Deaf News Today

Implant found in Tornado Rubble

2013-05-25T10:26:00.003-07:00

Moore Medical Center damage

A Oklahoma nurse found a cochlear implant that was scheduled to be given to an adopted girl in the rubble left by the deadly tornado that tore through the Tulsa suburb of Moore. Five-year-old Jayde Scholl was adopted last year by a doctor of audiology who works at the Scholl Center, a speech and hearing clinic located in Tulsa. Jayde was scheduled for her second implant surgery this past Monday, but the tornado interrupted those plans when the device was lost in what was left of the Moore Medical Center (see photo)--until a nurse located it. Thanks to the discovery, Jayde had her surgery yesterday at the Norman Healthplex. Below is a video report on Jayde's first implant surgery. No captions but you can read the story here.

Award for Starting Company to Help the Deaf

2013-05-24T19:43:00.002-07:00

Cheryl Cullen

A UK woman who works with the deaf has been recognized for her work by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Dynamics Change Ambassadors Awards. Cheryl Cullen was among the top five in the ‘No Boundaries’ category, with Anandha Ponnampalam of Sapient Global Markets winning the contest. Cullen was recognized by business the award started a company called Clarion Interpreting which provides BSL interpreting services and helps the deaf find employment. Clarion has found work for 250 people and permanent employment for 50 of them, which is equal to the industry average in the UK. Read more about the awards here.

Helen Keller film

2013-05-23T20:42:00.003-07:00

Watch a 3 minute video of Helen Keller from 1930 on DeafNewsToday.com.

Deaf woman rescues deaf dog

2013-05-23T10:25:00.002-07:00

New York's WGRZ-TV reports on a how an unwanted deaf dog found a deaf owner in Niagara Falls in this video report. No captions, but you can read the story here.

Theatre unveils new technology

2013-05-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

A loop system has been installed in a New York theater. Albany's WNYT-TV has a video report below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Teenager Gets USC Degree

2013-05-23T04:30:00.001-07:00

Faith Wallace graduates from USC today--at the age of 19. Her family discovered she was deaf at the age of two. Her family can't afford anything more than a single analog hearing aid. That didn't stop her from graduating from Covina High School in Convina, California at the age of 15. Now she's coming out of college with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in law. She hopes to attend UC Berkeley's graduate school for her Ph.D in psychology and eventually work with mentally ill prisoners.

Happy Birthday "Dummy" Hoy!

2013-05-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

It was on this day (May 23) in 1862 that William Ellsworth Hoy was born. "Dummy" Hoy played in the major leagues for 7 seasons, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Hoy lost his hearing as a child due to meningitis. He graduated from the Ohio State School for the Deaf as class valedictorian. He signed his first professional contract in 1886 and made the Major Leagues in 1888 where he played until 1902, Only five feet four inches, Hoy had a small strike zone. The first deaf player in the majors, Hoy had a .287 career batting average and more than 2,000 hits. An excellent base stealer, he swiped 549 bases. A standout center fielder, Hoy set a record in 1889 by throwing out three runners at home plate in a single game. He became a member of the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 2003. Because he couldn't hear the umpire calling the balls and strikes, Hoy is often credited with creating the hand signals that umps still use. However, a deaf pitcher named Ed "Dummy" Dundon used hand signals as early as 1883-84 and later in a game that he umpired in 1886. Also, early accounts of baseball signs do not credit Hoy with originating their use. However, he probably played a role in spreading their use because of his long career as a standout player. Hoy could read lips, but also used sign language, which he taught his teammates. He preferred the name Dummy and even corrected people who called him by his given name, William. He throw out the first pitch at the 1961 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds and died a few months later at the age of 99. In 2012 a play based on his life was performed in Oregon at the Pentacle. The Signal Season of Dummy Hoy was written by Allen Meyer and Michael Nowak a quarter of a century ago for Meyer’s deaf daughter.

Deaf couple loses everything in tornado

2013-05-22T21:54:00.002-07:00

The devastating tornados in Oklahoma left one couple with only what they could carry. KFOR-TV has this a video report.

Investigations and Board changes at state school

2013-05-22T21:12:00.003-07:00

While a state investigation is underway into the use of funds at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and Blind, along with a conflict of interest investigation, the governor appointed five new people to the board of directors today. Governor Jan Brewer allowed three of the previous members to remain on the board, so that in all, there are eight people serving on the board. The new members include:

Former dean of the Laurent Clerk National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University, Kathy Jankowski.

Pima Community College faculty member Taralynn Petrites--who leads the ASL and Interpreter Training program at the school.

Foundation for Blind Children former director of children’s service, Elaine Baldridge.

Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired executive director Michael Gordon.

Arizona Ear Center otologist Mark Syms.

Senior Readies for College

2013-05-22T08:20:00.005-07:00

Read about profoundly deaf teen's journey through her Arkansas high school here.

Technology Helping Deaf-Blind Teen Get Ahead

2013-05-20T15:21:00.003-07:00

The Kentucky Deaf-Blind Project is making a difference in the lives of students like Joseph Boggs. Find out how in a video report from WTVQ-TV posted below on DeafNewsToday.com (captions available).

Prom night

2013-05-20T12:28:00.002-07:00

Michigan School for the Deaf students explain how they planned their prom dance here.

ADA clarifications

2013-05-19T11:49:00.003-07:00

The EEOC is updating its guidance for understanding how ADA law applies to four types of medical conditions: cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had a Q and A guide posted about cancer here, diabetes here, epilepsy here, and intellectual disabilities here. These guides are designed to help employers understand how to address these conditions.

Rochester School sets Record

2013-05-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

A record number of students graduated from the NTID this year. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf gave out diplomas this weekend: 121 associate degrees, 27 master’s degrees in secondary education, 54 bachelor degrees in interpreting, and 212 bachelor or higher degrees in other colleges of RIT. Stephen Aldersley, NTID’s vice president for Academic Affairs, told students to "become a success and to receive an award, you must be smart, determined, creative, motivated and hungry. And you need to do these things every day, all throughout the quarter. I’m confident you will carry these characteristics with you throughout the world after you graduate.” The National Technical Institute for the Deaf is part of New York's Rochester Institute of Technology. You'll find a list of awards given to graduating students here.

The Secret is in the hands

2013-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

To best understand someone, don't look at their face, look at their hands. That's the finding of Stanford University researchers. Here's why: Michael Slepian and his team showed videos to volunteers from the World Series of Poker. Some videos showed player's faces, other clips showed their hands. Some clips showed chest, arms and head. The volunteers weren't very good at figuring out the quality of the player's hands when watching just the player's face. Their guesses improved when the player's could be seen from the waist up. But the best guesses came when the volunteers could see only the person's hands. Slepian speculates that people break their rhythm in body movements when anxious. While the researchers didn't look into how this might play out with sign language, their findings may suggest that signers could be more likely to spot anxiety and thus deception on the part of other people because of the awareness sign language users have of a speaker's hands and arms. Details of the Stanford study are in the journal Psychological Science.

Proposed Ohio law on hearing aids

2013-05-17T15:52:00.001-07:00

Ohio lawmakers heard testimony on a bill that would stop the sale of hearing aids online in the state unless the user first sees an audiologist. The bill is considered an effort at consumer protection by supporters. Republican Rex Damschroder of Fremont is sponsor of House Bill 109. The Ohio House Health and Aging Committee is hearing from medical professionals and consumers. Read more about the bill here.

Hoops Camp

2013-05-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

The 34th annual Mike Glenn basketball camp is set for June 16 to 22 in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur. His life was recently turned into a movie called Spirit of Love: The Mike Glenn Story. Players from around the country will gather for the week long event to sharpen their skills. It is a tribute to Charles Glenn, the first basketball coach at the Georgia School for the Deaf. For more information on the movie go here and for more information on the camp go here.

Deaf Mom Killed While Walking on Sidewalk

2013-05-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

An alleged drunk driver killed a deaf mother of 3 children in Montana early this morning. Roberta Demmert and her sister were walking on the sidewalk when Tom Vineyard hit them with his pickup, according to Missoula police. Vineyard's Ford Ranger truck flipped over from the impact. Police say his blood alcohol level was triple the legal limit. Roberta Demmert died at a local hospital while her sister, Pamela Demmert, is recovering from serious injuries. Demmert was only 39 years old. A judge set Vineyard's bail at $200,00. He faces more than 30 years behind bars if convicted and will appear in court again at the end of the month. You can see the court documents here.

NFL players at Deaf School

2013-05-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

Green Bay Packers players stop at Wisconsin School for the Deaf as part of the team's eighth annual Tailgate Tour. Find out what they told students here.

Program for deaf and hard-of-hearing may not have 3rd season

2013-05-16T10:26:00.003-07:00

Find out why a half-hour weekly TV show may not survive in this article from the Austin Chronicle.

Report on Fire that Killed Gally prof

2013-05-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

Fire investigators have completed their report on a fire that claimed the life of a Gallaudet professor and her daughter in Falls Church, Virginia. County fire officials say the January fire was definitely an accident and it was started by a wall mounted natural gas heater in the living room. Read more about the accident and Laura Gardner here.

Business Success in China

2013-05-16T09:52:00.002-07:00

A deaf couple from a town in East China run a successful business selling hand and footprint molds. Read the story here.

Visitors from the Philippines

2013-05-15T17:24:00.001-07:00

Deaf leaders from the Philippines visited the Rochester School for the Deaf Monday. WHEC-TV has a video report below (captions included).

Using Baseball to Raise Money for Implants

2013-05-15T10:02:00.002-07:00

A deaf Maryland man's fund-raising effort has made its way to Detroit. We told you about Jacob Landis's adventure back in April here. Landis is biking to every Major League Baseball park in the country. WJBK-TV sat down and spoke with him in the video posted below. No captioning but you can read the story here.

Fox 2 News Headlines

Free Films in Seattle

2013-05-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Two films will be shown Saturday afternoon (May 18) at the University of Washington in Kane Hall. The Deaf Spotlight & Seattle Disability Justice Collective is providing an interpreted group discussion. The documentary Audism Unvieled will be shown first. The film includes interviews with various deaf people about audism and the treatment of deaf people. The second, and shorter film, is The End. With a running time of less than 30 minutes, the film written and directed by Ted Evans follows four Deaf children over a span of 60 years.