Fashion.. from a 9 year old deaf boy

Following a showcase of his collection, 9 year old Rafi earned a standing ovation during Jakarta Fashion Week in November when he stepped onto the catwalk. His full name is Rafi Abdurrahman Ridwan and he is Indonesia’s youngest Fashion Designer. Rafi lost his hearing at the age of three months and has suffered from respiratory tract infections since his birth. His parents, Shinta and Mohammad Ridwan, were warned by their doctor that Rafi would likely have birth defeats and health issues. He suggested they consider an abortion. But the couple continued with the pregnancy because of their religious beliefs. Rafi was born and he attended a school for the deaf in Santi Rama. On his own, he developed an obsession for drawing. Rafi attended a fashion show at the age of five, which convinced him that he wanted to become a designer. It was at another show he met Indonesian designer Barli Asmara, who saw potential in Rafi's detailed and colorful sketches. Asmara has mentored Rafi since that time, helping him to fulfill his dream of holding his own fashion show for his 9th birthday. Its success led to an invitation to take part in Jakarta Fashion Week. Just a few months before the event, he had cochlear implant surgery. The family has chosen not to use sign language. Instead, Rafi's mom taught him lip read. Below is a video of Rafi and his work.
 

Deaf Rockers Play Duluth

Beethoven’s Nightmare played a free concert last night in Duluth, Minnesota at the College of St. Scholastica. The three-man deaf rock band from San Francisco are accompanied by sign language interpreters. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a sample video of the group. You can see a video report from a local TV station KQDS here.
 

Getting to Know... Dummy Hoy

"Dummy" Hoy played in the major leagues for 7 seasons, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Hoy lost his hearing as a child due to meningitis. He graduated from the Ohio State School for the Deaf as class valedictorian. He signed his first professional contract in 1886 and made the Major Leagues in 1888 where he played until 1902, Only five feet four inches, Hoy had a small strike zone. The first deaf player in the majors, Hoy had a .287 career batting average and more than 2,000 hits. An excellent base stealer, he swiped 549 bases. A standout center fielder, Hoy set a record in 1889 by throwing out three runners at home plate in a single game.  He became a member of the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 2003. Because he couldn't hear the umpire calling the balls and strikes, Hoy is often credited with creating the hand signals that umps still use. However, a deaf pitcher named Ed "Dummy" Dundon used hand signals as early as 1883-84 and later in a game that he umpired in 1886. Also, early accounts of baseball signs do not credit Hoy with originating their use. However, he probably played a role in spreading their use because of his long career as a standout player.  Hoy could read lips, but also used sign language, which he taught his teammates. He preferred the name Dummy and even corrected people who called him by his given name, William.  He throw out the first pitch at the 1961 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds and died a few months later at the age of 99. 

Silent Tweets

A app for deaf Australians works as a visual alert for emergency notices. Silent Tweets was created by Australian Communication Exchange and is free. It gives users warnings of regional emergencies, such as building evacuations or disaster announcements as well as updates on traffic and weather.

Flash Mob at Target

Students from the Iowa School for the Deaf created a flash mob at the Target store in Council Bluffs Wednesday morning. Watch the a conga line in the video below.

$2 Million Donation

We told you earlier today about a gift a deaf architect was planning to give to California State University at Fresno. We knew Robert Duncan Nicol's gift would be more than a million dollars, but it turned out the actual amount will be much more - $2 million. It's the most ever given to the health and human services college. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video

More Plaintiffs against Sheriff in Lawsuit

Another deaf man is joining a lawsuit against the sheriff of a Colorado county, accusing him of violating ADA law. Michaelee Owen and the Colorado Association of the Deaf are joining a suit filed in November by Timothy Siaki along with the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. Siaki and Own claim Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr kept him behind bars for 25 days without providing a sign language interpreter or communication devices for the deaf. The Sheriff's office says an interpreter explained the charges against Siaki on his second day in jail, then he was able to communicate in written English and that was good enough.

The Silent Garden Program

An award-winning deaf architect is giving more than a million dollars to California State University in Fresno. It's the largest gift ever given to the school's College of Health and Human Services. The money will go toward the The Silent Garden program at the school, which is designed to help deaf children. The name of the program comes from a book written by a Fresno State professor. You can find more about the book here.

Age-Related Hearing Loss

About one-out-of-three Americans over the age of 60 have age-related hearing loss. The condition is known medically as presbycusis. It happens naturally with age. It can be caused by changes in the inner ear, auditory nerve, middle ear or outer ear. Some of its causes are aging, loud noise, heredity, head injury, infection, illness, certain prescription drugs, and circulation problems such as high blood pressure. Studies indicate it is probably inherited.

Churches ask for Closed-Caption Exemptions

Some 80 religious programmers are asking the FCC to exempt them from the Commission's new closed captioning rules because of financial hardship. This past fall, the FCC told more than 500 programmers, most of them religious broadcasters, that their exemptions would no longer apply and they would have to refile for a new exemption by January 18 (last Wednesday). Programmers were told they would have to fully document their financial resources and show that providing captioning would put an undue burden on the organization. This time, the Commission says it wants to look at the resources of the whole organization and not just the TV program itself. Most of those filing for the new exemption are churches with weekly TV broadcasts, such as Curtis Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia and Dilworth Church of Christ in Jasper, Alabama.

Test your Hearing

WALA-TV in Mobile, Al. had a segment today on hearing loss with a licensed Hearing Aid Specialist. What the video below or read the text here.

Test your hearing: fox10tv.com

S.F.'s first deaf-owned restaurant

A look at what you can expect at San Francisco's new deaf-owned restaurant Mozzeria here.

Switched Ratings

Switched at Birth is setting ratings records for ABC Family. The series is drawing more than 3 million viewers. It features deaf characters and includes scenes of signing that have lasted as long as four minutes. Watch the latest episode here.

Switched at Birth' Creator Lizzy Weiss Was Confident Audiences Would Discover Show

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Switched at Birth Creator Lizzy Weiss. Read the interview here.

Deaf pilot spreads the word: You can fly

Greg Lawrence is a airplane pilot who has logged 3000 hours in the air. Read his story here.

Domestic Assault

A Salem, Massachusetts found himself behind bars after a fight with his former girlfriend, who is deaf. Police say Donald Devoe tried to intimidate her when she tried to call 9-1-1. He faces charges of domestic assault. She was advised that she should get a restraining order.

Seattle Deaf Film Festival

The University of Washington will host the Seattle Deaf Film Festival from March 30 to April 1. The films to be shown coming from 8 different countries and created by, for, or about the deaf community. The school's ASL and Deaf Studies Program is working with with Deaf Spotlight, a nonprofit that focuses on the culture and creativity of the deaf community. The films will include subtitles for audience members who are sign language impaired.

Implants Market Analysis

Business research firm GlobalData has compiled an analysis of what to expect from the cochlear implant market during the next few years. The report is titled Hearing Implants - Global Pipeline Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecasts to 2017. Find out more here.

Can you hear this?

Most people over the age of 25 cannot hear much above a frequency of 13 or 14 kHz. As we age, the little hairs in our inner ear do not function as well and we begin to lose our hearing in the very high frequency ranges. Teenagers sometimes use ring tones in this range so teachers can’t hear their phone rigning in class. If you want to check which frequencies you can hear, go to this site and click on the different audio tones.

Deaftel

A new Apple app called Deaftel is designed to “translates a hearing person’s voice into text during a phone call. Deaftel users can read and respond to the text message with their keyboard.” Founder Kunal Batra explains the voice recognition technology in the video below.

Deaf Actor Makes Pro Debut

A look at Eddie Buck's debut at The Growing Stage, a children's theater in New Jersey here. He's playing Tuc in the theater's production of Mother Hicks. A video sample is shown below on DeafNewsToday.com.