Said Shelley Oishi, Sprint’s Business Development Manager (account manager for the state of Texas), “The Taste of Technology is a free event designed for consumers, educators, and general public interested in learning about current trends in technology. Every opinion voiced empowers the future shaping of technology.”

During the event, it became more apparent why I was there, it was to learn and see firsthand how technology has changed for the better benefiting Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people around the world, with the changes made with new technology introduced to us since barriers got torn down from the influence of the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement, resulting in laws being changed from 1989 on.

The “DPN protest heard ’round the world” provided a little push for technology to be invented for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people in the urgency for us to be able to function equally the way hearing people can, providing us equal accessibility.

Since Texas leads all relay efforts nationwide, this event made it all the more memorable for me to attend; they were the first on board the relay service bandwagon since the passage of the ADA.

After satisfying my taste buds eating the “Alto Buffet” luncheon, I put my fork down and watched intently as the speakers came on stage to give their presentations, they came from Sprint, Relay Texas, and Texas’ STAP program, panelists were featured, and the event discussed a wide range of relay services and technology for Deaf and Hard-of Hearing people.

For many years American Sign Language (ASL) is and was what kept the folklore of Deaf culture strong, but technology has indeed become a necessary resource for Deaf people from all walks of life to tap into, I experienced that firsthand getting videophone services, from the first TTY manufactured to the presently cool handheld gadget toys.

There are infinite possibilities, and you are about to be introduced to a definite possibility, an advanced stage of telephone technology for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people.

Deaf people want their loved ones to hear their voices on the phone without feeling like a fool because of uncertainty on whether their loved ones understood them on the phone; they are able to now because of the new technology available now.

But our language is ASL, so why even discuss a “moot point” over allowing our loved ones to hear us on the telephone without causing us to feel out of place?

That is where David B. Strom, the CapTel marketing manager and one of the featured speakers of the event, comes into the picture having helped change some perceptions of mine.

He introduced to the audience a special telephone feature for Deaf people, and for those of us wondering how that feature can help us, they are “CapTel phones,” which is a captioned telephone. There are several kinds, the WebCapTel (internet-based captioned telephone service), WebCapTel On The Go (mobile WebCapTel) and the new CapTel 800i phone.

The CapTel phone products and the services that come with them target specifically the hearing loss market, primarily those with hearing loss and inability to use sign language, or those with hearing loss and ability to speak and be understood by others.

Yes, a captioned telephone!

When we use the words “captioned,” what comes to mind first are televisions and DVDs that are captioned. But make a phone call to a loved one using a captioned telephone?

This is how it works:

CapTel displays word-for-word CAPTIONS of everything your loved ones say during your phone conversations. CapTel users place a call the same way we do on traditional phones that dial. Both parties communicate, one by voice, and the other by captions.

See, most Deaf people can only communicate by voice on the telephone with people they are used to doing the phone conversations with, and usually with only one to three words. CapTel makes it even more possible in addition to giving you the ability to understand their full response in captioned text.

Never mind, this doesn’t take away your ASL skills if you get a CapTel phone, or the beautiful signed cultural language that we live and die with. It just enables your loved ones to hear your voice, even a simple phrase such as “I love you, Son,” while getting an acknowledgement on the captioned response from the loved one that tells you that your “son” understood you clearly saying something so simple.

For what it is worth, as much some of us might feel silly to use our voices, it makes the loved ones happy to hear from us, at least. That is when we should try CapTel technology, and those that use the telephone by voice regularly to loved ones will love this new “CapTel” technology product that Sprint offers.

“Usually it works best for Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing people who are accustomed to functioning without making it totally a visual effort, some do use the verbal spoken languages with their hearing parents, hearing siblings, hearing relatives, and hearing co-workers,” said Strom. “But, it also can work for those who want their loved ones to hear their expressions.”

Now having registered with CapTel, all I need to do is log on, type the phone numbers and make the call.

With me being a native ASL signer, I will just call my son first through videophone to let him know what I am going to do, then call him through CapTel and tell him “You’re still my baby,” and then call him back through videophone and ask him what he thought of hearing my voice!

Seeing my son’s wide smile and wide eyes with his thumbs up is well worth the effort in making a CapTel call!

As long I keep it brief — for others, they can talk all day long if they want.

How has the economic downsides of the fallout affected you and your families?

Some families are safe because their jobs are not affected by the decline of United States economy, but on the other hand there are many families affected by government cuts, Deaf school closings, and an untold number of lost jobs.

We would like to know how the downsides of a declining economy has affected you. We know that those on Social Security benefits are not affected, but they will be 30 years down the road. Those currently working in jobs, or who have recently lost jobs, tell us about it.

Our focus is the fiscal year of 2009, and how the economy has affected all of us since all the foreclosures and mortgage dilemmas, the bank closures, the merges and takeovers, and watching the company executives clamoring for big pay days while the rest of us watch their company woes being spoon-fed by federal money.

Granted, we understand that executives demand the highest pay because of their work into bringing quality and success to the companies, especially at a time when bankruptcies are being filed as often as business permits are being issued.

With that being said, how does the economic perils of this country affect your finances, and your home? Do you feel your jobs are secure, or do you feel like it is turning into a hopeless dilemma?

Said Dan Manning Jr., a Deaf consumer in Northern California, “The current shaky economy depreciates my home equity value due to homes in my area being sold at cheaper prices and the rising costs of gasoline also affects me. Borrowing money is more difficult now.”

Added Manning Jr., “Despite the weakened economy, I will keep my faith, hope, and love.”

Is there a ray of hope at the end of tunnel of the economic journey we are about to take?

Carry on a debate in the comments, and please keep it clean!

Being Deaf can set one apart from the hearing world, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that person is alone.

A Deaf person has their own culture, history, and an articulate, eloquent language in American Sign Language, and the naturally built-in pride that keeps it together, values being instilled as people cross bridges.

Being a Deaf person can stereotype you as an immigrant with little or no English, because there are certain groups of people that view us as such instead the politically correct term, “disabled.”

Again, we have a language and a culture of our own, just like any person of a certain ethnicity.

Building communication bridges between the deaf and hearing community are extremely important, if you agree, because we need the services of others while they need our services, also, and to keep us out of the water, from drowning in obliviousness.

The Deaf schools are the pulse of the Deaf community, because hearing schools can see that we can do the same things they can do, building bridges for both not only to connect, but to cross over.

The goal for Deaf people is to become a part of their own culture, with the freedom exercised in revealing their thought process, how they perceive things, what their feelings are, and how they carry out discourse through blogs, vlogs, and the various other mediums.

We learn new things by interacting in the Deaf world, and applying the acquired knowledge in crossing the bridge over to the hearing world. ASL is a fully accessible language, to everyone — Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing people.

Speech is not fully accessible for Deaf people, not even with a cochlear implant, despite the many success stories told in various publications such as the numerous blogs currently embroiled in the cochlear wars. What is being stressed here is pure accessibility.

Building communication bridges between the Deaf and Hearing community is the foundation that makes a bridge a valid crossing place, because we are a group of multi-talented people that can do anything but hear. If we utilize the skills God gives each person, we can lay each foundation in building a bridge.

We have to educate people and use mediums such as the Internet to do so. Nowadays technology connects Deaf people to the hearing world, through instant messaging and e-mails, and lately, through blogging and vlogging. It is hard enough to be friends with someone you can’t communicate with verbally or even through sign language, but instant messaging and e-mails affords you that ability.

There are different ways to bridge the Deaf community, and they are through literary, through blogs, through Internet websites created by Deaf people, through online dating sites, and especially by attending the Deaf awareness events, the Deaf center events and the DeafNation Expos nationwide.

Exchanging ideas builds bridges.

In the old days, the Deaf community gathered in Deaf clubs as the need for social belonging has obviously brought people into one place, but we have more choices available nowadays through technology, which is the very thing that makes public places more Deaf-friendly.

As telecommunications grow and expand, it will strengthen the Deaf clubs and organizations, rather than dissolve them.

Building a bridge isn’t easy. Deaf people do not mention the hearing cultural issues because they already have their own culture. Same here, hearing people may not be as prone to mentioning Deaf culture, unless they have had a taste of Deaf culture one way or another. Building a bridge can or may require finding common ground, or even a common denominator.

Says Dennis Bacon, a professional angler who is Deaf, “Doctors, audiologists, and other professionals hardly mention Deaf cultural values, effectively excluding the issues of the use of American Sign Language to new parents of Deaf babies recently born.”

Concluded Bacon, “Thus, this is one of the reasons why we need to build a bridge between the Deaf and hearing worlds. Building bridges is offering them opportunities to learn more about the Deaf community.”

People build bridges by touching and tasting their culture and foods. For Deaf people, the tool is communication.

Using communication as a tool in creating an inclusive environment where Deaf and hearing people can understand each other will help narrow the gap between the two different worlds.

The goal of every program that caters to Deaf children and adults is inclusiveness, where hearing people can learn our beautiful language, while we learn to be patient with them in facilitating communication with them.

Becoming a member of an organization that advocates Deaf culture means you support ASL as a language. When we use our memberships to build a bridge to the hearing world, or for the hearing person to build a bridge to the Deaf world, it is where we have to be delicate over what mission statement to go with, because it can build a bridge, or burn bridges.

What is your mission statement?

DeafNation’s mission statement is simple but says it all:

Language, Culture and Pride.

Yes, that is right. We cherish our language, the culture where we learned from and shared with others, and the pride that grows with building bridges.

Let us not only connect, but cross over in this new bridge we built — together.

Let’s take a look at airports, and which ones are the most “Deaf-friendly.” But how can an airport be Deaf-friendly if not all the employees know sign language, if only a ratio of 3 to 100 employees know sign language, does it make the airport “Deaf-friendly” regardless of the low ratio turnout? Not necessarily, there are other ways to being “Deaf-friendly” such as introducing new equipment technology that is Deaf-friendly. The technology advances which actually aids Deaf people, for instance. Entering into a Deaf friendly atmosphere greatly reduces the everyday stress of having to haggle over services without the benefit of visual aids, through ASL skills by airline employees or the television monitors showing scheduled arrivals and departures, anything that has been outfitted exclusively for deaf and hard of hearing travellers for alerts, flight information, announcements over the paging system.

People do possess some signing skills, but the airport is a special place where travellers need to be accomodated through Deaf friendly technology, too. It’s not just about going up to the airline counter and announcing that you are Deaf and need special accomodations. Deaf friendly environments provides immediate access for all of us, without forcing us to request special service except in regulated circumstances.

Some of you have travelled extensively, and have touched many airports. We would like to hear about your experiences at Deaf friendly airports.

Which airport is, and why? Carry on a debate in the comments, and please keep it clean!

Some Deaf people live in certain cities or towns in states where their family and friends live in, around neighborhoods where they grew up. Or, they stay behind in a community where they attended school, and the significant others moved out-of-state for economical reasons, or due to attraction to a more “Deaf friendly” region for better accessibility to Deaf services and other services beneficial to Deaf residents, students, and newcomers.

To define the true essence of being “Deaf friendly,” it has several interpretations and criterias such as:

Are there resources for Deaf people (as there is in nearly every state and major cities), are the Police offering American Sign Language classes to officers and training them to work closely with the Deaf community or on how to deal with Deaf people in confrontations, is the economy strong in the state or deeply in debt, resulting in services to the Deaf being cut, or being added, is education free for state residents or do we have to go through other means directly for support (such as Vocational Rehabilitation services) in attending a college or university (if it is free, one has to live in the state up to a year to qualify), are there Deaf clubs and organizations, are there sporting events and teams for deaf fans and athletes to participate in? Those are some of the questions we need to ask in meeting the criteria for this question of the week.

State funding of programs is an important element in becoming “Deaf friendly” because services are offered, making available to clients that use American Sign Language and those that rely on other assistive devices in order to function.

Some might say Washington D.C., because it is a “Deaf mecca.” That serves as a strong point, but what about other states other than the highly deaf-populated regions? Are cuts affecting the Deaf communities? Which community is holding its’ own due to stronger economy or surplus of services existing at the residential state?

According to Gallaudet University’s FAQ on Deaf population in the United States, there are 20,295,000 people who have hearing losses ranging from mild to severe. If a state is does not have a Deaf-Friendly environment, then at least 10% of the population is being ignored, as an estimate only.

The deaf community will flock to Deaf-friendly organizations in states with their continued patronage as long services are being offered, products available, and if accessibility isn’t an issue.

Moving to a new town can be a challenging experience for anyone. Challenges are greater for those who seek businesses, educational institutions, restaurants, and other “Deaf friendly” social networks that are accessible to them.

Which state is or isn’t, and why or why not? Carry on a debate in the comments, and please keep it clean!

Scranton School for the Deaf Rally

OSD to be merged with state school for the blind?

Likely in response to the national economic crisis, the Oregon State Board of Education has recently directed that the Oregon School for the Deaf, based in Salem, Oregon, and the Oregon School for the Blind share a campus to save money. Buildings on the chosen campus will be upgraded, with nearly 13 million dollars earmarked for the blind school’s buildings and over 37 million for the deaf school’s buildings. Groups including the National Federation of the Blind – Oregon are mobilizing in opposition against the decision. It is unknown if both schools will operate separately or jointly.

Louisiana School for the Deaf to share OSD’s fate as well?

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, in a cost-cutting measure, directed that the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired be moved to the Louisiana School for the Deaf’s campus and into modernized buildings currently being unused. The relocation will save the state over 4 million dollars a year. However, while the school for the blind will be on the campus, both schools will operate separately from each other. Parents were supportive of the move, and there are no gathering objections to the move unlike in OSD’s case. 

Saga of South Dakota’s School for the Deaf to continue into the next year

Thanks to some last minute legislative maneuvers, the new South Dakota budget will fund continuing operations of the South Dakota School for the Deaf going into next year. Governor Mike Rounds had wanted the school closed and funds switched to an outreach program for the Deaf, but the legislature’s appropriations committee essentially overruled him in saying further studies were needed and that nothing would likely be decided before 2010. The time in between may give supporters additional time to successfully lobby to keep the school open. 

Scranton School for the Deaf’s future remains in limbo

After an initial flurry of activity and words in February regarding the possible closing of the Scranton School for the Deaf, things continue to remain quiet on that front. It appears that the decision by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell may not be final, and several members of the Penn. Legislature have voiced concerns over the closing with some offering a compromise similar to what South Dakota School for the Deaf got recently. Efforts to prevent the closing, from parents, students and alumni, are still ongoing today. 

Whenever we talk about a Mecca of our very own, in the Deaf world, the discussion will be always steered towards Gallaudet University as being just exactly that. The university holds a very tangible and larger than life position in our community, and continues to be at the forefront of the long fight for civil rights progress and universal recognition. It is a hub of deaf history and memory, and in proceeding to educate their students they also pass along our culture and language, to be carried on to the next generation. Gallaudet University, ever since it’s founding in 1864, has always been the focal point of the community.

Is that still true today? Or has there been a change in what we view as our holiest monument to community and history? I think there has been some change in that thinking. Maybe it’s not apparent or whatever, but I feel that the region encompassing all of D.C., Maryland, and Virginia has become the new Deaf Mecca of sorts. There you have Gallaudet, Maryland School for the Deaf, NAD, Viable, DPHH, and so on. There is so much available to Deaf people in the region, and so much to do and know that you’re really living more of a Deaf life here than anywhere else.

Not everything needs to revolve around Gallaudet University today, and I think it’s safe to say that a virtual Deaf city of sorts has risen up around it today. We have people from all over coming here, and we have people deciding to stay here for a while just to soak up the rich life experiences we’re all having around here. It’s only become a recent development, but the wonders of living in the mid-Atlantic region can’t be denied. At least, that’s what I believe. How about you? Do you think it’s changed, our Deaf Mecca, to something like this today?

Is the Washington D.C. region a Deaf Mecca of sorts? Why or why not? Carry on a debate in the comments, and please keep it clean!

A hat tip to dcgiftshop.com for the use of the photo.

The Model Secondary School for the Deaf is the best there is, or at least it was back in my time. Anyway, here’s why it’s the best deaf school: Bright kids, strong athletic teams, and surreal moments combine to make MSSD a unique place to attend. Its location is also a factor, too – MSSD is located in Washington, D.C., which gives students a chance to explore the region’s wonders and attractions, like the National Cherry Blossom Festival. And there is much history here to take in, with the Smithsonian museums, the national monuments, and the federal buildings. The MSSD campus is located on the Gallaudet University campus, furthering the rich experience MSSDers will have as they attend school there. I could go into more details, but I’d best get on with the show here.

Which deaf school is the best in your opinion? Why? Carry on a debate in the comments, and please keep it clean!

Every unique community has something essential to keep it bound together in good times and bad times. What holds a community together can range anywhere from the seemingly minor to the most fundamental; sometimes it can’t even be quantified. To us or to others, what may seem insignificant as to what holds other communities together in fact appears very, even critically, essential to them. Whatever it is, it is plainly clear that it is the heart of the community. And so, just like a human body without a heart, a community will not sustain itself for the future if they do not keep the heart alive and beating.

The American Deaf community is one such entity that requires, more or less, a heart to keep the community alive. It doesn’t take very long, for perceptive observers, to note that it is the Deaf schools that help promote and sustain the American Deaf community. A strong case certainly could be made for our sign language as being the heart that keeps the community together, but that’s probably more so true of the international Deaf community than it is for us. If anything, our sign language can and should be considered the community’s brain, providing the intellectual and communicative foundation for the community.

Why should we consider our Deaf schools to be the heart of our community, you may ask? Laurent Clerc’s journey to the United States and the modest beginnings of the American School for the Deaf helped lead to the creation of the modern American Deaf community and, back then, much of our Deaf educational, social and athletic life revolved around these institutes, a traditional and essential practice that continues to this day. For example, you have the Little Paper Families, a group of Deaf schools writing and printing their own newspapers for the Deaf community back in the late 19th Century. The LPF papers helped to keep the rest of the community well informed and in frequent touch with one another.

Today, we have major athletic/cultural events at our schools, where the community comes together to participate in them and celebrate them, as well each other. We continue to send our children there, following in our footsteps. And we support them with our money and our passion. Some of us even take positions at the schools, invested in making sure the current experience today’s students receive are similar to our past experience, and infuse them with a sense of being within our community. We are intensely involved in the workings and survival of our institutes to an extraordinary decree; nowhere in the hearing world do you see similar efforts on a widespread scale.

The reason for that is pretty simple; schools do not attain a high level of sustained interest in that world, with only its educational and athletics capabilities of any interest to them in getting their children a good life past high school. For us, it’s different. They have much in the way of public and private offerings; we don’t, given the smaller numbers of Deaf people in America. They don’t have to worry about relevance in a modern technological age; we do, with the proliferation of cochlear implants, mainstreaming programs and other modern technological and educational adjustments.

And they also are not very dependent on the state and federal government for financial support (at least not to a greater extent than us), whereas our schools’ existence absolutely relies on the government to do its job and provide the necessary fiscal resources for us to accomplish our mission of teaching deaf children first and foremost, with supporting our community and culture a close secondary objective. Much of our budgets, if not all of it, come from the government. Therefore, we have to hope that the governments do not have more pressing and immediate financial concerns in order for us to receive the needed money to keep operating.

The saga of South Dakota School for the Deaf and Scranton (Pennsylvania) School for the Deaf is illustrative. Both schools are likely to be closed this year, because of their respective governments’ financial shortfalls. The Deaf communities in both states are mobilizing to stop the closing but given the state of the national economy it is unlikely that both schools will remain open, unless the state governments find a way to reprogram money for these schools in their budgets. At this time it appears that SDSD will most definitely close, and SSD’s story has yet to come to an end.

With each closing, a piece of Deaf history and culture is lost for maybe for a while, or maybe forever. For a small community fighting to remain relevant, each piece lost is very painful. We talk about the schools being the heart of the community, and participate heavily in that environment. We are proud alumni of these schools, and not a day goes by without some kind of thought or word about our alma maters. In some ways, we plan our lives around these schools. We send our children there to learn and to become a part of this Deaf community through language and culture.

Our heart of the community is the Deaf schools. And our heart is not doing well right now. This crisis of the heart demands our attention and support now, and we must put in everything we can to save the heart. It is possible we may survive with a smaller number of schools, but think of the Deaf history, culture, and everything else that we lose with each school that gets closed. We have already seen the passion of the people fighting to save the South Dakota and Scranton schools. We need to come to their aid and support them in saving these schools. We need to keep the heart pumping. Otherwise, what helps makes us a great community will be lost.

Why is it that we seem incapable of having successful Deaf “big men” in basketball?

I went to a Gallaudet University basketball game recently, and watched the Bisons fight to yet another valorous but bitter loss against a conference rival. As it is usually so at the Field House the lack of quality big men (size) doomed us against the hearing team. This is not isolated to the Bisons; everywhere we go, Deaf teams struggle against hearing teams because of this glaring weakness. So the question must be put forward: what reason is there for us not having any good big men succeeding on the court, or at least even having a surplus of big men on various rosters everywhere? Is it physical? Genetics? A community quirk? We have loads of talented guards and forwards, but it is rare for us to see talented centers dominate games like Shaquille O’Neal or Tim Duncan.

Why are we incapable of having successful Deaf “big men” in basketball? Please give your reasons below in the comments, and let’s have a good debate on this!