Twitter offers audio option--without making the audio accessible

Twitter is rolling out a new audio option that allows users to record as much as 140 seconds of audio to post as a tweet. But the social network failed to make the feature accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people. After an outcry, the designer behind the product, Maya Patterson, admitted it was “huge error” and the team is “working to fix this as soon as possible." Here's her tweet:

My personal response to the Deaf/HOH Community:

[audio transcript]
Uh point blank period, we fucked up, I fucked up. Uh we launched a test and we should have included accessibility features in that test. That was a huge error, and one I personally have made myself sit [cont] pic.twitter.com/avAImLl9t7

— Maya Gold (@mayagpatterson) June 19, 2020

Only a few users have the option so far but it is expected to be widely available in a few weeks.

FedEx will pay $3.3 million dollars to settle an ADA complaint

FedEx will pay $3.3 million dollars to settle a complaint filed with the EEOC. "Seventeen deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals filed Charges of Discrimination against FedEx, which the EEOC then consolidated as part of a nationwide investigation of potential ADA violations."FedEx has agreed to provide deaf and hard-of-hearing package handlers with access to live and video remote interpreters captioned videos, scanning equipment with non-audible cues such as vibrations and provide training for managers on ADA compliance. Read more here.

1st Transgender Student Graduates from Rochester School for the Deaf

"If it wasn't for RSD, I wouldn't be the person I am today," Cori Moquette told Spectrum News. Read more about Moquette here.

Masks & VRIs can prevent Deaf individuals from accessing treatment

Bridget Nitsch opted for a natural birth but wasn’t due for a few days--but the baby came anyway. But

Bridget Nitsch and her partner, who are both Deaf, couldn’t reach 911 until connecting with Bridget Nitsch’s mother through a video call. By the time the paramedics arrived, the baby’s head was halfway out. Bridget Nitsch and her partner can read lips with American Sign Language, but the paramedics refused to take off their masks or gloves due to COVID-19 precautions.“They were talking, but there was no communication,” Nitsch said through an interpreter. “I couldn’t speech-read anything they were saying, because of the masks. And then the baby came out.”

Read more in the Daily Northwestern.

Deaf Black lives matter group honors Black deaf sanitation workers

Several dozen deaf black people joined together to march in Memphis yesterday. Besides protesting against police brutality and systemic racism, they also honored black deaf sanitation workers who marched before them. Read the full story at the Commercial Appeal here and watch the video below from WJHL-TV News channel 11.

Judge rules on lawsuit filed by deaf inmates in Illinois

The Illinois prison system is not following through on its agreement to accommodate deaf prisoners. That's the finding of a federal judge who says the Illinois Department of Corrections is out of compliance with a 2018 settlement agreement. It said that deaf prisoners would get auditory exams after failed hearing tests. The judge is ordering the dept. of corrections to pay attorney fees of the deaf prisoners who sued. Read more about the case in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.

Gally suspends frat House over racist photo

Gallaudet University has suspended its oldest fraternity. A 1988 photo has come to light showing members of the Kappa Gamma chapter doing what appears to be Nazi salutes. Current members of the Gallaudet chapter have condemned the photo. In 2014, the fraternity was criticized when members wore robes resembling Ku Klux Klan robes. President Roberta Cordano told the campus in a video, “They have become the face of systemic racism in our community, with photographs of the salute and use of robes being shared on social media. This behavior is unacceptable." Watch the entire video below. You can read the text of video here.

Deaf demonstrators say they face dangers at protests

Members of Portland's deaf community are taking to the streets like many others are doing. But as KATU-TV has learned, safety can become a concern. Here is a video report here.

Black Lives Matter signs

ASL interpreter Rorri Burton breaks down how to sign “Black Lives Matter” in ASL and explains why not everyone signs it the same way.

The lockdown's impact on deaf children in the UK

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant access to many support services is limited, and deaf youngsters are even more vulnerable, write a group of health and disability experts. Read more in the Guardian here.

Meet the deaf fitness instructor calling for more accessibility in gyms and on social media

India Morse believes that the fitness industry isn't inclusive enough. She says, "Usually the major barrier in the fitness industry is the fact that the classes are always based in such dark environments. Fitness classes tend to be very dependent on having music to go along with the vibe but in all honesty, they often forget about the importance of being visual." Morse also believes Instagram should be doing more to cater for the deaf community. Read more at Inside here.

Louisiana School for the Deaf Gets New Director

Heather Laine is the new Director of Louisiana School for the Deaf. She earned a degree at Gallaudet University and later earned an advanced degree in deaf education at Cal State Northridge. She worked as a teacher of the deaf in Los Angeles before eventually becoming principal at Arizona's Sequoia Deaf School. Here is the official announcement.

Hotel Settles Service Dog complaint

A Connecticut Quality Inn has reached a settlement over its refusal to allow a guest to bring a service dog into its dining room. The settlement includes $1,000 in compensation and requires:

The Quality Inn Mystic-Groton to permit service animals in all areas of the hotel that members of the public and other hotel guests are allowed to go, including in its dining room during meal service. Additionally, the hotel will post signage indicating “Service Animals Welcome,” will implement a “Service Animal Policy,” and will train its managers and employees regarding the policy.

Read more about it here.

More than 110 years ago

Here is a bit of history. The paragraph below as published in the June 1907 issue of Scientific American magazine—more than 110 years ago:

The loss of the sense of hearing should not necessarily mean deprivation of the power of speech. Is it only within recent years that we have come to realize this fact, and in up-to-date institutions the old –fashioned finger alphabet is now unknown. Every child is taught to speak in the natural way by means of the vocal organs. The four or five years of the primary course are devoted almost exclusively to the acquirement of language and numbers.

The Hearing Journal

The June issue of The Hearing Journal is out. It's a well-respected academic journal and the articles are free. Read here articles that include "tips to make videoconferences more hearing-friendly and improve the experience for everyone, not just for the person with hearing loss." There's also information on fluctuating hearing loss, the "Expanding Insurance Coverage of Teleaudiology" and making audiology work during COVID-19 and beyond."

Living through a pandemic without sound

There are 300,000 people in Northern Ireland affected by hearing loss. The BBC spoke to some of the about their experiences during the coronavirus outbreak here.

Gally gets new swim coach

image from Galluadet.edu

Nick Pezzarossi is the new men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach at Gallaudet University. Pezzarossi, who is deaf, was twice an assistant coach at the school—three years under former head coach Bill Snape (2004-07) and one year under former head coach Rosemary Stifter (2003-04). The most recent head coach, Larry Curran, recently stepped down after eight years. Pezzarossi's wife, Caroline Pezzarossi, teaches psychology at Gallaudet. Read more about the new coach here.

Deaf-Blind artist wins National Magazine Award

Deaf-Blind artist John Lee Clark has won the 2020 National Magazine Award for "Tactile Art" in the category of Essays and Criticism. You can read Clark's piece in Poetry Magazine here and more about the award here.

Online Education Resources for the Deaf Community

Voice of America's Calla Yu has a video report on teachers who are creating online resources in American Sign Language.

The pandemic made life harder for deaf people. The solutions could benefit everyone.

"Floating captioning, live transcribing, and clear masks are only a first step to bridging the communication gap. This is all in the right direction, and people will say this ‘solves the deaf problem,’ but it doesn’t.” Read more at MIT Tech review here.

Video: "I am Deaf Enough"

Seattle-area deaf actress and YouTuber Cheyenna Clearbrook has put together a video for her more than 100K subscribers called "I am Deaf Enough." Born deaf, she was featured in a TEDx talk while a student at Gallaudet University student.

ADA law & wearing a mask in a business

Does ADA law require businesses to allow people into stories if the customer has a disability? Some experts say the answer is 'no.' KMIR-TV in Palm Springs has a video report below or read the story here.

Complaint says AP exams discriminate

New Jersey high school student Kaleigh Brendle has filed federal complaints saying the AP exams discriminate against the blind and deaf. A junior at the Scholars’ Center for the Humanities, Kaleigh is legally blind and has been reading brail since she was 3 years old. Find our more about why she says the test isn't set up properly in the New York Post here.

Temporary Layoffs at Michigan School for the Deaf

The Michigan School for the Deaf is cutting its staff down to four days a week. There will work for them on Fridays through July. This includes all academic, office, residential and administrative staff. Read more here.

Deaf woman’s social media post goes viral, raises awareness

Kimberly Fugate Kimberly is using a story of something that happened to her at a grocery store to raise awareness about what the Deaf and Hard of Hearing face every day. Her Facebook post recounting that moment has more than 30,000 shares. WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky has a video report below or read the story here.

Meet Gov. Cuomo's Terp

Arkady Belozovsky, an NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf) graduate is the sign language interpreter you will see on-screen alongside New York's governor during coronavirus briefings. Read more in a lengthy article published in the Democrat & Chronicle here.

Deaf Man dies after being trapped in fire

A Maryland man on the outskirts of Wash., D.C. who is deaf died after his home caught fire early Sunday morning. Firefighters rescued 55-year-old Norman Rogers III but he later died at the hospital. Rogers graduated from the Maryland School of the Deaf. Read more here.

Zoom fatigue is nothing new--to the deaf and HoH

Zoom fatigue is something the Deaf community knows very well. It’s called “concentration fatigue" and people who are deaf and hard of hearing deal with it every day. Read more about the topic in a Quartz article here.

The ASL Advantage

The Maryland School for the Deaf superintendent sees ASL as an advantage in the fight to remain healthy during the pandemic. WDVM-TV has a video report or you can read the story here.

Judge: Cuomo briefings must be more accessible to deaf

Disability Rights New York has gotten a preliminary injunction against the governor of New York over his failure to broadcast a sign language interpreter during his daily Covid press briefings. Last night, a Manhattan federal judge, Valerie Caproni, ordered New York Governor Cuomo to include an interpreter in the state-provided TV signal of his briefings. The governor's lawyers had argued there was no need of having an interpreter share the screen because of captioning and a separate a dedicated internet stream. But Disability Rights New York has pointed out that the captioning often contain errors while the separate feed is available only in broadband service. Read more from Buffalo News here.

How a Texas school is connecting with its students

The Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children in San Antonio is working to stay connected to its students. Preschool teacher Holly Mason says:

I record instructional videos every day and then send it to the parents so that they can view those videos at their convenience...We are shifting greatly to parents who are having to take the primary seat. But what parents forget is that they were the first teacher. Parents are the first teacher their child’s ever going to have.

Read more and see a video report from KSAT-TV here.

Musical collaboration

The musical duo called the Skivvies has joined with deaf actor Joshua Castille and others who work with Deaf West Theatre to perform in a short video of I Am What I Am from La Cage Aux Folles.

Deaf New Yorkers sue Cuomo

Disability Rights New York is suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo for not providing sign language interpreters during his daily televised coronavirus briefings. Executive Director Timothy Clune writes in a statement:

It is inexplicable that during this pandemic, the Governor would choose not to have ASL interpreters at his daily live televised briefings. As a result, deaf New Yorkers are unable to obtain vital life and death information at the time they need it most.

In response, Cuomo advisor Rich Azzopardi tells CNN there is a "dedicated (ASL) stream" on the state website and "all conferences have been close-captioned. Read the full statement here.

Show me a Sign

A new historical novel called Show me a Sign follows the life of an 11-year-old girl on Martha’s Vineyard in the 19th Century. Intended for children ages 8 to 12, author Ann Clare LeZotte, who is deaf herself, takes the reader into a group of deaf residents who were descendants of English colonists and have developed their own sign language. At one point the girl tells herself, “Papa was right. We are fine as we were made.” The New York Times reviewed the book and says:

Dialogue, both spoken and signed, is handled deftly, showing the rich cadences and patterns of each form of expression. LeZotte also gives readers a sense of M.V.S.L. (Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language), a combination of “home sign” and American Sign Language used by the islanders through the mid-1900s.

Read the full review here.

The Deaf-Blind Fear That Doctors Won’t Save Them from the Coronavirus

The president of Gallaudet University, Roberta Cordano says, “My worry is that the pandemic planning has completely missed" the deaf-blind community. “To be frank, there is no mechanism on a national scale to support the deaf-blind in the current American health-care system.” At least fifteen of Gallaudet students are deaf-blind. The New Yorker has more in a new article written by Robin Wright:

During the pandemic, the new forms of protection—including social distancing, masks, and gloves—only complicate communication for deaf-blind people who can’t read Braille with gloves on because their hands are desensitized. And many who have residual sight can’t lip-read through masks.

Wright goes on to say:

When I started reporting this piece, I had no sense of the scope of the issues or the depth of their fears. More than three dozen deaf-blind people from as far away as Australia poured their hearts out in poignant e-mails and calls, some conducted through complex layers of sign interpreters and Braille. People who are deaf-blind don’t want pity, they told me. Many are exhausted, even in normal times, by simplistic depictions of their heroic survival in a hearing and sighted world.

Read the full article here.

How Do You Sign ‘Don’t Drink Bleach’?

image from the New York Times

Rorri Burton has been interpreting the Los Angeles news conferences about Covid-19. She tells the New York Times that the attention she has gotten on social media is “unwanted and unexpected.” Particularly when celebrity blogger Perez Hilton "set her moves to music" and "comedian David Spade called her Covid-19 interpretation 'kooky.'” Read more about what Burton has faced here.

Deafverse: An ASL-accessible Video Game

Austin's National Deaf Center has developed a fully ASL-accessible game. Deafverse is a "browser-based ongoing-narrative adventure about navigating the world as a deaf teenager." Arstechnica says:

Although Deafverse is primarily designed for deaf teenagers of high school age (in service of the NDC's primary goal of supporting deaf young people's transition into active employment), much of its subject matter is useful for anyone who wants to learn about deafness. Using federal funding through the NDC, the Deafverse development team was able to cast a wide net for research on ways deaf young people are and are not succeeding after their teen years. The findings, Turner says, were cross-checked against a set list of broad learning outcomes to create a game that teaches lessons while still being true to life.

Read more about it in Arstechnica here.

Implant Activated Remotely

A toddler in England has just had her cochlear implant activated for the first time during a remote telemedicine session between her house and the clinical team. Read more about it on Medgadget here or watch the video about the procedure below.

Deaf Man Sues Plasma Co.

An Illinois deaf man is suing CSL Plasma over ADA issues. Mark Gomez says the blood plasma company not only wouldn't accept his plasma, it refused to provide him with an interpreter. Read the full story here.

White House urged to use Terps at Briefings

The National Association of the Deaf and the National Council on Disability have sent letters urging the White House coronavirus task force to use ASL interpreters during its daily briefings. The White House did not provide a comment to CNN on whether it had received the letters or whether it would consider using an interpreter. Read the full story here.

What deaf truckers have to fear from the Trump administration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is about to issue a ruling that could prevent deaf and hard-of-hearing commercial truck drivers from working. The National Association for the Deaf filed a petition this year arguing that the hearing tests are not a valid requirement for a commercial driver's license. Sara Novic filed an opinion piece with CNN about the issue which you can read here.

A struggle at Trader Joe's

Good Morning America spoke with Matthew Simmons, a Trader Joe's cashier in Vancouver, Washington about the difficulties he faces communicating with customers--especially with everyone wearing masks. "I rely heavily on using my lip-reading skills so customers wearing facial coverings is a problem for me," Simmons said. Read the full story here.

The Forgotten Victims of the Pandemic: the Deaf Community

Ozy takes a look at the particular difficulties of being deaf during a pandemic outbreak in a story you can read here or see in ASL in the video below.

The challenges deaf and hard of hearing college students

A look at the challenges deaf and hard of hearing college students face with COVID-19 in an article published by The Houston Chronicle here.

Teachers at School for Deaf and Blind surprised by ‘superhero’ lawn signs

image from the USDB FB page

Teachers at Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind have been building virtual learning platforms for the past few years, so when schools were dismissed in March due to COVID-19, they were able to hit the virtual ground running, ABC-4 reports. To thank the teachers for all their hard work, a school employee designed a “superhero” yard sign. Superintendent Joel Coleman was among those distributing the signs to the homes of teachers across the state. Read the full story here.

The challenges facing Rochester's Deaf Community

Spectrum News takes a look at the challenges facing Rochester's Deaf Community with a masking policy in place here.

Hospital Sued: Lawsuit claims no Terp provided

A lawsuit filed against McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital claims a deaf patient was not provided an interpreter last year as required by ADA law. Instead, the staff of the Lansing, Michigan facility used written notes to communicate with Christine Ketola, according to the complaint. Read more about the lawsuit in the Lansing State Journalhere.

Gally to get federal emergency funds

Gallaudet University will receive $821,498 in emergency federal funding based on total enrollment, the number of full-time students eligible for federal Pell grants and which are awarded to students from low-income families." Read more about the distribution to DC schools in the Washington Post here.

The impact of social distancing on the DeafBlind community

"For many in the DeafBlind community, social distancing has created unique worries and exceptional challenges," reports the Washington Post."It is forcing them to grow increasingly disconnected at a time when they need more than ever to be aware of what’s happening around them." Haben Girma, who wrote a memoir titled “Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law” says:

“Many DeafBlind people rely on tactile interpretation, which cannot be done remotely or even from six feet away. I’m worried hospitals facing scarce resources will decide not to save our lives. There is an ableist assumption that causes some people to think it’s better to be dead than disabled.”

Read the story in the Washington Post here.

What It's Like To Have Usher Syndrome

Hannah Corderman told Women's Health her story:

image from UsherSyndromeSociety.org

At 17 years old, I was officially diagnosed with Usher syndrome. I was devastated upon receiving my diagnosis, but I also felt a strange sense of relief. Even though I had just found out I would eventually go blind and potentially deaf, I still had time to do something about it, time to live my life as fully as I could during the years that I still had my daytime vision.

Read more in an article here.

KY teacher makes house calls to see Deaf-Blind students

image from WAVE-TV video

A partially blind and deaf teen in Kentucky is getting an education through his home’s glass front door. Helen Keller Center Specialist Corinne Miller comes to his home and communicates through the glass door to 16-year-old Alex Hitzelberger. Watch a video report about their arrangement from WAVE-TV here.

Being deaf can feel Isolating & even more so during a pandemic

Kelly Dougher writes, "As a deaf person, I know just how awful it can be to feel isolated. I’ve had to struggle with it my entire life. But many, many people are suddenly experiencing the side effects of isolation for the first time." Read her entire piece in the Huff Post here.

Face Masks & the Deaf Community

The push to wear face masks has created a new challenge for the deaf community: Lip-reading becomes impossible and facial expressions are partially hidden. CBS-2 has a video report from Chicago (or read the story here).

ASL on Zoey's Playlist

Below is a bit of the ASL dance performance last night on NBC's show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. It was put together with the help of Deaf West Theater.

Zoey meets Deaf West

The NBC show Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist worked with LA's Deaf West Theatre to create Sunday night's episode of the musical series. Deaf West's Sandra Mae Frank is guest star and is joined by other deaf performers. In the episode, Zoey meets the daughter of her dad’s caregiver. Even though the woman is deaf she can understand her "heart song." The title character has the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people around her—but it is expressed through popular songs and big dance numbers. Below is a video sneak peek. Read more about how the episode came about here.

College student makes masks for the deaf

Ashley Lawrence is studying education for the deaf and hard of hearing at Eastern Kentucky University and has come up with a way to help the community during the Coronavirus outbreak. She tells LEX-18:

We're trying different things to for people with cochlear implants and hearing aids if they can't wrap around the ears. We're making some that have around the head and around the neck. For anyone who uses speech reading, lip reading, anybody like that. And people who are profoundly deaf who use ASL as their primary mode of communication. ASL is very big on facial expressions and it is part of the grammar.

Read more here.

Leaving students behind in the rush to go online

Digital Trends reports "The rapid migration to virtual classes has forced disabled students into using websites and apps that were never designed to accommodate them." Read the full story here.

Texas Deaf school Preps for Distance Learning

Austin's Texas School for the Deaf typically has hundreds of students from around the state on campus at this time. But that's changed with quarantining for the pandemic. Last week was spring break and this week was preparation for moving classes online--starting this Monday. KVUE-TV takes a look a how the Texas School for the Deaf and the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired are preparing for distance learning.

NY Gov add Terp to Daily Briefing

New York's governor has added a sign-language interpreter to his daily coronavirus briefing in response to an outcry from the Deaf community. While the state offered closed captioning for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's updates, it was often inaccurate and ASL is the first language for many people. David Wantuck, a community engagement specialist for Deaf Access Services, was one advocate who brought the issue to the governor's staff. Wantuck expressed his approval today after Cuomo was accompanied by an interpreter. He wrote on his Facebook page:

I want to take the time to say GREAT JOB to the CDI who interpreted this press conference. Thank you!!
This is a big step for the Deaf Community as we have an interpreter, but yes, there are improvements that needs to be made.
For today, lets appreciate what we have now, and take this as a something great. Tomorrow, we will gather again to advocate for suggestions and improvements to make this better.

According to Wantuck's tally, the only states that did not include an ASL interpreter were New York, Montana, and Vermont. Now that New York and Montana have started using interpreters, that leaves Vermont as the only state not providing ASL interpretation at their governor's emergency press conferences.

What Marlee Matlin Did In Quarantine

Oscar-winner Marlee Matlin is so bored In quarantine she pulled out the dress she wore to that fateful 1987 Oscars ceremony and tried it on again. Read what happened here.

Outrage: No terp at White House briefings

Many in the Deaf community are outraged by the fact that there's no ASL interpreter at President Trump's coronavirus briefings. Even TMZ picked up on the issue here. The National Council on Disability has sent a letter to the White House asking for this access, saying in part, "There is no doubt that the Coronavirus brings with it significant added concerns for people with disabilities."Read the entire letter here. The National Association of the Deaf has also sent a letter expressing concern over the lack of communication to the Deaf community. CEO Howard Rosenblum wants to know why the President "is not ensuring they are getting the same access to emergency information as everyone else." Read the entire letter here. It asks the White House "to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide their information about coronavirus in ASL immediately."

Competent Terps Critical Now

The Iowa Association of the Deaf says interpreter competency is critical during the coronavirus outbreak. ASL interpreters are being used at news briefings across the country to communicate the latest developments surrounding the disease. KWWL reports on the issue in Iowa here.

Big Challenges For Deaf Students Being Forced To Leave College

Students at Gallaudet University are facing extra challenges after being forced to leave campus. Read more from BuzzFeed News here.

How Deaf Advocates Won the Battle for Closed Captioning

"It wasn’t until March 16, 1980 — 40 years ago this Monday — that the network TV channels ABC, NBC and PBS debuted closed-captioned television shows, in which the show’s dialogue and soundtrack appeared as text on-screen as the action proceeded..But getting there was a fight, and that battle still continues today." Read more about the battle for closed captioning from TIME magazine here.

Recent Articles of Interest about the Virus

Recent Articles of Interest about the Virus here.

Implant contest winner from Washington

image from Ideas4Ears contest video

An 8-year-old Washington state girl won the grand prize in an international contest sponsored by her cochlear implant maker, Med-El. Kenzi Cayton and her mom made a short video with her mom which was chosen from the 171 ideas submitted by more than 2000 children in nearly 30 countries,  Her idea for the  Ideas4Ears competition is to create an app that allows people to change the "skins" on their implants by clicking a button. Watch her video submission here. Read the press release about the contest here.

The search for a new superintendent in Montana

A public forum was held last night about the search for a new superintendent to lead The Montana School for the Deaf & Blind. Read more about the search here.

Longtime Gally Prof dies at the age of 98

Image: dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Donald Padden, a leader in the deaf community, has died at the age of 98 in Frederick, Maryland. He taught physical education classes at Gallaudet University for 42 years and led a popular summer camp in northern Minnesota. His daughter, Carol Padden, is dean of social sciences at the University of California at San Diego. Read more here.
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Deaf Indiana wrestler began life as a child slave in Ghana

Jacob Linky endured abuse in his native Ghana as a slave to his biological father. The Associated Press tells the story of how this deaf wrestler made his way to America here.

Deaf School President Retires

image from FSDB website

The president of the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is retiring. Jeanne Glidden Prickett will end her tenure on July 31, 2020. She has served as the 17th president since May 1, 2012. Prickett said in a statement:

It has been a privilege leading an FSDB team of highly dedicated and collaborative educators and staff members. Together, we provide students with the highest quality education possible with continuous improvement as the major focus. Helping students to reach new heights of achievement is our top priority.

Julia Mintzer, administrator of business services, will lead the school until a successor to Prickett is named. Read more about the change here.

The Bible in ASL

The Jehovah's Witnesses have completed an ASL translation of the Bible. There have been 60 million downloads of the free videos. Other Bible societies have been working on a similar goal such as Deaf Missions. Read more here.

What Do Cochlear Implants And Hearing Aids Sound Like?

Science Friday has a lesson for middle school students about how hearing aids and cochlear implants including sample recordings of: "..what it’s like to hear sound through a hearing aid and a cochlear implant. Unless you wear one of these devices, it is impossible to know exactly what it is like to experience sound through them. In fact, people who have normal hearing in one ear but wear a cochlear implant in the other ear say that these simulations sound very different from how they hear sounds with their implant." The sample sounds are posted here.

Deaf Rapper Making History

Deaf rapper Sean Forbes is close to making history--he's about to become the first deaf artist to break into the Billboard Top 200. He's already the first deaf musician to hit #1 on Amazon music list for all genres as well as #1 in the hip hop category both on Amazon and iTunes. His new release is called Little Victories. Fox-2 Detriot has a video interview with Forbes (or read the story here).

Deaf School Apologizes for Decades of Abuse

Leaders of The American School for the Deaf are apologizing to dozens of survivors of sexual abuse and physical abuse by former faculty and staff members. The abuse took place from the 1950s through the 1980s. The statement reads in part:

On behalf of ASD and its Board of Directors, we apologize to the survivors of this abuse — this should not have happened to you -– and we promise to continue to devote ourselves to protecting the current and future generations of children who rely on us and this community to enrich their lives,” they said in a statement.

Read the full statement here and watch a vlog summarizing the findings of the investigation.

HoH College Basketball Player

Kameron Hill is hard-of-hearing but that hasn't stopped the Austin College senior from playing a valuable role on the school's basketball team. KTEN-TV has a video report (or read the story here).

KTEN.com - Texoma news, weather and sports

Cochlear implant recall

Advanced Bionics is recalling some defective cochlear implants that were never implanted. The company will shell out more than $50 million in the recall. The recall involves the HiRes Ultra and Ultra 3D cochlear implant devices. There have been reports of decreased hearing performance by users in some of those cochlear implant devices. Read more here.

Sexual and physical abuse at State Deaf School

An investigation is underway into accusations of sexual and physical abuse at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut. The allegations are coming from 40 former faculty and staff. The Hartford Courant has details here.

Deaf sexual abuse victims protest at the Vatican

Victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests at a school for the deaf in Argentina staged a protest at the Vatican yesterday, reports Reuters. Two priests and a gardener have already been convicted and more will go on trial soon. Read more here.

Signing Black in America

There's a new documentary called Signing Black in America. It's a half-hour look at how Black ASL has evolved. The film was put together by North Carolina State University’s Language & Life Project and it recently won a Midsouth Regional Emmy Award. There are details here about a free showing of the documentary at the school Monday night. There's a Washington Post story about it here and a video promo for the documentary is posted below:

State's Deaf School May Move Locations

The Indiana School for the Deaf has been in Indianapolis near the fairgrounds for more than 100 years. But that may soon change. A task force put together by the state legislature has recommended moving it--and the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to a shared campus. The Indianapolis Business Journal reports "Some advocates, lawmakers and alumni worry the process is being rushed." Read more on the story here.

Gallaudet Monument Restoration

West Hartford, Connecticut has approved a proposal to restore the monument honoring Thomas H. Gallaudet that sits in front of the American School for the Deaf. Gallaudet co-founded the school. Read more about it here.

Settlement: MIT agrees to caption videos

MIT (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology) has agreed to provide captions for more of its publicly available online videos. It's part of a settlement with the National Association of the Deaf over a lawsuit filed four years ago. Attempts by both Harvard and MIT to get the case dismissed failed. National Association of the Deaf CEO Howard Rosenblum said, “The settlements with MIT and Harvard usher in a new era of accessible online learning in higher education. The civil rights mandate is clear – all colleges and universities must ensure that the video and audio content on their websites are accessible through quality captioning.” Read more about the settlement here.

State Deaf School being Reorganized

The Superintendent of the Louisiana Special School District is reorganizing the Louisiana School for the Deaf. Critics say Ernest Garrett III is "dismissing experienced leaders and replacing them with people who are either unfamiliar to the community or lack the experience of their predecessors." Read more about the changes in WBRZ-TV website here.

Grey’s Anatomy adds Deaf Doctor to TV Series

The ABC show Grey’s Anatomy introduced a new deaf character this past week. The program titled Save the Last Dance for Me aired Thursday night with the role of Dr. Lauren Riley played by deaf actress Shoshannah Stern. Riley is a diagnostic expert who signs but communicates with hearing patients through a tablet. While ABC has promoted the series as "the first primetime television series to introduce a deaf doctor as a recurring character" it is actually not the first to do so. The shows Heroes and E.R. featured doctors who were deaf. Shoshannah Stern talks about how she got the role of Dr. Riley in a TV Guide interview and an interview with Variety
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ABC Show to feature ASL

ABC’s 'The Good Doctor' will air an episode on Monday that features ASL. In this episode, the team treats a young boy-born without a fully formed trachea and unable to speak, so he uses ASL to communicate. The boy will be played by deaf actor Zade Garcia. KVUE-TV has a video profile of Zade below (or read the story here).

SignVote expands effort

Communication Service for the Deaf is hoping to increase voter engagement in the deaf community through its SignVote campaign. SignVote spotlights accessible voter content and resources for ASL users. Watch the video below or read more about it here.

Deaf face uphill battle when searching for work

"Many deaf individuals with higher education often aren’t given the same opportunity to get supervisory experience as their hearing peers, which can put them behind hearing job candidates." Read more about the difficulty the deaf face when searching for work in the Daily Herald here.

Nation's first robotics competition for deaf, hard-of-hearing students

The Texas School for the Deaf is hosting the country's first robotics competition today. It features all deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Children invented a new sign language

In the 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a completely new sign language of their own. Here's a BBC video about it.

"I performed at the Super Bowl: You might have missed me"

image from Christine Sun Kim TED talk

Christine Sun Kim signed the National Anthem at the beginning of the Super Bowl—but the TV audience only saw a few seconds of it. Now Kim is calling out Fox Sports for the snub. A "bonus feed" on the Fox Sports website was supposed to be focused on Sun Kim entirely but it wasn't. In an article written for The New York Times, Kim said she was "angry and exasperated" because on the Fox Sports website "the cameras cut away to show close-ups of the players roughly midway through each song." Read her opinion piece here.

Missouri lawmakers are considering a new law to punish people using fake service animals. It's Senate Bill 644 and it's being debated in committee this week. If it passes, violators could face misdemeanor charges, punishable by up to 15 days in jail. Read more about it the from St. Louis Post-Dispatchhere.

National Anthem Super Bowl Signing

image from NADvlogs

Christine Sun Kim signed the National Anthem at Sunday's Super Bowl while Demi Lovato sang the spoken English version of the son. If you missed the Berlin-based American sound artist, here's the video from the NAD.

How 11 Deaf Men Helped NASA Leave Earth

Why were 11 deaf men selected by NASA to help it understand space sickness? The key here was how each of these men lost their hearing, according to Discover Magazine. These men ultimately played a significant role in getting the first astronauts off the ground in the 1960s.

Was Beethoven HoH instead of Deaf?

Kent State researchers say Ludwig van Beethoven was not completely deaf as is commonly believed. The theory is that "the composer still had hearing in his left ear until shortly before his death in 1827. Theodore Albrecht, professor of musicology at Kent State University, told the Observer:

Not only was Beethoven not completely deaf at the premiere of his Ninth Symphony in May 1824, he could hear, although increasingly faintly, for at least two years afterwards, probably through the last premiere that he would supervise, his String Quartet in B-flat, Op 130, in March 1826.

Read more here.

Bank opens Branch for Deaf/HoH

The largest bank in the U.S. has opened its first branch designed to serve the Deaf and hard of hearing community. The JPMorgan Chase branch is located in Washington, DC near Gallaudet University and offers features like on-demand video, remote interpreting, T-loop Bluetooth technology, and digital screens with captions. Six of the branch’s nine employees are ASL fluent and three identify as deaf or hard of hearing. JPMorgan Chase is also putting a quarter of a million dollars to Gallaudet University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute. Read more about the new branch from WAMU radio here.

Hotline called 'Epic Failure' for Deaf community

New York City has a complaint and information hotline (311). But it does not work well for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents, according to Councilmember Fernando Cabrera. "Some people report waiting up to 45 minutes before connecting with someone who has a way to answer their questions, Cabrera said. He noted some folks have been hung up on by operators who assumed they were prank callers." Read more from The City newspaper here.

The UK prison system "fails" a deaf inmate

Tyrone Givans, who was profoundly deaf, killed himself while in a UK prison. His mother, Angela Augustin, told the Guardian, "Putting him in prison without hearing aids was like putting him in a hole in the ground." A jury found that "numerous systemic individual failures" led to his death. Read the entire story of what happened to Givans here.

Deaf doctoral student

Alexis Nye is deaf and working toward her Ph.D. in audiology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Born profoundly deaf, she was diagnosed at the age of six months. At the age of two years of age, she received her first cochlear implant and a second at age 16. Read more about her from the News & Record here or watch a video report about her from last year.

The History of Deaf Communities in Canada

Inuit Sign Language "has been an important part of the Inuit linguistic landscape." The Link newspaper takes a brief look at it here.

Recognizing ASL in Nebraska

A state lawmaker in Nebraska wants ASL to be legally recognized as a language. There are only five states that don't do so and Nebraska is one of them. State Senator Anna Wishart is trying to change that with bill LB839. You can read the bill here.