About Deafness

No Pay, But They Stay

2009-11-06T17:39:01Z

The Los Angeles Times has a nice story about three former temporary workers who became very invested in the work that they were doing at an educational center for deaf people from other countries. They became so invested in it that they chose to stay on even without pay when the center was unable to pay their temp agency. The founder of the center happens to be Virginia McKinney, who created The Picture Plus Dictionary, a sign language dictionary.

No Pay, But They Stay originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 17:39:01.

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Deaf Veterinarians

2009-11-05T20:54:14Z

The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association has an interesting article on three deaf veterinarians. I even learned a new word, "auscultate," which seems to mean "listen to the animal's heart." All three developed techniques to substitute for hearing, and use modern technology and communications to enable them to do their jobs. One of them is from Rochester, New York. Now if only I could get one of them to move here to help take care of my cat.

auscultate

Related at About.com: Veterinary Medicine

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Deaf Veterinarians originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 20:54:14.

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Fight for Hearing Aid Coverage in Massachusetts

2009-11-04T20:37:59Z

The Boston Herald reports on an effort to get insurance companies in Massachusetts to cover hearing aids for children. Massachusetts House Bill 910 (see Adobe PDF file) which would require insurance companies to pay for a good chunk of the cost of hearing aids, is opposed by the insurance companies. The insurance companies are using the standard argument that adding coverage for hearing aids will raise the cost of insurance for all.

Fight for Hearing Aid Coverage in Massachusetts originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 20:37:59.

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Discriminated Against, Deaf Man Wins State Award

2009-11-03T21:13:25Z

A deaf couple was forced to live on Social Security for two years because employers would not give either one of them a chance. Nothing unusual about that. What is unusual is how blatant the discrimination was. At one job interview where both husband and wife went, the interviewer actually left the room to go talk to coworkers, AND his wife lipread the interviewer saying bad things about her husband.

After two years of discrimination the husband finally turned to a state government program for help and training. At last he got a job, and was nominated for the state work program award - which he won.

Source: Pioneerlocal.com

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Discriminated Against, Deaf Man Wins State Award originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 21:13:25.

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So, What Made You Deaf or Hard of Hearing?

2009-11-01T12:04:20Z

There are many causes of hearing loss, and I probably don't know about at least half of them. On this page, you can share what caused your hearing loss, and tell how you or your family coped with it and other associated conditions. My own deafness was caused by maternal rubella.

So, What Made You Deaf or Hard of Hearing? originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 12:04:20.

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Money Talks on Broadway

2009-10-30T12:53:21Z

Again, a hearing (and in this case, seeing) actor has been cast in a high-profile role, this time on Broadway. The role is that of the young Helen Keller in a remake of the Miracle Worker. The producer said he had to hire a well-known star (Abigail Breslin) because he needed the power of a star name to attract investment. He said there were no well-known young stars who are deaf and blind.

He is correct about one thing - that there are no well-known young deaf and blind stars. The deaf acting community is small, and even most "stars" of that community do not have the power of being household names. Deanne Bray? Shoshannah Stern? How many hearing people are aware that they exist as actors? The only deaf actor whose name is fairly recognizable by many hearing people is Marlee Matlin, and she is too old for the role of the young Helen Keller.

Earlier, there were similar objections to a hearing actor playing Singer in a production of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. In that case, the actor who got the role had already played the role in an earlier production of the play. In this case, the role of Helen Keller is a new role.

My feelings about this? It is clearly becoming a trend to NOT hire deaf or blind people for "disability roles." While I understand the producer's concerns (are investors really that intolerant of a non-star?), I personally think that the producer is making a mistake here. Deafness (and blindness) are not something you can fake. Deafness is not something that you can just know about, it is something that you LIVE with on a daily basis. Can a hearing child actor really project the frustrations of what it is like to be deaf? Can the hearing child actor really make the audience FEEL what it is like to be deaf?

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Money Talks on Broadway originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 12:53:21.

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Gambia Deaf Preschool

2009-10-29T03:42:54Z

A Gambian news source has an interview with the director of a nursery school for deaf children ages four to seven. (She is also the director of Gambia's association for deaf and hard of hearing). In the interview, she says that although many parents can not afford to pay the school fees, she permits the children to come anyway. The children are permitted to come anyway because she recognizes the harm that would be done by denying them education.

It costs 150 Gambian dalasi (their currency) to send a child to their preschool for one term. Converted to U.S. dollars, this is $5.61. A full year is 450 dalasi, or $16.82. It costs so little to educate the deaf children of Africa.

Gambia Deaf Preschool originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 03:42:54.

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Legislation to Require Medicare Coverage of Hearing Aids

2009-10-27T17:10:33Z

Last week, Senator Sherrod Brown (OH) introduced a bill to require Medicare to cover hearing aids. Highlights from the article:

Brown will try to get this included in the health care legislation
Other countries already provide hearing aids to people in similar government plans
AARP Director of Federal Relations says many senior citizens already have Medicare Advantage plans to that cover hearing aids
A cosponsor of the House version does not think Brown will succeed in having the provision included in the health care bill because of the possibility of Medicare cuts.

The Senate version of the bill is S 1837 (introduced in October 2009), and it has no cosponsors. The House version of the bill is HR 504 (introduced in January 2009), and it has only five cosponsors. Unless there is a big push by people who would benefit from these bills, they don't stand much chance of passage due to lack of cosponsors.

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Legislation to Require Medicare Coverage of Hearing Aids originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 17:10:33.

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Marlee Matlin Coming to DC for Internet Captions!

2009-10-26T18:01:11Z

Next week, from November 4 to November 6, Marlee Matlin, the actress and producer who happens to be deaf, is coming to Washington, DC. Why is she coming to Washington, DC? She is coming to DC to push for internet captioning! Full details can be read on the National Association of the Deaf press release. Personally, I am very happy that someone like Marlee is stepping up to help us out in this battle.

Related: Introducing Caption Action 2

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Marlee Matlin Coming to DC for Internet Captions! originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 18:01:11.

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Baby Sign Language in Baby Blues

2009-10-24T21:58:56Z

This morning as I ate breakfast and read the daily comics in the Washington Post, the Baby Blues comic strip caught my eye. In the first panel, big sister Zoe says to baby sister Wren, "more cookie? okay." The mom asks "Are you teaching Wren sign language?"

Zoe replies in the second panel, "No, I think she learned it from one of her videos." Mom exclaims, "That's amazing! My baby is learning communicate!" In the last panel, the Mom asks about a frantically signing Wren, "What's she saying now? I love you, Mommy?" Zoe interprets, "The chicken is tough, and the applesauce is grainy."

I think this is the first time I have ever seen baby sign language mentioned in a newspaper comic strip.

Baby Sign Language in Baby Blues originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 21:58:56.

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