Dr. Ron Stern's Presentation at NAD

Dr. Ron Stern made some remarkable comments that raised my eyebrows during his presentation at the recent 2012 Biennial NAD Conference that I and other bloggers/vloggers have been saying for years (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here for examples of mine) that in order to for any unity or understanding to happen people must respect all forms of communication and educational options for deaf and hard of hearing children rather than point fingers and assign blame. Dr. Ron Stern said that such actions focusing on blame will surely be a failed cause. And we have seen those results time and time again, too. The culturally deaf population is quite small when compared to the larger population seeing that there are some ~600,000 culturally deaf people vs 36 million people (my figures) with hearing loss in the U.S. (see Stern's comment at the 30:50 mark in video below on how small the culturally deaf community is). With the small community Dr. Stern said that it makes "our fight harder."  There is an unnecessary need to use "a*dism" as way to attack people and Dr. Stern re-iterated his doubt and uncomfortableness on using that term which took me by surprise. Taken from  a live captioning quote of Dr. Stern whose presentation can be seen in a non-captioned taped YouTube video at the 57:58:00 time stamp:

 "A*dism makes me feel uncomfortable because it seems to suggest we only care about deaf/hh issues and how we are viewed by non-deaf."

He's right, too. And he made a point about the use of "ableism" which he prefers to use because it is more inclusive of people with varying disabilities since many deaf and hard of hearing people do have a secondary disability. Using a*dism made him feel uncomfortable because it seems to suggest that culturally deaf peoople only care about deaf/hh issues only and how we are viewed by non-deaf people without disabilities,  even by some hearing people with disabilities as well. Dr. Stern goes on to say that hearing people look at our issues through their lens as hearing people who do not have disabilities which can be problematic.  The term "ableism" is more broad and includes all kinds of people with disabilities. The problem is about how people without disabilities who do not take our issues seriously enough. And how they look down on us.  




At the 1:23:25 time stamp Dr. Stern commented that we must wake up and support the diversity of deaf people and that one size does not fit all.

I agree. Diversity is important whether a deaf or hard of hearing person signs or not, whether a person can speak and listen or not, or whether a person signs using ASL or SEE. This is exactly what ICED said when they issued a global call to "accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication" in the education of deaf and hard of hearing people. This is a simple and straight-forward if not common sense announcement.  Although there are no mentions of how its done or whether one method or approach would be satisfactory enough or the combining with other methods for a more rounder, comprehensive approach would be more suitable. No. Nothing like that. Just that people simply need to accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication when it comes to the education of deaf and hard of hearing people. Short, sweet and to the point. I'd rather embrace diversity than to be play a perennial victim.

In fact, Dr. Sterns' emphasis on recognizing and supporting diversity of deaf and hard of hearing people and that one size does not fit all are very similar to what Dr. Jane K. Fernandes have said in her presentation in 2011 at NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf) on the topic of inclusive Deaf Studies where she mentioned about ICED and pointing out how they recognized that the Milan resolution was in error and then she proceeded to discuss respecting all languages and forms of communication. The main thrust of her presentation was that the discipline of Deaf Studies ought to be broadened to include a variety of diverse deaf people outside of Deaf culture and ASL. In short, Deaf Studies should not just be about Deaf culture and ASL but to include people who use SEE, cued speech, oral/auditory approaches, use of hearing aids, cochlear implants, implantable hearing aid, use of technology for improved communication access and so on. That's recognizing diversity in a deaf and hard of hearing society.

At 1:23:42 Dr. Stern pointed out that "I love this quote" and said that he is nervous about his presentation and pointed out that " We have met the enemy and he is us." And used examples of pointing fingers at Oberkotter, Options school and says "be careful" because pointing a finger at them will have more fingers pointing back at you. It's better and easier to change from within than to try and get other organizations to change because that has not been successful. He made a point that "ableism" was a much better use of the word than "a*dism." His main point at the 1:24:39 time stamp was that "our goal and message must be clear" and not become our own worst enemy in helping create a negative perception of themselves when you have people on the outside looking in.

This is what I and others have been saying for years in blogs and vlogs especially when new Deaf grassroots organizations as an "organic society" get formed with an agenda in mind to attack deaf and hard of hearing support organizations do they become their own worst enemy. They focus on a closed society concept rather than an open society concept. In fact, Dr. Stern's presentation seems to point in the direction in favor of an open society concept which certainly raised my eyebrows.

At 1;35:00 Dr Stern pleaded, "Please, keep your eye on the prize. IDEA changes. State issue changes. We support, not against, diversity, one size does not fit all. If we support ASL-only, we'll lose. If we support deaf schools only, we'll lose. Support of deaf children is not about saving our deaf schools. It's about having different options. Diversity of deaf children must have options to choose from such as deaf schools, mainstream schools, even oral programs, doesn't matter. Whatever is the best and right match to place that deaf child. It's more than just about saving our deaf schools."

Exactly.  One does not fit all. This ought to be the clearest message of them all recognizing each deaf and hard of hearing child functions and responds differently to stimulation and inputs when it comes to language and communication. Hearing loss range from mild to profound and the fact that hearing technology and other assistive technologies continue to play a huge role on helping find the best and right match to place that deaf or hard of hearing child. It may or may not require the use of hearing technologies but all options and approaches must be considered.

Dr. Ron Stern even said that "Child First is not against oral method at all" and clarified that those who advocate for Oral method only is a challenge. True. The same idea can be said for ASL only. Dr. Stern emphasized on getting the "I" back in IDEA which is an individualized plan based on a child first concept on providing access to language and communication. There were several principles Dr. Stern brought up (with thanks to Gina's input):

- Communication and language is a human and educational right.
- Any language deprivation is disabling where sign language or the spoken language does not matter since the brain does not discriminate and craves input.
- There is no such thing as a one size fit all for deaf and hard of hearing children.
- Make it an individualize approach.
- Provide the necessary access in order for interaction to happen.
- Make sure parents have complete information regarding their deaf/hh child to make an informed decision.
- There are multiple pathways to language learning through eyes and/or ears.
- Family involvement is critical.

As for NAD, I've always considered that organization as good on many levels but see them as horrendously skewed to the side of mostly if not exclusively only culturally deaf people. An organization that is run by culturally deaf people with deaf culture ideals while claiming they represent all deaf and hard of hearing people get a bit far fetched sometimes.  Whenever I or others bring that up the usual defense I heard is to throw in the fact that NAD defends and support captioning which is great. But that does not dissuade from the fact that NAD organization does not represent a picture of diversity among all deaf and hard of hearing people on their board. Just a picture of mostly culturally deaf people only.

I HATE HEARING PEOPLE!!!

When deaf people say that they "hate hearing people" there are reasons why they say that. It could be because of their childhood history or a certain event in their life as a teen or adult that triggered it. But if you work in a business operated by deaf people that offer products or services to deaf and hearing people and you carry that attitude in your line of work on how you don't like hearing people and make efforts to avoid them as much as possible you won't get very far in your job or career. Believe me, you won't.  You have a choice of either to effectively engage with hearing customers or potential clients in your line of work just as you would with deaf people. If you don't do that then you will suffer the consequences because the business you work in depends on selling those very products or services that keep your company alive and running, not to mention affecting every employee who could be impacted by your selfishness on not to deal with certain customers or clients more directly.  By engaging I mean using every variety of communication options there are that you can use instead of sticking to one communication option only.  Because if you don't love your customers (both deaf and hearing, and everything else in between) you ain't going anywhere and succeed in life.  Such an attitude in a closed society can only go so far and that success will only be limited if any at all.

A customer is not always right

There's an old adage "A customer is always right" believing that what a customer says about a product or service of a business is always true and absolute. Anybody who actually believe that a "customer is always right" is simply naive in the way the world works. Customers are still human beings. They are still capable of lying and deceiving in order to get what they want. It's true that businesses should listen to what customers have to say and be understanding of their comments or opinions but that does not mean a company should bend over backward at every whims from every customer.  Many businesses do listen out of concern to ensure that they offer the best services or products possible. It's about having the courtesy to listen to their customers first. 

"I don't think that the customer is always right any more than I think that the employees are always right or that a shareholder is always right," conceded Reichheld. "You do owe it to your business to understand the root cause of the feedback and what implications it has on your decision making, prioritization and your actions. But, there are criminals out there that are your customers. You want to keep those customers away. Not just from your cash registers but from your employees too, because they are abusive and they make life hell for everyone in your business. The Net Promoter Score is based on the golden rule that we should treat others the way we would want to be treated in their shoes, but it takes a lot of deep thinking to do this right. It's not superficial. Think about what actions a business takes when it gets a zero or a one score? The business should dig in to figure out what's wrong, try to fix it and understand how it feels to be in the customer's shoes, but it doesn't always mean that they are the right customers for your business."

Let's take the ZVRS post-NAD vote latest brouhaha concerning the whole "deaf militants" snafu by which Julian Moiwai have already issued a public apology on Twitter for his "militant" remark.  For a person who works for ZVRS to make a public comment in such a manner breaks the typical cardinal rule of any businesses and that is to stay "neutral" in the areas of politics. That's typically the golden rule and not that a customer is always right. In this case, deaf politics is the area of politics that ZVRS tried to avoid in the first place (but spectacularly failed in this instance) when most of their customers are the signing deaf and hard of hearing customers.

You might be aware of the NAD Presidential elections. Chris Wagner – our Senior Vice President of Business Operations and Marketing – has been selected to serve as the NAD’s next president. Regardless of your support prior to and after the elections, I would like to ask you to do us a favor.

ZVRS is currently being bombarded on social media by Sheri supporters or so-called “Deaf militiants.” Please do not participate in any means of communication by putting gas into this flame.

If you come across something that appears offensive or defamatory toward ZVRS, please send a direct link to my attention, and it will be followed through.

Julian Moiwai unwittingly was the one who put "gas into this flame."  But he stepped up and apologized to Sheri Farinha (one of two candidates for the NAD presidency) in public on Twitter (although never contacted her personally first (email or video phone) which was another business rule of thumb that ZVRS broke where she found out about the apology from other sources).

The old adage "customers are always right" is false. Some customers are right. Sometimes they are wrong. And others simply aren't being truthful. It is the duty of businesses to listen to all of their customers.

Congratulations to Chris Wagner as the next NAD president for 2012 - 2014 term. He had the graciousness to thank Sheri after the vote seen at the 4 minute mark.

How come NAD never publicly apologized to Deaf Native American Indians?

How come NAD has never publicly apologized to the Indian tribes in America when their mostly-white dominated Deaf culture at the time unwittingly helped with eradication process of some of the tribes' Native American Indian Sign Language by forcing them to choose between ASL and ISL?

Both KPISL and PISL have become endangered languages. KPISL is not much used among the pueblo’s younger generation owing to their learning school English, ASL, or signs that follow the spoken English word order. Before the 1990s, American Indian Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing tribal members usually left home to attend a residential school for the deaf located far away (Baker, 1997; Lane, Hoffmeister, & Bahan, 1996). 

At the school, there was usually no formal instruction of American Indian or American Indian culture and signs; only Deaf culture and ASL were taught, leading many American Indian students to join the “Deaf World.” After graduation, the students had to make difficult decisions about where and how to establish themselves: on the pueblos with hearing families and friends, in urban areas with other Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing people, or in border towns with limited access to both groups.

How come there were no efforts by Deaf educators at the time to help deaf Indians in deaf schools on helping preserve their Indian Sign Language heritage in the process and encourage them to maintain that contact and relationship with their Indian elders on ISL? How come no public apologies by those schools? No apologies from NAD on behalf of the schools across the United States, including Gallaudet University? Maybe it's time that NAD and other deaf institutions make the effort to apologize for helping with some of the eradication of deaf Indians' own ISL when they were forced to choose and with no effort to help them preserve and maintain their own ISL identity? Perhaps NAD does not need to apologize? Should any apology be needed at all? After all, there are some culpability involved here and not exclusively just the "government" of which I agree played an almost exclusive role in helping ISL and its signing heritage disappear.  Regardless, should an apology be in order from NAD on behalf of deaf schools who may have played a part of the role? 

Combat with Grizzly Bear

A statue of two Indians fighting a mother grizzly bear in her effort to protect her two cubs was created by Douglas Tilden, a world renowned deaf sculpture, stands at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, California.  The sculpture is called "The Bear Hunt."  It is also known as "Combat with Grizzly Bear" as explained by Jack Gannon.

Born May 1, 1860 Douglas Tilden lost his hearing at the age of 4 due to Scarlet Fever. Two years later his parents enrolled Douglas at the California School for the Deaf at UC Berkeley. He became an honor student and graduated from the school in 1879 at the age of 19. He soon accepted a teaching position CSD where he stayed there for eight years. It was during the summer vacations his artistic talents began to flourish.

Summer vacations were spent studying drawing and painting. In the summer of 1883, he discovered the joys of sculpture. He returned to teaching in the fall but continued making models in his leisure time. He dreamed of studying in Paris, then the mecca of most would-be sculptors. His clay model Tired Wrestler, a young, athletic, male nude figure, impressed the Board of Trustees of the California School for the Deaf enough that they gave him a loan of five hundred dollars for study in New York. In 1887, he resigned his teaching post and left California. 

Thanks to a grant of $600 per year from the Durham Fund, administered by the California School for the Deaf, Douglas embarked for Paris in May 1888. After visiting the Salon des Artistes Français on the Champs-Elysees, he went to work on the Baseball Player. With his unorthodox, purely American motifs, Tilden was the first California-born sculptor to win recognition outside of the U.S. by being accepted in the Paris Salon in 1889, then again in 1890, 1891, 1892, and 1894.

 And thus Douglas began his career as an internationally known sculptor.

But another battle is brewing at CSD and that is the effort to get rid of "The Bear Hunt" sculpture on the CSD campus grounds stating that the statue is racist in nature "racist imagery" according to the latest online petition that began on June 28, 2012 calling for the removal of Tilden's statue:

We feel that while Tilden is indeed a respected Deaf artist in our community, he remains a white male from the 19th century and the sculpture still represents generations of dehumanizing violence towards Native American communities. Such depictions have no place at a school, particularly if a school aims to uphold principles of racial and ethnic justice.

Though “The Bear Hunt” has stood at the front of campus for years, this “branding” situation served as an opportunity for us activists to challenge our social consciousness in how we have perceived and now perceive this statue. How long has the statue stood in front of campus without being challenged? How long have some individuals’ misgivings about the statue were ignored? We are working on collaborating with Native American Deaf and Deaf People of Color organizations on this issue in order to mobilize community dialogue regarding the statue.

The petition failed to explain exactly how or why the statue is racist other than explaining that the sculptor is a white male who sculpted a statue depicting an ultimate battle and will to live between two Indians and a mother grizzly bear while trying to protect her two cubs .  Exactly how does the statue dehumanizes violence towards Native American communities? It doesn't. It's about survival.  Douglas Tilden explains about his "The Bear Hunt" statue:

In 1892, Tilden finished a huge monument, the Bear Hunt. He wrote, “My Indian and bear present a full front, both in so full a vigor that who wins must forever be a question in the spectator’s mind.” The Bear Hunt arrived at the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley in 1895 after being exhibited for several months at the Art Institute in Chicago. Both the school and the Bear Hunt are now located in Fremont.

In other words, while looking at the statue of a battle between beast and man makes you wonder, who will win the battle?  The Indians or the mother grizzly bear? What is the story behind the fight for survival? Did the Indians accidentally come across the mother Grizzly bear? Or got too close in the bear hunt? However, there is nothing racist about the "The Bear Hunt" sculpture showing two Indians battling to survive a mother grizzly attack while trying to protect her two young cubs. Hunting for bears was common. Indians hunted grizzly bears for food and other materials but at the same time they were revered and respected their fearsome strength, independence and power to the status of being a "spiritual god."

Many Indians feared the grizzly bear but still they hunted the large bears for food, clothing, and even jewelry. Claws were made into necklaces and often worn hanging from their waistband.  Because of the Indians' beliefs that the bear had some spiritual power, wearing a bear claw necklace would mean protection and good health to the Indian wearing it.

Today Indians still wear necklaces of grizzly bear claws but only a few are preserved from the 1800s in museums. One famous bear claw necklace can be viewed at the Peabody Museum at Harvard. Since bear claws were objects that Indians treasured, very few were obtained outside of the Indian tribes.

Shortly after the petition to have the statue removed (only 53 signatures so far) another petition came up to counter the petition for removal in the effort to keep the statue on the campus grounds of CSD.

CAD Bay Area Chapter president, David Prince, speaking... I disagree with DYUSA Bay Area Chapter to remove the Bear Hunt Statue (BHS) off the campus of the California School for the Deaf. The Bear Hunt statue is not a racist; it illustrates us to understand the visual history how the Indians fought against the nature. It demonstrates the visual education to everyone how it looks like in their time of struggle. It was like a battle in nature, Human versus Bear.

So far there are 357 signatures to keep the statue vs 53 signatures to get rid of it. A strong sign that common sense is prevailing.  I see no "racist imagery" in that statue other than a battle of survival between man and nature.  Violence is part of the game of survival in nature. This is all about using emotional gimmickry to play the Deaf political correctness game based on some vague and obscure reasonings. 

What is palpably ironic, at least to me, is that Douglas Tilden's own statue work is facing the possibility of being rejected by the students of CSD and perhaps the school itself. The irony comes from the fact that  he worked at the CSD for several years as a deaf teacher and later on in his life tried to go back to CSD to work as a teacher again but only to be rejected because at the time CSD  stopped hiring and employing deaf teachers.  Douglas Tilden is turning over in his grave seeing that his own work is once again facing rejection.  This Deaf political correctness has simply run amok with no clear thinking whatsoever using false emotional appeal.

Visual Communication

There are deaf/hh people I know who grew up with SEE with their parents learning the English visual language. I'd say those deaf kids were lucky to have parents willing to sign as part of the visual communication effort than to rely on audition alone (i.e. speaking/listening). The oral and aural route may be a difficult route to take even though many kids have fared well while others didn't and that signing would've been helpful.  It also could have easily been no signing (ie. SEE, ASL, PSE, manual alphabet, LOVE, etc) whatsoever with no visual form of communication (including CUED speech) and just rely on their hearing aids only and do the whole oral/aural gambit instead. But luckily for them a visual language (e.g. SEE) was used to communicate and thus a foundation was indeed built. It may or may not have been a solid foundation but at least a foundation nonetheless.

Many SEE kids who are now adults show their gratefulness for their parents' contribution on establishing a visual communication effort with them. It could've been a lot worse. It could've been no signing at all.  Although I noticed some adults who grew up with SEE developed a certain disdain towards their own upbringing by their parents on the SEE usage simply because their parents didn't use ASL in the first place. How droll. How about at least show some kind of gratitude instead of being a snotty person about the whole affair and stop with this misguided anger towards parents for providing SEE instead of ASL? Signing in SEE became a familiar affair for those growing up with English visual language and because of that it helped those make the transition over from SEE to PSE or to ASL in a much more familiar environment as opposed to deaf/hh people who have never signed in SEE, PSE or ASL at all.

Be thankful you were exposed very early to SEE which is visual form of the English language rather than having no visual language at all.

Just ...... stop whining about SEE.

Open Communication and Open Society

Caption This!

There's no big mystery about this when it comes to believing that an open communication regardless of the method used is key to help people with hearing loss feel comfortable and on equitable grounds with the rest of their hearing peers. There are millions of people who feel the same way as I do. There are a variety of niche areas of technologies and services today that provide the advantage to help people with their communication needs and access. Just because deaf and hard of hearing people who know sign language does not mean they will be able to understand completely what was said in an ASL performance any more than deaf and hard of hearing people with their hearing aids and cochlear implants will understand completely what was said in a spoken (speech) theater performance or movie. I am talking about the whole range of population of people with hearing loss in the United States numbering around 36 million people versus a certain but limited number of those who are deaf/hh and fluent in ASL (around 600,000).

Just because deaf and hard of people who are fluent or know sign language does not mean they prefer always a signed performance but also like to attend performances by hearing people such as music (rock, country, etc) band on stage with their lyrics, stage performances and just your everyday movie theater while providing captions.  Both communication access using open captioning and sign language interpreters offer the best of both worlds. 

Q.What about services for the deaf or those who are hearing disabled? What exactly is open captioning? 

A.Open captioning uses a portable LED screen set up orchestra right or left, by the proscenium. It’s rarely on stage because we don’t want to disturb the artistic look of the show. It faces a particular side of the orchestra where we have made tickets available to people with hearing disabilities. 

We also offer sign language interpretation, but it is of no help whatsoever to people who are not deaf. Where our department is growing is in providing open captioning because there’s such a demand for it. 

Far too many people who don’t hear well are not going to admit it. The benefit of open captioning is that it’s passive assistance. It’s there and you can refer to it or not. You don’t have to identify yourself as having hearing loss. That’s very appealing. 

People with hearing loss want to make use of any hearing they have. They will use assisted listening devices in conjunction with the open captioning so they can understand some or most of what is being said.

Open captioning should be available to all regardless of the situation. You just never know who in the audience will need one. The same goes for Gallaudet University theater shows such as their recent Hamlet performance that was done in ASL and that all of their performances were voiced under the direction of Dr. Lindsey Snyder. But no open captioning for those who are new or weak on sign language and those who can hear Snyder's voice but would need assist with captioning. An ironic twist and a cruel but blatant discrimination against deaf/hh students and people who are relatively new or weak on sign language. A sign that Gallaudet University continues to be a closed society when it comes to having an open communication policy. One can still be in favor of sign language in an open society that advocates open communication but the converse cannot be true of those who are unwittingly in a closed society.

Each year Gallaudet University host this Jump Start program (formerly known as New Signers Program) to help incoming first year and transfer students improve their sign language skills. For them it is easier to improve on their expressive signing than receptive signing. Just because they attended the Jump Start program does not make them experts on ASL or will be able to understand everything that's being signed on stage for example the recent Hamlet performances in April.  Many students are hard of hearing and can hear and understand a person speaking with his/her voice. Each person's receptive skills and understanding of the spoken word varies. Even after the first and second year at Gallaudet University does not mean students receptive skills will guarantee 100% understanding the signing of ASL such as ASL performances on stage. In fact, by not providing open captioning to the audience who fall between understanding some ASL to understanding some of the spoken word at a Hamlet play is violating ADA accommodation and Section 504 law.  Students should be encouraged to file grievances for this transgression at Gallaudet University.

II. Scope of Grievance

Any University student who believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability or has been denied access or accommodations required by law shall have the right to invoke this Grievance Procedure. In general, this Grievance Procedure is designed to address the following types of concerns:

1. Disagreements or denials regarding requested services, accommodations, or modifications to University practices or requirements; 
2. Alleged inaccessibility of a University program or activity;
3. Alleged harassment or discrimination on the basis of a disability; and
4. Any other alleged violations of the ADA and/or Section 504. 

According to Section 504, and since Gallaudet University is a recipient of federal financial assistance, a post secondary institution has an obligation under to ensure accessibility to students with disabilities, including those with hearing loss and the need for communication accessibility.

An important responsibility of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is to eliminate discrimination on the basis of disability against students with disabilities. OCR receives numerous complaints and inquiries in the area of elementary and secondary education involving Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 794 (Section 504). Most of these concern identification of students who are protected by Section 504 and the means to obtain an appropriate education for such students.

Section 504 is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Section 504 provides: "No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance . . . ."

OCR enforces Section 504 in programs and activities that receive Federal financial assistance from ED. Recipients of this Federal financial assistance include public school districts, institutions of higher education, and other state and local education agencies. The regulations implementing Section 504 in the context of educational institutions appear at 34 C.F.R. Part 104.

Services students should be able to request at Gallaudet University:

* American Sign Language Interpreter
* Signed English Interpreter (SEE-Signing Exact English or PSE-Pidgin Sign English)
* FM Systems and Conference Microphones
* Voice interpreter
* CART
* Remote Captioning
* Cued Speech Transiliterator
* I-Communicator
* Typewell/C-Print
* Professional or Volunteer Notetakers

Even though Gallaudet University obviously supports ASL many are calling for the exclusive use of ASL for all or "ASL at all times." That'd be if only the educational institution in question was a private educational institution that receives no federal funding then it wouldn't fall under the rules of Section 504.  But since Gallaudet University receives annual federal funding for as long as it has been opened it must abide by Section 504 laws.  Section 504 gives the power over to students who may request communication accessibility other than ASL or voice.

Gallaudet University once again violates ADA law and Section 504 for not providing an alternative communication access for  their signed ASL performances for students and people who still lack the necessary receptive skills to understand fully the signed ASL performances.  Gallaudet University continues to be the living and breathing conundrum for deaf/hh students new to the world of sign language and they are unable to even enjoy and understand signed performances. Gallaudet University was willing to provide voiced support of their recent signed Hamlet performances but was unwilling to provide open captioning to those who are weak in signing and understanding the spoken words. But the irony is that Gallaudet University put up a Hamlet play when a cruel twist of fate usually happens in a Shakespeare play and this cruel twist of fate is the continued ignorance of deaf/hh students who are new or are in the middle of such worlds.


"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1.3

The graduating class: You're not special

To those deaf and hard of hearing students who have graduated from high school or college, I have something to say to you in the hope that you'll be inspired to rethink of what the world awaits you once you get your diploma or degree.

All of your life growing up you have been coddled and pampered upon. You have been fawned and doted upon by your parents and grandparents. Your Mommy or Daddy, or both, have held you, hugged you, kissed you, fed you breakfast, lunch and dinner, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, listened to your complaints, your rants, your rage, your sadness and joys. You've had people who encouraged you, sympathized you, consoled you and encouraged you again umpteen times.

And over the years you had your sports games, your theatrical plays, musical recitals, and the many science fairs. Or you became class president, secretary or treasury and delved into school politics or became the school newspaper editor or reporter. Maybe you were well liked by friends and acquaintances where they would smile at you the moment you step into a classroom or whenever you approach them at a cafeteria table. Or they would take delight with your constant tweets or blogs thinking you're cleaver or funny.

Having said those things just don't get the idea that you're special because you're not. You're not the center of it all. The Earth is not the center of our solar system. Our solar system is not the center of its galaxy. Our galaxy is not the center of our universe. You're one of the many thousands of deaf and hard of hearing people who have graduated at a deaf-run school, a mainstreamed one or a regular school. Some graduated as valedictorians or class presidents, often with honors of some sort with glittering trophies and shiny medals and the many accolades that came with it. Each of you at graduation day all dressed alike. Same diploma or same degree that everybody expect to have in their hands with the only difference being it has your name on it.

Instead of thinking you're special, which is a dangerous thing to do, look for challenges in life. Embrace them. Think of it as if you're on a quest to climb one of the highest mountains because it's there. It beckons you and smirks at you saying, "Try and climb me! I bet you can't!"   You climb because it is there. You see it as a challenge. You climb so you can see the world below you and not about whether the world can see you because you're an insignificant speck on that mountain top. No one sees but yourself. You're not special.

There are 6.8 billion people on this planet.  Once you understand that then that's when you may finally understand that you're not that special.  You are preparing and bracing yourself on what life will ultimately give you. But to be sure, please do whatever you do for no other reason than you love it and believe in its importance. And in the process change our culture so that it rewards genuine passion, genuine hard work and genuine achievement instead of accolades as an appeasement.

Happy belated graduation! 

Posting rules....and not just for deaf people only.

I've added a painting of Uncle Sam seen on the upper left side of my blog where it is linked to my 2010 blog piece on rules for posting comments in my blog. A very simple guideline that anyone can understand and follow it, even a caveman can do that.  I'm making this blog to clarify the one thing that a few deaf/hh people have brought up recently thinking that if they leave their name behind and I know who that person is they fear that I will delete their comment while still in moderation mode.

So far that has never happened. Go figure.

The rules I've posted back in 2010 are quite explicit and it doesn't matter if a person post his or her comments anonymously or post comments using their name identifiable to the public. To use the excuse that "I don't want to post my name because you will delete my comment because you don't like me" is a pathetic one if not a cowardly excuse. Bottom line, it doesn't matter if you want to post your comments anonymously or attach it with your name. My posting rules are to be followed. That is where I draw the line on whether a posted comment gets accepted.  Extremely few comments do not get published compared to the thousands that do get through. I am a lot more lax than you think when it comes to moderating comments. But, please, please, do not use the lame excuse that just because you think I don't like you and that once you put your name out and I know who you are thinking that I will delete your comment as a result. Hardly. If you follow my posting rules, you're on safe grounds. Abuse your privilege here then expect your comments not to show up. Quite simple, really. Honest injun!

Hiking for health and leisure

Hiking can be a fun, enjoyable and relaxing form of exercise. I know. I do a lot of hiking (here and here, for example) in my own leisure time. A chance to get outdoors and enjoy the sights, sound, smell, touch and taste of what nature can offer you whether it's plucking some huckleberries along the way to munch on or a get a whiff of wildflowers blooming along the grassy open meadows or seeing the vast openness and grandeur in front of you. Here's a video of a bunch of deaf hikers enjoying their day in the outdoors. Take some time to "get away from it all." Do something bold. Go outdoors and hike!

Cord Blood Stem Cells Treatment for Children

I just couldn't believe it. I read in one discussion forum where one person made a big stink about a current year long study using a deaf baby's own cord blood stem cells to treat the baby's own sensorineural deafness (which has so far appears to continue to help restore the baby's hearing loss) saying it needs to be experimented on animals first to determine the safety of cord blood stem cells. First off, the blood cord stem cells are compatible only to the baby and not in some animal. That sort of ill-conceived logic was enough to make my jaw drop. Secondly, cord blood stem cells are being used to treat a variety of conditions and even injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury in children in one study which uses the same IV infusion process as with deaf children in a hearing loss treatment Phase I study.

A ground-breaking clinical trial is now underway at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is an innovative step in a growing number of studies exploring the potential of stem cell-based therapies to help initiate repair and induce healing of damaged brain tissue. The study is being performed in partnership with Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, UTHealth's major children's teaching hospital.

The trial will involve children who have sustained traumatic brain injuries and who have access to their own umbilical cord blood stem cells, which were banked at birth. Children who meet the trial qualifications will travel to Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital to receive an IV infusion of their cord blood stem cells. They will then be followed at six months, one year and two years.

"The reason we have become interested in cord blood cells is because of the possibility of autologous therapy, meaning using your own cells. And the preclinical models have demonstrated some really fascinating neurological preservation effects to really support these Phase 1 trials," says Charles S. Cox, M.D., Children's Fund Distinguished Professor of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatrics at the UTHealth Medical School, director of the Pediatric Trauma Program at Children's Memorial Hermann Hosptial, and principle investigator of the trial. "There's anecdotal experience in other types of neurological injuries that reassures us in terms of the safety of the approach and there are some anecdotal hints at it being beneficial in certain types of brain injury."

The Phase I safety study will enroll 10 children ages 18 months to 17 years who have suffered moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are within 6 to 18 months of their injury.

People need to understand the potential self-healing (literally) factors of using your own cord blood stem cells. According to The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) on cord blood stem cells:

Cord blood is one source of stem cells that has shown promise in preclinical research and is now being explored in experimental treatments for patients with brain injury. In the preclinical or lab setting, research has shown that cord blood stem cells have the ability to divide and change into neural-like cells. Additionally, these stem cells have been shown to migrate to the area of injury, and to secrete therapeutic factors, which may help repair brain damage. Further preliminary findings from studies underway at UTHealth indicate that cord blood stem cells may also alter the body's immune response to injury, by interacting directly with the organs and cells of the immune system that enable the body to better repair itself.

In other words, you could possibly (and literally so) heal thyself using your own cord blood stem cells by enabling your body, in the example of hearing loss in babies, to better repair itself. Especially among babies who gets treated early on and with the help of their own cord blood stem cells, and if it turns out to be successful for the full restoration on hearing, then it becomes a cure. This process would allow deaf babies early on take advantage of the 4 year window of opportunity to take advantage of the active auditory cortex and be able to grow up as a hearing person in every respect.  With this Traumatic Brain Injury study and the Hearing Loss study.  We should know more the results of these studies by next year on whether cord blood stem cells treatment is a success or not.

Communication is a two way street...captioning, please!

The one thing I've learned in life is that people's perspectives are different from each other based on their life experiences, their upbringings, their interests, and the people they associate with on a daily basis. Those are the things that makes a person for who he or she it. I have met all kinds and are friends with them. Those who have mild hearing loss to those who are profoundly deaf to those who are culturally deaf to those who are hearing whether they know signing or not. And then you have those who prefer to speak/listen to those who prefer to sign only to those who prefer other methods of communicating. They have their own way of communicating and I respect that. That is not for me to judge. But the one common thing we all have in connection, especially among the 36 million people in the United States with hearing loss, is that many of us need captioning in our everyday lives.

But the funny thing is that some people do have a habit of judging others simply because they can hear a little bit better, talk a little bit better, sign a little bit better or the fact they prefer a different way of communicating. So, exactly what is the difference if deaf people on a theater stage signs in ASL but provide no captioning for the audience versus hearing people on a theater stage talking with no captioning for the audience to see what's being spoken? Both are purposefully excluding people who can't hear quite as well to understand fully the spoken words and those who know some, little or no sign language to understand fully what was signed. Both situations discriminate against the majority of people with hearing loss. Both situations do not invite people into their world because of their own ignorance.  Just because a person is deaf or hard of hearing does not mean one is fluent in sign language or knows sign language. Just because a deaf or hard of hearing person can hear some words being spoken does not mean one can hear all of the words being spoken on a theater stage, on television, in a social setting, in a movie theater, and so on.

Why is it ok to have sign language interpreters at a rock concert but not captioning to help caption the lyrics being sung and to help caption what's being said on stage for the listening audience? Why is it ok to have a signing concert but no captioning for those who may not be able to understand it all or do not know sign language? Why is it ok to have a Deaf Awareness Day at Six Flags as a way to help promote awareness about deaf and hard of hearing people but only provide sign language interpreters throughout the park when being deaf or hard of hearing does not mean people magically know sign language?  Communication is a two way street benefiting a variety of people with hearing loss and communication preferences. Providing captions help them feel they as if they are a part of a larger family.  

Noah Buchholz's Journey: Part 3 series

Part 2 of series

Part 1 of series

The New Stem Cells Generation - going from deaf to hearing.

The stuff of science fiction has now arrived where Madeline becomes the first of many toddlers born deaf to get their first cord- blood stem cells treatments in the effort to restore their sensorineural hearing loss. This procedure continues to show success and Madeline's hearing continues to improve.

Madeline Cooper, who is nearly 2 years old, is the first person in the nation to take part in a new Food and Drug Administration-approved study of stem cell treatment of sensorineural hearing loss.

Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston and California-based Cord Blood Registry will eventually enroll another nine children in this first phase of the study.

Unlike some advertised stem cell treatments that may cost patients tens of thousands of dollars — and, according to critics, are little more than quackery — the Conners paid nothing to take part and have been promised no specific results.

The process is simple: Doctors inject the children with stem cells from their own stored umbilical cords. Because it is the patients’ own blood, there is little chance the treatment will produce side effects.

In theory, the treatment will adjust patients’ immune systems to encourage their bodies to repair themselves. In truth, researchers have no idea if it will work.

Earlier Italian studies on mice concluded that stem cells may help the body repair damaged cells in the ear and restore some hearing in these types of cases, according to a 2008 published report in the University of South Florida journal Cell Transplantation.

Madeline's hearing loss has gone from extreme to moderate hearing loss since undergoing the treatment. A definite improvement. This stem cell treatment will continue and may take a few years to help fully restore hearing loss. We will not know how fast this rate of restoration will take place over the next several months to a few years. We will know more once the Cooper family head back to Texas in July, and again in January of 2013, to get a more detailed assessment of Madeline’s improvement.

This will be the start of a new generation of cord-blood stem cell babies and toddlers born deaf to become, in theory, hearing with the help of their own blood-cord stem cells. An exciting era in regenerative medicine for parents of deaf children. This new cord-blood stem cell procedure was covered in my blog piece in January 2012 for your review.

Once proved successful parents of deaf babies will see this as the preferred treatment to help restore their child's hearing loss. This will certainly be a much preferable route (and cheaper, too) than to choose cochlear implant.  Now the question becomes, will this eventually destroy the cochlear implant industry? Only time will tell.

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!

Bad Advertisement during Tax Season

I drove through a town and saw this and took a picture of it when I noticed the building was empty. You can probably guess why. It's enough to make you not go in when tax season cometh. Why take the chance?

The mocking of dea(th)f...

One of the worst thing one can do is to air online in a vlog or blog the apparent glee or dispassionate display of somebody else's death who is related to a deaf person known in the deaf and hard of hearing community.  Either show a modicum of respect in your blog or vlog or don't talk about it at all.  By showing disrespect online makes that person a boorish and dispassionate soul. If it's indifference then keep it to yourself privately and away from the public view. By making it public ranks (almost) right up there on wishing the death of a deaf parent's child just because one doesn't like the deaf parent reeks of insanity.

A Dine and Sign TV Internet Show

Here's an interesting and fun show to watch called "Dine and Sign." A humorous show between a hearing son named Alex and his deaf father having some insightful and funny discussions done in sign language. There are now 35 episodes or almost 3 hours worth of shows beginning on September 26, 2011 broadcasted by Podsmiths Internet Televsion on YouTube. Since then the show has slowly gained a following.  If you want to talk and interact with the Dine and Sign please visit their Facebook page.

What makes this show fun and easy to watch is the accessibility they provide. Each show comes with captioning, signing, and a voice-over for each of the two father and son duo sparring lightheartedly with each other over a variety of topics. With a combination of communication access available it can reach a much broader audience than just the signing community. If you ever want to see what the interaction is like between a deaf father and hearing son then come and watch their first episode and catch up with the rest of their shows at your convenience. Dine and Sign, not exactly a three course meal but satisfying.


Episode one: What's the problem with long hair?

Deaf pitcher aims for pro baseball

It is not everyday you get to hear of a deaf pitcher who can pitch 90 mph fastballs and have a good chance getting into the major leagues. Scouts are certainly taking a hard look at him.

Technology is king for deaf users when it comes to communication

Technology is the key to success for deaf and hard of hearing people. It is true today and it will be more so true into the very near future when it comes to helping provide communication to deaf and hard of hearing with the rest of the world. Google has come out with a new fangled technology that has been in the works for some years called Google Glasses where it hints at speech-to-text display for deaf users:

Perhaps most interestingly, one patent shows Google is working on a system to help hard-of-hearing and deaf users detect and interpret nearby sounds. The glasses' heads-up display would show arrows and flashing lights to indicate the direction and intensity level of the sound, and even display the words nearby people are speaking. The patent, #8,183,997, was issued to Google today and is titled "Displaying sound indications on a wearable computing system." The system would integrate a speech-to-text feature that determines the text of speech and displays it for the wearer of the glasses.

This concept on augmented reality will be a boon to deaf and hard of hearing users in the near future by allowing the extra-dimension of space, time and information of sound and visuals through the use of these glasses.