Ironman competitor raises money to help deaf community

Casey Davis is raising awareness (and funds) for a website designed to help educate the deaf on symptoms, medications and medical tests. Davis visited Chattanooga, Tennessee over the weekend and WRCB-TV has a video report. No captions but you can read the story here.

WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather

Spotlight on China's deaf children

A kindergarten in Shenyang, China gets a visit from China Central Television "to find out what it means to educate children who communicate in a world of silence." The teacher says, ""There is an obvious gap between a sizeable population of the deaf and the existing supply of social facilities assisting deaf children." Watch the video (no captions) or read the story here.

A voiceless classroom

The student newspaper at Iowa State University interviews the only deaf faculty member on campus in an article here. Michael Ballard is part of the reason ASL will be an approved minor at the school by the end of this academic year. Below is a video interview the newspaper did with Ballard.

MSD defends National Championship

Image from WAPT-TV video report

"When we play against hearing schools, it's obvious that they come in, thinking, 'Oh this deaf squad is going to be nothing, it's going to be easy.' But we come out playing so aggressively, that they kind of get shocked," quarterback Keith Brignac told WAPT-TV. He leads the Mississippi School for the Deaf squad in their effort to take home another trophy. WAPT out of Jackson
has a video report here.

Protests in Vermont

Several hundred people gathered at the Vermont statehouse to call on the state to reopen the Austine School for the Deaf. Vermont Public Radio has a report here.

Stolen hearing aids get replaced

A San Diego teen and her mom are happy that the 13 year old will get new hearing aids. KGTV has a video report (captions available).

Justin Bieber partially deaf

A cliff diving accident has left Justin Bieber deaf in one ear, according to numerous media reports. Bieber perforated his eardrum and Hollywood Life says it might have been the force of the water that has caused a small tear in his eardrum. He'll undergo surgery to fix it. He's not the only celebrity with limited hearing (even if his is only temporary). The list of partially deaf celebs includes musicians Huey Lewis and Pete Townshend as well as actors Gerard Butler and William Shatner. Jennifer Lawrence was deaf for a while in one ear after an accident on the set of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

A real superhero: El Deafo!

The first graphic novel from deaf artist CeCe Bell is getting some traction in the media. The Washington Post calls the story of her alter ego "funny..beautiful and utterly engaging." El Deafo! includes Bell's memories of childhood from the meningitis at age 4 that left her profoundly deaf to her battles in school where she was mainstreamed. Read an interview with Bell in the Washington Post here.

Deaf man killed by Sheriff's Deputy

A Daytona Beach man was trying to get his truck from the towing service. An altercation left the man dead--shot by sheriff's deputy. WKMG-TV has a video report (captions available).

Accusations against Macy's

A deaf woman in Connecticut says she's had trouble getting changes to her Macy's credit card because the department store insists she must talk to its representatives over the phone. WFSB-TV has a video report (captions available).

WFSB 3 Connecticut

Job Growth projected for Terps

Interpreter jobs will grow tremendously in coming years. KCAL-TV takes a look at that growth, and particularly the Los Angeles market in a story that includes an interview with the chair of the Department of Deaf Studies at California State University, Northridge. Read it here.

Deaf woman claims discrimination in job interview

A deaf Australian woman says she was denied a job interview because she was not able to "speak English." Miranda Reardon has filed a formal discrimination complaint against Darwin-based JebFab Catering Services, according to NT News. The owner claims she did not possess the necessary skills to fill the position. Read more here.

Murder investigation stalls

Homicide detectives still don't know who shot and killed a deaf man a month ago in Indianapolis. WXIN-TV has a video report posted below. No captions but you can read the story here.

Living with Usher Syndrome

Rebecca Alexander's new memoir Not Fade Away talks about her learning to deal with losing her hearing and sight as teen when she "couldn’t imagine living into adulthood.” But not only did she learn to live with Usher Syndrome, she's embraced her situation and even plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro next year. Read more about her life in a New York Post article here.

Gally Conference

Gallaudet is holding a multicultural conference this Thursday and Friday. The gathering will bring together leaders in the fields multiculturalism and civil rights to discuss Educating for Equity and Excellence: Multicultural Transformation Across the Curriculum. Among the speakers:

• Robert Moses, author of Radical Equations: ‪Civil Rights from Mississippi to the Algebra Project.
• Carl Grant, co-author of Turning on Learning: Five Approaches for Multicultural Teaching Plans for Race, Class, Gender, and Disability.
• Marilyn Frankenstein, co-author of Ethnomathematics: Challenging Eurocentrism in Mathematics Education.
• Marilyn Frankenstein co-author of Culturally Responsive Mathematics Education.
• Vivian Carlo, author of Multiculturally Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

There's more information here.

Central Institute for the Deaf marks 100 years

The Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The Associated Press reports, "Rather than sign language, CID uses the acoustic approach, where students are aided by digital hearing aids and cochlear implants allowing for partial hearing, while also learning to read lips." Read the full story here.

FBI Probing Alleged Abuse of Deaf Kids

An investigation is underway into what's going on at a Florida residential treatment center. Three families are filing suit against the National Deaf Academy, according to NBC News. One mother says, "Our whole family has been broken.” Watch the NBC News report below (captions available).

ASL Celebration

4th Bi Annual ASL Celebration takes place this Thursday (Sept 18) in Sacramento, California. Here's a video about the event.

Deaf love triangle leads to murder and jail time

A UK deaf man was sentenced to 28 years in prison for stabbing his grandfather to death in a fit of jealousy. Awat Akram of Leicester, England was angry that Christopher Penman, another deaf man had begun a relationship with his former love interest who is also deaf. Akran stabbed Penman more than two dozen times while he slept. Read the full story in the Mirror.

Rochester Deaf Awareness Week

Deaf Awareness Week events start Sunday in Rochester, New York. There will be opportunities to learn about 911 texting, business and technology as it relates to the deaf, a baseball game and a dinner at Rochester School for the Deaf. There's more information here.

Deaf Woman Rejected for Jury Duty

A women in Washington, DC is suing to serve on a Superior Court grand jury. Michelle Koplitz, who was Miss Deaf USA in 2010, was rejected this year as a juror because she is deaf. The reason? Court officials didn't want to pay for an interpreter. The lawsuit says that's a violation of ADA law. The National Association of the Deaf Law and Advocacy Center is helping Koplitz and you can read more about the suit from the National Law Journal here.

Twins headed to Gallaudet: "It's awesome!"

A pair of Minnesota twins are headed to Gallaudet University to study--and play sports. Tommy and Sam Ellenbecker helped win their high school a national deaf schools football championship as well as collect numerous other records and titles. Both were basketball all-stars. Read their story here.

Terp is Training Deaf Lyft Drivers

Meet two drivers for riding sharing company Lyft--one drives for Lyft and is a sign language interpreter. The other is deaf and learning to become a Lyft driver. KTXL-TV in Sacramento has a video report. No captions, but you can read the story here.

Students arrested at deaf school

Protests at a deaf school in Ontario led to the arrest of two students and one former student on Tuesday. They want to see changes to the way students are treated at the Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf--including teachers who refuse to use sign language when talking to them. The trio now faces charges of trespassing and will appear in court next month. Read the full story from the Toronto Star here.

Deaf students rally for military service

North Carolina students are on their way to Washington today for a rally advocating the admission of the deaf to military service. WSOC-TV has a video report.

Charges filed in national scam of deaf

An Ohio deaf woman in her 70s is facing charges of ripping off other elderly deaf people across the country through a lottery scam. More than 1000 people fell for the scam, which she contacted through video relay using interpreters. Read the full story in the Columbus Dispatch here.

TV news advocate and reporter stepping aside

Image from WLS-TV

A well-known advocate for the deaf in Chicago is retiring at the end of the month. Karen Meyer appeared regularly on WLS-TV (ABC-7) for more than two decades, reporting on issues related to ADA law often overlooked by the news media. The television station says news anchor Hosea Sanders and producer Sylvia Jones will continue Meyer's legacy with a weekly report. Meyer, who has been deaf since birth, also retired from DePaul University's Office of Students with Disabilities this year. Read the full announcement of her retirement here.

Gally Drops First Game

Gallaudet was shut out in its first football game of the season. The Shenandoah University Hornets beat the Bison by a score of 20-0 yesterday. Gally had just over 100 yards in total offense. The game was supposed to take place Saturday but lightening delayed the game until Sunday.

Marvel comic featuring deaf hero

Marvel's Hawkeye is deaf, thanks to writer Matt Fraction. Find out why Fraction decided to create the comic book arrow-wielding hero with the experience of severe hearing loss in a KSL-TV post here.  You'll also discover why the issue was dedicated to a deaf teenager living in Utah.

Gally football season underway!

Is Gallaudet's football team ready for a new season? WJLA-TV has a video report on the Bison--who won their conference title last year. No captions on the DC TV station's video but you can read the story here.

Baby's reaction to hearing aids

A video of a UK baby getting hearing aids turned on has gone viral, with more than 5 million views in less than a week. The parents say the video was recorded when their son, Lachlan, was seven weeks old. That was nearly two years ago.

Interpreters requested for deaf man's trial

A deaf Oklahoma man charged with resisting arrest was in court yesterday. His attorney asked for interpreters for the trial. Pearl Pearson was left bloodied and bruised after a scuffle with police. KFOR-TV has a video report which is posted below.

Music for Implant Wearers

Dutch composer Kyteman has produced a song for cochlear implant wearers who can hear only a limited range of frequencies. Kyteman used an orchestra to reproduce Sam Smith's Stay With Me. He put it together especially for a deaf 19-year-old named Vera van Dijk, who tells the story of the song in the video below. There's also another video below it of just the song.