Deaf Singer

A Colorado jazz singer is completely deaf. Mandy Harvey of Fort Collins has been singing since the age of four. During her first year of studying music at Colorado State University, Harvey began losing her hearing. Eventually, hearing aids didn't help. After a year away from music, she decided to try singing again - only this time by watching piano keys and sings the notes from memory without the benefit of hearing. She's able to stay in pitch because of muscle memory that was developed over the years. She now has an album available called Smile. Read more about the album and Mandy Harvey here.

Parish Terp

The Catholic News Agency profiles a sign language interpreter who works in Cincinnati parishes. Read the story here.

A Show of Hands

A Christmas concert will be offered in sign language Tuesday night at the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. You can find out more about A Show of Hands here.

Hamill: I Didn't Win

Matt Hamill admits he didn't win his Ultimate Fighter match this past weekend against Jon Jones. The ref disqualified Jones for using illegal elbow strikes. He has now filed an appeal, asking the verdict to be overturned. Hamill, who is deaf, graciously writes this on his personal website:

"I give all the credit to Jon Jones. He caught me by surprise with an awesome trip and I dislocated my shoulder when we hit the ground. I knew it was probably over at that point but I will die before I tap so I did the best I could under the circumstances. We train to wind up in bad positions and it paid off because I felt I was still able to defend even though I knew I couldn’t get up. Jon’s young and full of so much talent. He definitely didn’t lose this fight and I definitely didn’t win, but I guess the rules are there for a reason."

Read more here.

Enhanced 911

Jackson, Mississippi is enhancing its 911 system to help callers with hearing loss. The new emgergy system adjustments will also cut down on response time for anyone calling from a cell phone. The next goal is to change the system so that callers can text their 911 emergencies.

Spelling Bee

The annual Illinois statewide Deaf Finger-Spelling Bee takes place today. It's the 13th year for the competition. The Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission is hosting the event where students use sign language to spell the words. They are divided into two groups: 5th and 6th graders will compete against each other while 7th and 8th graders make up the other group. Read more about it here.

Athlete of the Week

The center for the basketball team at the Scranton School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is profiled by the The Scranton Times in this article about athlete of the week, Doug Persing.

Major Leaguer At Gallaudet

One year ago.. Gallaudet University got itself a new baseball coach. Former major leaguer Curtis Pride took the job. He was the first full-season deaf player in the major leagues. Pride was born deaf and learned to lip read, though he’s picking up ASL from the players. Pride says his goal is teaching, not just the fundamentals of baseball but the fundamentals of life.

Fight Appealed

Matt Hamill's victory at last weekend's finale of The Ultimate Fighter is being appealed. Jon Jones lost the fight after being disqualified for using illegal elbow strikes. Jones has now filed an appeal with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, asking them to change the verdict. Jones and his management say the referee shouldn't have stopped the fight because a previously dislocated shoulder from a leg trip takedown earlier in the fight was to blame for Hamill's inability to continue and not the elbows. Jones' people say Hamill wasn't able to communcate the problem to the ref at first because of his hearing impairment and that a sign language interpreter should have been brought in at this point. Jones was undefeated going into the fight.

Captioning on Broadway

The first Broadway play to offer the I-Caption system will be the New York revival of The Miracle Worker which tells the story of Helen Keller. The service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members will be free of charge at every performance. I-Caption is an automated hand-held captioning system that displays the texts of the entire show as it's performed, including lyrics, announcements and show information.

Miracle Worker Casting

A ten-year-old actress from Eugene, Oregon will be the understudy in the Broadway revival of The Miracle Worker for the role of Helen Keller which is being played by Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). Kyra Ynez Siegel has vision loss in one of her eyes and has performed often in her hometown but this will be her Broadway debut. There have been protests from deaf advocates and crtics that no deaf or blind actress was sought to fill the role.

Glee's Deaf Choir

Fox's musical comedy-drama Glee ended its season last night with what many on the internet are calling an inapropriate jab at deaf children. In the plot, a choir from the fictional Haverbrook School for the Deaf steals the best songs of the Glee cast members just before they have to take the stage. Not only are the deaf students portrayed as cheaters, the deaf choir can be heard screeching an atonal version of the song Don't Stop Believin'. The choir isn't shown but we are told they signed the lyrics as well. When accused of cheating, the deaf teacher retorts, "What we have here, is a case of deaf racism." The video for the episode is here.

Family Statement

The family of the Gallaudet student killed in a wrong way crash in Atlanta issued this statement.

Teen Locked in School & Attacked

A 16-year-old deaf girl was accidentally locked in her high school in St. Paul, Minnesota where she spent the night alone - until she was attacked by a police dog in . You can watch a report from KMSP-TV or read the text of the story here.

The Gift of Hearing

An Austin-area hearing healthcare provider is offering free hearing aids for a winning 400-word essay. Estes Audiology Hearing Center in New Braunfels, Texas is accepting nominations until Monday. The essay must describe someone and how hearing aids would impact their life. Two winners will be selected not just on the basis of financial need, but also on the opportunity to impact the recipient’s life and lives of others. Recipients will be notified later in the week. The holiday giveaway program is called The Gift of Hearing. For more information click here.

Video About Wrong Way Crash

Here's a video report on the head on collision that killed a Gallaudet student in Atlanta. Read the story here.

Student Killed in Wrong Way Collision

A Gallaudet University student was killed by a wrong way driver early yesterday morning on Interstate 75 in Atlanta. According to police, Theus Monroe was driving drunk on the northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 75 when he plowed into Jasmine Jahan Zachery's car head-on at more than 100 miles an hour. It was Monroe's birthday. Zachery was a 4th-year Psychology major. When her family learned she was deaf at a young age, they all learned sign language. A family spokesman says they are praying for Monroe, who survived the accident with severe head injuries is facing charges.

Accessible Stadium

The new Minnesota Twins stadium will be one of the nation’s most accessible stadiums in the country, according to disability advocates. Among the features at Target Field: outfield captioning boards and special hearing devices at ticket windows that will connect to hearing aids. The stadium is due to be completed by March.

Megan's Story

A lengthy account of a 13-year-old who recieved a cochlear implant in 2002 and what's happened to her since - including graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine with a degree in medical genetics. Read Megan's story here.

ASL Online Dictionary

There is a new children’s animated dictionary of American Sign Language. The project is the work of the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf and marblemedia. Deaf children can look up words in their own primary language of ASL along with the English counterpart. Check it out here.