers as part of the whole collectivism and "consciousness raising" efforts. That reminds me of spiritual gurus or swami who try and "enlighten" their new starry-eyed students who are desperately looking for answers, the meaning of life. But if you disagree with them or have an opinion different from their "world" views you'd be called loudly as a "deficit thinker," a heretic, an apostate, or something worse.

Those "cult-like" sounding terms or unfamiliar words usually get legitimized further from people who hold doctorate degrees in Deaf Studies or something similar. They are there to teach those (i.e. new or potential recruits) who don't know any better or don't understand the words and ideological concepts at specialized workshops, usually for culturally deaf people only.  And in signed videos which are usually not captioned or supplemented with a transcript which is interesting when they usually scream about oppression, discrimination, lack of accommodation, and such. They play the same sick games of oppression just like their hearing counterparts.  The irony is simply too much.

All in all, it was fascinating to watch this new kind cultish-like behavior take place and how it has evolved over the years. But the warnings are still there. Be careful not to be taken in or dazzled by impressive sounding words and concepts. We all understand that discrimination occurs and do take place everyday. We understand that hearing, deaf and hard of hearing and culturally deaf people need to be educated about hearing loss, deaf education, language acquisition, mode of communication, communication preferences, and the acts of discrimination and intentional prejudice based on hearing loss, ability to speak/listen, and/or even the ability to sign.

I have a question

A captioned video, "I have a question."

Can you spot the video difference?

Can you spot the differences between these three videos? Maybe the irony? Before you complain, think first. Keep it clean...and nice. That's my only request.





The last video talks about this guy in a screenshot which can be found here.

Enjoy.

Quotable Quotes of Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet

Here are these interesting quotes by Dr. Gallaudet in 1886, six years after the 1880 Milan Conference:

I commend this auricular method to all who are interested in the education of the deaf as one deserving of very great attention, because, if we take the number of the deaf who are capable of being taught aurally as amounting to 10 per cent, only, it is conferring upon them a great boon to teach them aurally; it is a greater boon even than giving them the power of imperfect speech.

And this quote:

Within two years after that time I exhibited this boy before the National Academy of Sciences at Washington, and talked with him through the tube without difficulty, and today he has advanced far enough to be a student in our college; he is a young man full of promise, and he hears well enough to be able to sit by the side of either of you gentlemen and carry on a conversation with you through the tube.

And this one, too:

A third method which we are now practising in America with some exceedingly interesting results may be spoken of as the aural or auricular method. A very considerable percentage of those who are classed in the community as deaf-mutes have a degree of hearing which makes it entirely possible that they may be educated through the ear.

Who ever thought that Dr. Gallaudet would trot out a deaf boy at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C., of all places, and hold him up as an example of a successful product of an oral and auditory teaching approach to gain a language? Imagine people like him doing that today at Gallaudet University. Students and staff over there would just have an apoplectic fit.

All this occurred on Nov 9,1886 according to the Royal Commission report. Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet acknowledged the importance of listening and speaking. This important acknowledgment came six years later after the famous Milan Conference in 1880 when Dr. Edward Miner Gallaudet and Rev. Thomas Gallaudet opposed a resolution that passed banning sign language.

Let me repeat that again for you.

How do you reconcile with Dr. Gallaudet being against the banning of sign language in 1880 (Milan Conference) and 6 year later explained to the Royal Commission of the United Kingdom on the Condition of the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb on his commending the successful use of aural and oral teaching method?  How do you reconcile with those two facts? And the fact earlier in his life he became the first president of Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind in 1864 now today called "Gallaudet University."

Interesting, eh? I'm sure your brain hurts right now.

Deaf-Blind Fiasco at Gallaudet University

I'm calling this a fiasco because the DB students have had to put up with Gallaudet University's shortcomings (and some of the deaf people in the Deaf community) on not helping them succeed and graduate in the subject they want to major in, and be a part of the dynamic campus community, inside and out. The DB at Gallaudet University have always been at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to services on addressing their needs on the same equitable level as their sighted counterparts.  The deaf community in general, especially at Gallaudet University, failed in their Community Accountability toward the DB community. Ryan Odland (see below) explains why.

Ryan Odland brought up the issue of how Gallaudet isn't helping the Deafblind to the MSCHE board a few days ago. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education [MSCHE] is a voluntary, non-governmental, membership association that is dedicated to quality assurance and improvement through accreditation via peer evaluation. Middle States accreditation instills public confidence in institutional mission, goals, performance, and resources through its rigorous accreditation standards and their enforcement. That is their mission statement.

Below is a video of Ryan Odland addressing the problem the DB face everyday at Gallaudet University. Included is a transcript of Ryan addressing to the MSCHE board





Transcript:

Many students feel frustrated and will withdraw from Gallaudet. From my personal experience having been a Graduate student for five years, I can really understand based upon their approach to students with disabilities. We have a disability service here which is understaffed and unable to catch up with today's technology. Students have varying needs not only here but in the United States of America as well as on a global scale. They all have been frustrated with inappropriate accommodations such as transportation for internships when the student is Deafblind and unable to drive. Another example is students who have ADHD and do not have success reading without accommodations. It's been frustrating, stressful, and procreates the climate for a student to drop out. The inaccessibility also has an impact on the Deafblind student's major and are oftentimes told to change their majors. I don't mean to give Gallaudet a bad time or be looked down at, but I do want to recognize Gallaudet's potential within its disability services. The DB and other students with special needs who do not have the proper accessibility via services, it stifles our growth rate. I am also an adjunct professor who has seen this from a first hand experience with my students. I often times find myself having to directly accommodate the students because I know OSWD lacks the ability to do so. The direct accommodations are provided because I want to see a success rate in my classroom. Why is it my responsibility to provide as such when OSWD should be doing this instead? Gallaudet needs to be providing the support, not the professors. I think it is a big issue on campus. I have a paper file with the past two years where I have been presenting on how the Gallaudet Mission and Vision statement has failed the Deafblind and students with special needs. The lecture is how we can increase the retention rate and self esteem of the students. This is not achievable when OSWD is understaffed and it causes a problem for the students who need the accommodations and accessibility. Thank you.

Another failure on Community Accountability front by capable culturally deaf people with strong English skills and signing ability are those who refuse to include transcripts or subtitles to their own signing vlogs leaving much of the DB out.  One DB said it best on the failure of the sighted culturally deaf community on making them feel they're a part of the deaf community:

I think it’s time that the Deaf community learned about accountability – towards its very members – grassroots, women, men, the educated, around the world, the blind, the DeafPlus, et cetera – and truly learned how to INTEGRATE that into their livelihoods.

Because you might as well get used to me butting into your lives with my lovely hands tactiling yours in FORM OF COMMUNICATION using the very COMMON method: SIGN LANGUAGE. Any sign language around thw world. That can be said for others, however, this opinion article is based on my experiences and views being an international lecturer meeting hundreds if not thousands of Deafblind people around the world who say that they grew up Deaf, but now that they’re Deafblind, they don’t feel part of the Deaf community anymore.

My answer to that?

It takes two sides to come HALF WAY to communicate. The Deafblind people have to come halfway and educate the others how to communicate with them; The Deaf people have to come halfway to learn how to support them, how to integrate them within the Deaf community, to ensure that rejection is not a verb in anyone’s language.

Gallaudet University and the some of the people in the culturally deaf community, please get your act together and support the D-B community's needs. Stop with the lame excuses and move forward. Walk the walk for once.


Hat Tip - Candy.

Thought of the Day.

Big mystery question of the day. Why do some people to my blog and leave comments about how great "deafhood" is or something along that line but refuse to leave their real name behind? Are they embarrassed to show their faces about a philosophical concept? The problem with "deafhood" is the people who don't walk the walk and instead become walking hypocrites. A common sight, I'd say. If it makes people feel good to tout it like a trophy, be my guest. I prefer the most simplest way without any baggage or political correctness and that is accept people for who they are...not about what they are. It doesn't matter if they have a hearing loss or not. I have said this many times in my blogs in the past and elsewhere. If people are so doggone crazy about "deafhood" then why the anonymity when commenting in my blog in the effort to advertise on how great it is? Just like anonymous Matt.

That's my "Thought of the Day."

Excuses Adult Cyberbullies Make

Adult cyberbullies with their continuing and repetitive nature of bullying online will provide an array of excuses to try and dissuade people that they cannot be a cyberbully. Cyberbullying takes on many forms. Some are insidious in nature racked with compulsions while others behave like children such as a posting a picture of the victim the cyberbully dislike on the web in such a demeaning fashion.

A dissertation written by Warren J. Blumenfeld, Ed. D., on cyberbullying describes it succinctly in his abstract:

Cyberbullying, like face-to-face (f2f) bullying, involves deliberate and repeated aggressive and hostile behaviors by an individual or group of individuals intended to humiliate, harm, and/or control another individual or group of individuals of lesser power or social status. Cyberbullying, however, involves the use of information and communication technologies such as Internet web sites, e-mail, chat rooms, mobile phone and pager text message, and instant messaging. The author discusses the similarities and diference between f2f and cyberbullying, and the psychological dimensions unique to human-computer interactions which tend to increase abusive behaviors, including cyberbullying. In addition, the author proposes the application of social norms theory in research initiatives to address issues of cyberbullying.

Adults and children use the same mechanism and tools when it comes to cyberbullying. They both use the internet web sites, email, chat rooms, Twitter, Facebook, mobile phone and text messaging and instant messaging. There are no descernible differences between adults and children when the intention is to send hurtful, cruel, and intimidating messages to their targeted victims. Those would be "hate mail" types. Both adults and children use their blogs or vlogs to post derogatory comments aimed at their intended victims on a regular basis because "they deserve it" or that "I'm showing people the truth!" They do that with malicious intent and purpose. They also use their websites to post pictures of their intended victims telling readers how ugly they are by comparing them to pictures of ugly creatures, for example. Or conjure up stories, produce cartoons or caricatures, display demeaning pictures, or tell jokes ridiculing or mocking others in such repeated fashion. It's an amalgam of all those things that makes a cyberbully a cyberbully. As we all know technology allows cyberbullies a "shelter" against tangible feedback about consequences of one's actions, which can result in minimized empathy or remorse for the intended target of bullying according to Blumenfeld.

"People who engage in cyberbullying can inflict pain without having to see the effects, which can result in a "deeper level of meaness. People who cyberbully can also communicate their hurtful messages to a wider audience with incredible speed."

And that,

"cyberspace can also inhibit a user's sense of responsibility for actions online."

That alone help increase the level of "meanness" of cyberbullying in an almost discombobulated form of cyberspace interaction.

Blumenfeld provided an example of how a cyberbully would justify his or her actions on why abusive messages were sent online,

"I was only telling the truth. She is ugly, and I felt she had to know it!"

Blumenfeld succinctly put it this way,

"It's about the rationalization-denial of responsibility centers around offering the targets of their abuse needed and useful information."

In short, they "deserved it" and needed to "know it" would be their main excuse or justification for behaving in such a boorish and hateful manner. But in cyberspace it's a world where reality gets distorted.

Blumenfeld explains,

"In a virtual sense, then, cyberspace communication can alter perceptions by becoming a make-believe world, a dream-like experience, even a game in which the rules of real life bullying no longer apply. Cyberbullying can occur any time and any place. Home, there, is no longer a refuge from bullying and harassment."

The Blumenfeld dissertation was a piece on children and teens susceptible to cyberbullying but many instances of cyberbullying children describe exactly the adult cyberbullying situation.

Adult cyberbullying is real. It exists. It has been and continues to be documented. Cyberbullying has happened to other adults just as it happened to other children. Do not be a party to or associate with a known cyberbully because doing so encourages cyberbullying attitudes. Once a cyberbully always a cyberbully. Do not let their excuses or justifications fool or confuse you.

Tara Congdon, Blue Ear, Phonak, and Iron Man

Tara Congdon responded to my earlier blog about her recent rant against Marvel Comics and Phonak in a poster campaign with Iron Man.

I agree with Tara's comment that the focus was not on Anthony Smith "The Blue Ear." What I saw was Tara's opinion of Marvel Comics' so called "intention" to push aside or attempt at "devaluing" those who cannot benefit from the use of hearing aids. I found that opinion remarkable which was why I came up with examples of Marvel Comics past characters who are deaf, especially Echo/Ronin, and not wear hearing aids and still be their "best self."

We all use technology to better ourselves with the help of hearing aids, cochlear implants, TTY, cell phone texting, captioning, CART,  real time face to face communication devices, lap top computers, and so on. Anthony Smith is using his own kind of technology to be his "best self” in his own way and that is to wear his blue hearing aid.

I disagree with Tara's contention that Marvel Comics poster campaign tell others that they "are less than whole human beings in their own right" because they are unable to use a hearing aid.  Ironically, if Tara had already been aware, Marvel Comics is known for their characters with varying kinds of "disabilities" such as blindness, mobility impaired, physical disfigurement, dwarfism, one-armed, deafness, and so on.

What is important is the encouragement of kids with hearing loss who can truly benefit from hearing aids to wear them and to not let other kids bully or tease them for wearing their hearing aids. It's an opportunity to educate people about hearing aids. I had to do the very same thing when I was in the 7th grade. I took the initiative to educate my peers about my hearing aids and what it can and cannot do, and my hearing loss.  My hearing aid has actually helped me live better by taking advantage of what hearing loss I have left. I am able to communicate better, listen better, and enjoy better the sound and music.   I agree about the transparency regarding Phonak and audiologists/healthcare professional that Tara spoke of in her article but this isn't about fitting kids who cannot benefit from hearing aids. This is about encouraging those who can and help educate people about hearing aids and hearing loss.

Read Iron Man's message of encouragement to a hard of hearing kid with a hearing aid.

Open vs Closed Societies

President Hurwitz made it clear on the danger of practicing exclusion in his his February 19, 2013 State of the University address "Open the Gates Wide: Diversity and Inclusion at Gallaudet" speech.

Hurwitz warned against the destruction that exclusion can bring. "The wider the gates of acceptance open, the more room there is for all. Sadly, the community that excludes shrinks and dies," he said. He encouraged members of the audience to expand their circle of friends and colleagues to include those whose background is different from their own, and to embrace them "in the common cause of advancing our community and humanity."

It's the same warning that Deafhood? No Thanks Facebook group have told people for years, even before when the group became established, that it's better to accept people for who they are rather than to exclude them just because they do not pass your ideological purity test or don't believe in open thought or diversity. 

Symbolically, in American Sign Language, the sign for diversity is to reach out, while the sign for inclusion is to draw in. "All of us at Gallaudet ... must reach out and must draw in," he said. As members of a university community-traditionally a haven for open thought and respect for differing opinions-people who live, study, and work at Gallaudet don't need to be convinced of the benefits of diversity and inclusion, said Hurwitz. However, he acknowledged unresolved conflicts between groups on campus.

Those "unresolved conflicts" would be the whole McCaskill/Gallaudet/Hurwtiz/Bienvenu snafu and the seemingly racist hate letter aimed at McCaskill by a "former friendly colleague" at Gallaudet University.

Will Gallaudet University ever become a recognized university known for its inclusion, diversity, and open thought? An institution with the goal of being diverse in its language and communication approaches without resorting to gutter politics and political correctness? Only time will tell.

Deaf pianist donates $2 million dollars to Fresno State

A deaf person who also plays the piano donates $2 milllion dollars to California State University, Fresno.

Retired architect, vineyard owner and piano player Robert Duncan Nicol, who has been deaf since birth, says he is living proof "that deaf people, indeed, can do many things." That includes being a generous benefactor. Nicol on Friday gave $2 million for The Silent Garden program in the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies department at California State University, Fresno. The donation will help deaf and hearing-impaired children, their parents and teachers, as well as adults with hearing loss.

Deaf Gain? Blind Gain? One-Hand Gain?

There's a new term being used and that's "Deaf Gain." Jannelle Legg and Sophie Sok at Gallaudet University explained in an article about the term.

The term “Deaf-gain” was coined in 2005 by a British performing artist visiting Gallaudet. Deafened later in life, Aaron Williamson noted that with each interaction doctors repeated that familiar refrain “hearing loss.” This experience, familiar to most deaf people, compelled him to posit the question, why “hearing loss and not gaining deafness?” That question is an important one because it calls attention to a fundamental issue in Deaf studies. The culturally Deaf experience is not, as many believe, a dramatic loss of hearing. Instead, deafness grants an entrée into a language, a culture and a way of life that is not only unique, it is valuable.

I have no compunction in pointing this out in my blog about the term, which is fine and dandy if people feel the need to use this alternative but positive term, however, a person is still a person and he or she is just as important as the next one.

But let me put this into context about "Deaf Gain."

What about terms like "Blind Gain" as something that's (supposedly) positive for those experiencing vision loss or complete blindness? Or what about "Deaf-Blind Gain"? Or "One Hand Gain" for those who lost the functional use of their hand or through amputation?

I understand how some deaf people are trying to put a positive spin on their deafness and access to deaf culture but the medical fact cannot be escaped or hidden away. A person may have a condition either involving hearing loss, vision loss or a missing or malfunctioning extremity such as a missing hand or whatever else that's "missing" or not "functioning" properly. A person is still a person no matter what. Best to make life as positive as possible with what you have rather than not what you do not have. That's what makes a person whole.

However, there are those who have a condition or senses that are somewhat "functional" such as those with, for example, mild, moderate or severe hearing loss who use a hearing aid. Though not at the level of a hearing person but it's the next best thing to have. Same for those with varying amount of vision loss requiring thicker or stronger lenses to see better for those with 20/40, 20/50 or 20/60 vision, for example. A semi-functional hand though weakened in it's functionality. Or a person with limited hearing loss and vision loss but is able to use those senses with limited success with various aids or devices used.

Even with limited functionality, a person can still feel whole as long as he or she is treated with respect as a human being for who he or she is.

Let's take myself as an example. I have a moderate-severe hearing loss in my right ear while my left is no good with profound hearing loss. I'm not afraid to use the term "hearing loss" because that is what it is. A hearing loss. A medical fact. But with my right ear I use a hearing aid that can boost what hearing I have left. My hearing aid has allowed me to successfully use what limited sound I can get out of it to the point of using the phone with anyone, field radios, talking with strangers in the street, help modulate my voice, and so on with success. In fact, I'm thankful for the limited hearing that I have. Just as I'm thankful that I can still see even though I need to wear my reading glasses. As for my hearing aid, it gave me "Hearing Gain." Would that be a term I'd use? No. It wouldn't make sense. But that hearing aid has allowed me to access to the hearing world the culture of sound. Without it I would have never taken up piano at age 7 where I'm now a Ragtime pianist.

It's all about preference when it comes to describing how one positively sees him or herself as. Again, not about putting down "Deaf Gain" but I am questioning about the use of that same term for other loss of senses and re-frame it into a context of a person who, for example, lost her sight completely, would that be a "Blind Gain"? Or a person who lost an arm? "One Arm Gain"? Or lost the use of her legs unable to walk for the rest of her life? "No Legs Gain"?  Or a stroke affecting the mental capacity of a person, would that be "Mentally-challenged Gain"? It would just sound totally creepy if not pitiful.

The point is people would find it odd to think that losing one of your senses later in life would constitute as a "gain." I understand the whole point behind "Deaf Gain" but it's not a term that every person with a hearing loss would use.

Deafened mice hear again

A drug that can regenerate damaged ear hair cells in mice.

Now, Edge and his colleagues have tested several gamma-secretase inhibitors to find the one with the strongest regenerative effect on inner ear stem cells. They then tested that drug on adult mice that had been deafened after 2 hours in an extremely loud sound chamber. The drug prompted supporting cells in the inner ear to become hair cells, and the treated mice regained some hearing, the group reports online today in Neuron. 

The gamma-secretase inhibitors were originally developed as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but clinical trials showed little effect on symptoms of dementia and serious side effects in the gut and the immune system. Giving the mice one of the drugs orally triggered similar side effects, the team reports, so they tried applying the compound directly to the membrane between the middle ear and the inner ear. That required minor surgery in the mice, but could be achieved with an injection in humans—a technique already in common use, Edge says. The direct application produced as much hair cell growth as the oral treatment, without significant side effects, the team reports. The drug isn't ready for clinical trials, Edge says, but "it's a foot in the door."

"This is a major step forward," says Yehoash Raphael, an auditory neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, who led the gene therapy study in guinea pigs. Although the treatment didn't restore full hearing, the improvement is significant, he says.

This is indeed a major step forward in regenerative medicine for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss. It'd be a matter of time until clinical trials begin.