Video Premiere in Detroit today

A new video featuring a popular gospel song combined with ASL rolls out this afternoon. The Clark Sisters' You Brought the Sunshine came out in the early 80s and has been updated by D-PAN (Deaf Professional Arts Network). The new cover was shot this summer in Detroit’s Little Rock Baptist Church. It includes the original track, a deaf San Francisco choir and the Detroit gospel group Larry Callahan & Selected of God. A special about the making of the video will be broadcast this coming Wednesday on the Word Network. Read more details here.

Church to stream terped services

If you can't make it to your church on Sunday or if you aren't near an interpreted service, you'll soon be able to watch a Montana service online. Peace Lutheran Church in Great Falls will live stream its ASL-interpreted services starting in December thanks to a grant from the Montana District Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Find out more at the church's website here.

UK woman strikes back at disease with implant

After six years of hearing problems, a Meniere's disease sufferer in the London-area has a undergone cochlear implant surgery in hopes of regaining some of her hearing. here.

Bison lose playoff game

Image from Gallaudet Athletics 

Gallaudet's historic run has ended. The Bison football team lost the school's first Division three playoff game to Hobart College today by a score of 34-7. There are more details on the game here here. The games may be over for Gally, but the school received a some national attention in the media for the effort. Here's a video from ESPN about the team (captions included).

Kerry Makes Pitch for Human Rights Treaty

Secretary of State John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today on behalf of the international human rights treaty of the United Nations called Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which you can read here. Kerry told Senators, "There are countries where children with disabilities are warehoused from birth, denied even a birth certificate, not a real person, and treated as second-class citizens every single days of their life… What we did here at home with the Americans with Disabilities Act hasn’t even been remotely realized overseas. And in too many places, what we take for granted here hasn’t been granted at all."
Video of his testimony and the text of his speech is here.

University Expands ASL Classes

Ohio's Miami University is going to offer more American Sign Language classes. Added to the single introductory course will be enough classes so that a student can complete the foreign language requirement completely in ASL. Find out more from the Speech Pathology department. Their website is here.

The US military and implants

Marine Maj. Gen. Bob Hedelund recently spoke at a Washington conference on cochlear implants recently, telling attendees that the Defense Department will play a bigger role in research and treatment in the future. Hedelund said, “Marines are serving today with prosthetic legs and arms, and yet we haven’t opened the door on the cochlear implant for somebody who has been rendered deaf, either due to loud noise or prolonged exposure,” according to the Military Times. Read the full story here.

Researchers: Breakthrough in Hearing Aid Technology

Researchers they've figured out how to cut down on the distracting background noise that hearing aid wearers have to fight through to understand voices. The Ohio State scientists say they've been able to get some test participants to go from understanding 10% of what's said to 90% with the help of a clever computer algorithm. If the technology proves effective, it could lead the way for Starkey, the manufacturer involved in the research, to advance its line of hearing aids. Details of the research are published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and you can read about the effort here. The video below has examples of how the technology works.

Michigan's Hospital Terp Rules

New regulations about interpreting in medical situations are coming to Michigan. These new rules could be ready for publication before the end of the year. Public hearings will follow before they are put into place--at which time medical facilities will have 90 days to comply with the regulations. Some of the issues to be discussed, according to Crain's Detroit Business, include determining when is it acceptable to use a VRI (video remote interpreter) and how much education should be required. Read more about what's coming here.

What Does Rap Music Look Like In Sign Language?

Interpreter Amber Galloway Gallego says she's worked more than 300 concerts--many of them for rap artists. She spoke with Ali Wentworth of Yahoo's Daily Shot. Here's the video (captions available).

Gallaudet finds out playoff opponent

Hobart College. The New York Team will face Gallaudet's Bison in the first round of the NCAA division 3 playoffs next Saturday at noon. WUSA-TV was there when the team found out who they would meet in the playoffs (captions included).

Saturday in Tampa

A Communication Access & Technology Expo takes place in Tampa, Florida this Saturday (November 23). For more information, click here.

Gally football stumbles

The Gallaudet Bison came within one victory of a perfect season. But New York's Maritime football team had other ideas on Saturday. The Privateers beat Gallaudet by a score of 7-6. Maritime ends the season with a 5-5 record while Gallaudet finished the regular season with 9 wins against this single defeat. The Bison now move to the playoffs. The team will take part in the first round of the NCAA Division III football tournament next weekend.

Signing Bus Driver

The New York Post has labeled bus driver Edwin Cora a Hometown Hero for "learning American Sign Language to better serve deaf riders.. His ultimate dream? To become so proficient that he can stand in front at his church and interpret the service in ASL." The paper quotes one deaf rider as saying Cora "understands my deafness and deaf culture. He is a great fellow and I like him a lot.” Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/hometown-heroes-bus-driver-learning-sign-better-serve-deaf-riders-article-1.1520129#ixzz2kyZhc6ir Read the full story here.

Review of 39 Steps

New York Deaf Theater is performing The 39 Steps for a limited time. The Examiner says in its review that the signing helps the deaf in the audience but not the hearing crowd. "Although it was clear at the performance I attended that the deaf audience members found great enjoyment in the proceedings, the comedy is diminished for the hearing audience due to the silence in the room." You can read the full review here.

One year ago.. Best Prof at NTID

The Carnegie Foundation picked a NTID professor one year ago as its nationwide professor of the year out of 300 finalists. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching working with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education said  Todd Pagano, who is director of the Laboratory Science Technology program, is “a leading scholar of science education for deaf students and an advocate in the professional chemistry community for students, scientists and technicians with special needs.” A decade ago, when he first arrived at NTID , Pagano didn’t know sign language — and relied on an interpreter. But he quickly learned ASL in order to be able to better communicate with the students. Pagano is the first RIT faculty member to receive the prestigious award. He is married to Susan Smith Pagano, an assistant professor at RIT’s Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Science. To read more about Pagano's work, click here.

Deaf Flag Twirler

Kelsy Baker is part of her high school's flag line in Shreveport, Louisiana--despite not being able to hear the music. The band director says it just means she pays better attention than others. KSLA-TV has a video report (captions included).

KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather

Avatar and Robotics Workshop at Gallaudet

Gallaudet University is working with the National Science Foundation's Science of Learning Center, and the Petitto BL2 neuroimaging lab, to host National Science Foundation's Avatar & Robotics Signing Creatures Workshop tomorrow (Nov. 15). There will more than 40 two-minute talks about robots, education technology, sign linguistics and much more with a special focus on the deaf visual learner.

Trial for deaf defendant presented 'unique' challenges

Prosecutors say the trial of a former Maryland School for the Deaf employee presented special difficulties for the court. The Baltimore Sun reports the defendant's attorney says his client may appeal the verdict and that there needed to be more interpreters. "You saw the interpreters correct one another," Brandon Mead said. "You saw the need to have four individuals going back and forth, stopping, correcting and clarifying." WJZ-TV has a video report posted below about the verdict (no captions).here.

Guilty on Two Counts

A former employee of the Maryland School for the Deaf was found guilty of sexually abusing two middle-school girls. But the members of Clarence Cepheus Taylor III's jury found him not guilty on one count--and couldn't come to a decision of four others. Taylor denied inappropriately touching the girls while he worked at the school between 2008 and 2011. He took to the stand last week to defend himself and deny the allegations that he groped seven students. Sentencing may come at the end of January--and he faces a retrial for the counts on which the jury deadlocked.

Deaf 12-year-old competes with boys on football field

Rebecca Lee Karl's coach says, "She's one of my best linemen, plus she plays corner on defense. She's one of my best players." KCEN-TV in central Texas has a video report(captions available) on the difference she's making on her pee-wee football team.

kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

Should you reveal your disability during a job interview?

The ADA law prohibits employers from asking job candidates any medical questions, and the consensus among legal experts in this field is that you're under no obligation to bring up the subject in an interview, unless you have reason to believe it could affect your ability to do your job. Since you managed to work around your condition in your last job, do you think you could do the same in a new position? ADA requires employers to make a 'reasonable accommodation' for people with disabilities but if you really believe you could not perform the job at a high level, then it would probably be better to not apply for the job in the first place. To decide this you must understand exactly what the job will entail. Ask for as many details about the daily routine as possible. Then, figure out what kinds of "reasonable accommodations" might be possible. If, for instance, it would help to be able to work from home occasionally, you can ask about that in an interview without going into detail about why you want to know. Look for employers with flexibility and focus on your abilities, not your disability. Remember, your employer cannot make reasonable accommodations if they are unaware of your situation. Ernst and Young has written a free online guidebook about this as a PDF here.

Gally Gets first ranking

Gallaudet earned its first ranking in school history in the AFCA Division III Coaches’ Poll. The football team came in at #25 after its win against Anna Maria on Saturday.

Saturday in New Orleans

An ASL Expo takes place in New Orleans this Saturday (November 16) at the Castine Center. Admission is free. You'll find more information here.

Edison & the Telegraph

Thomas Edison wrote that his partial deafness - and technology - helped him gain the affections of his eventual second wife, Mina, whom he married in 1886. The prolific inventor wrote:

“In the first place (my hearing loss) excused me for getting quite a little nearer to her than I would have dared to if I hadn’t had to be quite close in order to hear what she said. My later courship was carried on by telegraph. I taught the lady of my heart the Morse code, and when she could both send and reicve we got along much bet than we could have with spoken words by tapping out our remarks to one atooher on our hands. Presently I asked her tus, in Morse, code, if she would marry me. The word ‘Yes’ is an easy one to send by telegraphic signals, and she sent it. If she had been obliged to speak it, she might have fought it harder.”

 (quote from The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage)

Gally Celebrates!

Here's a short video of the celebrations at Gallaudet yesterday when the football team won its first conference championship and playoff berth.

Deaf high school player exels on football field

The new coach of the Mt. Zion High School football team in central Illinois was first told about Chandler Hudson by an assistant. "He said, we've got a kid, he's a great athlete (who) can play on both sides of the ball for us, but we've got a little bit of a problem… he's deaf." The coach found out that wasn't a problem at all, as WAND-TV explains in this video report (with captioning).

Wandtv.com, NewsCenter17, StormCenter17, Central Illinois News-

1st Conference Championship

Gally fans stormed the field Saturday after the football team won its game against Anna Maria College by a score of 35-7. Hotchkiss Field was full of dancing, joyful supporters and players. More than 700 people showed up to see the team reach 9 wins against no loses. The win clinched the Bisons' first Eastern Collegiate Football Conference championship--automatically putting them in the 2013 NCAA Division III football championship. Before that gets underway on November 23, the Bison have one more game to win in order to complete a perfect season. Next Saturday Gallaudet visits Maritime College in New York.

Gally wins #9!

Gallaudet's football team made history moments ago by beating Anna Maria by a score of 35-7. The victory gives the Bison the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference title--and the team's first shot at the postseason.

Video: The Bison Dance

Below is a video of the Gallaudet football team continuing its dancing tradition following victories.

Bison football: We Will Dance

"The rise of Gallaudet's program is an amazing story," says ESPN writer Johnette Howard. "Better yet, it's peopled by a cast of characters who leave you happily reminded that college football isn't just about the soul-wearying payola scandals, galling excesses and petty nonsense that siphon off so much attention at the very top of the sport. College football is also about places like this tiny school of 1,117 undergrads that sits just off Florida Avenue in the District of Columbia, and the sense of excitement and community that sports can create." Read the full story at ESPN here.

Deaf school sex abuse case goes to jury

A sex abuse case involving a former employee of the Maryland School for the Deaf is in the hands of the jury. After Clarence Taylor III took to the stand to defend himself and deny the allegations that he groped seven students, both sides rested. A verdict won't be announced until at least Tuesday. There are more details about what happened today in court from the Baltimore Sun here.

ATT&T adds to phone scandal settlement

Back in May we told you about a AT&T's agreement to pay $18 million for not stopping swindlers from taking millions out of a service meant to benefit the deaf. Prosecutors claimed the phone company knowingly asked for reimbursement of calls not covered in the service. You can read the story here. AT&T is now willing to add a few million to that total--$3.5 million to be exact. The deal with the U.S. Justice Department resolves civil allegations under the federal False Claims Act. AT&T still denies the allegations, according to a Bloomberg report, but wants to settle the case.

Video Report: Gallaudet Football on the verge

Local media in the DC area are joining the Bison bandwagon. WUSA-TV has a video report on the Gally football team's shot at an undefeated season and a playoff birth.

Hearing Aids Dispensers

State-licensed hearing-aid specialists need only a minimum amount of education, but have to pass tests proving their competence to administer hearing exams, fit devices and recognize underlying physical problems. Audiologists must have at least a master's degree, though they generally aren't medical doctors. Many states require that consumers be allowed to return hearing aids within 30 days.

Special Scuba Diving Class for Deaf-Blind

Missouri's KQTV has a video report on a scuba diving class for the deaf and the deaf-blind. It's posted below on DeafNewsToday.com (captions available).

Deaf Woman Robbed at Gunpoint

"I could see three guys in a car pull up beside me. They're yelling at me from the car and I don't hear them because I don't have my hearing aids in..." That's what Elizabeth Melaugh told WTEV-TV happened shortly before she was robbed at gunpoint of cash and new hearing aids. Watch the full video report below (there are no captions, but you can read the story here).

Update on Md. deaf school aid

A former Maryland School for the Deaf aide, on trial for inappropriately touching girls at the school, may take the stand on his own behalf tomorrow. During today's proceedings, prosecutors played a video of police interviewing some of the alleged victims that ran for more than four hours. The Associated Press has an update on the trial here.

Big Game at Gally Saturday

When Gallaudet's football team marches out to take the field on Saturday against Anna Maria, they will have a shot at making history. A victory would give the Bison the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference title. Along with that honor would come the team's first shot at the postseason--in fact, it would be the first for any men's program at the university. Gally had a dramatic finish last weekend, winning on the last play of the game (which you can read about and watch here). Yahoo Sports offers a summary of how the Bison program arrived at this critical place in the programs history 's article here.

LA Times: Deaf film director can finally hear soundtracks to his films

Austin Chapman

A few days ago, we told you about a deaf filmmaker who opened a Kickstarter page to fund his first feature film. You can read Austin Chapman's story here. Now the Los Angeles Times has picked up on Chapman's story. He got some national attention when he went on Reddit and posed the a question: "I can hear music for the first time ever, what should I listen to?" He received nearly 14,000 replies. You can read the full LA Times story here.

NAD: Working on guidelines for ASL use in courtrooms

Last month we told you about the Maryland judge who is limiting the use of sign language in his courtroom during a trial involving several deaf people. You can read the story about a former Maryland School for the Deaf employee accused of child molestation here. In response that decision and the publicity surrounding it, the NAD (National Association of the Deaf) is working on a set of recommendations for the use of ASL in courtrooms when it comes to spectators. The guidelines will be presented to the American Bar Association. The Maryland trial is still underway.

The Limitations of Implants

The National Journal takes a look at what the cochlear implant can do--and what it cannot do for users in an article titled, "Why We Can Give the Deaf Sound, but Not Music."  Writer Brian Resnick says that could be changing, thanks to advances in pitch processing. Read the full story here.

Saturday in NJ

The New Jersey Association of the Deaf's 23rd Biennial State Conference takes place this Saturday (November 9) at Ocean County College in Toms River. For more information, click here.

Jester

Deaf filmaker Austin Chapman has created a Kickstarter page to help fund his first feature film. Chapman says Jester will show viewer his "experience growing up in a silent world and hearing music for the first time at 23 years old." You can see the Kickstarter page here and below is the short film on which Jester is based, called Eleven Eleven.

5 myths about being deaf

Justin Leblanc

'Project Runway' alum Justin Leblanc shares 5 myths about being deaf with the Chicago Tribune. Number one is that "hearing-impaired" is the preferred adjective. Leblanc says, "A lot of deaf people get offended when they're referred to as 'hearing-impaired. For me it's not an impairment. It's a way of life. I was born this way. Deaf is appropriate. I'm a proud deaf person." Read more of Leblanc's myths here.

Gally Wins #8!

Gallaudet's football team was facing certain defeat today in the closing seconds against Becker--but the undefeated Bison held on to win 40-34. With less than two minutes in the game, Becker blocked a Gallaudet punt. The Hawks took the ball down to the Gally 14 yard line. All the Becker team had to do was to kick a short field goal to win. There was just two seconds left in the game. But Gallaudet's Chris Papacek blocked the field-goal attempt, then Ryan Bonheyo picked up the ball, and ran nearly 80 yards for a walk-off score. Gallaudet now has eight wins and no losses. Next up, the Bison face Anna Maria College at home. Here's a video of that exciting last play from today's game.

Why Terps are so Expressive

Face and body movement is such an integral part American Sign Language grammar that effective ASL interpreters become very physically expressive when they are interpeting. Movements of the head and eyebrows can indicate various sentence structures and subtleties of meaning. Facial expressions can indicate shades of meaning that verbs alone cannot convey. In sign language, mouth and eye movements can serve as modifiers - adverbs and adjectives. A straight faced interpreter is only offering half the message. Of course, some facial expressions in sign languages are just facial expressions. But what may seem like excessive body language to the uninformed is really necessary in ASL in order to parrellel the nuanced information conveyed through voice inflections among the hearing. They pick up cues through the speaker's tone of voice. ASL users look to facial and body expressions for the same thing. This grammatical aspect of ASL can relay as much information as the signs themselves.

An Online Deaf Studies Library to be built

Professor Bryan Eldredge

A professor in Utah hopes to build what he says is the first online deaf studies library. Bryan Eldredge directs the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies at Utah Valley University. Eldredge has a $50,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to help make it happen. Students and those studying the deaf community will be able to read ebooks, articles, papers, take a look at photographs, and view other technology without having to travel to Orem, Utah. Eldredge says, “We have a limited slice of history because most of deaf history took place before we had video, and few deaf people could write in English,” Eldredge explained. “More and more ASL-based documents and videos will be a part of the holdings, so this will be a resource for both the deaf world and for those studying it.” Read more about the effort here.

Today in Ohio

The Ohio Association of the Deaf's Ohion DEAFair 2013 takes place today in Columbus. For more information, click here.

Saturday in Indiana

The 4th Annual Deaf Festival takes place at Allen County Fairgrounds in Fort Watyne, Indiana this coming Saturday (November 9). For more information, click here.

CAD gathering

The Connecticut Association of the Deaf is holding its 29th Biennial annual conference this weekend at Windsor Locks. For more information, click here.

Gally going for first NCAA berth

Chase Magsig
Image from Gallaudet Athletics

Gallaudet's football team is on a roll and has a shot at playing in the NCAA playoffs for the first time. The undefeated Bison are 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. Winning a title would give them an automatic NCAA berth. Next up for the team: Becker College tomorrow (Saturday) at noon Eastern. The Leicester, Massachusetts team has only won one game this season against six loses. The conference just named Sophomore Chase Magsig the Division III Northeast Special Teams Player of the Week. Magsig kicked the game-winning field goal in the team's victory over Husson University. He also booted six punts for 249 yards--including one that went 66 yards.

Kinect and sign language translation

Last year we told you about research in China here, using Microsoft’s Kinect for sign language. The video below (just posted yesterday) shows how the prototype operates, translating sign language into spoken language and spoken language into sign language--in real time. So far, only about one in 13 words Chinese sign language are available using the device.

Exploring Deaf Rap Culture

Image SLYKI Entertainment 

"I had a meeting with one of the top managers in D.C. and auditioned to see if he would represent me. Dude had the gall to tell me that the voice on the CD wasn't mine. I told him it was and his response was, 'Impossible. Deaf people don't do music. We need to squash this kind of view," says Warren "Wawa" Snipe to Spin magazine. Read more about what's happening with deaf rappers in Spin magazine here.

protest over lack of interpreter for trial

A deaf couple protested outside an Alabama courthouse this week after filing a complaint over the kind of interpreting they received during a recent trial. They say it was a violation of ADA law to not be given a certified interpreter when Donald Boilard's wife took the stand to testify in an assault case as a victim. He served as her interpreter. The prosecutor said getting a certified interpreter would have meant a delay in the trial and he blames the deaf couple for not wanting to put the trial off. Read the full story here.

Judge Limits Sign Language in Courtroom

A Maryland judge has banned sign language in his courtroom--at least in the trial of Clarence Cepheus Taylor--unless it involves the court interpreters. Judge William Tucker is afraid it could jeopardize the outcome of the trial. Taylor is accused of sexually abusing seven female students at the Maryland School for the Deaf. The Howard County courtroom has a deaf defendant, deaf victims and some deaf witnesses. The unique rule is designed to prevent communication between those involved in the trial and spectators. The only signers are supposed to be the court interpreters and those who are communicating directly with those interpreters. Taylor told participants in the trial that anyone violating his sign language ban might be removed from the courtroom--and court officials have been brought in to keep an eye on the spectators for any signing. We first told you about the charges last December, which you can read about here. Read more about the trial going on now in the Baltimore Sun.

Reading Buddies

Kentucky School for the Deaf students are “Reading Buddies” to hearing students at an elementary school. Find out more about the program designed to expose the younger students to sign language from the Advocate Messenger.

Deaf student graduates magna cum laude

Image of Michael Lopez from ANC news

A deaf student who graduated magna cum laude from his college in the Philippines says other deaf people "shouldn’t feel that they’re lacking something. They should remember that they still have God-given gifts.” Read the full story of Michael Lopez from the Philippines news channel ANC here.

Inspirational Touchdown Captured on Video

Eiler Buck attended his middle school's football games in the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound, cheering the players to victory. But Eiler couldn't play himself, due to physical restriction. That didn't stop the team and its rival from letting the deaf eighth-grader score a touchdown during Tuesday's contest. NBCDFW has a video report on what happened. No captions, but you can read the story here.

Wales Petition

There's a petition to get captioning for the TV feed and interpreters at the Wales National Assembly so the deaf can follow the proceedings. The petition, which you can read here, says:

“We call upon the National Assembly for Wales to provide subtitling and signed language access to televised debates and proceedings, to enable the 300,000 with hearing loss and deafness in Wales to follow the democratic processes hearing people already enjoy.”

The petition will be open until Oct 1, 2014 and was submitted by Mervyn James of Newport.

What it's like playing football at Gally

The Washington Post takes a look at the football program at Gallaudet during homecoming week in an article released yesterday. The team undefeated so far this season (6-0) and one player in particular, Adham Talaat, could have a shot at playing in the NFL. The Bison are number one in the country out of the run--averaging 366 yards per game so far. Read the story here or watch a slideshow from the Washington Post about Gallaudet football here.

Disney in Ohio

Disney on Ice performed for a group of deaf students in Dayton, Ohio yesterday. Students from the Deaf Community Resource Center met Mickey, Minnie and the whole gang. WDTN-TV has a video report below (with captions available).

Forbes in Detroit tonight

Rapper Sean Forbes is performing tonight with his band in Detroit at the Rust Belt Market. His performing artist network, D-Pan, will also show music videos. WJBK-TV has an interview with him below. No captions but you can read the story here.

Fox 2 News Headlines

Robertson: Rebuke the "spirit of deafness"

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson told a mother of a deaf child this week who wrote to his 700 Club the first thing to do to help her son is to rebuke the "spirit of deafness." Robertson went on to tell her that this method had worked for him in the past.

Lineman, interpreter work as team on the gridiron

An Athens, Georgia high school football player is making his mark. Read how T.J. Ellison and his interpreter are affecting the Clarke Central Gladiators here.

Friendship Tourney in NY

Three deaf schools took students to the New York School For The Deaf in Rome last weekend to take park in its 23rd Annual Friendship Soccer Tournament. WFXV-TV has a video report (captions available).

Improving Implant Pitch

University of Washington Researchers say they are on their way to improving cochlear implants--especially when it comes to pitch, which should help with hearing music better. The new process they've developed approaches pitch in a fundamentally different way than current implants. Read some details in Boston Univeristy's student newspaper, the Daily Free Press here.

How deaf women are vulnerable to domestic abuse

Deaf women are twice as likely as hearing women to experience domestic abuse, according to the New Statesman, a weekly UK magazine. Read the "tragic story" of Safiya here.

Joy in a job ‘well said’

Meet the only certified ASL interpreter on the Olympic Peninsula across the Puget Sound from Seattle, according to the Sequim Gazette. Read the story here.

Grant to help Deaf-Blind Children

The U.S. federal government is giving a $10.5 million grant to several organizations working with the deaf-blind children under the banner of National Center on Deaf-Blindness. The group includes the Perkins School for the Blind, the Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University, and the Helen Keller National Center. The money will be given over a period of five years through the Education Department’s Office of Special Education Programs.

Federal Government Threatens Housing complex for deaf

A deaf facility in Arizona that the federal government help to build--and then turned around and declared the complex discriminatory. Fox News has a video report on the project which we first told you about back in April here.

Google Patents Gestures

photo from TaylorSwift.com

Google is trying to patent the "heart-shaped hand gesture" and other motions. Google Glass wearers will be able to "like" objects and express other commands by making gestures. The “heart-hand gesture” has been associated with Taylor Swift. You can see the application, thanks to Engadget, here.

Gally still unbeaten

The Gallaudet football team takes on Castleton State College of Vermont today after beating Norwich University last weekend. The Bison won by a score of 30-22 over the Cadets and remain undefeated with five wins.

Signs for a Good Education

The World Federation of the Deaf brought together disability experts in Sydney, Australia for a conference this week. Read more about it from the Human Rights Watch blog here and you'll find a video the group produced about deaf education below that was just released.

Sign team helps crime victim

It took four sign language interpreters worked together for months to help a Philadelphia man express himself. Willie Richardson had allegedly been physically abused and locked in a basement, according to prosecutors. But Richardson has no language and the interpreters helped him convey his story. Read the story from KYW-TV here.

Deaf College Football Player in Texas

The Lamar University Cardinals have a partially deaf defensive back who uses a hearing aid while on the field. Learn about how Montez Hunter went from California to Texas in an article posted in the Beaumont Enterprise here.

Children and hearing loss

A representative from the parent advocacy group ParentMap’s talks about how excess noise can cause hearing loss in kids with Seattle's KING-TV in the video below.

Hear What a Familiar Tune Sounds Like with an Implant

KPLU radio in Seattle offers the hearing a chance to see what its like to have a cochlear implant in a post that includes some brief audio. Take a listen here.

Video: Oranutan asks deaf girl for help in sign language

A group of environmental activists have put put a video showing a deaf girl using sign language with an orangutan. In the Rainforest Action Network video, 12-year-old Lena appears to be talking with Strawberry, Indonesian orangutan about the environment. The orangutan seems to warn her about how oil palm plantations are hurting the environment by tell her, "Your food is destroying my home." The Rainforest Action Network is going after several snack food companies that use palm oil and has created a photo petition here. A recent Reuters report suggested that oil palm can be made more biodiversity friendly according to experts. You can read that article here. Below you can see the Rainforest video for yourself.

Israel Defense Forces

Members of the Israel Defense Forces performed their nation's national anthem in sign language last week. Volunteer soldiers go through a special training course at a military base in the city of Tzrifin, about 40 miles northwest of Jerusalem. At a closing ceremony they all sing the national anthem. All but the deaf soldiers. That is, until last week. The entire group signed the song Hatikva, according to the Israeli news website Walla. You can see the soldiers perform the song in the video below.

Bruises found on young boy

A four-year-old deaf boy in the Vero Beach area of Florida came home from school with suspicious bruises this past week. An investigation has lead to the Indian River County school system to move a bus aide off his regular route. Below is a WPTV video report. Captions are not included but there is a text edition of the story here.

NTID Celebration

NTID welcomed its first students to its Rochester campus 45 years ago. To celebrate, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf welcomed hundreds of graduates back to the campus this week. On Friday, NTID officially opened a new research building--the $8 million, two-story, deaf-friendly Sebastian and Lenore Rosica Hall. There is research already going on in the building. For instance, the video below shows a demonstration of the See-Through, Life-Size Interactive Monitor being developed. A teach can stand behind it, facing the students and write something the students can read at the same time--and a student on the other side of the monitor can type an answer. Read more about the new building here.

Mass for the Deaf

Catholic leaders around the Fort Wayne area of Indiana is trying to get an deaf Catholic community started. The Diocese held a service called Reflection for the Deaf today. Two seminarians have been learning ASL in order to led Mass in sign language. Read more at the News-Sentinel here.

Film Fest looks for Entries

The Maine Deaf Film Festival is accepting entries for the 12th annual Festival taking place on April 25 and 26 of next year. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 1, 2014. There is no required genre or length. The only requirement is that the film must be made by a deaf or hard of hearing filmmaker, it must feature at least one deaf character, or it must be about the Deaf experience. It takes place at the University of Southern Maine’s campus in Portland and sponsored by the school's American Sign Language Club. Find out more about the festival here.

Students raised without sign

The ASL strategy of the California School for the Deaf in Riverside is explained in an article by California's Press-Enterprise here.

Jordan: FCC blocking ADA rules on phone service

I.King Jordan
from Gallaudet University's website

Former Gallaudet President I. King Jordan says the FCC is "throwing up roadblocks that interfere with the use of (services) mandated by the ADA (because the Commission) is over-reacting to past cases of fraud." Find out more in a piece he wrote for Washington's prestigious The Hill publication here.

Impostor service animals posing growing problem

There's a growing problem for those who use service animals--fake service dogs are making business owners more suspicious of the real thing. While it's a federal crime under ADA law to pretend an animal is a service animal, some people still buy vests or identification cards online and then claim they are using a service animal--when they are not. But the Associated Press reports that prosecutions are rare. Read the full story here.

TEDxGallaudet

Gallaudet will host a TEDx event next year. TEDx is step-child of the popular, yearly TED gatherings, which have grown in popularity thanks to YouTube. The short presentations given in front of a live audience are easily digestible and straightforward--sometimes humorous and sometimes emotionally moving. The TEDx events are self-organized, local chapters of the TED Conference. The Gally event will take place Friday, February 28 with help from Assistant Professor of Criminology and Sociology Thomas Horejes. It will be unique--the first TED event where all the presenters will use ASL. English captions will be added to the videos that come out of the gathering. If you have an idea about who should be included among the 20 or so speakers, you have until November 15th to submit a proposal. There's more information at the TEDx page here and at the Gallaudet University website here.

Film features Deaf Cast

A Taiwan film features a deaf cast including two deaf women in the lead roles. Chiang Wen-yi and Lin Ching-lan star in Use Your Heart to Listen for Happiness, which is based on real life experiences. One works in an office, where she must work harder than her hearing co-workers to succeed. Chiang Wen-yi plays the role of a woman who struggles to find the acceptance of her husband's parents. The other woman, played by Lin Ching-lan, is a dancer who finds her way to Taiwan’s first troupe for hearing-impaired dancers. Ching-lan has been deaf since birth, graduating with a degree in special education. Wen-yi has a post-graduate degree from the College of Management at Yuan Ze University in Taoyuan County. She now works at works at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s top contract chipmaker, when she's not acting. Use Your Heart to Listen for Happiness premiered last week. Read more about the movie in the Taipei Times.

Smutty Signs

Kristin Henson is causing a stir with her new book Super Smutty Sign Language. The book is based on her 90-some YouTube videos detailing dirty signs she learned as a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology where she studied animation--not sign language. The book got a boost when the Huffington Post picked up a column written by Henson (which you can read here) where she explains the idea behind the book. She has drawn criticism from people in the deaf community for her signing skills, leading a group to start a petition in an attempt to convince St. Martin's not to publish the book. You can express you own view of the book in the poll on DeafNewsToday.com.

Sign Language Gets Boost in Japan

The ruling assembly in the Tottori region of Japan has officially recognized Japanese sign and is requiring local governments to promote and use it. This is the first time this has happened in Japan, according to the Global Post. More than 20 million yen ($200,000) is being set aside to provide sign language lessons for people living in the region. The Tottori governor was a sign language interpreter when he was in college at the University of Tokyo, according to Japan News.

Not So Scary Halloween Party

Anthony Smith

A New Hampshire comic book store is holding for Hear in New Hampshire this Saturday (Oct 12)called the Not So Scary Halloween Party. A comic book poster created by a local artist will go on sale with all the money going to the nonprofit. The agency provides educational, therapeutic, and support services to children with hearing loss and their families. Anthony Smith will be putting in an appearance. He's the five year old whose story was told around the country when Marvel Comics created a superhero for him called Blue Ear--a sidekick who uses his special blue hearing aids to help others. There's more info on the event here.

Hong Kong Terp Shortage

There only 10 interpreters for 100,000 deaf people in Hong Kong. That's one terp for every 10,000 people. There are 9,200 profoundly deaf individuals among that group--that's one terp for every 920 people, according to the Hong Kong Association of the Deaf. The South China Morning Post reports the shortage caused one wedding to almost be called off. Making things worse, there's no officially designated sign language in Hong Kong, and no official assessment tools.

Food Market Draws Deaf

A DC food market is becoming a gathering place for members of the deaf community, according to the Voice of America. A video report is posted below, but there are no captions. You can read the story here.

Jump out of a plane!

A Florida skydiving company is offering interpreted tandem dives for the deaf and deaf-blind on Sunday, Oct 20th. The interpreting is free at Skydive Deland (located near Daytona, Florida in the city of Deland). There's more information here. Below is a video about the event.

Hearing "I love you" once again

After a decade of silence, deaf actor, playwright and stand-up comedian Sophie Woolley says her biggest thrill since having her implant turned on was hearing her husband once again say "I love you." Woolley writes in the Daily Mail, "I had been profoundly deaf for several years, and we had come to rely on signing to communicate... But the flick of a techno-switch on the cochlear implant fitted in my skull finally transported me back to a lost world." The Daily mail tells her story here.

Liberty offering ASL degree

The university founded by Jerry Falwell is now offering a sign language degree. Liberty University is the first school in Virginia to make a Bachelor of Arts in American Sign Language and Interpreting an option. Students will not only learn to sign and interpret, they will explore issues in deaf culture. Find out more here.

Courts Broadens ADA

The US ADA law isn't just about making it possible for someone with disabilities to do their job, it's about the entire employment experience. At least that's what lawyers who specialize in that area of law are saying following a ruling by the 5th Circuit. A Louisiana state official sued for not being provided a parking space that would accommodate a disability related to her knee. While the trial court dismissed the case, basically saying the parking space didn't have to do with the primary part of her job, the Appeals court said that fact didn't matter. While the decision does apply across the country, legal experts will be watching to see of other courts join the 5th Circuit in pushing accommodations to include areas that seem indirectly related to someone's ability to do their job.

Gally Police Powers Could Expand

DC colleges--including Gallaudet are considering letting their campus police forces take a more active role in detaining and arresting students in connection with disruptive behavior off campus in the neighborhoods surrounding the schools--especially with loud parties. Some students attending DC schools are questioning whether campus police have any authority to enforce a code of conduct off-campus. That is, can students be treated differently than other citizens away from the school? And there is the question as to whether the campus cops will be required to report their investigations off campus--as they already are by law when it comes to campus incidents. Read more at the Washington Post here.

Gally Sued over discrimination

Angela McCaskill filed a lawsuit against Gallaudet University this past Friday. The University’s chief diversity officer says the school violated an anti-discrimination law when she was placed on leave for signing a petition about Maryland’s gay-marriage law and then demoted when she was allowed to return to work. Her lawsuit names two professors in addition to the school. Read more at the Washington Post here.