Deaf Romance Short Film 'Noise'

A Deaf woman forms a bond with a stranger, forcing them to communicate without language.

Omeleto release a romance short film “Noise” presenting Sophie stands by herself staring at the ocean. Lost in her own world and thoughts - as well as being Deaf - she is oblivious at first to the stranger who begins to share her spot on the pier, trying to photograph the local scene.

Eventually they strike up a conversation via hand gestures and facial expressions, and Sophie and Bemo spend the afternoon together, forming an unlikely bond that flourishes despite their lack of shared language. But that growing bond and attraction is challenged in its own way, and what seems like a straightforward romance becomes a meditation on attraction, love and the vivid, fleeting nature of it all.

Writer-director Michael Aloyan's short romance traces the beginning of an attraction, beginning with the requisite "meet cute" and proceeding until what's traditionally regarded as the next step. Charming, simply but beautifully shot and well-performed, watching two different individuals find common ground and then attraction is lovely, especially when the storytelling highlights how their lack of shared language seemingly makes space for a more intimate, vulnerable connection.

There isn't much dialogue in the film, but strong sound design offers a glimpse of what's it like to be in Sophie's head, experiencing music as rhythmic thumps and exploring a subjectivity that is rich in sensation, even if she can't hear sound. Sharing some of that with Bemo forms one of the most evocative and heart-warming moments in the film, and it's easy to see why they become so taken with one another.

Actress T.J. Carpio plays Sophie's hearing impairment lightly, but traces her growing openness to Bemo with great responsiveness and emotional honesty. Actor Shvan Aladdin plays off her well as Bemo, essaying a role notable for its warmth and kindness, and the two's connection flourishes, even if they don't seem to have much shared ground yet.

As Sophie and Bemo develop other ways to share their selves and lives outside of spoken conversation, the film seems to function as a romantic montage leading to a high point of consummation, gracefully threading through their growing intimacy in a series of beautifully etched vignettes. But in a subtle but clever set of twists, the storytelling upends those narrative expectations, making what seems like a straightforward romance into something unexpectedly meditative and even melancholy.

Without giving too much away, "Noise" seems to question just what the origin of attraction is, what role and importance common ground -- whether it's through shared language or other values -- plays in love and what do we gain or give up when rushing into romance. This narrative turn is gently accomplished without melodrama, but it's enough that when the would-be couple come back together, the emotional tenor of the story is markedly different from the beginning. It's not unlike real life, perhaps, when the beautiful "castle in the sky" created by two people's mutual romantic fantasy and momentum reveals itself as the fragile edifice it is -- and the couple must decide what's really holding it up, and whether that's enough to sustain it.

SOURCE -- Omeleto

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Deaf School Versus Mainstream School

Hearing parents of a Deaf child: What are the differences between Deaf schools and Mainstream schools.

This video is for especially hearing parents of a Deaf child. This video shows and explains the differences between Deaf schools and Mainstream schools, hopefully to help you make informed decisions for your Deaf child, whether you should send your Deaf child to a Deaf school (also called a Deaf Institute, a school for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children) or if you should mainstream your Deaf child.

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For those who do not know what mainstream means, the mainstream definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary reads, “to place (a student, such as a disabled child) in regular school classes”. Basically, it means to send your Deaf child to a hearing school, or mainstream school as some people call it. There are a few different options of mainstreaming.

Few public mainstream schools have Deaf & Hard of Hearing (D/HH) programs at mainstream schools… some Deaf children stay in the D/HH program all day, some others are mainstreamed into hearing classes for a part or all of the day accompanied by sign language interpreters. Another option of mainstreaming is to send your Deaf child to a school that does not have a Deaf / Hard of Hearing program, meaning your Deaf child would be mainstreamed in hearing classes all day, usually accompanied by a sign language interpreter and sometimes that also means your Deaf child could be the only Deaf kid at school or sometimes there may be a few other Deaf students also. These mainstreaming options are not mentioned in the video but will be discussed in a future video.

Quick statistics re: Deaf children- 2 or 3 in every 1,000 children here in the United States are born Deaf or Hard of Hearing (nad.org) and most of Deaf children, more than 90%, are born to hearing parents. And about 86% of Deaf students are in mainstream schools.

This video features a short campus tour of a school for the Deaf, a residential school for Deaf children at California School For The Deaf in Fremont.

The tour guide compares Deaf schools and mainstream schools and discusses the benefits and advantages of attending a residential Deaf school vs. attending a mainstream school. The tour guide also shares about Deaf Education, how different Deaf education is in mainstream schools compared to Deaf schools, which is very different… a very informative video for hearing parents who are wanting to learn more about Deaf education and options for their Deaf child.

Be sure to watch the following video after this, an interview with a Deaf football coach who strongly believes that Deaf children should go to Deaf schools. In the interview we talked about the pros and cons re: Deaf schools- both benefits & advantages and disadvantages. Link here: https://youtu.be/YGaxh0P4Vb4

Here is a link to the list of Deaf schools here in United States including some mainstream schools that have Deaf / Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) programs: http://gallaudet.edu/clerc-cente

Gallaudet University’s Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center has more information and resources for hearing parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children: http://gallaudet.edu/clerc-cente

Subscribe Ashley Clark Fry Channel on YouTube for more videos.

SOURCE - Signed With Heart

"Alone In A Hearing World" shows true to life scenarios of a young Deaf boy growing up in a hearing world. With family members who can't communicate and continuous misunderstandings by his teachers and coaches, he is forced to live in a world of isolation. However, when he pleas for his Mothers understanding and falls short, he ends up in the only place he seems to find acceptance.

"Alone In The Mainstream" (best seller book for the teachers) - A Deaf women remembers public schools - Gina A. Oliva in which a book is a part of education for hearing parents to understanding with Deaf children in the mainstream schools.

Related #AshleyClarkFry:
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Deaf Canadians Left Out When Disasters Hit

When natural disasters hit, Canada's Deaf are left out.

TORONTO, Ontario -- When natural disasters hit in Canada, it can be difficult for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to get potentially life-saving information.

CBC's Kas Roussy looks at why signing during disasters can be so critical; to help tell the story she's joined by sign language interpreter Jennifer Hawkings.

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The National is CBC Television's flagship news program. Airing six days a week, the show delivers news, feature documentaries and analysis from some of Canada's leading journalists.

Follow @CBCTheNational:
Subscribe to The National - https://youtube.com/CBCTheNational
The National Updates on Facebook - https://facebook.com/thenational
The National Updates on Twitter - https://twitter.com/CBCTheNational

SOURCE - CBCNews

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How The Deaf Community Watched 2018 FIFA World Cup

FIFA explains how the Deaf community watched 2018 FIFA World Cup.

MOSCOW, Russia -- An estimated global audience of three billion people watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, illustrating once again why the competition is often dubbed 'the greatest show on Earth'.

As well as FIFATV on YouTube and FIFA.com providing all the goals and match highlights from an unforgettable tournament in Russia, round-ups of all 64 matches were also produced by FIFA for the Deaf in International Sign Language.

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This gave some 70 million people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing around the globe the opportunity to see all the thrilling action unfold.

- Deaf Cat 'Psychic' For 2018 FIFA World Cup

Garyfallia Spyrou, one member of the project team said: "Society needs to change the way it thinks. Unfortunately, there are still all too few signed texts and they really need to be pushed as a priority so that Deaf people feel catered for and are on a level footing."

Ahead of the first International Day of Sign Languages, which will be celebrated on 23 September 2018 as part of the International Week of the Deaf, you can gain an extraordinary insight into how these highlights were made at the House of Football in Zurich.

From beginning to completion, see how these highlights were produced and tailored to the needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, ensuring the biggest sporting event was accessible to all.

SOURCE - FIFA

Follow 2018 FIFA World Cup:
Facebook - https://facebook.com/worldcuprussia2018fifa
Twitter - https://twitter.com/fifaworldcup
Official Site - http://fifa.com/worldcup

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Making Education Accessible To Deaf Children

TEDxKlagenfurt host the TED conference with Deaf activist, Nyle DiMarco, shares experience as growing up Deaf.

Communication is the very foundation of our ability to thrive in life. But what happens when our disability hinders our ability to communicate? Millions of Deaf children around the world lack proper education, which affects the quality of life as adults. Growing up Deaf, Nyle DiMarco, now shares his vision of improving the lives of Deaf children around the world. He manages to get his message across loud and clear - communication is always possible.

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Nyle DiMarco is a model, an actor and also an activist. In 2014 he became the second male winner and the first Deaf contestant to win American's Next Top Model. Only two years later he added the Mirror Ball Trophy to his collection after winning Dancing With the Stars,. As a model, he has walked the runway for Giorgio Armani at Milan Fashion Week. Yet, his greatest acchievement was to become the face of the Deaf community and disabled people worldwide.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Follow @NyleDiMarco:
Subscribe - https://youtube.com/nyle222
Facebook - https://facebook.com/nyledimarco
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nyledimarco
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Model Mayhem - http://modelmayhem.com/nyledimarco
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Official site - http://nyledimarco.com

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Giving Deaf Kids The Chance To Hear

HearAid Foundation: Giving Deaf kids the chance to hear when health insurance fails.

NBC Left Field: Mary and Wes Rinella are Deaf. While Mary was raised with American Sign Language (ASL), Wes learned speech with hearing aids, and now they want to give their three Deaf children the chance to choose which language they prefer. The problem? Hearing aids aren’t covered by health insurance.

Health insurance in California, and at around $4,000 a pair, they’re too expensive to buy out of pocket. That’s where Tanya Penn and the HearAid Foundation step in since 2011 they’ve given out 270 hearing aids to families in need.

For more information, check out http://hearaidfoundation.org

Follow NBC LEFT FIELD:
Facebook - https://facebook.com/nbcleftfield
Instagram - https://instagram.com/nbcleftfield
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nbcleftfield
Official Site - https://nbcleftfield.com

The Silent Child (2017) - Official Trailer

The Silent Child film tells the story of a profoundly Deaf child born to hearing parents and the unequivocal power of communication.

HOLLYWOOD -- The Silent Child is a British short film written by and starring Rachel Shenton and directed by Chris Overton, and released in 2017 by Slick Films. It tells the story of Libby, a profoundly Deaf four-year-old girl, who lives a silent life until a social worker, played by Shenton, teaches her how to communicate through sign language. The film won the Live Action Short Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.

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The film was based on Shenton's own experiences as the child of a parent who became deaf. The film features profoundly Deaf six-year-old first-time actor Maisie Sly as the titular child. British Sign Language (BSL) is used in the film.

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The Silent Child won best short film at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August 2017. This made it eligible for entry to the Oscars. In December 2017 the film was selected as one of the final ten films in the Live Action Short Film category for the 90th Academy Awards.

On 23 January 2018, it was announced that The Silent Child was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the 90th Academy Awards, which it then won. Shenton kept a promise that she had made to their young lead actress and signed her acceptance speech.

SOURCE - Wikipedia

Follow @TheSilentChild:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesilentchildfilm/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/silentchildfilm
YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/silentchildfilm
Indiegogo: https://indiegogo.com/projects/the-silent-child-short-film

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Ava - New App For Deaf & Hard of Hearing

Introducing Ava: 24/7 accessible conversations with Deaf & Hard of Hearing people.

Ava is the fastest and easiest way to understand and participate in conversations for Deaf & Hard of Hearing people.

- Didn’t get what the guy in front of you said? Ava uses your microphone to hear and shows you word by word what is said. Instant captions, in your pocket, always available.

- Tell something super quickly: show in big letters what you meant, or ask Ava to voice it for you. The easiest 2-way communication with hearing people who don’t know sign language.

- Don’t miss out in group conversations anymore. Share your unique "&AvaID" link with others so they can join your conversation on their Ava app. At lunch, in meetings or hanging out with friends, Ava shows you who says what, in real time, and in colors.

- Connect quickly one or multiple friends, next to you or anywhere in the world. It takes one tap to connect you all.

- Join the other Ava Pioneers exploring every day new ways to use Ava to make the world more accessible. Ava 1.0 is just the first step towards a 24/7 accessible world. Visit https://ava.me/life for more details on how other Pioneers use Ava.

- Experience the first artificial intelligence designed to empower Deaf & Hard of Hearing people. Anyone can tap on words that Ava got wrong to teach her. Ava gets smarter at understanding you & your peers’ voice.

- Benefit from the different optimizations we’ve done: Ava will not use more battery than streaming audio when listening to transcribe, or using other reading app when you follow the conversation.

Find all of the latest Ava news on our Twitter account - https://twitter.com/avascribe or Facebook page - https://facebook.com/avadotme

SOURCE - Ava

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How Do Deaf People Think ?

Benefits of being bilingual: Deaf people have voices in their heads? 'Today I Found Out' channel explains about bilingualism.

Watch a six minutes video of Simon Whistler the host show from Today I Found Out on YouTube channel - those who were born completely Deaf and only learned sign language will, not surprisingly, think in sign language.

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What is surprising is those who were born completely Deaf but learn to speak through vocal training will occasionally think not only in the particular sign language that they know, but also will sometimes think in the vocal language they learned, with their brains coming up with how the vocal language sounds.

Primarily though, most completely Deaf people think in sign language. Similar to how an “inner voice” of a hearing person is experienced in one’s own voice, a completely Deaf person sees or, more aptly, feels themselves signing in their head as they “talk” in their heads.

Want the text version? http://todayifoundout.com/index.php.

Subscribe for new videos every day: https://www.youtube.com/todayifoundout

SOURCE - Today I Found Out

Related: Can Deaf People Hear Their Own Thoughts?

VICE News: Deaf Culture 'Signs of Change'

Deaf Culture: VICE News Tonight on HBO - Full Segment.

VICE: Today, more than 40 percent of American children born Deaf receive cochlear implants. The technology effectively restores hearing by bypassing the ear and delivering audio information directly to the brain. The vast majority of Deaf children who are implanted develop hearing and speaking skills comparable to their hearing peers, thus allowing them the option to “mainstream” into normal schools in the United States.

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Deaf education in the U.S. has gone through many phases. American Sign Language (ASL) is currently the dominant mode of instruction in Deaf schools, but there have been periods where ASL was banned and students were forced to speak and lip-read, an ineffective approach known as Oralism. ASL has now gained legitimacy and been shown to include the deep grammar and syntax found in spoken languages. It is also the wellspring of Deaf Culture, a proud community wary of historical attempts to assimilate them into a hearing world.

As more parents opt for cochlear implants, VICE News explores their impact on the medical condition that gave rise to a cultural identity.

Read: "Prisons basically ignore the Americans With Disabilities Act, leaving a third of inmates facing abuse and neglect" - http://bit.ly/2jwqCX4

Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News

Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com

Follow @VICENews:
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Deaf Woman Fights Miami Hospital For Terp

Deaf News: Deaf woman fights Miami Hospital for interpreter in Florida.

MIAMI, FL -- Next week, next month or maybe next year -- she does not know exactly when -- Cheylla Silva will need to visit her local hospital again. And when that happens, Silva, who is Deaf, doesn't want to struggle just to communicate with doctors and nurses as she has the last two dozen times.

Silva communicates in American Sign Language, and she says she has labored to convey and comprehend the most basic information at Baptist Hospital Miami because the hospital has refused to provide an interpreter.

Instead, she has been directed to a Video Remote Interpreting system or VRI for communication. But the remote video service crashes, the feed can be choppy and it's hard to see when she's lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her arms or when a medical team has crowded into her room.

"Why does everything have to be a struggle?" Silva, 34, asked through an interpreter. "I just want to be able to communicate like anybody else."

On Wednesday, Silva was in federal court in Miami to argue that Baptist Hospital's refusal to provide a live interpreter violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. She filed the case against Baptist in 2014 along with John Paul Jebian, a Miami man who also is Deaf. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case a year later but Silva and Jebian are appealing.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division also weighed in on the case, filing a brief in support of Silva and Jebian's claims, and urging the federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.

The appeal centers on whether the remote video service -- which allows an interpreter to translate via video screen -- provides equal access and effective communication for a deaf patient as required by the ADA, said Matthew Dietz, an attorney with the Disability Independence Group, a nonprofit advocate for the disabled representing Silva and Jebian.

Dietz argued that system may work in some hospital settings, such as one-on-one meeting with a nurse or doctor, but it is ineffective and inadequate in others, such as during an MRI or X-ray, or during child birth or group therapy sessions.

He said Baptist's refusal to dedicate a high-speed, wide bandwidth Internet connection for the service also means blurry and choppy images, and repeated disconnections.

Deaf patients, Dietz said, "deserve to know what's happening to them."

SOURCE - EMSWorld

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Deaf and Dying at the Ottawa Hospital

Deaf and dying: How a volunteer team brings palliative care comfort through communication in the capital of Canada.

OTTAWA -- The first experience Monica Elaine Campbell had with palliative care was helping a woman who had lost her ability to speak because of throat cancer.

Campbell, profoundly Deaf since birth, is an excellent lip reader and staff at an Ottawa Hospital asked if she could interpret the dying woman’s words. The woman had been communicating with paper and pen, but now was too weak even to do that.

“I was very hesitant. Then I thought, well, the least I could do is give it a try,” said Campbell, who is able to speak despite never having heard a word herself. “I put my hand on her right arm and said, ‘I’ve never done this before. I will try my best.”

WATCH: Video with CC - Ottawa Citizen.

Campbell leaned close as the woman mouthed her words. Campbell repeated it back and had the woman nod yes if she had understood correctly. She spent five hours with the woman, relaying messages between her and her family and the medical team. She was able to interpret about 85 per cent of what the woman told her.

“I came away a different person,” Campbell said. “I was very touched by the experience.”

The dying woman had not been Deaf, but the experience got Campbell thinking about the communication needs of people like herself: the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. A few years later, Campbell was asked to help a Deaf friend who was about to receive bad news about her cancer diagnosis.

“I didn’t know much about palliative care, but she was struggling with her terminal illness,” Campbell said. “I thought, my goodness, what if that was me? I thought, I should talk to my Deaf friends about death and dying and what our experiences have been.”

Those conversations led Campbell and her friend, sign language interpreter Christine Wilson, to start up the Ottawa Deaf Palliative Care Team, a group of volunteers that provide end-of-life care for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and their families. In 1999, she enrolled in palliative care courses at Algonquin College with two Deaf colleagues (the Deaf use a capital D to refer to the sub-culture of people who communicate with sign language; “Hard of Hearing” are those who have lost some or most of the hearing but can still use some speech, sometimes augmented with sign language; the “Deafened” or “Oral Deaf” have lost some or all of their hearing, but either learned to speak before their deafness or, like Campbell, learned to speak despite it... Read More at Ottawa Citizen.

Related Posts: #DeafCanadians

LEAD-K - The Rogersons And Their Deaf Child

Exclusive Interview: Meet Lucia and Jon Rogerson, parents of three-year-old Heath, who is Deaf from California.

FREMONT, California -- The film project by Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids #LEADK and partnership with the Nyle DiMarco Foundation. This is their story with english subtitles.

The medical system now aggressively encourages hearing parents not to use signed languages with their Deaf children and withhold information about American Sign Language in the U.S.

But this family boldly and bravely chose American Sign Language and English as the languages of their homes.

Credits:
LEAD-K Film Project Director: Julie Rems-Smario, LEAD-K Public Relations
Producer: Sheri Ann Farinha, LEAD-K Campaign Director
Co-Funders: LEAD-K and Nyle DiMarco Foundation
Film Director: Jules Dameron
Editor: Jules Dameron
Sounds: ShakahJamal
Interpreter: Leah Bartell
Family: Heath, Presley, Lucia, and Jon Rogerson

Learn More:
NyleDiMarcoFoundation - http://nyledimarcofoundation.com
LEADK - http://www.lead-k.org/
LEADK Hashtag - https://twitter.com/hashtag/leadk

Related:
Interview With Hearing Parents Of A Deaf Son
Educating Hearing People About The Deaf World
Deaf Awareness: Alone In A Hearing World
Deaf Awareness: Alone In A Deaf World
Nyle DiMarco Reads To Deaf Kids In Video Clip
25 Things You Don’t Know About Nyle DiMarco
Cochlear Implants Is NOT A Cure !
Deaf Culture - Have We Cured Deafness ?

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Living In Between The Deaf And Hearing Worlds
A Hearing Son In Deaf Family 'I'd Rather Be Deaf'
Dropout Rate Among Mainstream Deaf Students
Life and Deaf - BBC4 Documentary
Through Deaf Eyes - Documentary Film
Deaf Short Film - THIS IS NORMAL

Philly Police Discriminates Against The Deaf

Deaf News: U.S. Justice Department concludes Philadelphia police discriminate against the Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- A U.S. Department of Justice review has found the Philadelphia Police Department discriminated against people who were Deaf or Hearing-Impaired.

Philadelphia police handcuffed Deaf people behind their back, thus making them unable to communicate with sign language, DOJ wrote in a Dec. 7 letter to the department.

Police did not inform courts that defendants appearing for a video arraignment were Deaf, so the individuals did not understand what was happening, according to the review.

And police failed to provide qualified sign-language translators or other services to defendants, victims, and witnesses, according to the review.

DOJ said it was seeking to remedy the problems cooperatively through a consent decree with the department.

"In the event that we are unable to reach such a resolution, the Attorney General may initiate a lawsuit pursuant to the [Americans with Disabilities Act]," the letter states.

The Police Department issued a statement Friday evening saying it would work with DOJ to fix any problems.

"While the finding and conclusion regarding the complaint are sobering, we appreciate the DOJ's work and their input regarding the matter," the Police Department said.

"We are using this as an opportunity to address a legitimate concern and make necessary improvements. The department's goal is to move beyond remedial measures with a commitment to making this department a model for others in adhering to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

The Police Department said it would collaborate with the city's Office of the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and with the Mayor's Commission on People with Disabilities.

The Justice Department review was prompted by a complaint from a man who had been arrested, and that led to four other people who alleged discrimination by police.

According to the original complaint:

In 2013, a 23-year-old man who was Deaf was arrested in court after he threw a bracelet hitting two people during a sentencing hearing for his brother.

He was handcuffed behind his back, making him unable to use sign language. While in police custody, a radio room staffer was identified as having some sign language ability, but the man could not understand what was being communicated.

The man asked for a qualified interpreter, but police ended their attempt to communicate and placed him in detention for 16 hours.

During his video arraignment the next morning, the judge was not told he was Deaf and the video was not captioned.

Two months later, police arrested him mistakenly for failing to appear in court. His hearing had actually been scheduled for a later date.

He was again handcuffed behind his back, but after his mother intervened, the officers cuffed him in the front. When he explained the hearing had been rescheduled, the officers asked for documentation but would not allow him to search for it.

After he was detained and released, he asked for a telecommunication system for the deaf, but the one police provided him did not work.

SOURCE - PHILLY

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Deaf People Cross Multiple Divides at the Border

Deaf people cross multiple divides at the United States border.

NOGALES, AZ -- Seated at Taco Yaqui in Nogales, Sonora last Friday, Reggie Holmes of Tucson tried to order lunch from his Spanish-speaking waiter – a familiar challenge for any non-Spanish speaking Arizonan who crosses the border.

But for Holmes, a 31-year-old associate at Goodwill, the cross-cultural interaction is even more complex. He is Deaf, and uses sign language, lip-reading and writing as his primary forms of communication.

At first Holmes tried hand gestures with the waiter. But then he noticed the menu written on the wall and rushed over to it.

He pointed to the “chiles verdes” tacos and held up four fingers. The waiter understood and Holmes was soon digging into his lunch.

Holmes, who regularly crosses the border for dental visits, doesn’t just navigate the English-Spanish barrier in Mexico, but also the hearing-deaf divide. Even when he meets Deaf Mexicans, he must find creative ways to communicate because he uses American Sign Language (ASL), which employs different symbols and grammar than Mexican Sign Language (LSM by its Spanish acronym).

Most people have encountered situations, while traveling or otherwise, in which they’ve had to find creative ways to communicate. But according to University of Texas linguistics professor David Quinto-Pozos, who studies bilingual language acquisition as well as interaction between ASL and LSM speakers, Deaf people like Holmes are especially skilled at communicating past language barriers, or picking up the local language in border and other multilingual areas.

After all, he said, Deaf people already navigate and communicate in a world designed for those who hear. Read The Full Story - Nogales International.

Deaf Inmate Loses Bid For Services In Delaware

Sussex Correctional Institution inmate loses bid for services.

DOVER, DE -- Delaware State News: A Deaf inmate’s appeal for equal accommodations under law while incarcerated was denied in Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Robert Ovens, held at Sussex Correctional Institution, challenged an earlier Superior Court ruling that prisons were not places of public accommodation, thus limiting his ability to communicate by telephone while incarcerated.

The Supreme Court found that a prison does not meet the core definition of a place of public accommodation as “any establishment which caters to or offers goods or services of facilities to, or solicits patronage from, the general public.

“The definition includes state agencies, local government agencies, and state-funded agencies performing public functions.”

Mr. Ovens was housed at SCI three separate times between May 12, 2010 and May 1, 2013, and filed a complaint with the Delaware Human Relations Commission regarding accommodations there.

According to court papers, the Commission held by a 2 to 1 vote that prisons did fall under the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law on Dec. 16, 2014 and subsequently awarded Ovens damages, attorney’s fees and other costs.

“The (Commission) majority found that the Equal Accommodations Law was violated because Owens had to wait additional periods of time to use the text telephone, and the DOC failed to provide him with an interpreter for his educational programs and his classification review,” the Supreme Court noted in the nine-page decision.

“The dissenting Commission member concluded that the Commission did not have subject matter jurisdiction over Ovens’ complaint because a prison is not a place of public accommodation.”

The decision was reversed in Superior Court, and Ovens then took the matter to Supreme Court.

While state-funded agencies fall under the law, the Supreme Court reasoned that “A prison like SCI is inherently different from a park or museum, in that a prison is not designed to solicit or cater to the general public for its entertainment and recreational value. …”

The DOC is a state agency, not designed to provide inmate goods and services to the public, the Supreme Court reasoned but exists to “provide for the treatment, rehabilitation, and restoration of offenders as useful, law-abiding citizens within the community,” according to Delaware Code.

Text telephone access

According to the Court, Owens “communicates primarily through American Sign Language and requires special accommodations, such as a text telephone device when making telephone calls.”

Owens alleged that access to the text telephone was either limited or denied, and he was required to “request permission to use the text telephone by submitting a counselor’s slip, while other inmates had free access to the telephones during their recreational periods.

“Additionally, Ovens alleged that the DOC and Warden (G.R.) Johnson did not accommodate his deafness when they failed to provide him with an interpreter for his anger management and substance abuse classes, and for his classification meetings.”

When the Commission first dismissed his complaint as not in its jurisdiction, Owens appealed to Superior Court, which remanded it for further explanation. Superior Court later ruled in Short v. Delaware that prisons were not places of public accommodation, followed by the Commission’s decision that the DOC violated Delaware Code.

SOURCE - Delaware State News

Treatment of Deaf Couple at Wendy’s Drive Thru

Treatment of Deaf couple at Wendy's sparks outrage in Texas.

AUSTIN, Texas -- A local Deaf couple recently visited the Wendy's at 305 West Slaughter Lane in South Austin for food. They handed a note to the employee with their order at the window. But instead of immediately getting the fries and burgers they requested, they got a handwritten message.

They say an employee handed it to them after the fast food restaurant didn't get their order right.

The couple feels they were mistreated while trying to use the drive-thru.

Elisa Vita said the message left a bad taste in her mouth.

"They gave me the note and I felt very upset about that. I felt like they looked at me as less than other people, as inferior to other people and it was really not a good feeling,” said Vita.

Vita posted an image of the message on Facebook.

"It really hit a nerve with people," said Vita.

Thousands have weighed in online sharing similar experiences at fast food restaurants nationwide. Vita said she spoke with the manager of the South Austin Wendy's who gave her some free meal coupons and was incredibly apologetic about the situation.

She doesn't feel like enough was done to make it right.

"I deserve the right to the same service and obviously Wendy's needs to provide more in-depth training that explicitly says everyone deserves to access the drive-thru," said Vita.

A University of Texas professor said fast food worker or not, it's best to just follow a Deaf person's lead when they're trying to communicate with you.

"They [Deaf People] are skilled at working with and interacting with people with whom they don't share a common language. Try not to become frustrated if you're the clerk," said Richard Meier, the Department of Linguistics chair at UT.

Accessibility issues for the Deaf expand far beyond the drive-thru. Faculty within UT's ASL Program are beginning to research them further.

"One problem is there may not be interpreters readily available or the interpreter may be available through a video link," said Meier. "So our question is, how well is this working?"

Meier and his colleagues plan on specifically looking at healthcare first. With such a large Deaf community based in Austin, many believe it's the perfect place to conduct such research. Many say there can never be too much emphasis placed on improving accessibility as it benefits everyone, not just the Deaf.

SOURCE - TWC News

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DGM Raises Awareness For Deaf Community

Deaf Grassroots Movement raises awareness for Deaf community.

GULFPORT, MS -- WLOX: Members of a nationwide organization called the Deaf Grassroots Movement met outside Gulfport City Hall on Thursday in an effort to raise awareness for the needs of the Deaf community.

They held signs and spoke to city leaders about opportunities offered by the city, as well as how to improve their education, job opportunities, and communications access.

City spokesman Chris Vignes said the city is one of the only on the coast that offers sign language interpreters during city council meetings. He thinks it's important for groups like DGM to raise awareness and also for the city to pay attention to their requests.

"Anytime you have a chance to help people in need, whether it's a special disability or bringing awareness to a cause, we're glad that they're here, because we can learn from what they need and how we can better help," Vignes said.

On it's website, the group says the goal is to promote equality for all with the quality of life improved for the Deaf community.

This is the second time the Deaf Grassroots Movement has promoted a nationwide rally. The first was on May 4, 2016.

SOURCE - WBRC

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Deaf Grassroots Movement Raises Awareness For Deaf Community - WBRC
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Follow @DeafGrassrootsMovement:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/deafgrassrootsmovement
Official Website - http://deafgrassroots.wixsite.com/tdgm

Deaf Grassroots Movement Hastags:
Facebook - https://facebook.com/hashtag/dgm
Instagram - https://instagram.com/explore/tags/dgm
Twitter - https://twitter.com/hashtag/dgm

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McDonald's Refuses Interview Deaf Applicant

McDonald's pays up $56,000 to the EEOC after manager refuses to interview Deaf applicant in Missouri.

BELTON, MO -- (AP) McDonald's will pay a $56,500 settlement after a southeast Missouri restaurant manager refused to interview a Deaf job applicant.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday announced the settlement with McDonald's Corp. and McDonald's Restaurants. A message seeking comment from the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company was not immediately returned.

The EEOC says a young man who can't hear or speak applied online in 2012 to work at the McDonald's in Belton, Mo. He had previous experience as a cook and cleanup team member at a McDonald's restaurant in another state.

A lawsuit filed by the EEOC says that when the restaurant manager learned the applicant needed a sign language interpreter for his interview, she canceled the interview, even though the applicant's sister volunteered to interpret.

SOURCE - ChicagoTribune

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The D.C. Police Department's Deaf Liaison

Meet the DC Police Department's Deaf Liaison officers.

WASHINGTON -- For more than a decade, the D.C. police department's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Liaison Unit has been building bridges with the Deaf community.

It's the only specialized police unit in the country dedicated to protecting Deaf people.

Officer Myra Jordan came up with the idea 14 years ago. She learned sign language as a child, when she played with a neighbor who was Deaf.

The 25-year veteran of the department went to the chief with her idea to combine her love for police work and sign language.

"The Metropolitan Police Department was struggling with communicating or interacting with the Deaf community, and we needed to build that bridge," Jordan said.

She was joined on the unit two years ago by Officer Teyna Ellis. She learned how to sign so she could help at her church.

In addition to the pair's regular patrol duties, they train other officers in the basics of communicating with Deaf people, like "knowing the universal sign of a Deaf person, to be able to communicate with them during a traffic stop," Ellis said.

Advocates for the Deaf community say the liaison unit has made a particularly big impact in dealing with Deaf victims of domestic violence.

"In the past, people didn’t know who to talk with and they didn’t feel comfortable making the report because they didn’t know who is going to understand me ... but now there is someone who speaks my language," said Shazia Siddiqi. She is executive director of the organization DAWN, which aims to end abuse in the Deaf community.

Jordan said the unit's work is paying off for police and for the community. She says it comes down to one word: trust.

"The officers aren't afraid of the unknown because they know the unknown now, and the community isn't afraid because they trust the police," she said.

Ellis and Jordan regularly get requests to help train officers from other police departments. They said they're proud that D.C. is leading the nation.

SOURCE - NBC4