Yes, it seems that the nation was suddenly interested in Sign Language translation (some by interest, some by mocking) of Lydia Callis as she translated NY City Mayor Bloomburg’s warnings from English into American Sign Language.

I’d first like to point out the lack of applause for NYC providing equal access to the Deaf community in NYC.

That aside, many might be very interested to read this interview that aired on NPR weeks after the storm. In this interview, discussed are the importance of the non-manual signals that Ms. Callis provided as well as ‘accents’ in American Sign Language.

In New Hampshire, back in 2010, four-year-old Anthony Smith was hearing-impaired and using a hearing-aide in his daily life. They referred to it as his ‘Blue Ear’. However, little Anthony insisted that Superheros didn’t have hearing aids.

Step Up: Marvel Comics.

[Marvel Comics] dispatched one of their cartoonists to draw a brand-new superhero: Anthony himself, otherwise known as “The Blue Ear.”

“Thanks to my listening device, I hear someone in trouble,” Blue Ear says in the drawing. Comic book-letters declare: “When DANGER makes a sound, The Blue Ear answers the call.”

D’Allesandro said Anthony was transfixed by the drawing. He brought it to show his classmates at his school for the hearing-impaired. The only problem? Now all the kids want their hearing aids to look like Blue Ear’s.

Yes, my faith in humanity is now restored.

1. Spanish
2. French
3. German
4. American Sign Language (ASL)

AKA:

Ever wanted to go to a surf camp? What about a Deaf Surf Camp?!?! And by ‘Deaf’ I mean the entire Deaf culture (Deaf, HoH, Coda, etc).

It’s happening in, of all places, Costa Rica! That’s right…This May, you can attend a week-long Surf Camp in beautiful Costa Rica.

Apparently it’s not JUST all about surfing…

We didn’t spend the whole time surfing. There was time for lots of other activities, zip lining, snorkeling, horseback riding, massages, swimming, yoga, and eating! The food was delicious and always freshly prepared. All the staff involved with the camp were so much fun and went above and beyond to make sure that this was the trip of a lifetime.

They have a Facebook Page set up so go check it out. Seems fairly affordable but most importantly a great excursion among ‘friends’.

‘Hang 10′ and let me know how well you did when you return to the mainland! Oh how I wish I could go!

Keith Wann is a popular comedian in the Deaf community. He is a CODA (child of deaf adults). Keith has a 4-year-old son named Douglass. They are family friends and renowned ASL story-teller Peter Cook. Douglass asked Cook to create an ASL story about him and NASA. Here’s the story:

Not to be outdone, Wann’s two-year-old asked for a story for herself but from a family friend, Wink.

Before you watch the video, here’s a bit of what it’s about (taken from the YouTube description)…

Published on Dec 5, 2012
Over the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in ensuring that families have access to hearing screening when a baby is born. Approximately 95% of babies now receive a hearing screen shortly after birth. Now, greater emphasis must be placed on training early childhood education and health care providers.

Dr. Karl R. White is a Professor of Psychology at Utah State University and the founding Director of the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM). Dr. White is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on early identification and treatment of hearing loss in infants and young children.

The video is about 18 minutes long — and I’m sure this will be controversial among the readers here. That’s fine with me. Enable CC on the video if you like. In addition, I’ve provided screen grabs of a few of the slides that Dr. White uses.

Please share your thoughts below but I have a few ground rules: 1) Treat Dr. White with respect and extend the benefit of the doubt, and 2) do the same with other commenters. In other words: keep it civil, mature, and fair.

And…Go!

About 1 in 20 Americans have some sort of profound hearing loss. There is no denying that among all the people in this country who have hearing loss or are deaf, at least a portion of them have the opportunity to develop speech. Finding an accurate ratio of so called ‘oral successes‘ is difficult. However, it’s appropriate to say that there is a significant percentage of deaf individuals who will never become oral (to speak “properly”).

I once read, as an example how difficult it can be learn speech, to place your hand in front of your mouth and say “thank you” and “popcorn”. Notice the difference? It’s subtle, but it’s barely there.

With all that said, there is a portion of deaf and hard of hearing individuals who will be able to become oral (or who have become deafened later in life). However, for all involved it will take a long process through a discipline called ‘speech pathology‘:

Speech pathology is an important field that deals with various speech disorders and disabilities. A speech disorder is an impairment of voice and the articulation of speech sounds. Maintenance of fluency is often difficult, and conversation tasks can be both daunting and overwhelming. Those who suffer from a speech disorder often face obstacles like stuttering or a lisp. A speech pathologist helps in the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders. They study effective treatment plans and provide appropriate information to patients and their families.

I’m convinced that the lack of speech pathology has resulted in the degrading moniker “deaf and dumb”. One must realize not everyone can develop speech and it has NOTHING to do with their intelligence. For example, one can be an elite engineer while not being able to maintain audible speech. In addition, please don’t believe the ignorant, common misconceptions of the deaf.

So it was with honor that this site was selected as a top resource for speech pathologists according to Online Speech Pathology Programs. This website wants to equip people studying speech pathology (helping people with their speech) with all the resources they need including the realization that not all will achieve it — many will opt for communicating via Sign Language.

I applaud their holistic effort and am humbled to be included as a resource for a proper education of deafness and hearing loss.