Can you spot the difference? Win $15 gift card

Can you find 8 things that are different in these two pictures? The first person to answer all 8 correctly will win a $15.00 Gift Card to Outback Steakhouse. Go to sComm Facebook page to see the two different pictures. Can you spot the differences?

The winner will be announced today after 5pm CST.

Domestic Violence Against Men (and Women)

It's an ugly thing for both sexes who are the victims of such undeserving action whether one is deaf or hearing. It's just not the females who are victims but the males, too, believe it or not. There are organizations that help support victims of DV for one or both sexes such as Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado, for example, National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the many organizations on stopping violence against women.

In the Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado it has an interesting article about the problems of dialing 911, not that you shouldn't, but there are some unforeseen potential actions that could result in dialing 911 with unknown consequences with a warning, "descent into hell often begins by dialing 911." An eye opening read from the point of view with males being the victim.

Regardless, it's ugly for both sides, and often times children are on the short end of the stick watching it all unfold before them and the police barging in to investigate after a 911 call. Work it out if you can. Or leave for awhile to cool off. Find some outside help first. Think twice, three times before picking up that phone and dialing 911, through a video phone or by texting 911 calls.  Emotions are hard to deal with and that sometimes rational or common sense thinking can go out the window. 

Switched at Birth petition controversy re-visited

Last year in March I covered a petition that was against the show "Switched at Birth" simply because some of the cast of characters weren't "Deaf enough." That is not enough deaf people (as opposed to hard of hearing) who are native signers. The petition provided insight to the amount of shallowness and cruelty considering the fact that the show's main cast of characters have more culturally deaf characters who are native signers and more hearing characters who pick up sign language for the benefit of their deaf sibling, deaf child or deaf friend (such as the hearing character, Bay, who was dating Emmet) than there are hearing characters who do not know sign language. The show is actually a great example of what diversity is like among the main cast of characters who are culturally deaf, hard of hearing, hearing, signers and non-signers. You can thank Marlee Matlin for that.

She also pointed out that until recently, deaf characters were generally a guest role written in to just a handful of episodes at best. She credits Marlee Matlin, who plays a mother of Daphne's friend, making a difference, saying, "[She] really did an incredible job of paving the way for deaf actors." 

But she noted that "Switched at Birth" has taken the progress one step further. "You get four characters with hearing loss, and different ranges of hearing loss, and it really accurately represents the culture, the issues within the culture, and the way people feel about the culture."

You have three main characters who commonly appear on the show who are culturally deaf and they are Emmet (Sean Berdy), Travis (Ryan Lane), and Melody (Marlee Matlin).  The other deaf/hh (main) character is Daphne (Katie LeClerc) whose grew up speaking and listening as a hard of hearing person that wears a hearing aid and knows sign language. Whenever deaf characters speak to each other the audio is edited to remove all background noise except for ambient noise. This allow viewers to focus on the visual emotions and physical nature of sign language while at the same time provide a perspective of what it is like to be deaf and not hear sound around them.

Rob Nielson, a  Deaf ASL teacher in Texas, was the original author of a petition (with a paltry 100 signatures) against the show reasoning that the show isn't suitable to be shown on the ABC Family channel tv show because

"the main Deaf character isn't even Deaf and a so-called "family channel" is resorting to scenes of drug use, sexual innuendos, and in a recent episode, gratuitous teen sex."

Yet in the petition it was made more abundantly clear it was more about the main character (Daphne) wasn't "Deaf enough" for Rob and his students.

ABC Family first dropped the ball by hiring an actress who is not Deaf. Katie Leclerc is an actress that only recently started losing some of her hearing due to Meniere's Disease. The only reason she knew any ASL before the show was because she took it in high school and that was because, In her own words, "I was very bad at Spanish." Leclerc has to take voice lessons in order to "sound Deaf" on the show. Leclerc portrays herself as an ambassador of the Deaf community - "I feel comfortable in the deaf world I feel comfortable in the hearing world," Leclerc said. "I'm glad I can cross over." - There is no crossing over. She is a hearing person that is playing the part of a Deaf character. She is not a part of the Deaf world. Thus, some of the things about her character are not things that are normal for a Deaf person who grew up in the Deaf world - such as her ability to lipread flawlessly, her constant sim-com (talking and signing at the same time), and her signing being jerky and awkward at times. There are many talented and beautiful culturally Deaf actresses that ABC Family could have hired.

The part about that Katie LeClerc is a hearing person is absolutely false.

Katie Leclerc is hard of hearing in real life
Playing a deaf girl comes more naturally to Leclerc than it would to most actors because she has first hand knowledge of what it's like to live with hearing loss. At the age of 20 the actress was diagnosed with Ménière's disease. She explained the affliction, "[It's] a problem with fluid retention in the inner ear. You get fluctuating hearing loss, attacks of vertigo, ringing in the ear, and pressure in the ear. So it is a very sporadic disorder. The attacks come and go as they please with no rhyme or reason."

And although the condition sometimes makes it difficult for Leclerc to work, she never loses sight of the important role hearing loss has had for her as an actress. "Without the Ménière's disease, I would not be able to play the role of Daphne. In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss… you have to have hearing loss. So without this Ménière's disease, I wouldn't be able to have this dream come true, this role of a lifetime, this incredible opportunity."

She found out she has Meniere's Disease at 20 years old that explained her losing her hearing which gets progressively worse as she gets older. Katie LeClerc made clear that she is in fact a hard of hearing person, and not a hearing person that Rob is claiming.  She made no claims of being an "ambassador of the Deaf community," either.  That was Rob Nielson's doing by turning it into a something else to suit his own agenda (of insecurity).

According to Don Grushkin and other culturally deaf people they would agree that Katie LeClerc is a Deaf person (go here and here to see why) with "Deaf" to mean an all-inclusive word. But according to Rob Nielson he is basically saying that Katie LeClerc's character, Daphne, is not "Deaf enough" solely on the basis that the character does not behave like some culturally deaf, native signer as clarified in Rob's petition.

She is a hearing person that is playing the part of a Deaf character. She is not a part of the Deaf world. Thus, some of the things about her character are not things that are normal for a Deaf person who grew up in the Deaf world - such as her ability to lipread flawlessly, her constant sim-com (talking and signing at the same time), and her signing being jerky and awkward at times. There are many talented and beautiful culturally Deaf actresses that ABC Family could have hired.

Which is it, Rob? Accept a deaf/hh character (or for that matter in real life a deaf/hh person) for who he/she is or get nit-picky because the character doesn't sign flawlessly or smoothly enough for you? On the show you have three characters who sign "flawlessly" that fits Rob's ideal world and you have one hard of hearing character who does her best at signing to communicate yet her signing does not fit Rob's level of signing proficiency because, ya know, she's all jerky and stuff.

Again, Katie LeClerc is most definitely NOT a hearing person but hard of hearing.

Maybe it's time Rob, the "Deaf ASL teacher of Texas," the fair and "open-minded one," should publicly apologize for saying that Katie LeClerc is not a deaf/hh person and that her character is not "Deaf enough" because she's not like Marlee Matlin who can sign "flawlessly"?

This is deaf identity politics at its worse. That kind of ugly discrimination need to stop.

Chance to win $10 Outback Steakhouse Gift Card

Check out sComm's Facebook page and see if you can give out the right answer to their question about communiphobia. The winner with the best answer will be revealed on January 25, 2013 at 10 A.M CST and the winner will receive a $10 Outback Steakhouse gift card. Yum. One of my favorite restaurant! Love those ribs!

Don't miss out on the contest! Click on the "Like" button on sComm's Facebook page to receive future contest announcements.

Well known deaf mystery person to show up

If you want to find out who this well known and liked deaf person who will show up at sComm this Saturday night (see count down clock on left) then be sure to check out sComm's website or Facebook revealing the mystery announcement.  Who is this person? Come and watch, and find out.

Deaf lifeguard be qualified under the ADA?

Check out this recent news of a 22 year old deaf man who rely on sign language to communicate was found disqualified to be a lifeguard at a swimming pool even though he successfully completed lifeguard training. He does wear a cochlear implant that helps him detect noises, although having one does not help him pinpoint exactly where the noise is coming from. After he was rejected he sued the county claiming he was qualified under the ADA because he could do the essential elements as long a he gets reasonable accommodation.  The county disagreed with that assessment saying hearing is an essential element of the job.

However,

A lower court sided with the county. But on appeal, the case was reversed and sent to a jury trial. The appeals court said that whether a job function is “essential” under the ADA is typically a fact-based question for a jury to decide. Several experts for Keith had testified that the ability to hear is not essential to the successful performance of lifeguard duties because swimmers in distress use hand motions to signal for help.

Plus, as Keith's experts noted, the world record-holder for most lives saved by a lifeguard is by Leroy Columbo—a deaf man.

Something to think about. What do you think? 

Countdown Clock

Noticed the countdown clock on the left side? It's a reminder to keep an eye on this blog for some major announcements at sComm.  The surprise will be revealed live this Saturday. Also, be sure to go to sComm's Facebook and click on the "Like" button if you want participate on the chance to win some prizes, like a Starbucks gift card, by getting their daily contest announcements.

Winner announced in mystery photo contest

Congrats to Pamela Siebert Maelzer who gave the closest and best answer. The mystery photo below had many people guessing.

And what was the answer to the mystery photo?

The mystery photo is a part of a barn door in the newly remodeled lobby of the sComm headquarters in Raytown, Missouri. The barn doors lead you to the next door space with 5,000 sq feet of additional space for the expansion of sComm. Those barn doors came from somewhere out in the country at some salvage yard. The doors are believed to be over 100 years old. A carpenter was hired to rebuild the barn doors and customize it for the sComm lobby. sComm is focused on doing things in a creative way as we do with face-to-face communication.

Pamela wins a $10 Starbucks gift card.

If you want the chance to participate in more games for more prizes go to sComm Facebook page and click on the "Like" button so you can get the latest contest announcement.

5 Lucky Winners get Starbucks gift cards

Today we have five lucky winners who won a $5.00 Gift Card to Starbucks courtesy of sComm.

1. Mikey Graziano
2. Stacey McIntosh-Storme
3. Dee Gol
4. Jie Yu
5. Dawn Michelle Muth-Rodriquez.

If you want to participate for more chances to win prizes you have to go to the sComm Facebook page and click on the "Like" button first so that you will be notified of any future announcements to try your luck on winning some more prizes.

There is another chance to win a $10 Gift Card to Starbucks. Go and visit the sComm Facebook page and try and guess what the mystery photo is. The winner and answer will be revealed Wednesday, January 23rd after 1pm, Central Time.

When famous people use the UbiDuo

Don't think well known or famous hearing people use the UbiDuo, the face to face communication device, to talk with other deaf people? Think again. How about Benard Pollard, the Baltimore Ravens (2013 AFC champion) talking with Jason Curry (CEO and co-founder of sComm the maker of the UbiDuo) for over an hour? Check out this priceless picture.

Just two guys having a good time talking with each using the UbiDuo.  Not feeling like a 3rd person with an interpreter in tow, the UbiDuo can give a deaf person a real sense of empowerment and control. No waiting for conversations to change hands, taking turns like using a pen and paper that's good only for limited conversation. Using the UbiDuo there is no misunderstanding or missed words when you have face to face real time typing conversation going on. 



Hat tip: Greg Gunderson

Am I an oral/aural success?

That's a matter of perspective and wholly subjective based on experience and ability as a deaf/hh person who grew up speaking and listening.  I grew up with a lot of hearing friends and some deaf friends. I grew up playing sports such as soccer, baseball and wrestling and I excelled in them. My soccer team was a state championship team in 1975. One of my baseball team in early 1970s that I was in was a championship team as well. I placed 2nd in my weight class in a wrestling tournament. I competed in high school marching band competitions as a drummer and competed in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  And so on.

But was I an oral/aural success?

My first words were “bye bye” at 14 months old.
At 18 months - “Jamie,” “Baby,’ “DaDa,” “Bye Bye,” “Car” and “Hot”
By 30 months or 2 ½ years old I had a vocabulary of 20 to 24 words
At 2 ¾ years old I was forming sentences “Dada bye bye,” and “Dada eat.”

At this point after a year and half of oral training with John Tracy Clinic and Birney school I was progressing fast and saying many words.

At 2 ½ years old all of my words were hard for me to pronounce them because of my deafness. I received my new body hearing aid at that point and with the help of my mother and John Tracy Clinic my vocabulary grew. By 3 ½ years old I was forming questions. “Where is Jamie?” “Where is Dad?” I even said to my brother, “No no. Momma pretty” in reference to her hair. By 4 ½ years old I could recognize my own name and names of my classmates in Birney school in Tacoma. By 5 ½ years old I was able to read basic words, identify colors, count number from 1 to 10.

I was in a class of hearing first graders for ¾ of the day. At first I was emotionally upset for awhile with the big change from an oral setting in Birney School to a regular classroom with hearing students. But I finally adjusted and did well. According to my mother’s notes I was above average in most subjects. In March 1973 I received my first behind the ear hearing aid to replace my worn out body aid. I wore my behind the ear much better and was able to get more sound out of it. The miracle of advancing hearing aid technology.

I went regular school from 4th grade to 12th as a hard of hearing student. Did theatrical plays, played in the middle school symphony band, took piano lessons starting at age 7, and I was on the high school marching band that competed in the southeast marching band competitions.  I was your typical middle and high school student.

Am I an oral/aural success?  Certainly.

I still can order my food and listen at the drive through speaker and make sure they got my orders right. I can speak to my family, friends, and strangers in person or over the phone without problems. In a physical setting with people around me the acoustic environment must be conducive enough for me to carry on a conversation.

I've come to think of myself as a person with a hearing loss. A person who is deaf. Also a person who is hard of hearing. Or even person who is hearing impaired with the focus that my hearing is impaired, not just myself.

I'm an oral/aural success? Certainly.

Despite that, I still cannot hear completely and my hearing aid helps me tremendously. I can keep up with conversations in small group conversation but the settings have to be right.

I did well in regular school in a non-mainstreaming setting. I relied on my hearing aid to listen. Sometimes they needed to repeat what was said. I got good grades. I went from high school to a hearing college and then to Gallaudet University as a lark and curiosity to see what a deaf/hh setting was like. I learned how to sign and communicate in ASL. While going to Gallaudet University I also attended nearby George Washington University without the need for note-takers, interpreters or any other support services and did well in those courses.

After Gallaudet University, and George Washington University I attended a graduate school at University of Idaho and successfully got my masters degree in Geology. I did well in classes without the need for note-takers, interpreters or any other support services. I was successful in defending my thesis during an oral thesis defense that lasted almost 2 hours.

An oral/aural success? Certainly.

Throughout my life while attending regular school from elementary, middle and high school I had more friends than I could count on my fingers. I had hearing friends in my neighborhood that we skated together and did a bunch of fun stuff. These friends of mine weren't the "misfit" or "outcast" types. I still have them in my Facebook.

I was never really bullied though a few tried to do that to me but I pushed back and made myself clear. I wasn't worried about being shunned or quietly ignored by the “cool kids” because I learned quickly early on that such "coolness" was highly over-rated.  I never had a mental breakdown because I've always spoken my mind.  I was a good friend to many, and I considered them good friends to this day.

Am I an oral/aural success? Certainly.

But also, because of Gallaudet University, I am successful in sign language. I learned to sign while an undergrad at Gallaudet. I made many new deaf and hh friends. And also learned a great deal the insidious problem of identity politics. I was in the Honor Program. I worked as a math tutor. I spent time focusing on my education but had time to play with my friends, attended a few Rock Festival events, football games, and so on. I graduated from Gallaudet within 3 years. After that I attended graduate school at University of Idaho for 5 years with enough credits for two degrees but only got one degree in Geology and yet made some more hearing friends while there, too.

Now, I have many deaf, hh and hearing friends. 

Today, my working environment involves working with mostly hearing people. I still use the phone to speak and listen with no assistance needed. I still use the field radio when I go out into the field alone in the woods. I still deal with wildfires. I strive to meet other employees who are deaf or hard of hearing.  I strive to help educate hearing people and co-workers about people with hearing loss whether it's mild or profound hearing loss or those who communicate primarily with sign language. It's a win-win situation for me and others when people understand better on the issue of clear communication.

I have never dread sitting at a table surrounded by people who are hearing as long as I feel the acoustic environment is suitable, I'll join. I don't dread meeting different deaf people at bars during deaf nights, either, as we sign away through the night with my wife. I enjoy meeting different people whether deaf or hearing but I do enjoy my solitudes. At work I like calling the shots on when I need CART, a microphone or online captioning for those video conference calls that have a lot of people participating.

Am I an oral/aural success? Certainly.

Am I deaf? Sure.

Am I hard of hearing? Sure.

Am I hearing impaired? Sure. I won't let a little identity politics get in the way. That term doesn't bother me.

But that's not important.

What I like to see today is to help other deaf and hard of hearing people (signers and non-signers) achieve their own brand of success in life with the help of technology whether it's at school, work, play or at home. I serve as a source of inspiration to many deaf and hard of hearing people. Other deaf and hard of hearing people serve as an inspiration for me. I like seeing hard work rather than listen to people complain about how unfair life is. Or hear people make stupid excuses when they are really lazy or ignorant. I like seeing people take the imitative and be pro-active about something positive in their life. Grab the bull by the horns and get busy. Complaining about your past life won't do anything for you or get anywhere. Best you can do is to move forward and make the best of what you got. Me? I take the best of both worlds, hearing and deaf. And I'm making the best of it the best way I know how one day at a time.

I am me.



You are not me.

Don't try and be me but be yourself on the things that you do best at.

Focus on your own successes and what works for you. Success is relative. Success is subjective. I see myself as an oral/aural success. I have never regretted my life and the things that I have done. I continue to go down that path. If you complain about what I do and/or say in this blog then you need to stop focusing on the negative and do something constructive in your life for a change.


Bonus video for hearing people only:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9QwOC4ZxDM

Enjoy.

Scavenger Hunt Video Part III

Here' the final video Part III of a scavenger hunt. A big surprise is revealed in this video. What could it be? What is "Project Black"? Where will this scavenger hunt end up at? Who is that weird looking guy? Be sure to watch this video and find out. If you missed Part I or II video you can watch either one of them near the bottom of the page and see if you missed anything.

Abandoned deaf 8 weeks old puppy needs to be adopted

Here's a breaking story of a deaf puppy, 8 weeks old, that was left abandoned on the side of a road in a cardboard box in Ohio but was saved by the Brimfield Police Department.

Ohio police are looking for the person who left a deaf puppy on the side of the road in a cardboard box. Thanks to the Brimfield Police Department, the dog is getting a second chance. 

According to a lengthy Facebook posting by the chief of police, the dog was found Saturday. Chief David Oliver wasn't shy about calling out the person who abandoned the puppy. 

"I will say that I can tell a person's character pretty well by seeing how they treat animals," Chief Oliver said in his Facebook post. "Whoever did this lacks character, period. It was mopey behavior."

Anybody deaf/hh living in near Akron, Ohio will have the opportunity to adopt this puppy this February. I used to have a deaf white cat that my wife and I adopted when she was a kitten. I spotted her wandering in a parking lot outside of our apartment many years ago and decided to take in her only then we didn't know the kitten was deaf until a few days later when we realized she wasn't responding to sound.

McCaskill speaks

From ABC7 News:

“I’m here back at the university and thrilled to be back here,” she says. “I know there are many challenges ahead for me and I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students here as we move forward to make Gallaudet a more inclusive university and the area of higher education that shows respect for different points of view.”

But it's strange that university officials would not comment further on why they decided to reinstate McCaskill's position as Chief Diversity Officer saying that it was a personnel matter. Personnel matter? Like president Hurwitz turning it into a circus show by making it public for all to see about their own personnel, Dr. Angela McCaskill?

Dr. Angela McCaskill is correct that Gallaudet University needs to learn to be a more inclusive university that shows respect for different points of view.

Empowerment and Perception

Empowerment.

It's a word that means differently to different people but universally it means enabling themselves the power of choice on their ability to gain their freedom, acquire knowledge, acquire wealth, and even build self esteem and confidence. There are many sides to every perspective on who is taking advantage of who when it comes to obtaining empowerment or losing it. What I have to say here may make some people feel uncomfortable but it is my kind of truth I'd like to speak about though it's not to be construed as an absolute truth but a general truth. Offering a different perspective is good. There is no monopoly here on "empowerment" or truth but just my version.

Let's look at Trudy Suggs' presentation on "Deaf Disempowerment."

Before going further I recognize the fact that there are horrible interpreters, interpreters who are a god-send and those who fall in between depending on the circumstances.  The hope is to have the very best and highly professional interpreters but that is not always the case, sadly, but the United States is experiencing a national shortage on interpreters.  Here I'm offering a bit of constructive opinion regarding Trudy Suggs' "Deaf Disempowerment." Namely it's about true independence versus quasi-independence when it comes to communication choices and how some people deal with them. Sometimes the answer to a difficult or problematic solution can be easily solved. Other times it requires serious intervention and awareness building.

In Trudy Suggs' piece she discussed two kinds of disempowerment: situational disempowerment and economic disempowerment. What I'm about to explain in my blog will show you a simple way to reverse a certain disempowerment scenario into your advantage. You can still have control over certain things in life and not feel helpless in the communication department. Empowerment means you've come to realized certain things about a situation and advantageously learned to move forward independently benefiting yourself as a result. Suggs suggested that people do take advantage of deaf people, and that's true in many instances as in the case of interpreters taking advantage of deaf people by making money off of them. She provided a few examples of that in her piece. But in order to be honest people need to realize that deaf people do take advantage of hearing people. In this case taking advantage of sign language interpreters for their own gain whether it's social, financial, medical or what have you at no cost to deaf people in most cases.

Trudy Suggs explained that she live in a town of 23,000 people with 250 to 300 deaf people (I am assuming they are all culturally deaf people) which represents about 1.3% of the town's population.  A town that is 7 times more populated than the "national average" on the ratio of culturally deaf people to hearing people which is estimated to be about 0.2%of the U.S. population. In Rochester, New York, for example, it has a much higher density of deaf and hard of hearing people. The number of deaf and hard of hearing people make up 3.7 percent (about 40,000) of the Rochester area's 1.1 million people (more here on deaf/hh population). Although no exact figures on the number of culturally deaf people who rely exclusively on sign language to communicate as their preferred mode of communication.  In Suggs' town with 7 times more culturally deaf people one would certainly expect better interpreters.  Interpreters who should be readily available at a moments notice, 24/7. Interpreters who are expected to hold a higher standard of professionalism in a town that have a lot of deaf people. Interpreters' reputations are at stake. If an interpeter fumbles then word gets around within the tightly knit deaf community like a bad gossip.

Let's consider for a moment the fact that there are more deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States that do not sign or know sign language than there are those who do sign (about 50 to 1 ratio or 30 million deaf/hh to 600,000 culturally deaf people). Or for those with more severe hearing loss you have people with severe to profound hearing loss numbering probably about 3 million or so. That would leave you with 1 out every 5 deaf people who know and use sign language.

Trudy Suggs described a story between about herself, her interpreter and a receptionist while waiting in a lobby for her orthopedic doctor for her son's check-up:

After about 45 minutes of waiting in the lobby—very unusual for a town of this size—I asked the receptionist about the severe delay. The receptionist never once looked up from her computer, saying that the doctor was backed up. I asked if we could see the doctor since my children were restless, hungry and my son, in a body cast from chest to toe, needed his medicine—which was at home. She said no. I said, “Could you please speak to the doctor or nurse?” She replied, “Oh, no, I can’t do that,” and I repeated my request. She adamantly refused. 

I finally said, “Could you please look at me?” She looked at the interpreter, and I said, “No, at me.” Once she did, I asked, “Could you please offer a resolution? We’ve been here an hour.” At that very moment, my baby began crying, and the receptionist finally realized the extent of my situation. A nurse came out who was far more courteous and apologetic. After we talked about the delay, I asked how I could make a complaint about the receptionist. 

A few thoughts come to mind.

You have a receptionist who is not familiar with deaf culture etiquette such as looking directly at the deaf person and not the interpreter. Most hearing people are simply not familiar on how to deal with a deaf person with their interpeter in tow. And then you have a situation where a deaf person is either seen as the "third person" or the interpreter as the third person. It becomes a perception issue not mention a certain amount of ignorance and unfamiliarity at play here,too.

Trudy then go on a spiel about "disempowerment" because she wasn't treated adequately by her interpreter and was seen as a "third person" by the receptionist and was not given the opportunity to be seen as an equal.

Let's change the picture here. Like the one below here.

Suppose at the receptionist desk sits a face to face communication device unit called the UbiDuo ready to be used by any deaf person who can use it to converse in real time with the receptionist. The unit is already assembled and ready to go by simply turning it on No third person is involved. Eye contact is easily done because the conversation is now between two individuals, a hearing person and a deaf person. The UbiDuo is a wireless communication technology that allow real time typed conversations between two people facing each other. Just like having two people talking or signing to each other face to face, uninterrupted with more meaningful eye contact, and done directly without feeling like a third person. No worry about having an interpreter carry YOUR conversations for you.

That's true empowerment.

Having the ability to carry a conversation with a hearing person using the UbiDuo, for example, where conversations can be done privately and directly is an example of empowerment. The chance for misunderstanding decreases because words are typed word for word with the UbiDuo. Conversations done in real time seeing what the other person is typing while responding at same time. Just like talking to each other. Just like signing to each other. No worry about the "lack of signing fluency" from interpreters. Face to face conversations take place fluidly.

A deaf person can have a choice between using an interpreter or a face to face communication device such as the UbiDuo. It is there for the taking. You have that choice. That's true empowerment.

DYV...before and after

Totally surreal when it comes to the depth of absurdity.  Six days ago I posted about DYV's dishonesty blogging about a lightning strike saying a deaf man with a cochlear implant was struck but offered no sources or proof that it was the case. In fact, that video was already proven to be a fake.  A week later offered such a banal, dishonest response if not a totally paranoid one leaping into the fire and now into the frying pan.

Notice: This article has been no proven which is no information and none of sources due to the cochlear implant industry possibly cover up of this incidental situation to prevent avoid bankruptcy. perhaps, only a theory which could it be possible happen to everybody like this video.

The cochlear implant industry is in collusion to cover up on sources to the fake lightning video? What an utterly moronic claim. Again, the video has already been shown to be a fake. No need for a "theory."  If a deaf person with a cochlear implant was hit by a direct lightning strike he would most likely be dead or severely maimed for life. Whether the cochlear implant gets damaged isn't really worth writing about.  How about being honest for a change and admit that you, DYV, were just making things up out of thin air on a whim?


Before:

After:

Update: Good grief. Now, he/she is claiming in his/her blog piece was merely an opinion piece. How can it be an opinion piece when it's littered with so called "facts" stating unequivocally that the (fake) lightning victim is a cochlear implant user with no way of confirming it and no sources to support that claim?   Below you can his post-response to my blog response to his first blog piece about the (fake) lightning victim video. His reference to me as "Mickey Mouse" was my old user name during the VAX days at Gallaudet University.  Not afraid to show my face around here.

And lastly, it is in poor taste to list links under the "Surfer Deaf Websites" a link to Candy's blog as "Extreme Radical Gina Sutton" while all the other names linking to other sites are neutral.

UPDATE II. More on DYV involving counter hits. It's easy to see the difference between the visitor map (clickable) and see the hits total and the hits number displayed below the map. This is a similar incident with the DBC's own mess.

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.

The McCaskill Saga, Example of Intolerance?

Here's a great article about tolerance when tolerance means learning to agree to disagree such as in the case of the McCaskill/Gallaudet snafu as a result of a very public witch hunt.

Practicing true tolerance requires disagreement; it requires dissension.

But as the administrators at Gallaudet prove, our society has discarded real tolerance and has replaced it with a kind that says, “You disagree with me? Then you’re intolerant.”

It necessitates complete neutrality, and it limits people from picking sides on social issues.

This is dangerous.

It's better to learn tolerance than to automatically brand people as bigoted merely for disagreeing.

Interest on ASL on the Decline?

Not just American Sign Language that has been on the down trend over the last several years in Google search but interest in terms like "deafhood," and "a*dism" are also on the downturn as seen in Google Trends. Check out the graphs below.  

Just a bit of factoid thrown in here I think that would interest you.

Scavenger Hunt Part Deux

Watch Part II of a scavenger hunt. A hunt that will be revealed progressively over the next few weeks every Tuesday by sComm, the maker of the UbiDuo Face to Face communication device. A big surprise will be revealed near the end of January this month. What could it be? What is "Project Black"? Where will this scavenger hunt end up at? Be sure to follow this video each week to find out. If you missed Part I video you can watch it first at the bottom of the page.

Part I - The Scavenger Hunt