Death at Gallaudet Unnecessary?

Gallaudet's student newspaper says a man died on campus because he didn't get needed medical attention. While on his way to work two weeks ago, cafeteria employee Cheang Kok fell off his bike and hit his head. Members of the football team were eating lunch at the time and tried to help him, but Koh was unresponsive. An article in the Buff and Blue, says it took 15 minutes before campus security showed up and five minutes more before medical help arrived. The story even quotes a football player as saying he went to the Public Safety office to get help and was told to wait because officers were busy. But Gallaudet officials strongly deny the story, saying a trained first responder was on the scene within five minutes of the accident. Read more in the Gallaudet student paper.

Information about Asthma

Here's a video in ASL about asthma from the DeafWellness Center at the University of Rochester, funded by the CDC.

ADA: Colleges

Under ADA law, colleges and universities must not discrimination when it comes to housing. There must be dorms or apartments available with special equipment such an alarm notification for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

TV Show to Renovate School Building

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition paid a visit to the School for the Deaf in Salem, Oregon this afternoon. The team of the ABC reality show will work to renovate the basement of the 140-year-old residential school during the next week. The episode will air late next month.

Flu Prevention

Here's a video in ASL about flu prevention from the DeafWellness Center at the University of Rochester, funded by the CDC.

iPod Touch

The new iPod touch will vibrate like the iPhone. The vibrate function was designed with the deaf in mind, because it can alert users that a FaceTime call is being received. Apple is marketing FaceTime as an ideal way to have a phone call using sign language.

Training Service Dogs

In this video from WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida, a college student with a cochlear implant hopes to make a difference in the lives of other people who are deaf.

Worshipping in Silence

An Anderson, South Carolina newspaper takes a look at how a Clemson church is reaching out to the deaf community in this article.

Eagles Take Opener

The California School for the Deaf-Fremont beat Calistoga High football last night to notch a win in the school's opening game. The Calistoga Wildcats played host at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa because its own facilities were in use for other activities. The CSD Eagles were up 21 to nothing at the half before the Wildcats mounted a late comeback.

Wood Carver Killed by Police

A Seattle police officer shot and killed a partially deaf man Monday when he failed to obey an order to drop a knife he was holding while crossing a downtown street. John Williams was Native American wood carver who social workers say had a drinking problem. Leaders of his tribe, First Nations, held a news conference today, saying the shooting was unjustified. Here's video about the gathering from KING-5 TV news.

Convicted of Rape and Murder

An Ohio judge has sentenced a deaf Ohio man to 55 years to life in prison for the rape and murder of a Akron woman. It's believed to be the first time a deaf person has been convicted of such a serious crime in Summit County. A jury convicted Jerron Johnson of the crime against his neighbor, Jean Zienka at her home in 2001 and trying to rape another woman a few days later, though she managed to escape. Johnson raped another woman in 2002. The trial was delayed for several years so that Johnson could learn sign language. He became deaf as an infant for an untreated ear infection and his mother is serving time in prison.

Blue Grass Gathering

DeaFestival-Kentucky takes place tomorrow in Horse Cave, northeast of Bowling Green. The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing organizes this one day event to promote awareness and support for the hearing impaired. This is the first year it has been held in Horse Cave. Previously, DeaFestival-Kentucky took place in Frankfort and Louisville. Some 8000 people are expected to attend attractions including theatrical performers, comedians, dancers and musicians.

Scam Rips off Deaf Investors

A company based in Hawaii is being ordered to pay more than $6.2 million for cheating more than 125 customers, all of whom were deaf. Marvin Cooper, who is deaf himself was charged with operating a $4 million foreign currency and commodity futures Ponzi scheme through his company, Billion Coupons. Prosecutors say Cooper lured customers with promises of up to 25% monthly returns. But he spent the funds on personal items, like a million dollar home and flying lessons.

Seabeck Retreat

The annual Seabeck Deaf-Blind retreat ends tomorrow outside of Seattle. This year's gathering has attracted more than 50 deaf-blind participants from around the world, including some from Japan and Holland. Sponsored by the Seattle Lighthouse, a nonprofit support group, events include tandem bike riding, paddleboarding, cooking classes, and classes on technology and devices that can help them with their daily lives. Read more about the retreat here.

Burned By Acid

The woman randomly burned by acid this week in Washington is nearly deaf. Bethany Storro's story has been in the news since Monday, when she was unexpectedly assaulted by a stranger in Vancouver. Her face is now wrapped in bandages and she may be disfigured for life. A black woman had approached her on the street and asked her, "Hey, pretty girl, do you want a drink of this?" The woman threw the acid at Storro who says she could immediately hear her skin burning. Police are now looking for the assailant who ran from the scene. Storro says she is glad she happened to be wearing sunglasses because it saved her sight. "To be hard of hearing and blind. That would drive (my family) crazy," she told reporters.

MSD Football

The football team at the Maryland School for the Deaf will play 9 home games and only 3 away games. Coach Andy Bonheyo, who's led the team for a decade, says it is just a coninsidence that so many of this season's games will be played at home. With most of the team returning, the Orioles are in good shape to repeat as national deaf prep champions. They went 9-1 last year. The only other deaf teams on the schedule this season is the Indiana School for the Deaf (October 16th) and the California School for the Deaf at Riverside (Nov 12).

Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

A former student is suing a Catholic school for the deaf in Montreal. Serge d'Arcy says he was sexually abused by four people on staff at the Clercs de St. Viateur. He's now in his 50's and the abuse is alledged to have happened when he was about nine years old. d'Arcy wants $600,000 in damages.

The "Incredibly Deaf Musical"

A musical about a composer determined to keep making music even as he is going deaf will debut in New York next month. The Jay Alan Zimmerman autobiography is titled Incredibly Deaf Musical. The New York Musical Theatre Festival will offer performances from September 30 to October 10 at The Duke on 42nd Avenue in Manhattan. The musical is described as a wild pop-rock-rap-dance-classical-disco-experimental-sign language-multimedia mash up.

Glasses that Create Text

New glasses are designed to turn speech allowing the deaf to read what's being said. The Babel Fisk glasses from Danish designer Mads Hindhede uses built-in microphones to pick up voices within the line of sight. An embedded speech to text program creates a text version of what's being said that is projected onto the inside of the lenses. Voices can also be recorded for later use.

Social Security Lawsuit

A federal judge has certified a lawsuit against the Social Security Administration as a class action suit. Deaf employee Ronald Jantz originally filed the action, claiming the Administration discriminates against disabled employees by limiting promotions and other career advancement opportunities. The judge's action allows the inclusion of about 2000 other employees into the suit.

Arrest After Standoff

An Alaska man is behind bars and facing charges of killin two police officers. John Marvin Jr. was arrested yesterday following a standoff with police. One of the officers he is accused of killing was deaf. Police Sgt. Anthony Wallace was a graduate of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute for Technology in upstate New York.

Ambush in Alaska

Here's a video report from WHAM-TV in Rochester, New York about the graduate of NTID who was killed in an ambush this past weekend in Alaska.

Policeman Killed

A graduate of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf was shot and killed in southeast Alaska yesterday. Tony Wallace, who was hard of hearing had been a security guard and an All-American wrestler at the Rochester school where he was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He graduated in 2003. Wallace was working as a police officer in the town of Hoonah when he and a fellow patrolman were killed by a man who later barricaded himself in his home.

UPS Ruling Overturned

An appeals court has overturned a ruling against a deaf UPS employee. Mauricio Centeno wanted the company to provide him with interpreters for weekly meetings. He was only provided summaries of the meeting by a notetaker at the facility in Gardena, California. The appeals court sent the case back to the district judge for further consideration. Read the ruling here.

Illinois Hospitals

Here's a video put together by Raymond Rodgers of Deaf Communication by Innovation about how to make a complaint against an Illinois hospital that fails to provide an sign language interpreter when one is requested.

"My Child Has a Fever!"

Here's a video produced by the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators on the difficulty of getting interpreters at hospitals and health care facilities. It is one of several produced by the nonprofit organization.

Book Reissue

Henry Kisor's 1990 memoir, What’s That Pig Outdoors? has been reissued. It explains the controversies surrounding oralism. The title refers to an early lipreading error when Henry’s young son asked, “What’s that big loud noise?” 70-year-old Kisor speaks and reads lips. He knows no ASL. Read more about the book at Kisor's website.

Orioles Win Opener

The Maryland School For The Deaf beat the St. Vincent Pallotti High School football team in its home opener last night. The MSD Orioles won by a score of 37-13. The team's lead rusher was Ethan Kramer with 86 yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Todd Bonheyo completed 5-of-10 passes for 63 yards. He threw one interception. Gregg McConville Jr. had nine tackles for the Orioles on defense. The Frederick school has won seven consecutive National Deaf Prep championships and eight of the last nine.

Stabbing Death

A South Side Chicago man is behind bars for allegedly killing his wife on their 10th anniversary. Charles Hughes faces murder charges in the stabbing death of Debra Haywood-Hughes. Hughes is hearing impaired and called the police himself to report the crime.

Ground-Breaking Implant

A new type of cochlear implant is being placed in a 44-year-old English woman today. Unlike previous implants, information will be delivered to each ear, even though there is only one implant. Specialists at the University of Southampton will perform the procedure, where more than 5000 cochlear operations have been performed over the last few years with some people receiving two implants, with one in each ear. The new device is less expensive than two separate implants because there is only one processor and one internal receiver stimulator. In four to six weeks the device will be is tuned on and the doctors hope she will hear again using both ears and have better hearing in noisy backgrounds than regular implants.

Finding Jobs

The average unemployment rate for disabled workers was 14.5% last year. It's only 9% rate for those without disabilities. The figures come from the Labor Department and were released yesterday. So far this year, the unemployment rate for those with disabilities is 16.4%. The jobless rate for workers with disabilities who had at least a bachelor's degree was 8.3%— higher than the 4.5% rate for college-educated workers without disabilities.

Hit by Train

A deaf woman in Pennsylvania was hit by a train in Roslyn this afternoon. She's now in a local hospital, suffering from a brain injury. The woman is in her 20's but police have not released her name or other details.

Deaf School in Haiti

A Rochester, New York woman is headed to Haiti this Friday with plans to start a school for deaf children. Tara Thorn is a graduate of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology and has visited Haiti more than once. The massive earthquake that rocked the country in January destroyed two schools for the deaf near Port au Prince. Thorn's aunt and uncle, who served in Haiti as missionaries for more than three decades, are helping with the project.

Child Porn Conviction

A Pennsylvania man is headed to jail for child pornography. Sakuna Ganbari of Rutledge was given 45 to 90 months in jail. He gave no apology after being convicted on 90 counts of sexual abuse of children. The hearing impaired man was aided in court by sign-language interpreters.

New Center Aims To Help Deaf Children Succeed

KHBS-TV in Fort Smith, Arkansas reports on a new center for deaf children. Watch it here.

Signing and Talking

When someone moves their mouth while signing, is that a part of sign language or a part of English? A British study found that hands and mouths seem to be doing different things, suggesting that the lip movement isn't part of the sign. University College London researchers watched users of British Sign Language, all of whom grew up signing with deaf parents. The subjects seemed to be processing two languages at the same time. Details are in the journal Psychological Science.

Pro Baller Arrested

A deaf major league baseball prospect is facing charges of cocaine possession in Clearwater, Florida. Tyson Gillies is out on bond after his arrest yesterday. A Philadelphia Phillies prospect, the 21-year-old outfielder was batting .238 while playing only 26 games for Double-A Reading. He's been battling a hamstring injury and was in Florida on a rehab assignment.