Deaf Awareness Week

So, this is going to be my final blog for this class. I have enjoyed doing deaf community blogs tremendously! If after all of this blogs makes you thirst for more information on the deaf community, I recommend that you check out Deaf Awareness Week.
Deaf Awareness Week (DAW) is the last full week (Sunday through Saturday) of September, in commemoration of the first World Congress of the Deaf held that week in 1951. However, Deaf Awareness events can be held at anytime of the year. For example, a school may hold a Deaf Festival in April to provide the students, faculty and staff several months of preparation; or a library may have a Deaf Awareness exhibit in December in honor of the birth of Laurent Clerc (Dec. 26, 1785) and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (Dec. 10, 1787).

Events
Deaf Awareness events range from an exhibit in the corridor of a school to a full week of events scheduled throughout a city. Performing artists, lectures, art exhibits, film festivals, historical exhibits, Deaf Festivals, booths in area shopping malls, deaf awareness programs held in conjunction with sporting events -- these are just a sampling of past events held across the nation. Keep your eyes open for events happening in your community.

Objectives

• To be able to differentiate between misconception and fact about deafness and deaf culture.


• To understand the differences in the attitudinal approaches to deafness by the hearing public and deaf people themselves.


• To learn about types, degrees, and causes of hearing loss and other audiological information.


• To become familiar with terminology related to deafness.


• To become familiar with various forms of sign language and other communication means.


• To understand the functions of assistive devices used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.


• To better understand an interpreter's role.


• To learn about the types of educational programs and support services that are available to deaf persons.


• To gain an understanding of the psychosocial aspects of deafness.


• To become familiar with the services and resources that are available to the deaf community.


• To learn relevant tips for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people.


• To have a better understanding of deaf culture.


• To recognize that "Deaf People Can Do Anything Except Hear!" (I. King Jordan)
  

So, for this year, in Boston area, there are events happening at Holy Cross College, in Worcester, MA.

Click on link for more information: http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2004-2005/asl_week

In Rochester, NY: http://rdaw.rochesterdeafclub.com/
In NJ, http://www.njdaw.org/
In Washington DC: http://www.njdaw.org/

However, if you are nowhere near those areas, and are interested in attending one in your local community, please leave a comment and I will get back to you on where you can go in your area!

Companies that are involved with Deaf Community Media

There has been and continues to be a crucial need to bridge these divides that cut off deaf community from hearing community. There is, in a sense, a need to make the Deaf world hearing and the hearing world Deaf. Companies who are involved with both hearing and deaf communities are founded to build those bridges, to make those connections between communities, and to advocate for those who need a voice.

Established in 1974, DEAF Media, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advocating for Deaf arts and to developing cultural, educational, and professional opportunities for the Deaf community. Through its arts-oriented mission, DEAF Media promotes the general public’s awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of Deaf people.

Their Mission: "We accomplish our mission with a commitment to excellence through community events, school projects, television and live theater productions, and special programs done in partnership with Bay Area cultural institutions. We also offer broad consultancy and technical assistance in the field of deafness, particularly with regard to the arts and communication."

For 33 years, DEAF Media has worked to secure recognition of the arts, culture and language of Deaf America--and, to provide meaningful access and participation for the Deaf community to Bay Area cultural institutions.Here are just some of their accomplishments:

• 3 Emmy Awards for pioneering television work serving the Deaf community


• 6 DEAF Media Salons with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts


• 8 Annual Deaf Showcases at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts


• 8 Productions of Celebration: Deaf Artists and Performers, the first continuing festival of Deaf artists and performers


• 8 Episodes of Rainbow's End (KQED-PBS) the first and only national TV series for Deaf children


• 8 Additional television productions


• 21 DEAF Media productions featuring Deaf Artists and storytellers as part of Oakland Museum festivals


• 12 Professional gallery exhibitions for Deaf artists


• 18 Feasts for the Eyes celebrating ASL storytelling


• 22 Professional development workshops for Deaf artists


• 25 Additional live productions of Deaf presentations


• 60 DEAF Media family programs with Deaf Artists at the Oakland Museum of California


• 77 Deaf Docents Tours of the Bay Area arts museums


• 78 Percent Deaf majority Board


• 133 Episodes of Silent Perspectives (KCSM-PBS), the first TV talk show of, by, and for the Deaf


• 328 Deaf-centered co productions with Bay Area arts and education partners


• 611 Weeks of Dial a News, the nations first TTY Community Bulletin Board


• 60,700 plus, Deaf and hearing students, teachers and parents enlightened by the Deaf storytellers of the DEAN project and Project Story


• 62,048 reasons to support DEAF Media's continuing work

Another company, DeafVision, is a Deaf minority owned and operated web hosting and development company. A legal corporation, DeafVision was founded in 1997 and is based in San Francisco, California, with clients across the globe. A socially responsible company that believes in giving back to the community, DeafVision often performs pro bono design and consulting work for Deaf nonprofits. In 1997 DeafVision established a free Nonprofit Web Hosting Program to assist more nonprofits in making their home on the web. Each year, DeafVision donates more than $5,000 of in-kind services to various nonprofits.

It is amazing how the those companies are dedicated to make the deaf's "voice" be heard a little bit louder through the companies. Without the companies assisting the deaf, the deaf's voice would not be heard as well.

Reading to Keep Up in the Deaf/HOH Community

Like any community the deaf and hard of hearing community has (and had) its own publications. There are both independent publications and publications put out by various organizations of the deaf and hard of hearing.

Newspapers
Not too long after the death of the Silent News, a new deaf newspaper began: SIGNews.

Magazines

Deaf Life magazine was published from 1988 until 1998, then went on hiatus for several years. It returned in January 2007 with a cover story on the Gallaudet Protest of fall 2006.

Kids and teens had and have their own publications. First, there is the venerable World Around You. Plus, students around the world can enjoy Deaf Friends International, an online magazine with stories and art published in multiple languages. Deaf Friends International publishes both a senior edition with stories from adults, and a junior edition with stories from teens.

Gallaudet University publishes Gallaudet Today, a magazine that not only focuses on Gallaudet alumni but also carries stories about the deaf community.

Deaf Studies

For the deaf studies community, there is American Annals of the Deaf, which has been around since before the Civil War ended, and the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, a scholarly journal with a mix of articles on deaf culture and academically-focused interests.

Sign Language
A publication that is focused on sign language but also carries deaf culture articles, is Sign Language Studies from Gallaudet University Press. SLS carries articles on sign language internationally, as well as deaf culture articles.

The main newspaper of the deaf press, covering national and international news was Silent News. Even though the Silent News was well-known, many people had shared their copies, meaning that relatively few actually subscribed! This made it difficult for the Silent News and other deaf newspapers, to survive. In addition, because online news services have taken over the task of disseminating daily and weekly news, the Silent News in later years shifted from a current news focus to more of a feature focus, with more staff-written articles. The Silent News ceased publication in the early 2000s.

The second short-lived newspaper, Newswaves, had temporarily suspended publication but resumed in January 2002 before suspending publication again. In the late '90s, there was another short-lived deaf newspaper, DeafNation.

Silent Network - A Deaf Cable Channel

I came across this great article that I want to share with you!
http://deafness.about.com/cs/featurearticles/a/silentnetwork.htm

It is about a history of a Silent Network, a deaf cable channel were created for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community who hungered for TV programming that they could understand and enjoy. (This was before the advent of closed captioning.) But unfortunately for the creator of the channel got burned out and the Silent Network went away. However, the producer is now in the process of creating a NEW deaf television network, to be called "Sign City Television." (The name depicts a mythical city in which everyone knows sign language).

The producer brought up a great point when he quoted, "The African American community, with a population in the U.S. of approximately 19 million, has BET (Black Entertainment Network). The Hispanic community, with over 22 million population, has two major Spanish-language networks. There's a network for Koreans, Russians, French, Italians, Chinese and Japanese -- but what's out there for the deaf community? NOTHING."

The deaf or hard-of-hearing population is estimated by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to their 1990 and 1991 Health Interview Surveys, approximately 20 million persons, or 8.6 percent of the total U.S. population. It is interesting how there are channels for the minority, whereas there isn't one for the deaf and hard of hearing population.

Community Radio for the Deaf

Yes, those who are deaf or hard of hearing can't really use community radio. However, I was curious to know if any of the community radios actually have a transcripts for those who needs them. I came across this great site: http://www.ohsoez.com/deafnews.htm which holds all articles or news happening in the world that involves deaf community. I came across this article:
WAMU 88.5’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show to feature new Gallaudet University president
Real-time captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing available during broadcast which I thought was pretty cool but I didn't like the fact it was one time only for real time captioning. So I went to WAMU site to see if they have transcript and I have to say, I was incredibly impressed by how they are dedicated to their listeners and to the community as well. So, I found a section where they do transcripts and I find out they do transcript for 9 programs but it comes with a fee.
The site quoted: "Providing text transcripts is an important public service and is a way to extend the value of the programming we produce. Because turning our audio programs into text transcripts is a very labor-intensive process, we use a professional transcription service and incur significant expense to do so. To cover the cost of having our shows transcribed - and to enable us to continue to provide transcripts of NPR programs and stories -- we must charge a fee. All of the fees collected go toward covering the cost of transcription."

However, it offer free transcripts to hearing impaired individuals.
If you are hearing impaired and would like to request a transcript of an NPR story or program, please contact NPR Services at 202-513-3232 through a relay operator. NPR will send you the requested transcript via e-mail. You will need the following information:
The subject of the program segment you are looking for
The name of the program during which the segment aired
The date of the program during which the segment aired
Your first and last name
Your phone number
Your e-mail address

Wow, I was blown away by that and I would love to see other community radio stations copying those ideas to do so for those who wishes to have a transcript. I am aware it is VERY expensive to have transcripts but if the stations ask for funds and for subscriptions, I am sure many would be happy to fund, especially if it will reach more people than ever. (Estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation indicate that fewer than 1 in 20 Americans are currently deaf or hard of hearing. In round numbers, nearly 10,000,000 persons are hard of hearing and close to 1,000,000 are functionally deaf.) With those transcripts available, it has the ability to reach to 11 millions more people.

Deaf Blogs

Deaf blogs are another great example of getting their voice heard to both deaf and the hearing world. There are literally hundreds of deaf blogs out there in the great world of internet.

I absolutely love blogs because really in those blogs, you really can get everything off your chest and tell it as it is without really offending people. It is a great therapy tool as well as learning tool!

I came across this amazing deaf blog RuDeafAware. The purpose of the blogs to learn personal view in RuDeafAware, Deaf Issues, Deaf History, Deaf Culture, Deaf Awareness, BSL(British Sign Language) in public places plus more. The hearing people gets to learn what is it like to be deaf/hard of hearing and are given advice on what to do when they encounter with them. My personal favorite post from this site happens to be this: http://www.rudeafaware.co.uk/blog/?m=200803 because it tells the reader what the deaf/hard of hearing people have to deal with on a daily basis. And other deaf people can read this, feeling a bit better about not feeling like the only person with this issue.

Another great blog would be http://deafarticles.blogspot.com/

It has all articles about the deaf, and whenever I read the deaf articles, I also learn something about the deaf and myself despite being deaf all these years. I love this blog site because the author finds all the deaf articles and post them on her blogs to share with other deaf people as well as the hearing people.

I never have read blogs before and I have heard about it, but never looked into it before this year. What is very interesting is that the main reason why I didn't look at blogs were they were portrayed in a negative way on the mass media. Mass media would talk about how blogging can hurt your life, especially when it comes to your career and I believed it 100% but now, that may be true to some aspect, but it can be absolutely wonderful because anyone can make their voice heard and have others learn and give respect for their views of the world and of themselves as a human being.

More on Public Access...

This morning, on the train, I was thinking about my blogs, and I was thinking how a community doesn't have to be in a "physical" state, and I automatically apply that to the Deaf Community, since there isn't a geographical area where a large number of deaf people reside. But then, I realized that I never really looked that up, so when I got to work this morning, I did a little research on that. I realized that I was wrong! It may not be entire town, but rather portion of the region.

In this case, this would be the Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University, the world's only university in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students, was founded in 1864 by an Act of Congress, and its charter was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Gallaudet University is a bilingual community in which American Sign Language (ASL) and English exist side-by-side. While there are no specific ASL requirements for undergraduates, many graduate programs have sign language proficiency requirements. Gallaudet University is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students. The University enjoys an international reputation for the outstanding graduate programs it provides deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, as well as for the quality of the research it conducts on the history, language, culture, and other topics related to deaf people.


So many deaf people attend Gallaudet, and from there, they develop their own physical community comprised of the Deaf and those who speak ASL. Out of this, they created their own shows all about Gallaudet community, what is happening there such as:

2007 Graduation :
Undergraduate Speaker Class of 2007
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

learning about ASL:
Celebrating ASL! http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

Or community contribution:
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

Or even about their career and how they deal with it especially with being deaf:
http://videolibrary.gallaudet.edu/scripts/WebObjects.dll/tsweb.woa/1/wo/Yl9ltbFiLu3OuD26v8Wzp0/0.13.3?1214412552059

The list is endless, and it is marvelous how they overcame all obstacles to make public access accessible to all, especially to the deaf. I have been enjoying those videos and makes me want to move to Gallaudet, so I never have to worry about missing out anything!