Gally Prof Dies

A Gallaudet math professor died in a fire along with her daughter in the northern Virginia town of Falls Church. Laura Gardner and her teenage daughter, Marry Ann, had moved from Florida to the DC suburb about two years ago. Neighbors say the neighborhood was rocked by a loud noise before the fire broke out. WUSA-TV has this video report (no captions). Gardner was 48 years old and had worked at Gallaudet since 2009. She served as an assistant coach of the girls' soccer team at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf last year.

Hearing Loss affects Memory, Thinking

If you are losing your hearing as you grow older, you might also lose your ability to remember and your mental sharpness. That's the finding of a new study. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say those with hearing loss lose as much as 40 percent on their thinking abilities over time, compared to their counterparts with no hearing loss. Lead author of the study, Dr. Frank R. Lin, published findings a couple of years ago linking hearing loss with dementia. Details are published in JAMA Archives of Internal Medicine.

The ASL Petition

The woman who is waiting for a White House response on her petition to have ASL recognized as an official language was born deaf and discouraged from using American Sign Language. But Adrean Clark went on to start ASL for America with fellow Gallaudet alum Jeannette Johnson. Clark now lives near Minneapolis with her deaf-blind husband and poet, John Lee Clark, and their two children. She submitted a petition to the White Houses's We the People website back in November. You can see it here. It has more than 32,000 signatures- more than the required 25,000 in 30 days to earn an official response, which should be coming soon.

Learning the Fiddle By Touch, Sight

Profoundly deaf fiddle instructor Liz Shaw is helping students learn to to play the fiddle. Read the story here.

Switched at Birth Scoop

Switched at Birth will air an episode using no spoken English, just ASL, as we told you earlier this month. It is a TV first. The Seattle PI has a fuller explanation on what you can expect during this March 4th TV show here.

Retreat hosted for parents of deaf students in South Texas

A group of more than two dozen parents also heard from different speakers and attended classes on a range of topics yesterday in McAllen. Read the story here.

Screening misses some deaf kids

Newborn hearing tests are missing some deaf infants, leading some parents to mistakenly believe their child has no hearing loss. That's the finding of a new study. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center looked a the medical records of more than 900 children who came to the Center with hearing loss. Nearly 80 of the kids had passed their initial newborn screening. Some received wrong results while others developed progressive hearing loss. The researchers recommend a second round of testing at three months of age, though they want to do more research into when these children began losing their hearing.

For a Homeless Deaf Man, an iPad Makes Life Easier

The NY police have gotten angry with a homeless man because they did not realize that he could not hear their instructions. He was born with no hearing in one ear and only a little in the other. A charity bought him an iPad last month to make it easier for him to communicate through ASL on video relay. Read more of the story from the New York Times here.

Desktop Captioning Phone

A new phone unveiled last week offers a new tool for the deaf and hard-of-hearing when it comes to making calls. Clarity's Ensemble phone is a corded desktop unit that amplifies sound as much as 50 decibels using the same technology found in many expensive hearing aids. Plus, you can read what the other party is saying through a 7-inch color touch-screen text display. The text is provided by call center agent at Purple Communication, so Ensemble offers near-real-time speed captioning. The cost is $229 for the until while the captioning is free.  Find out more here.

Charges added to school worker indictment

A teacher’s aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf is facing multiple counts of abuse. Prosecutors say Clarence Taylor sexually abused seven children at the school. Taylor was indicted for kissing and fondling three girls between the ages of 10 and 13 in December and this week charges related to four other children have been added. He worked in the evenings as an aide for two years.

Bison Lose Coach

Gallaudet is losing its men's soccer coach. Luis Gendive held the part-time position at the University for five years. He leaves with a record of 10-77-1. A search is underway for a replacement.

Britain’s only deaf Rugby referee

Danny Shepherd loves his job - because he can’t hear abuse from fans. Read the story here.

YouTube Sensation Writes Her First Book

Sarah Churman became a YouTube sensation in 2011 when video of her reaction to getting her first hearing device implant went viral. The North Texas woman born with hearing loss wrote a book about her implants. You can watch a video from Dallas station KXAS-TV below on DeafNewsToday.com. The station caught up with Churman at a book signing yesterday. Or read the story here.

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

Tom Cruise: Another Swatting Hoax

It happened again to a Hollywood celebrity. Someone made an emergency call today, claiming shots were fired at the home of Tom Cruise. Beverly Hills police surrounded his house, but the call was a fake. Police are now trying to figure out who made it. It has recently happened to other celebrities, too: Simon Cowell, Ashton Kutcher, Charlie Sheen, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber. LA police arrested a preteen a few months ago for making "swatting calls" in at least two of those cases. The boy used a computer program to make TTY calls, typically used by the deaf and hard-of--hearing.

Former School Leader Dies

The first deaf superintendent of the Texas School for the Deaf has died. Victor Galloway battled a long illness and Alzheimer's before passing yesterday at the age of 84. He was superintendent for five years, from 1981-1986. He was also the first deaf superintendent of the Scranton State School for the Deaf in Pennsylvania, where he served from 1979-1981. Not only that, Galloway was the first deaf educator in the College of Sciences the NTID (National Institute for the Deaf) in Rochester. He lost his hearing as a toddler because of a childhood illness. He got a bachelor's degree from Gallaudet University, a master's degree from the California State University at Northridge, and a doctorate from the University of Arizona. Galloway met his wife in 1966. She was a student in his ASL class.

BBC on Deaf Belgian twins

The BBC has a video report on the identical twin brothers in Belgium who died by lethal injection, reopening the euthanasia debate. Watch it here (no captioning).

Bad Lip Reading

A YouTube channel called Bad Lip Reading offers a look at how difficult it is to read lips. One of the channels videos, focused on NFL players and coaches, has gone viral with more than 1.5 million hits since it came out yesterday. See what you think.

Fed of Blind on Euthanized Deaf Twins

The National Federation of the Blind is speaking out about two deaf men who were put to death by lethal injection in Belgian after they began losing their sight. President Marc Maurer says:

"This disturbing news from Belgium is a stark example of the common, and in this case tragic, misunderstanding of disability and its consequences. Adjustment to any disability is difficult, and deaf-blind people face their own particular challenges, but from at least the time of Helen Keller it has been known that these challenges can be met, and the technology and services available today have vastly improved prospects for the deaf-blind and others with disabilities. That these men wanted to die is tragic; that the state sanctioned and aided their suicide is frightening."

Read more here.

Deaf-Blind Performers take Stage tonight in NY

An acclaimed Israeli theater ensemble debuts its show Not by Bread alone tonight in New York. All the performers in the troupe, named Nalagaat (Hebrew for Please Do Touch) are deaf and blind. The US premiere takes place at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University. Read some background on the group in the New York Times here.

Medical Student Wins Appeal

It looks like a deaf medical school student will get his jury trial. An appeals court is reinstating Michael Argenyi's lawsuit against Creighton University after it was dismissed by a judge. He sued the Omaha school for discrimination because the private Jesuit university accepted him for medical school but then refused to accommodate his learning needs. Argenyi has a cochlear implant but also uses cued speech. He was able to use a transcription service along with a cued speech interpreter at Seattle University as an undergrad. He earned a high GPA at the school in Washington State. But while at Creighton, he was provided some assistance, Argenyi says it was not enough. The school refused his request for interpreters and a transcription system - claiming they were to expensive. Creighton even refused to let him use an interpreter when he interacted with patients--despite the fact that he was willing to pay for the service out of his own pocket. The school told him that he should not be using interpreters in the "real world".

Gang Members Sentenced

An LA judge gave the deaf 22-year-old son of a gang leader a decade in prison yesterday. Louie "Lil Chico" Rios is the son of Santiago "Chico" Rios. The elder Rios was sentenced to 19 years and seven months behind bars. Prosecutors say their gang committed hate crimes against black people in the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa. Both men have tattoos above their upper lips that say "Azusa". More than 50 members of the gang were arrested in 2011 and all have been convicted. The gang assaulted blacks in an attempt to drive them out of Azusa.

French 'Switched' star living the American dream

Gilles Marini is not only a star on Switched at Birth, he has also played roles in Brothers and Sisters and competed on Dancing With the Stars. Read his story here.

Stabbed Man Speaks Out

A deaf man attacked for using sign language - mistaken for gang signs - spoke with WXII-TV today. You can watch the video here. The TV station did not supply captions.

Being born deaf hasn’t slowed down young singer

Read the story about a Canadian teenage singer here.

Learning the sound of music

Music instruction in Athens, Ohio for a student. Read the story here.

Implant remote stolen from deaf woman

An Ohio woman didn't mind losing her purse, keys and wallet as much as the remote control for her cochlear implant. Read the story here.

Update: More on Sign Language Assault

We told you Thursday about a deaf man who was stabbed in North Carolina. Another man mistook sign language for gang signs. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video report from Carolina TV station WGHP. Or read the story here.

Deaf Restaurant in the Middle East

The BBC takes a look at a Gaza restaurant staffed by deaf people here.

Deaf-Blind Israeli Theater Troupe Performing in Manhattan

The only troupe in the world whose actors are deaf and blind, is leaving its comfortable home in the Israeli port of Jaffa to perform Not by Bread Alone at the Skirball Center in Manhattan from Jan. 16 to Feb. 3. Read more about it here.

Life Guard wins Appeal

An appeals court is overturning a ruling against a deaf life guard. Nicholas Keith says Oakland County, just outside of Detroit violated his ADA rights when it fired him before he even started work at the Oakland County wave pool. A Michigan judge dismissed his case in 2011, but Keith appealed and now a higher court has unanimously agreed with Keith. Born deaf, he is a certified lifeguard and wears a cochlear implant.

Beaten and Robbed

Three men robbed a deaf man at knifepoint and beaten in Riverside, California Tuesday. Police say the crime took place near the Corona library. The victim's name was not released.

Seattle Summer Academy

The deadline for applying to U-Dub's Summer Academy is coming up (January 25). The University of Washington program is designed to improve the math and science skills of deaf and hard of hearing students who are looking to go into a career involving computers. The 9-week program runs from June 21 to August 24, 2013. If you are accepted, your tuition, housing and transportation is free.

School Leader Out

The superintendent of Utah's Schools for the Deaf and Blind won't be back and the state school board isn't saying why. The members met behind closed doors before taking a vote on whether to keep Steve Noyce. It was unanimous to not renew his contract. This upends Noyce's plans to work for one more year and then retire. He had come under criticism recently from ASL advocates who said he favored spoken instructions over sign language.

Attacked over Sign Language

A North Carolina man is behind bars for attacking a deaf man he thought was using gang sign. Terrance Daniels was signing with a friend as they walked down a street in Burlington. Robert Neal mistook ASL for gang signs, he stabbed Daniels repeatedly. Daniels is in stable condition, while Neal is behind bars. His bond was set at half-of-a-million dollars.

CNN picks up deaf discrimination story

A Missouri woman's complaint against eBay highlights the dispute over Web access. Read the story here.

Reversing Hearing Loss

A drug treatment is showing promise for reversing hearing loss from loud noises. Harvard Medical School researcher Albert Edge says LY411575 will partially restore hearing in mice and could grow hair cells in humans. You'll find details of the study in the journal Neuron.

Text to 911 progress

The FCC is recognizing Gallaudet University’s Technology Access Program for the vital part it is played in the development of text-to-911 technology. The service will be available nationwide a year from this May from by the four big U.S. wireless carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon.

William's cochlear implant story

William Mager has been profoundly deaf since birth. He uses sign language and lip-reading to communicate. In November, after many years of thinking about it, he chose to have a cochlear implant surgically fitted. The device was activated just before Christmas and since then he has been learning how to interpret the sounds and impulses that it feeds to him. The BBC has a report about his experiences here.

Gally's Grad school

Gallaudet is getting a positive nod from US News and World Report. It's survey of grad schools from 377 ranked colleges and universities across the country gives the Washington, DC school a high ranking for having a high percentage of alumni who enroll in graduate school within a year of graduation. Gallaudet had 55 percent of its graduates continue on to higher education within their first year out of college, putting it at number ten among the schools surveyed.

Update: Baby In Cochlear Implant Video

Whatever happened to the 8 month old in the video that went viral when his cochlear implant was turned on? It happened in 2008. In the video, he can be seen smiling widely when he hears his mother’s voice for the first time. Jonathan is now five years old. You can read an update on his family and view a photo slideshow here.

Gallaudet Reinstates Diversity Officer

Gallaudet University is giving Angela McCaskill her job back. President T. Alan Hurwitz made the announcement Monday in an email to everyone at the DC school. He didn't explain why he was making the move. McCaskill was put on leave in October when it became known that she had signed a petition encouraging the issue of gay marriage to be put to a vote in Maryland. Hurwitz explained his decision here which led to protests and an online petition here. Watch a video report from WJLA-TV below or you can read the story here.

Suit: ‘Deaf Discrimation’

WDAF-TV offers a video report on a Missouri woman who sued eBay. Watch it below on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

Hong Kong Conf

A Sign Linguistics and Deaf Education conference takes place Jan. 30 through Feb. 2nd in Hong Kong. The 3rd International Conference on Sign Linguistics and Deaf Education in Asia will be hosted by the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. There is more information here.

New signs for science

The University of Washington student paper takes a look at a school project to developing a science-friendly American Sign Language vocabulary here.

'Switched at Birth''s Marini Talks Show's Impact

Actor Gilles Marini talks about working on a TV show where the characters are both hearing and deaf and the impact that has on the way people view the deaf community.

14-hour Fight for Survival

A deaf North Carolina hunter nearly died in a hunting accident last month. Only through grit and determination was he able to win his battle against nature and pull himself and his mangled leg out of a swamp following a hunting-related accident. Read his story here.

Call for special license plates

There's an effort underway to get special license plates for the deaf in Kentucky. WDRB-TV has a video report, posted below on DeafNewToday.com. You can read the story here.

WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

Bringing Judaism’s Oral Law to the Deaf

If you are a religious deaf man in Israel, the traditional doors to Jewish learning have been in so many ways closed to you. But Yosef Tolidano—a young deaf man descended from a long and distinguished line of Sephardic rabbis—has pulled open those doors. Read more here.

Search for restoring stability after state takeover at deaf school

A look at what the new leader of Rhode Island's School for the Deaf is doing to restore its battered reputation here.

Deaf Boys Save Friend's Life

A couple of deaf teenagers in the UK saved the life of an 11-year-old who nearly drowned in a pool. Shezan Khan and Jordan Naylor came to the rescue of Waseem Hussain in Hartlepool, England. The boys were swimming together at an event organized by a local deaf club when Waseem got into the deep end--and cannot swim. It took a great deal of effort for the boys to pull him up from the bottom. Chris Drew, principal of their school, The King’s Academy, has honored them with a Principal’s Commendation award.

On this date... Jan 1, 2010

On this date in 2010, Alan Hurwitz became the 10th president of Gallaudet University. Here's some background on him:

Family: Deaf since birth, he was raised by Harold and Juliette Hurwitz, both of whom were deaf, in Sioux City, Iowa. His father worked as an upholsterer for 20 years at Sioux City Furniture Company and then for Metz Baking. Juliette was a quality assurance assembler for 25 years. His parents retired and moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Juliette died in 1991 and Harold passed away in 2000. Alan Hurwitz has been married to his wife, Vicki, for 44 years. They have two children. A son, who is hard of hearing and a daughter, who is deaf.

Education: An expert lip-reader, Hurwitz is a 1965 graduate from Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis where he spent a decade learning to talk as a child. He then attended North Junior High where he was the only deaf student. Hurwitz was without the aid of an interpreter or note taker but excelled at sports. Hurwitz went on to earn electrical engineering degrees from Washington University and St. Louis University. His doctorate is in curriculum and teaching from the University of Rochester.

Family Education: His wife, Vicki, graduated from Central Institute for the Deaf in 1954. His mother, Juliette Ruth Kahn, also graduated from Central Institute for the Deaf in 1934. His son is now a lawyer in Rochester, New York. His daughter works for a family service foundation.

Career: Five years as an engineer and programmer at McDonnell Douglas aerospace company in St. Louis. Current president of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) where he has worked since 1970. Hurwitz sometimes living in dormitories for a few days to inspect conditions. His wife was a student development coordinator at NTID and directed RSD's outreach center.

Service: Hurwitz has served as president of both the National Association of the Deaf and the World Organization of Jewish Deaf. He served two decades on the board of Rochester School for the Deaf. His wife co-founded Deaf Women of Rochester.

Religion: The first Jewish leader for Gallaudet, Hurwitz grew up in an Orthodox environment. He and his wife has been to Israel four times and they are members of a Reform congregation.

Advocate Dies

A long time sign language interpreter in Wisconsin has passed. Doris Nyquist is remembered for playing a prominent role as an advocate for the deaf community from the 1950s onward. Read about her bridging two words here.

Graduate of School for the Deaf aims to break barriers

Read profile of an Iowa school for the deaf grad who has interned for a Senator and at the White House here.

Protests Lead to Changes in Funds for Deaf Services

Israel's government is dropping plans to cut deaf services. Israeli parliament member Stav Shaffir organized protests through Facebook outside the Welfare and Social Services Ministry building in Tel Aviv this morning. The budget cuts would have put an end to interpreting services, captioning and other services.

The DeafNewsToday.com 2012 Year in Review

Here is our yearly video review of major news events in the deaf community (it looks better if you watch it fullscreen).

Music for the Deaf

A Norwegian pianist and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra are trying to bring music to the deaf. Al Jazeera’s Nick Spicer reports the story from Cologne, Germany in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Hearing Dogs

A UK charity is doubling its fundraising goal after response soared past its initial effort. Hearing Dogs for Deaf People aimed to raise £30,000 but has increased the goal to £60,000 when more than £55,000 came to the charity.  The project called Merlin’s Mission is named after springer spaniel Merlin, who worked for years as a demonstration dog and finally retired this month. Find out more about the effort here.

Hope for hearing

CNN takes a look at the impact of cochlear implants on those who have age related hearing loss in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com. Or read the story here.

Homicide Suspects in Court

Three teens accused of killed a deaf man in NC made their first court appearances separately yesterday. Prosecutors say Aveance Bryant, Davonta Turner and Ashley Owens stabbed 21-year-old Michael Shull last Friday during a robbery. The trio will remain behind bars until they are back in court next month. Owen and Turner already have criminal records. Bryant and Turner are related to the victim's girlfriend.

Opening lines of communication

Students from a Pa. high school visit a Pittsburg-area school introduce ASL. Here's what happened.

From Extra to Star

A deaf Minnesota man has gotten his shot at a major role in the ABC Family show Switched at Birth. Read about how he went from standing in the background to a starring role here.

Memphis principal promotes closed captioning

Watching closed captioning is helping hearing students read better. You'll find the story here.

Your Air Rights under the Air Carrier Access Act

Info and reservation services must be accessible. If an airline offers phone reservations and info, the same service must be given to hard-of-hearing passengers, whether through TTY or other technology.

Info at the airport must be accessible once you identify yourself as deaf.

Communication on the aircraft must be effective after self-identification.

Service animals are allowed aboard as long as the animal doesn't obstruct the aisles.

Those who are deaf-blind are entitled to safety assistants and they may be required by airlines.

You have a right to complain if the airline fails to provide assistance File a complaint with the Department of Transportation at 800-778-4838 (voice) or 800-455-9880 (TTY). You also can make a complaint online here.

Source: The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network

NC Murder Arrests

Three people are behind bars for killing a deaf many in Charlotte. Michael Victor was found on the front lawn Friday night, stabbed to death. Police arrested three teenagers: Davonta Turner, Aveance Bryant, and Ashley Owens. Here's a video report from WSOC-TV with captions.

Young Deaf Man Murdered

A 21-year-old man was attacked and left to die on the front yard of someone's home in Charlotte, North Carolina Friday night. Michael Shullc's sister told the Charlotte Observer that he was supposed to pick up his girlfriend that evening to see Christmas lights with his family. Shull was born deaf and graduated recently from the North Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton. Police aren't saying why they think he was assaulted. If you have information, you are asked to call 704-432-TIPS.  Here's a video report from WSOC-TV with captions.

Americans in China

A Gally prof moves to Shanghai to help the deaf in China. Read about the effort here.

Christmas comes early for School for the Deaf

It was an early Christmas for some students at the East Carolina School for the Deaf in Wilson. A video report from WNCT-TV is posted below on DeafNewsToday.com (no captions).

Signing Santa Brightens Boy's Day

WCVB-TV in Boston has a video report on a trip to see Santa that surprised a little boy (no captioning).

Deaf Man Attacked on UK Street

Police in northern England are looking for three men who badly beat a deaf man in the town of Worksop, about 20 miles east of Sheffield. Michael Boyle was walking along a street when he was jumped from behind at a roundabout located at Gateford Road and Sandy Lane.  He was punched and then kicked. The men fled the scene. Boyle is not sure why he was targeted.

Deaf Student Appeals Captioning Ruling

A Los Angeles area high school student is appealing a judges ruling against her request for speech-to-text captioning service at her Tustin high school. A judge has ruled that the school district is not obligated under ADA law to provide CART (communication access real-time translation). She's now asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to take a look at the case. The unnamed girl has a cochlear implant and although the case has dragged on so long she would no longer benefit from a winning decision, her hopes are that she can make a difference for other students who are younger than her and will face the same problems. In 2007, another California school was ordered to provide CART for two deaf students. Read more about that case here.

'Swatting' suspect may avoid charges

Police in LA say the 12-year-old who used TTY to summon Swat teams to celebrity homes may not face criminal charges. He used a computer program that allowed him to make the fake emergency calls through the system set up for the deaf. He was able to get SWAT teams to the homes of Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber by saying a gunman had fired shots and was threatening to shoot any police that came to the residents. Even if the boy avoids jail, his parents may be on the hook for bills reaching the tens of thousands of dollars. A video report from KTLA-TV is posted on DeafNewsToday.com or read more from KTLA here.

Effort to get SEE into Seattle Schools

A group is petitioning state officials in Washington to get Signed English taught in the public school classrooms. Read about it here.

Training for shooting scene

An active shooter is killing people in a building filled with deaf students--that's the scenario faced by hundreds of law enforcement officers from five agencies during a five-hour practice drill at the California State University in Northridge this morning. The Los Angeles school has one of the largest deaf student populations on the West Coast. You can read more on the story here.

Man sentenced in deaf girl's death

An Indiana judged gave Derek Dewitt 85 years in prison for killing a deaf teenager. Dewitt hit Dawn Boozer-Carter and her mother (who is also deaf) with his SUV as as they were holding signs for a carwash to raise money for Indiana School for the Deaf. The Indianapolis said he is schizophrenic and hadn't taken his medication. This won't be his first trip to prison. Dewitt also spent time behind bars for stabbing a woman in Atlanta.

Sports Standouts in Alabama

There are six new members of the Alabama School for the Deaf Hall of Fame. The Talladega school welcomed basketball star Roxanne Dawes, Stanley Jordan, Larry Potter, Jerry Smith, Charles Thorn and Tommy White.

Roxanne Dawes led the Lady Warriors in scoring every year with more than 1600 total points, a school record, during her time at the school. She worked at the Texas School for the Deaf for two decades.

Stanley Jordan was selected as a First Team All-American and All-County in 1976 and 1977 for his football play. He led the nation’s schools for the deaf in the most total tackles in 1977.

Larry Potter was a basketball standout. He was named to the Deaf All-American Second Team in 1958 and voted to the All-Tournament Team twice

Jerry Smith scored 10 touchdowns and 10 two-point conversions for a total of 80 points in just two seasons of football. He earned a Deaf All-American honorable mention in 1972.

Charles Thorn was one of the greatest nose guards ever to play for the Silent Warriors. He earned All-Southern First Team and All-American First Team honors in defense in 1951. Charles passed away in 2002.

Tommy White was named to the Deaf All-American First Team in 1966 and 1968 in basketball. He was on the All-County Team in 1968 and the Mason-Dixon All-Tournament Team three times.

Communicating with a Deaf Employee

A deaf REI employee in Seattle shares tips based on her experience for dealing with store employees who are deaf. Read her tips here.

The world’s only hard of hearing hypnotist

Scot George Wood says he is a self-taught hypnotist. Read how he discovered his talent here.

New Prez for School

A Massachusetts deaf school will soon have a new man at the top. Robert Carter will take over as president in June of the Willie Ross School for the Deaf in Longmeadow this coming July. He serves as president of the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing right now and is involved in the administration of the Austine School for the Deaf in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Sign at Any Age

Residents at a retirement home in Sacramento are taking sign language classes. Read about it here.

Speeding Driver puts two in Hospital

Two deaf women are in a North Carolina hospital after an SUV ran into them while they were standing on a street in Gastonia. Police say the driver, Andra Marcus Davis, was speeding when he slammed into another vehicle head-on. He then veered on the sidewalk where he hit JoAnn Stone and Barbie Lee Putnam. Stone is in critical condition. Davis has not been charged with a crime yet.

Trying to create a " deaf-friendly campus"

Utah State is bringing back its deaf education program. Read the story here.

Legal Aid Cut

The legal aid of Royal Asssociation for Deaf people explains in BSL the cuts made to Legal Aid in the UK in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Keen Basketball Sense

A deaf basketball player in Maine is successful "because he so much understands sports" according to his coach. The teen is also a high school standout in baseball and football. Read his story here.

ASL Ballet

ASL is seamlessly worked into the production Amahl and the Night Visitors tonight and tomorrow at the Houston Ballet Center for Dance. The 45 minute ballet is a retelling of the three kings’ journey to find baby Jesus. The Houston deaf communtiy get half-off the price of a ticket. For more information, click here.

TEDx: Hearing Parents with Deaf Children

Psychology professor Karl White spoke at the Utah State TEDx event in November about newborn hearing. He's the founding director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management. Posted on DeafNewsToday.com is a video of his talk.

Court Victory in Wa State

Owners of movie theaters in Washington state are discriminating against deaf moviegoers, according to a state appeals court. A panel of the Washington Court of Appeals in Seattle agreed with a legal challenge by the Washington State Communication Access Project, calling on Regal, AMC, and Cinemark to do more to provide closed captioning for deaf patrons. The court said it is a violation of state law to not make closed captioning technology more available.

Tears for children killed in school shooting

Here is President Obamas reaction to the shooting at a Connecticut school today. Click here to get to a captioned version of the speech.

Deaf Salvation Army bell ringer

WTEV-TV in Jacksonville, Florida tell the story of one man whose live is better this holiday season, thanks to the Salvation Army. Watch the video below or read the story here.

Changes in Canada

How new technology is helping deef university students at the Western University of Ontario here.

"Too Many Deaf People"

The deaf residents at a senior living complext in Tempe, Arizona are concerned they may lose their homes. That's because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says the Apache ASL Trails is in violation of the Fair Housing Act - by having too many deaf people in the same complex. KPHO-TV has this video report posted below or read the story here.

CBS 5 - KPHO

What I Learned From the Deaf About Speaking

"ASL isn’t about using you hands. It’s about using your whole body." Learning sign language not only helps you communicate with the deaf, it helps hearing people become better public speakers. Read a post about that here.

Implant surgeon dies

Dr. William House, who championed the cause of cochlear implants, has died at 89 in Aurora, Oregon. He led the House Research Institute in Los Angeles, famously developing a surgery for an ear disease that had prevented astronaut Alan Shepard from returning to space after being grounded by vertigo. But he was most known for advocating implants at a time when the medical establishment did not share his enthusiasm. He was criticized in 1961 for his published work on his experiments on the device. The FDA eventually approved his implant for use in adults in 1984 - a quarter of a century after he performed his first implant surgery.

Scam Awareness in BSL

An online scam has targeted the deaf in the UK. In response, the East Lancashire Deaf Society is offering some advice in a new BSL video. It's posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

I King Jordon

Read a profile of former Gallaudet president I King Jordon here.

Book author encourages students

Her parents were told by doctors not to sign with her as a child. But now she's written a book about her family to encourage the deaf. Read the story here.

A gift from a stranger

After a number of personal setbacks, a Utah woman took to social media to vent her frustration at not being able to afford a hearing aid. That's when a stranger stepped in. Read the story here.

Pleas from Hurricane Victim

A woman losing her home because of hurricane Sandy says she's frustrated at not getting the help she needs. The deaf woman explains her situation in the video below or you can read her story here.

Students Help Rescue Center

Students from the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind landed a hand to a dog rescue group yesterday. Watch the video report from KRDO-TV on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

TEDx video on Sign

The video posted below on DeafNewsToday comes from TEDxAmsterdam 2012. Lissa Zeviar, a CODA and owner of a company focused on baby signing called Babygebaren in the Netherlands, is the speaker. Find out more about her company here.

Retired Gallaudet Professor Dies

Carol Garretson had died at the age of 86 at her home in Summerfield, Florida from complications related to diabetes. She was an assistant professor of communications for two decades until 1987. Her family never understood why she became deaf as a child. She attended Utah State University and then Gallaudet College.