Deaf student picked for flight program

It's not often you get to see stories about deaf people becoming airplane pilots. Well, Jason Jernigan is taking up that challenge to become one of the many deaf and hard of hearing pilots in the U.S.

Florida State University Panama City senior Jason Jernigan will undertake five weeks of flight training at Purdue University in Indiana to show that his deafness is not a handicap.

Jernigan, of Youngstown, is the second deaf person to train with Able Flight to learn flight and ground operations. He is one of six men who have been chosen from across the country to win a scholarship for the third year of Able Flight-Purdue University flight training.

“I want to fly because it is one of my life goals,” Jernigan wrote in an email interview. “I really never thought I would get the opportunity. I want to conquer the challenge. I also want to show people that deaf people can do anything a hearing person can do.”

Well who doesn't want to learn how to fly an airplane? If you're up to the task, why not? Ask Stephen Hopson who made aviation history by becoming the world’s first deaf pilot to earn an instrument rating, which actually requires the use of a radio when flying though inclement weather.

Jernigan will leave Florida on Saturday for the program. He has no prior flight experience, but he has played a flying computer game. He believes the biggest challenge will be communications between him and his instructors.

“I will use sign language, iPad, a computer and UbiDuo machine,” Jernigan wrote. “Mostly I will use an UbiDuo (communications device). … [I]t should help greatly with both my pre-flight and post-flight briefing with my instructor.”

The university will benefit from expanding their training to include people with disabilities, according to Charles Stites, the executive director of Able Flight.

Good luck, Jason. Hope the skies will be friendly for ya!

"Being your best advocate"

That was a phrase coined by Stephen Hopson, who is deaf and became the first deaf person in aviation history to earn an instrument-rated pilot's license, spoke as a commencement speaker in front of the graduating high school class at Clarke School in Northampton. He told students that his life and accomplishments were proof that you "have to be your own best advocate."

Stephen Hopson, the first deaf person in aviation history to earn an instrument-rated pilot's license, told students that they had to stand up for themselves and ignore naysayers in order to succeed.

"If you do, your life will change and your life will change other people's lives. You have that power," he said.

Hopson, who was born deaf, also had a successful career as a Wall Street stockbroker and is now a writer and inspirational speaker.

And that's true. There will be naysayers who will attempt to detract your efforts  by negatively saying what you do will not work or succeed, especially against deaf people such as those in the global microbrand business. Jason Curry, CEO of sComm, is an example of that by "being your best advocate." He believed in his vision that a new product of his will help deaf and hard of hearing people communicate better with hearing people without the need of a sign language interpreter. And he did exactly that by designing a patented communication face-to-face device called "UbiDuo" which made its debut on April 22, 2006 after starting up his business in 2002. Most new businesses fail within 5 years but in the face of a downturn economy Jason's business continues to thrive and grow only because he became his own best advocate. That is key on ensuring success along with drive and focused determination. If you believe then you can succeed.

A skill....

Each of us has a particular set of skills that we are either endowed with or worked hard to develop them over time.

Let's start with music.

Some of us are not into music. Others are. And some truly enjoy playing their musical instruments and thrive off of that. Look at Evelyn Glennie, a world renowned professional percussionist who happens to be profoundly deaf.  Should I or others be jealous of her musical ability and skill? No. Why should you be? Why feel negative towards her just because she has a skill when others do not have such a musical skill?  Do you find yourself drifting toward negative thoughts about her musical ability as a deaf person? Why?  What about pianists such as myself or Sky Mundel who are deaf/hh? Do you find yourself feeling angry or upset towards other deaf or hard of hearing musicians as well? Why? Jealous? Conflicting feelings? Exactly what makes you harbor these negative feelings and thoughts?

There are skills we don't have when others do.

Let's look at oral speaking skill among deaf people by taking the case of Stephen Hopson who was born with a profound hearing loss who worked hard over the years growing up and into adulthood the power of speech and became known  transformational and inspirational speaker. Should you be jealous of him or harbor negative thoughts towards him because of his ability to inspire people in the audience? Why?

Kathy Buckley, a known comedienne in the comedy circuit who do these speaking stand up comedy acts who happens to be deaf/hh. Should you get angry because she choose to use her speaking skill to her audience and not sign? Why?

Trix Bruce, a known ASL story teller. Born profoundly deaf. She puts on an inspirational show about her personal challenges, learning experiences and embarrassing moments. Her goal is to give the insight of the deaf world to those who can hear and not hear and help people throughout their life journey. She acts out situations and tells stories using ASL while her partner, Kenan Pekoz, translates the ASL into captivating spoken words. Should anybody be angry about her ability to sign, and how she gets her message across? Or have negative thoughts about her particular set of skills?
No. Why should people behave like that?

If you have these certain internal angsts or negative thoughts about people who value speaking and/or listening then perhaps it'd be better for you to focus on something else for a change. If you have certain negative thoughts or angsts about Deaf people's ability to sign or express themselves through signing then perhaps its time you ought to focus on something else, too. It goes both ways here but the key is to understand that each of us is different and have particular preferences in what we do.

I've always recognized that each of us, deaf, hard of hearing or hearing people, has a particular set of skills that we are endowed with. And deservedly and rightfully be proud of them. Or skills that we worked hard to develop over hundreds or thousands of hours of practicing earn that right and be proud of our accomplishments. I make no distinction over people's preferences to use their voice or sign. I don't begrudge anybody's musical ability. I don't condemn or begrudge people if they sign in SEE, PSE or ASL or whether their signing happens to be more PSE than ASL. If you are striving to sign purely in ASL, good for you! Yet I can see how people easily mistake for noticing signing to be more PSE than ASL as a condemnation when it's not but rather noting a distinction in signing style. I make no condemnation of people who strive to improve their signing style just as I make no condemnation of people who strive to speak and listen better or develop their speaking skills and become an inspirational speak. Or become a musician regardless of whether one can hear or not.

You see, that's the difference between myself and other people. I don't care if you choose not to speak or use your voice, or not wear your hearing aid or cochlear implant. It's personal choice if you want to go all "organic" or not. Just as well for those who strive to use their voice at every chance they get or the chance to hear with their hearing aids or cochlear implant at every opportunity. There is nothing wrong with that. Nothing superior about it. Just a preference.

I recognize that each of us has a skill and how we use it is really up to us and that we shouldn't be condemned for doing what we are comfortable with. I don't spend a whole lot of time focusing on what I cannot do but rather I focus on the things that I can and want to do. If people don't like that and get angry about it, then perhaps they need to prioritize in what they do in life and focus on the positive for a change.

Meanwhile, why not learn a musical instrument? 

I've played the violin, snare drums, xylophone, saxophone, and piano. I've also did the bass drum while in the high school marching band where we competed in marching band competitions in the southeast. Just because you have a hearing loss isn't a good excuse not to try.

Not an Optical Illusion but a reality.

No. It's not an optical illusion by a book written by a profoundly deaf man. The title of the book is "Obstacle Illusion: Transforming Adversity into Success." It went officially live today on Amazon where it has rocketed from 746,000th place at 5:30 am to 3,800th place by 10 AM this morning. Numerous well known writers such as Marci Smimoff, the # NY Times bestselling author of the widely known book "Chicken Soup for the Soul," writes:

"Obstacle Illusions is a powerful account of Stephen Hopson's life experiences ranging from defeat to triumph. Readers will find themselves laughing and crying and contemplating life in a deep, meaningful way."

My favorite soup is in fact chicken soup along with some diced celery, egg whites, and a handful of green onions to make a delightful and hand-warming soup to eat and enjoy. Stephen Hopson isn't an illusion. He has made his obstacles in his life as nothing more than a series of challenges to overcome. Mind over matter as some people would say. It's also all about perspective in life and how you deal with it.

I met Stephen through email a few years back or so and corresponded with him several times and I even blogged about him a few times. This was a guy worth keeping an eye one. And sure enough. He wrote a book! People with the right thinking and attitudes are what attracts me to them regardless of their level of hearing hearing loss or background. It's the "can-do" attitudes that count and not a defeatist attitude blaming everyone and everything, always complaining. Negative attitudes suffocate the soul when one says, "I can't" when in fact you....can!  Just like how I continue to face my own kind of adversity. I even had the audacity to become a forest fire fighter and help fight 100,000 to 200,000 acres fire on the front line with my ax and shovel. I'd say that's certainly a different kind of adversity in its own right on fighting wildfires with my fellow fire fighters on the front line in Washington, Idaho and North Carolina. It's not about overcoming oppression, it's about overcoming obstacles in life successfully. Sometimes you have to take risks in life to know what it really means to overcome obstacles life. Even if it means you're the only one to have done that like fighting forest fires for two weeks at a time.

You can order Obstacle Illusions through Amazon. Order one today!

And, oh, I just now ordered the book. It should arrive on March 23. I'll be looking forward to reading it!

UPDATE:  It is now #9 in the Happiness genre and #23 Self Help and #793 overall (out of 8 million books)!

UPDATE II:  Since the book is in the top 1000, Stephen Hopson now qualifies as a "bestselling author" with his book.

UPDATE III: Read in the Huffington Post "Obstacle Illusions: A Conversation with Author Stephen J. Hopson" on their interview with Stephen Hopson. 

Obstacle Illusions: Transforming Adversity into Success

Neat title, huh? I've done my own version of adversity in a video blog I did a few years ago but as for the title, it's not mine. It belongs to Stephen Hopson, a deaf guy I came to know a few years back when I first did a blog piece on him, sort of.  A guy who has done many motivational and inspirational speeches by speaking with his voice and share stories of adversity to engage his audience.

Over the last few years I briefly had few short email exchanges but I always had him in the back of my head wondering exactly what the heck he's been doing. Obviously he has been doing something positive since the last time I took a peak at his blog because he just wrote a book about adversity. But as you can tell from the book title as seen in the picture, "Obstacle Illusions: Transforming Adversity into Success." His book is due out on March 17, 2011 on Amazon.

Why am I blogging about a guy who was born profoundly deaf who likes to do oral motivational and inspirational speeches?  Simple. It's about hard work. It's about not being afraid of challenges in life. It's about his ability to transform his audience on adversity. The trials and challenges in life. It's about seeing life as one big challenge instead of seeing himself constantly as a victim blaming everyone and everything. It's not about using excuses as your crutch in life to get what you want. You can only go so far in life by playing the ever so perennial victim but the sky's the limit when you see life as one big challenge instead. Stephen Hopson is a human being who is not afraid to step up to the plate.

And, yes, he knows sign language. He's simply a guy not afraid to use his voice and use it as a source of inspiration for thousands of people who have come across his inspirational speeches. I'm simply drawn to positive and successful people who are not afraid of their own shadows.

What makes this situation even more unique is that you have an oral deaf guy who is an inspirational speaker where he finally wrote a book. Not often do you get to see a book written by a deaf guy who is not afraid to use his voice but a guy who actually embraces his ability to speak by sharing it with everybody he comes across with. Because whenever he speaks, people do listen. And listen closely they do. 




I wrote a profound quote at the end of my adversity video blog that should ring true to anybody who reads it:

Adversity is not the same thing as overcoming oppression. 
It's about overcoming obstacles in life successfully.
Mocking those who face adversity in a different way lack imagination.

Adversity and...the audacity of hope?

Location: Dog Canyon on the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico near Alamogordo.

Here's another deaf guy named Stephen Hopson of Adversity University who prefers to use his voice in his (first ever) video blog, too. He's also a motivator and a professional speaker who travels alot doing speaking engangements. Check out his first video blog post of him speaking and him thanking me in his blog on helping him get started with the subtitling idea. Thanks to my captioned video blogs of me speaking that intrigued him about me. One thing for sure, people like me and Stephen Hopson are not afraid to use our voice to speak in front of a video camera or a crowd of people.

Adversity, we all face them at one time or another. For deaf and hard of hearing people, their adversity is hearing loss. The ability to speak and/or listen shouldn't be about the "audacity of hope" on achieving those things. Not with technology we have today and better educational understanding when it comes to early intervention for a deaf child or baby on developing better listening and speaking skills. Those things should be expected as achievable and very reachable goals and not some mundane "audacity of hope" kind of thing we're hearing about today. Maybe 40 years ago but certainly not today. And even less so 10, 20 and 30 years down the road when technology and, especially so, biotechnology will continue to change the landscape for those with hearing loss.

UPDATE: See an updated or a "redacted" version of "adversity" here.