VIDEO: Deaf News - Austin, Texas A Top City For Deaf-Owned Businesses.
KXAN AUSTIN - The number of Deaf-owned businesses in the country is growing, and Austin is leading the pack.
Convo, a Deaf-owned telecommunications provider, reports there are more than 200 Deaf-owned businesses in the country, and counting. In the Austin-area there are 30 Deaf-owned businesses.
One of them is Silent Automotive, an auto shop that provides services to both Deaf and Hearing customers. The owners pride themselves on integrity, honesty and quality of service.
“Sound is caused by vibrations, sound doesn’t come out of its own. So we go to the car and feel the vibrations,” said part-owner, Joel DeChristofaro. “We have to be hands on and find exactly where the sound is coming from. Does take a little more time I assume, but I feel it gives us a clearer picture of what happens with the car.” Danny Blalock first started the business back in 2008.
“Because of communication. A lot of my [Deaf] friends have had bad experiences at auto shops, they felt they were getting ripped off,” said Blalock. “Our goal for our business is to keep growing; we’d like to hire more mechanics, Deaf mechanics, to give them opportunity to grow their resume.”
Blalock says the Deaf community continues to grow in Austin, Texas and is becoming more friendly for the Deaf community. Source
VIDEO [CC] - Exclusive: Chris Wagner, president of National Association of the Deaf's board of directors, to resign from his position immediately!
This petition is to demand for Chris Wagner, president of the board of directors with National Association of the Deaf (NAD), to resign from his position since his views & special interests doesn’t align with the NAD’s mission statement along with the Deaf Civil Rights. Sign up petition HERE.
If Chris Wagner refuses to resign, with your support by signing this petition, we as the Deaf community of United States of America will demand for the NAD’s board of directors to take action against Chris Wagner and impeach him from his position. We need a leader who will support Deaf Civil Rights and take a stand against Deaf Schools, being dominated by audists who refused to respect Deaf children’s rights to education with American Sign Language.
Ever since the Hunger Strike started against Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) for oppressing against Deaf people and taking away ASL from the rights of Deaf children, Chris Wagner has made it clear that he’s supporting Donald E. Rhoten, the superintendent of WPSD, over the Deaf community, which is a conflict of interest with NAD’s mission statement.
We have suffered oppression for over 200 years. We have had enough! Now is the time to stand up and make sure our voices are heard with support from NAD to empower the Deaf community and enable Deaf people with greater access to employment, to preserve ASL as a primary language for the Deaf children. The NAD needs to work with the Deaf community, not against itself, like Lincoln said, “A divided house cannot stand!” Sign up petition HERE.
NAD President Asks Community to Become Unified - National Association of the Deaf (NAD) President Chris Wagner asks the community to stop attacking each other and to work together.
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Chris Wagner's description and transcript: This is probably one of the most difficult messages that I have ever had to give. It is evident that the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community is not unified, with all the different individuals and groups making strong comments against each other. There have been bullying incidents on social media as well. This breaks my heart. This kind of hostility is what gives hearing parents concerns about sending their children to a Deaf School.
We all know that these schools are the heart of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Though I didn’t go to a Deaf school myself, I discovered my Deaf identity and American Sign Language through my journey as I became an adult. I know that Deaf schools are important. It is true, I envy people who grew up attending a Deaf school. And I am convinced that we must focus our energy on supporting these Deaf schools... Read More: https://youtu.be/oLBUT0xMVmY
If some of you not agreed with Chris Wagner's statement, then sign up petition HERE.
Deaf News: Starbucks sued for allegedly discriminating against Deaf staff.
PHOENIX, AZ - The American Genius: Having a product that is in demand is vital, but maintaining quality help is the very bedrock of successful companies. A business, even the most reputable one, cannot make an impact without respectable, pleasant and reliable employees.
Regulars get used to seeing helpful, friendly faces and before you know it, instead of merely stopping by a coffee shop to grab your favorite cup of joe, a connection is made. Patrons become invested in the success of the company because they’re invested in the relationships they’ve fostered with the staff.
And so the cycle begins.
This is the type of emotional correlation that breeds success, but these connections can only occur when employees are valued and supplied the proper modifications at work. With that being said, shame on you, Starbucks.
Obviously, most of the adult world couldn’t function without their java, but that doesn’t give companies like Starbucks a pass on providing disabled employees proper accommodations.
Laura Roberts, a Starbucks employee for seven years, has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks. She claims that the store fired her in retaliation after she repeatedly asked for American Sign Language (ASL) accommodates.
Roberts, who has been Deaf since infancy, requested interpreters during staff and training meetings on various occasions.
She can read, and during her employment relied on a printed schedule for her hours. She also utilized her ability to lip-read in order to serve customers.
VIDEO [CC] 'Phenomenal Woman' by Maya Angelou - ASL translated by Black Deaf Women.
Hello y’all! Let you know that we will have phenomenal Black Deaf women signing a poem, written by a famous African Americans women with English subtitles.
About America’s Next Top Model - Cycle 22 of America’s Next Top Model, hosted by Tyra Banks, will feature the third “Guys and Girls” edition. Selected men and women living under one roof will battle it out to earn the prestigious title of America’s Next Top Model.
Deaf News: Cut down a popular 200-year-old oak tree at the Alabama childhood home of Helen Keller.
TUSCUMBIA - Section by section, the sprawling water oak plummeted Monday onto the grounds of Ivy Green at the hands of a whirring chainsaw.
Sue Pilkilton, executive director of Ivy Green, the birthplace of Helen Keller, watched the tree’s presence in the front yard dwindle.
“Isn’t that the saddest thing?” Pilkilton lamented. “We have tried for years to save that tree.”
Having stood for more than 200 years, the tree had particular significance in Keller’s young life. She enjoyed climbing it as a child, and once became stranded there in the midst of a storm until her teacher, Anne Sullivan, came to her rescue, Pilkilton said.
“Miss Sullivan had to climb up there and get her,” she said.
Members of the board that oversees the historic tourist attraction had no alternative but to order the tree removed. A look inside its trunk revealed why. It was hollowed from years of decay and insect infestation.
In 1992, 2500 people from all over the United States and the world attended the 10th anniversary of World Deaf Timberfest, the highest in its 33 years history. Welcome to the 33rd World Deaf Timberfest!
Entirely filmed with the DJI Phantom 3 professional drone piloted by William R. Dodd.
Deaf News: A swimmer from Colorado made local history being the first Deaf woman to complete the Anacapa Island Channel swim.
SANTA BARBARA - Micki Poole, a 50-year-old Deaf competitive swimmer from Greeley, Colorado completed the swim on September 12th in 7 hours, 2 minutes off the Santa Barbara coast. Poole became the first Deaf person to finish the 12.4 mile feat.
The channel is a challenge for all types of swimmers. The water is cold and choppy with strong currents, not to mention the predatory fish lingering about. Plus there are a host of rules making it even hard, one being the use of a wetsuit is prohibited.
"Typically five people attempt this swim every year, and half of them make it", said the president of the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association, Scott Zornig. Poole will be recognized for her accomplishment at the club's banquet in November.
"Channel swimmers typically have their coach on a boat telling them what to do, when to take breaks, and most importantly to encourage the swimmer... Read more: http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=158763
Deaf News: The world-premiere play “Sound” explores the controversy over cochlear implants for the Deaf.
SEATTLE TIMES - To hear? To speak? To sign? Those are the questions.
Deaf children in America are eligible for a procedure that can significantly expand their ability to hear. It is a cochlear implant, and rather than amplify sounds like hearing aids do, it works by directly stimulating the auditory nerve in the brain.
By 2012, about 96,000 adults and children in the U.S. alone had undergone the procedure.
Yet while many have hailed it as a breakthrough that not only can turn up the volume but also help Deaf children develop speech, not everyone is cheering.
“There are a lot of emotional feelings about CIs (cochlear implants) in the Deaf community,” explained Howie Seago, a Deaf Tacoma-bred theater artist and co-director of the new play “Sound,” which debuts this week at ACT Theatre.
“Many Deaf people feel that the doctors and other ‘professionals’ in the field of deafness consider us ‘defective’ and need to be fixed,” Seago commented by email.
“They stress this ad nauseam to the parents and do not fully educate them as to the range of communications options available. They almost always leave out the benefits of using sign language with their Deaf child.”
The conflict over whether children in particular need the device intrigued Seago’s co-director, Desdemona Chiang, when she read an early draft of hearing playwright Don Nguyen’s drama, “Sound.” It portrays the heated dispute between a Deaf father and his non-Deaf ex-wife over whether to try to restore their daughter’s hearing with CIs... Read more: http://seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/cochlear-controversy-dramatized-in-sound/
Many Deaf people have not been able to obtain a job due to lack of accessiblity in communication. Fighting to get equality for the Deaf community's rights to have better access to education, and communication accessibility. The Deaf community protection act bill proposal in the United States.
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Dear Mr. President,
I’m proud to be a Deaf American. I appreciate your choosing a Deaf woman to be the first person who greets a visitor to the White House... Sign up open letter Here.
Campaign: Deaf Protest 2015 - Petitioning President Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON - Deaf Protest 2015 wishes your participation in making bill into law. We will unshelf the 2012 bill intended for disabled including Deaf and move on with the progress. Sign up petition HERE.
It is the time and opportunity to stand together at the front of the White House, that everything is not okay. Education, oppression, effective communication, segregation, harassment of disability, American Disability Priority Employment, Deaf Community Protection Act Bill proposal and more... Read more: https://www.change.org/p/adam-stoffer-deaf-protest-2015
VIDEO: Audism Free America will be attending and support the Deaf Protest rally at the White House in Washington, District of Columbia.
Audism Free America (AFA) inspired and support Deaf Protest event on September 5th and 6th at the White House in Washington DC. AFA also share about our next rallies on October 15-17th to challenge cochlear implant alliances - Audism. Let Freedom Roll!
This is an explanation on the base of erroneous information on the percentage of Deaf unemployment. Reading and understanding statistics are complicated. It's imperative to be critic of any research or papers with numbers: 2014 Disability Statistics Annual Report.
Gallaudet Report - There are some statistics investigating the employment rate of working-age individuals with hearing loss in the United States. The statistics for 2013 are made available in the Disability Statistics Compendium, specifically Table 2.3. The data within Table 2.3 is based on data from the 2012 American Community Survey from the Census Bureau.
Deaf communities are ignored by government and Deaf unemployment is very high. The percent of unemployment (80%) seems closer to accurate for anyone who born Deaf but it should be lower as 70%.
Deaf unemployment is very complicated - they don't count anyone who born Deaf or HoH that goes through the Deaf Education, but late deafened with full oral language have better chance to getting hired, especially if they have very good benefit with cochlear implants or hearing aids and don't use VR service.
Deaf protest to rally the front of White House and the President Barack Obama will heard us the DEAF people that stand and shout "WE WANT JOBS!"
Please mark on your calendar to remind the date - Sept. 5th and 6th 2015, and it will be at the White House in Washington DC. No time to waiting delaying waste of time long years, Deaf and HoH people has been ignored and skyrocketing to 75 % Unemployment. It's Very important share to people want to know about the protest. "Deaf Employments were worse than Hearing people why? because is still Discriminating... Read more: ASL - White House
VIDEO [ASL/CC] - America's Next Top Model's first ever Deaf contestant on why he refuses to let his disability hold him back.
LOS ANGELES - A model who is set to become the first ever Deaf person to compete in hit reality series America's Next Top Model has revealed why he refuses to let his disability stop him from reaching the top of the fashion industry.
Nyle DiMarco, 25, is set to feature on the upcoming 22nd season of the hit CW series, which was created by supermodel Tyra Banks. But while some might believe he is at a disadvantage when compared with his co-stars, the Washington-based model insists that his disability actually makes him all the more unique.
'I strongly believe that being Deaf gives me a huge advantage because of my native language, American Sign Language (ASL),' Nyle revealed to Washington Life.
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'ASL requires the use of facial expressions and body language expressions. With the rules of ASL immersed into my soul, it helps to bring out stories when I'm modeling for a photo, and makes for an interesting character when I'm acting.'
And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the fact that Nyle is Deaf certainly isn't the first thing that people notice about the budding model, who was contacted by the producers of America's Next Top Model after they saw him guest-starring in hit sitcom ‘Switched at Birth’.
'The show found me through my accounts on social media and models.com, which is where I showcase my work,' Nyle explained.
'Honestly, America's Next Top Model wasn’t something that I had ever really thought about doing before but when I spoke with casting, I thought, “why not!” The rest is history.'
About America’s Next Top Model - Cycle 22 of America’s Next Top Model, hosted by Tyra Banks, will feature the third “Guys and Girls” edition. Selected men and women living under one roof will battle it out to earn the prestigious title of America’s Next Top Model.
