Deaf Expo Asking visitors Driver License!

Yesterday, I went to Deaf Nation Expo which was held at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. It was my first time going to the Deaf expo. When I arrived they asked me to show an  ID, and I gave them my University ID. To my surprise, they demanded that I show my drivers license with an address, otherwise, I would not be able to go in. I asked why they would  need to write down my address and my drivers license?  Moreover, the person asked for my email, but I did not give it to them because I did not want to get advertisements and promotional  emails.

A drivers license is a sensitive and personal piece of information. They do not have the right to collect people’s personal information since this is just an expo not a bank where people  obtain credit cards.  According to their website, “DeafNation provides exhibitions and entertainment around the United States at no charge to the public” Their mission is good and it promotes Deaf culture, however, there should not be restrictions regarding who can attend the expo and excessive demands for identification.

I am concerned about deaf expo motives regarding their request for a drivers license. I wonder if they collect people’s information, and sell it?  On their website, deafnation claims “We are a trusted one-stop center for deaf and hard of hearing,” but honestly, I do not trust them now.

My Attempt to Understand BSL

Getting lost in a deaf conversation when you are deaf is definitely not funny!. Tonight, I was at deaf meeting in Brighton, England. It was my first time that I go to such meeting. Since I came in the UK a week ago, I did not have much opportunity to meet with the local deaf. I was excited about going to the meeting tonight and I was hoping I would be able to understand them; because  I thought, it should be easy to understand BSL since English is their  main language . However, I have realized that American sign language which I use  and British sign language are very different. For instance, some ASL signs are driven from written language like “Family” where you sign both hands together with F. But in the BSL, they have different signs. Both hands are used for finger spelling in the BSL and most of it, you can not relate to spoken words;  while ASL you only use one hand and a lot of words can be related to spoken language.  

After arriving at the meeting, I met few people and I was introduced to the meeting leader who knew some American  sign language. I was able to have some chat with him. However, the presenters and most of the meeting attendees were using British sign language. So, here, I have gotten lost in a deaf meeting. The good thing is that, I was with my professor who knew ASL  who interpreted for me  because there were BSL speech interpreter. I hope I will be able to learn some BSL while I am  in England. I just learned how spell my name in BSL :).

Nodding Your Head to Pretend You Understood

One  miscommunication experience that is common for deaf and hard of hearing persons   is nodding their head to  pretend they understand something where they didn't in order  to avoid embarrassment or fail to  carry on a conversation without making anyone uncomfortable. However, sometimes, we nod our head  which the person who is talking to us surprises , because they were expecting us to answer their question not to agree.

I was with my friend talking about some stuff and walking. As a Cochlear Implant user, I heavily depend on lip reading to understand when I am chatting with hearing people. Most of the time, I pretend to understand while I did not , because I might be hoping,  I will understand what they are talking about in their next sentences. Unfortunately,  this does not happen always. My friend was talking to me and asking a question. Instead, of answering his question, I replied oh yeah and nodded my head; he  was surprised and said “ that was a question!” After an awkward moment, I told him I did not  understand what he was saying  and asked if he could repeat?  

This experience is common not only for deaf and hard of hearing but also  hearing people especially those who are learning sign language. This method  of nodding head to keep conversation going, I think could be found in all people who are learning a new language and do not understand it well. But, I believe that higher number of deaf and hard of hearing experience this  compared to their hearing counterparts.

Calling Bank through Video Relay

Video relay service is one of the best  modern technology, which has enabled deaf to have an effective communication. However, there are times where it can’t deliver all communication needs that deaf need. The reason is not that video relay services do not provide or deaf do not get access to it, but those whom we call using video phones don’t always understand the importance of it.  It has come in to my attention that, it is really hard to use video phone for calling bank to talk about sensitive materials such as  issue with your credits card.

I had issue with my credit card over the weekend, and I called my bank(Chase) using video relay to inquire  why I could not make purchases with my credit card which got denied when I tried to make purchase few times. The person who talked to me, told me that they can’t access to my account, and they will call me back.  Apparently, the lady who answered my call never had experience with video relay calls. The interpreter told her that, I am deaf and she is facilitating our communication. Nevertheless, instead of fixing the issue with my card, they placed my account on hold, because they suspected the interpreter. Thus, I was not able to buy anything during the weekend with my card- and since their office is closed during the weekend, I had to wait until Monday.

When I went to the bank and told them what happened, they called people who run credit card transaction which in return told them that they put my account on hold because of suspection. In order to unblock it, they asked the banker who called them to let them talk to me. I told them that I am deaf and if they want want to talk to me, to call my video phone. They told the banker to hand the phone to me and tell them what was the last payment I made on the card. I had to voice on the phone despite that I could not hear. I was not happy that they insisted to hear my voice instead of just fixing my problem even though I was with the banker. I was also shocked that they place on hold my card without alerting me .  While, I understand that, they do things like these   for their customer’s safety, I still think they should have a way to communicate with deaf customers. If they don’t trust phone calls, then they should not have one. Because it is  unfair for deaf customers to not to be able to call their banks when they need sensitive services.  They should have video call centers like they have phone call centers or get rid of all phone services!!.

Media Scrutiny of Interpreter Lydia callis

If you have been following  the news recently, there has been circulating story about sign language interpreter who interpreted for New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg during his news brief about Hurricane Sandy. Some news media have focused their attention on the interpreter and her facial expression  during her interpretation which i think   is not good for professional interpreters and sign language users. .

The news media are making fun of how sign language facial expression can be amusing  and how it can redirect the attention from the main speaker to the interpreter. Instead of thinking about the importance of this language, New York times writes about the interpreter Lydia,  “With her smartly coiffed short dark hair and sharp suits, she literally throws her whole body into signing, from her head to her hands to her hips”.  While this statement may sound as praising for some people,  I feel that is disrespectful to the interpreter. They did not have to talk about her look or her body. Nicole Steinberger an  interpreter at Rochester Institute of Technology(RIT)  who is also women’s senator at RIT student government says,“ While I think the world should have a better understanding of sign language, interpreting, and Deaf culture, I do not think it should be at the expense of an interpreter's self worth. Our work is our work, it's not about our hips or hair, and when the media takes it to that level, the real message is completely lost”.  I just hate how these media would do anything to make money.

Daniel Maffic, sign language instructor at National Technical institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology says ““For people who do know me but are unfamiliar with the work that we ASL/English interpreters do, please know that it takes a lot of time and training to do what we do” He further added “ I am disappointed with America's response to the "Hurricane Sandy interpreter".   The work of an interpreter takes a lot of training mentally  and physically. It has never been easy for interpreters to deliver messages in sign language where interpreters have to listen and sign at the same time.

Sign language is a beautiful  language that deaf people  use. I am glad that our beautiful sign language is getting an attention, however, at same time, I disagree with how  some media are making it as an amusing language instead of showing it as very effective and wonderful language. I am very impressed with Lydia’s skills,  and how she was able to deliver the message to Deaf people  in a perfect way. I am sure it was not easy for her  to interpreter in such difficult times.. Kudos sign language interpreters!

That Deaf Guy- Matt Daigle Presented at NTID/RIT Tonight

Matt Daigle and Bakar Ali

Matt Daigle, the famous comic deaf cartoonist  gave a great presentation at National Technical Institute for the deaf ( NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology tonight. He talked about how he grew up and how he become cartoonist. He was mainstreamed most of his schooling. When he was young, his parents wanted him to learn lip reading instead of  learning ASL because they thought it was best for him. Luckily, he was later exposed to ASL and Deaf culture which he found to be  fascinating  method to communicate.


Matt graduated from RIT/NTID with degree in graphic design. He had a dream of becoming a cartoonist in his early teenager  but he  never thought that could happen. However, he chased his dream which is  why he is today one of the most successful deaf cartoonist in the world. His work is not just limited to Deaf culture, but he does a lot of drawings.

He shared a lot of his illustrations. The most important one that he shared was the symbol for international breastfeeding  that he designed . You can see it in the following picture.  He is advocacy for natural mothers breast feeding.  This symbol is used in world wide today which is very impressing. His wife and son had inspired him to make this symbol. He participated a contest with about 500 people and his symbol was chosen as international breastfeeding symbol. He feels blessed with that.

Matt Holding International Breast Feeding Symbol that he Designed

If you would like to know more about his work, his  website for his comic illustration is . www.thatdeafguy.com. or http://idc.mdaigletoons.com/
If you have not liked his Facebook already, you should definitely click “like”. There are a lot of humor and funny cartoons and great comments from his fans. I like visiting his page and scrolling down with all those collection of comic cartoons.

Deaf Are not Stupid: Communicate with Them!

When someone sees my article title, if they are deaf, it is likely that they would understand what I meant by that. There are so a lot of misconceptions about deaf people and all the time when I encounter one, I ask what is wrong with these people?!  Yesterday I was with my friend at a book store in Rochester, NY. The store was about to close. We knew that it was time to close, and we were getting ready, but there was store employee who was staring at us to make sure that we were leaving without even letting us know that they were closing the store.

After we left, my friend asked me did you notice they were watching at us more than they were looking other people if we were leaving? I say oh yeah! I knew that the woman was looking at us, but I did not pay attention to it. My friend felt upset about how they watch on deaf people without trying to communicate with them.  Apparently they were not comfortable communicating with us. My friend had encountered like this incident before in this store so it was not new to her.   

Some hearing people are afraid talking to deaf a persons, because they think they are different. There are people who think the only way to communicate with deaf is to use sign language which is absolutely untrue! How many times I had someone tell me “oh sorry! I don’t know sign language with sorry face” to get my sympathy.   Deaf people are not all the time with those who can sign with them. Most deaf people have hearing families and friends who don’t know sign language. Deaf go to everywhere and communicate others using whatever communication method is available such as pen and paper. 

I was surprised that the store employees could not communicate with us. There were not any alarms to let people know that they were closing. Instead they walked to hearing people and told them they were closing. But they did not talk to us.  My friends said, “It's kind of insulting that they had to put a distance between us and them where they could have come closer and just have a paper and a pen to let us know that they are closing”.  Instead of staring us like we were an strange things fell from the sky, all they needed were to come to us with some respect and let u know that they were going to close the store.

I am sure there are a lot of deaf people who have experienced kind of this thing. Next time if you are deaf and someone stares you thinking that you are not leaving, because you are deaf, tell them you are not a TV screen.  It is just so annoying when people do kind of these things to deaf.  Misconception like believing deaf would not understand things need to stop. I have always argued that understanding  and hearing are two different things. Deaf people are not really stupid as some people think. Being deaf does not necessarily mean that deaf person can’t see things. It does not mean they are immature.  They have sights and senses like everyone else. People need to give some humanly respect!

Turn A Deaf Ear: A Great Book!

I just finished reading a blend of fiction and non fiction book  Turn a Deaf Ear which was recently sent me for free as gift by the publicist Darlene Chan which asked if I could read and write review about it. The book which was written by two sisters is mostly based on real inspiring stories.  The story begins with a little girl named Linda who lived in New Jersey.   Her father decided to leave her mother for his new girl friend he recently met. This begins with a long story of Linda’s life.   After her parents’ divorce, Linda, her brother and her mother moved to California with their older sister. One day Linda’s eldest brother Nick brought home a deaf friend named John. He was a good friend of Nick and they asked him to bring home one day. Linda’s mother who loved making Italian food wanted to share their food with John.  Linda gets fascinated by the method that her brother and John communicated- American Sign Language.  She falls in love with the man and his language (ASL). She notes about John’s language, “Although there were no words spoken, it was beautiful!”  Of course this is true about sign language. Most people find it to be a beautiful language once they start learning it. I have many friends who fell in love with sign language and chose their career as interpreters despite having other college degrees.  This begins with an inspiring Linda’s journey of love, excitement, joy and adventures.
 John and Linda began dating. After a year, they decided to get married. Unfortunately Linda’s mother who has never been exposed to deaf culture and sign language opposed the marriage. She argues how she would be able to communicate with her son-in –law and her grand children? Linda’s mother was very though mother who believed Italian Matriarch.  She always wanted to maintain dominance in her family. In fact the bigger fear that she had was losing her lead of the Matriarch family than John’s deafness. With Linda’s eldest brother and sister help, finally the mother accepted the marriage.
One day while Linda and her husband were shopping they would be accidently met by a doctor who had a deaf patient. Getting impressed with  the signing skills of Linda, he asks if she would be interested in working for him as interpreter for his deaf patient who is  named Molly. She was deaf and neglected by her parents and ended up in brothels in LA. After consulting with her husband Linda accepted to interpreter for Molly who had heart breaking story. Linda’s marriage of John and learning sign language now turns to be a career that she could pursue. During the time of the story, there were not interpreters agencies like today and most deaf people depended on friends and family for communication. Although the story was mostly based on Linda’s life, Molly’s story would be sorrowful, but enlightening. It would give you a picture what it would have been to be a deaf in that era.
The stories in the book and the way that the author’s wrote are something that you would not want to miss. It is something that you would enjoy with your free time. It is a book that covers everything about family, friendship, love, and trust.  As for deaf and hearing culture, the story in the book gives wonderful perspectives in both cultures. I am recommending that you read this book for your summer reading. I can attest that you would be pleased reading it.
The book is available in Amazon with really a great deal!!. You can look it from this link. http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Deaf-Ear-Linda-Sanders/dp/1461071895/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339528874&sr=8-1&keywords=turn+a+deaf+earMore about the book can be found on the book’s website
http://turnadeafear.net/Special Offer for My Blog’s Readers!The publicist offered  a free giveaway copy of the book for my blog readers in the United States and Canada. If you would like to enter drawing please comment here. The drawing will be open until July 25^th . Only first 10 people would be entered in to the drawing. I will announce who won the drawing here. Good Lucky!

When You Jump Off from The Point

I used to wonder if interpreters always interpret what I say  the way I want to. Mostly, they do really well and sometimes they make great sentences from my loose signs. But today in one of my classes there was a discussion and I was commenting. I wanted to say “Because of today’s economic globalization ,  cultures are spreading and people are becoming more accepting of other cultures”. But the interpreter interpreted as “In the summer people tend to be accepting of any culture and interact with people all over.”  The interpreter mistook my sign "because" for  "summer". Then there was a little silence in the class, because the professor’s question was not about summer. The professor repeated his questions, and I repeated my answer trying to clarify.

Sometimes I feel embarrassed when I make comments that are unrelated to what we were talking about. Have you ever experienced with that? This is part of having communication issues. In fact, it takes a lot of energy to keep following a conversation in academic classes. While hearing people can just listen what is going on when they are setting on their chairs comfortably, the deaf have to pay more attention to catch a conversation. They have to get their eyes and brain on alert. If you are deaf who uses interpreters for classroom you probably have noticed that you pay more attention like a soldier in a front line when there are interesting discussions, and you wanted to participate.


I wonder if  interpreters have to say always what they think  deaf is saying even if it is off the point. What I mean  sometimes deaf students in classes try to comment, and it is possible that they make a comment which is not relevant to the current discussion. Because they may misunderstand what the discussion was about. I noticed, it is not easy to follow when there are so many people commenting on a topic. I remember couple of times that I jumped off from the point, but always interpreters understood.  And sometimes, they asked me what I was talking about before they voiced it.

I totally understand that interpreters are human, and it is not their fault if they misinterpret sentences like my above sentence. Interpreting is not an easy job. I am not posting this to blame interpreters or make them guilty when they misunderstand. I am just sharing my experience. I always have gratitude and respect for interpreters because they are the ones that make us break communication barriers. They are the one that make possible for deaf student like me to have their voice heard in their classes and succeed academically.

Fun Deaf Festival at Rochester

Today I went to Rochester Deaf Festival at Ellison Park in Rochester, New York. It was  first time that I attend kind of that festival since I moved to Rochester  last year. Thousand of deaf  people came to the festival. Pride and smile of their face could have been noticed.

I was volunteering at the festival and most of the time I spent helping people to find parking. It was interesting to see the facial expressions of some hearing people who came to the park for other events. When some of them were trying to find parking and I signed “ do you need to find parking?” some of them were like huh? what the heck is he  saying?!. Sometimes those who were very frustrated  would try to talk to me hurriedly, and when I don't understand them well and ask them to repeat, They would just drive away . They did not realize that today was Deaf festival. They must have got amused by  seeing thousand of Deaf people at the park..

Rochester is famous for its deaf culture present. in Rochester, you could find deaf culture everywhere. You might find someone who can communicate with you  with American sign language everywhere such as: restaurants, fast food and even car repair shops. I remember the other day I was getting oil change at Volvo Line and there was a guy who knew sign language. He helped me understand well when I could not understand what other guys were saying. 

Me with Matt Hamill

The festival organizers did great job. The traffic flow was well organized and everything went so smoothly.  The committee worked tireless making sure that everything went well.The vendors and other exhibitors had good booths. Matt Hamilon was there. He gave a good speech and shared his experience.. Some deaf comedian played a great play; lots of laughs!.I think having this kind of festival is great way to show deaf culture pride. I hope next festival, there would be thousands more people coming to the festival.  

Mix and Mingle event at RIT

I just came back  from a  fun and  enjoyable event “Mix and Mingle” at RIT ASL and deaf studies community center(RADCC). The event was organized by me and other student at RIT. It was sponsored by RADCC. Our main goal was to break the communication barriers and  encourage integration between deaf and hearing students at Rochester Institute of Technology. Our goal was to show that deaf and hearing  people can socialize and have fun with out difficulties.

We had fun games that everyone could enjoy with themselves. To break the communication barriers, we gave  papers and pen to those who don’t know ASL. This has enabled hearing and deaf to communicate by writing. This is what I usually do to communicate my friends and my coworkers who don’t know ASL. This way of communication has always been useful to me. In fact, I prefer communicating via note writing than communicating through interpreters when I am socializing with hearing people.

We “event facilitators”, typed on the computer with projector, so all people could see what we were typing. We put all the instructions of the games on the PowerPoint so that everyone could read it. I told people that to have a fair communication, I will not sign or voice. Instead I would  type everything on the board  and let everyone read it. This was so interesting, because we had many hearing students who did not know ASL.  No one felt left behind in the game unlike what happens most of the time when deaf and hearing people are in an event together. It was  great learning environment and everyone seemed enjoying  being there.  I was impressed how effective was to use this kind of communication.

One important thing that I learned tonight is that people just need encouragement to break the communication barriers between deaf and hearing. In fact, hearing and deafness cannot be a factor to separate our community  unless we want it to be so, specially at RIT which has a huge diversity students,. We should not let having a communication barriers stop us from socializing as community.  We are hoping to do more of this event in the campus. I hope a lot of deaf and hearing students in other colleges across the country could do too. This is  best way to educate people about sign language and the importance of the community integration.

Never-Mind!!!

Never mind, never mind!… I am tired of being told nevermind. It just pisses me off whenever someone try to talk  to me and  I tell them I am deaf, then they said never-mind. What the heck is wrong with some hearing people?!! Do they think if a deaf person cannot hear them, he can’t understand them? I was just setting in RIT Wallace library and typing a paper on my laptop. Then a guy came to me asking something. I told him I am deaf, and asked him to type what he was saying. He looked at me strangely and said "never mind" and walked way. What the heck!!. I was  patient enough to stop my work and was  willing  to help him, but he replied never-mind.

Understanding  and hearing are two different things as they are two different words. We deaf people lack of  only the hearing, but we do have  understanding capability.I have experiences  many times a  stranger hearing person stop me  trying to talk to me or asking  me something, but when I tell them I am deaf, they just say never-mind and walk away. What does my deafness has to do with my understanding with people? I simply, can’t hear you, but if you want to talk to me there is a way we can understand each other.

Deaf people don’t tell hearing people never mind when they don’t understand them. Deaf try to make their best to understand hearing people by using any possible communication methods. I remember the other day, I was with my hearing friends, and I signed “I have to go  now”. They did not understand what I was saying so they were like, “huh?”! Just what a deaf persons feels when they don’t understand hearing person. I walked to my friends and  typed in my Iphone notes, "I have to go". I did not say never-mind. But it annoys  me sometimes when my close friends are  being lazy to type or write for  me something when I don't understand them and they say never-mind. 

The hearing people lack of sympathy. They don’t know that we- deaf people are just human like them. We are just missing one thing they have which is hearing. However, there is nothing wrong with our  human being. I was an event last week with a group of my deaf friends. There was a hearing friend who did not know sign language. My deaf friends were chatting in sign language. They were having a good laugh, but the hearing friend  was feeling left behind.  I looked and felt like what I usually  feel when I am around with my hearing friends who are chatting and having a good laugh, but  I don’t understand anything about their conversation. When I saw that my hearing friend was feeling left behind, I interrupted my deaf friends and told them that they should include the conversation with the hearing friend. I asked them how they would have felt if they were with hearing people and not understand their conversation?

Hearing people need to understand that deafness does not make anyone different. if you are hearing person and become deaf tomorrow, would that make you a different person? You don’t walk on people and interrupt their work and when they try to help you tell them never-mind. This is unacceptable. Let me be clear those immature  hearing people out there; Deaf people lack only the sense of hearing, but they do have whatever else you have. We are all human-being!.

Flight Hostess Uses Sign Language

I was on flight from Netherlands to Sweden yesterday. I was  fascinated when the airline hostess used signs to give safety instructions. She used  sign language to show how to use each safety materials such as oxygen mask  and how to exist the plane in case of emergency. It surprised me how effective it was to give instruction in signs than spoken language.

Usually when I ride airplane, I never get to understand what they are saying. They always talk when they are giving safety instructions. I remember my flight from Philadelphia to Amsterdam, I was using my Iphone and the airline hostess come and told me to turn  it off. I know usually airlines ask their passengers to turn off their electronics  when the plane is taking off or landing, but how could I know when and when not  to turn my phone off? When the plane takes off, they inform passengers by microphone that they can use their phones and electronics  now. But deaf can’t hear it.

If the airlines would use  sign language to give safety instructions would be helpful to everyone. Both hearing and deaf  people can grasp when the airline hostess uses sign to show how to use safety materials and in case of emergency how to exit from the plane. Most deaf people who travel on airlines, don’t have right like other passengers to understand safety instructions and in case of emergency how to exit from  the plane. I think airlines should give all their instruction on sign language and that would be easier and helpful to all passengers. Most passengers who travel on airlines don’t speak same language. Yesterday I  met  on the flight with  people who were from different  countries  who could not understand either English or Dutch. If they had not seen hostess signing, they would not have understood how to use safely material. Sign language is very effective language which can be used by everyone to understand each other.

Texting Ban in DR of Congo

One of my friends posted on facebook a link of BBC news which was about banning SMS (short message sending) a text messaging in DR of Congo. Deaf people in DR Congo now face difficult communications because their main communication which was SMS  is now banned. .

The government of Dr of Conge claimed  it banned texting  to  preserve public order" because they had been used to "incite ethnic hatred. I am surprised how that government decided to ban SMS for just security reason.  Why they did not ban other telephone communication? I just think this is a bullshit and oppression against deaf community in that country. DR of Congo is one of the most dangerous countries in the world and deaf people in that country had endured so much oppression, and now their government banned texting.

There are large deaf community in Dr Congo. According to BBC, “there are an estimated 1.4 million deaf people in DR Congo”.  Al thought I doubt about this estimate, I think there are large deaf community there . Now because of banning SMS, deaf community have no contacts. According to BBC, Pastor Kisangala, the deaf community's religious minister in the capital, Kinshasa says, “Our members are scattered across the city, some are ill in hospital, others are dying. Without communication we don't even know about it”. It is just heartrending.

I hope deaf community in that country will find a way to communicate. I just can’t imagine how hard communication they have to face because places like Dr of  Congo is not easy to find Internet.

Hate having Communication Barriers

I am just sitting  a lone on a couch several  feet a way from  student club meeting in RIT campus center typing this post. I can see people talking and arguing.  My face is turning red like I have a high fever over 100 degrees. But I don’t have high fever, however, I am somehow sick. I am sick with having communication barriers which I can’t blame on anyone. 
Tonight one of the clubs that I am involved in is having a meeting and there is no interpreter. My club requested an interpreter for the meeting yesterday, about 30 hours before the meeting which is the normal time when you have to request interpreter. NTID has access service where deaf students can request interpreter for classes, meeting and other service. As member of E-board of my club, I have responsibilities and I have to attend all the club meeting.

Being deaf with communication barriers and trying to do what you want is something that will always make you feel weak and dependent on others. I don’t mind being deaf and depending on someone to interpreter for me. However, what I am not happy is that I am in deaf college and when I requested interpreter I didn’t get one? I don’t think this is fair. Access service in NTID need to be able to provide communication services  or at least inform deaf if they can’t assign interpreter for them. They have to satisfy deaf student’s communication access. It would have been   nicer if they had informed me that they would not provide interpreter for me before I came to the meeting.

Deaf Students and Earning BS/BA Degree

In my first day In my Scientific bases and  society responsibilities  class,my professor Dr. Denise Thew wrote on the board 1%. She asked students to figure out what that stands for? At first we were confused. But to my surprise, she told us that the figure shows approximately percentage of deaf students who go to college and earn a bachelor degree!. This statistics surprised and shocked me. I asked myself why can’t deaf students who go  to college don’t earn B.S degree? I think there are many reasons why deaf students don’t success in college like other students.

First it could be  lack of motivation and desires  from deaf students. I have seen a lot of deaf college students who are not concerns about their success in college, despite having so much support unlike deaf students who went to college before ADA. For example, my professor Dr. Christopher Lehfeldt went to college before ADA without so much support and resources for the deaf like today. Yet, he was able to success in college and earn Dental degree. He is dentist and he has been doing it for decades. There are many deaf professionals who succeeded in college by working very hard and if every deaf college student works hard and have motivation they could success.

Secondly, language barriers could be why deaf students fell behind. Deaf student usually struggle with English language because most of them became deaf before acquiring spoken language. How deaf students are supposed to be fluent in English when they never acquired spoken language?  How are they supposed to be able to write a great college papers like other hearing students when they never heard those words?  During my written communication two class in NTID, I have seen deaf students who were determined and were working very hard but had to struggle so much with English. My professor,Dr.Denise Thew, deaf psychologist and post doctoral fellow,  says “Several reasons that only small percentage of deaf students acquire BA/BS college degree would be lack of equal accessibility to language and resources (such as interpreters, note takers, deaf role models, etc)”.  Further more Dr.Thew suggested that a delay of learning language whether it is English or ASL, or other visual language,  could be one of the several factors why deaf students don’t success in college. She said  “while growing up, as well as delay in learning the language (either English or ASL) because the discovery of hearing loss occurred after the critical period of language development, or the individual didn’t have the opportunity for a bi-cultural approach”. if the deaf children are not able to acquire spoken language in their early age, then there would be less expectation that they wwould acquire when they grow up.

I have seen a lot of deaf students in NTID who have been going to this college for 4 years, yet, the only degree they receive is Associate degree. May be if the deaf colleges  such as NTID focus more on practical teaching then there would be a lot of deaf students who can earn a bachelor degree. For example, my major is information technology. Most of the works are  done practical. Yet, if a deaf student  takes written test, he maynot be able to do well because of language barriers. But if he takes  practical tests, he could pass. By requiring deaf students to master in English language if they want to success in college and earn a BS/BA degree, would only give more advantage hearing people and there will not be a lot of deaf students who will be able to earn college degree.

I think deaf colleges like NTID and Gallaudet should focus more on practical teaching than books. What I mean is that if deaf students are required to read books like hearing students, and they are required to write great papers like hearing students. How are they supposed to success? Deaf cannot acquire language like hearing. Don’t misunderstand me, but I believe this is the main factor why many deaf students could not earn a bachelor degree. I am not saying that deaf students should be waived to study hard like other students, but what I mean is that shifting from what is written on the book to practical. It is very hard  for deaf students to be fluent in spoken language easily.  For example I am profoundly deaf. I became deaf when I was in high school and I speak several languages. Yet, English is my hardest language. I never expect to be fluent in English like hearing people. So I don't think it is fair that deaf students to be required to acquire English language like hearing and write a great college papers.

Issue with Sorenson ntouch

I wanted to share something that I encountered with Sorenson video relay service. I have always liked using Sorenson services until now. I use Sorenson Ntouch on my laptop. Since Sorenson updated the software last month, I have not been able to make calls. When I call people They can’t see my camera and sometimes I can’t see their camera. It displays black screen.

I emailed to Sorenson for support. I waited few days to hear from them. They emailed me saying, “ We have the option to remotely connect to your computer and configure your router when you authorize it to fix black screen, camera issues, incoming calls, and flasher issues”.  They told me I need to go to online support service and they gave me a pass code. When I entered the pass code to connect to online technician , I waited about 30 minus and still there were no one connected to me. I had to leave for a class so I emailed sorenson again. After waiting couple of days, they emailed me back for another pass code to enter. I did and this time I waited an hour but no one come out to fix my Ntouch problem.

I think Sorenson need to be able to fix video relay service issues and have 24 hours assistants available like other communication service companies. It is not fair for us to wait days to get help. They should have people ready to fix video phone issues. What I noticed is that they don’t have 24 hours technical assistant.  I have always been Sorenson fan, but now I am losing my hope for sorenson. I am a busy student and I am not as super free as they think, answering my emails every few days and making me wait for a few hours for a live assistant. Now I am without a video phone  for almost a month. I  know that Sorenson was the first one who invented the video phone and it had invented Ntouch which is much easier for me as a college student. But I just wish they would be more helpful when we need technical assistant.

Texting and Signing

I just watched a video about danger of texting while driving. I always knew that texting and driving is very dangerous things. But when I watched that video, It also  reminded about the danger of signing while driving. I believe that texting and signing while driving is dangerous.

Texting is my favorite way of communication. I always text a lot than any other communication ways . I am one of those people who have addiction with texting. When texting ban was imposed in Michigan last year, I was one of those people who thought it was  against their right.  However, after learning more about the danger of texting, I realized that banning texting while driving is a good cause to support. Now I am always cautious when I am driving. I put away my phone when I am on the road. When I get a text and I am driving, I just ignore it unless I think it is very important message. If that happens, I pull over.  

But I noticed that signing while driving is as much dangerous as texting. When someone is signing, their hands and mind would be busy which means they are driving without mind or hands. And we know that would lead in to a dangerous situation.  You can’t drive without mind or hands.There are some people who say they have no problem signing and driving, but that would not be true. No matter how much you are a skilled driver,if you can’t pay attention to the road, then your life is in danger.

I always tell my friends when they are driving not text.  Same way, I tell people who want to talk to me signing when I am driving that I can’t talk to them; I have to pay attention to the road. Sometimes, I make people feel like I don’t want to talk to them. I once had my  friend get upset with me, because I would always ignore him when he is driving and trying to sign with me. I told him that I don’t want to die because I knew  If I look his signs when he is driving, he would not be able to pay attention to the road.  

In the video I watched, a woman sent text to her sister and when her sister was answering back typing ( YEAH) she went off from the high way and lost her life. Only typing that word took her life. How sad is that? that woman is still regretting sending that text to her sister. She would always feel guilty for herself no matter how much people tell her that it was not her fault of her sister's death. Everyone should be very cautious about texiting and signing while driving. I know I am one of those people who text and sign, but I will be more than careful.

Signing At The Zoo

I have been having another lazy weeks. I  have not written anything for my blog for three  weeks. Seriously, I need to write more.  Last Saturday, I went to  Binder park Zoo. It is a large zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Signers and other deaf awareness (SODA) student club at Lansing Community College were having their last event for the year. There were  a lot of sign students  that  came to the event to learn signs of  animals.  It was my first time to visit that zoo.

The zoo has a lot of animal and habitat. It  has a section which is called “Wild Africa .”   It  presents about African wild lives, culture and other things. We  took a ride on a wheeled tram to the wild Africa.  When we got to the Wild Africa,  I was surprised to see a lot of African cultures materials  such as; house hold stuffs and animals. My Friend Trent Wade joked with me  welcome to back to home.

In  the Wild Africa,I got a chance  feed a cute giraffe( picture below) . They have giraffe food for sell. So if you want to feed giraffe, you have to buy the food.I bought it and fed giraffe. It was freaking awesome. These tall animal which have tallest throat, I think also have long tongue like 12inch. I wished I could have some of those giraffe as a pet. During our Wild Africa tour, some  sign language students  learned how to sign giraffe.  

After the zoo, we went to a restaurant in Marshal, MI  because we were hungry after all day at the zoo. Unfortunately, I could not eat the food that I ordered;It tasted so horrible.  I had to pass it way and  pay for it. What made me unhappy about that restaurant was that, we could not find a place to sit as a group. They had an outdoor  tables, but it was raining and as soon as we sat on the table, it started raining. I would never go back to that restaurant. I paid for a food that i did not eat.

After an  enjoyable day at the zoo, I decided that my weekend fun was not over. Despite that I worked whole Friday night and only got a little sleep  before the Zoo,  I went to my friend birthday party and had fun  all night. I got back to home early Sunday morning. I could say that  last weekend was one of those good weekends for a while.

Making Friends In Sign Language

Many people try very hard to make new friends. Some of us can make friends easily while others may struggle. Lately, I have been wondering how easy it is to make friends through sign language. A few days ago, I was at a deaf coffee chat in Troy, Michigan. While chatting with some friends, a conversation arose regarding how easy it was to make friends through sign language. I always thought that, I was the only one having a hard time making friends with non sign users. However, I recently learned that making friendship through sign language is much easier than making friends through spoken language.

I remember when I took sign classes at college, I used to make friends very easily and was able to get to know my classmates quicker compared to my non-sign classes. I could get to know and be friends with most of my classmates in one class where as I would make zero friends in five other non related courses. I thought the reason I made friends in sign class was due to my deafness and, therefore, the ability for me and the other students to know the same language and be able to communicate with each other. However, I realized that was not the case; there are other reasons why it would be easier to make friendships through sign language.

First, sign language is a visual language which means there is integration between two sign users. For example, when someone is signing you absolutely have to pay attention to them to catch all the information. Your mind and your eyes would focus in order to capture the signs that person is signing. You have to be face to face and make eye contact with that person which will help you to recognize the person’s face. Thus, if you meet with that person again tomorrow you will easily recognize them.  In addition, you would feel more comfortable talking to them via sign language as opposed to spoken language.

Secondly, asking personal questions and getting to know somebody is not hard in deaf culture.  When deaf people meet, they start asking names and other things easily without worrying about what the other person may think of the questions. If you go to deaf events such as coffee chats, you can easily start meeting with people. Things that you will be asked upon showing up to deaf events could include your name, where you live, where you work, or what you are studying. It is these kinds of questions which assist people into getting to know each other faster. This kind of behavior is normal in deaf culture. However, in hearing culture, you might feel very uncomfortable to be asked questions like these when you first meet with someone at events.

Finally, deaf culture seems to be friendlier compared to hearing culture. Although sign users in general tend to be friendly people; they are willing to answer your questions honestly when you ask their names or other personal questions. They would not feel offended when you want to get to know them by asking questions because deaf culture emphasizes real communication. When attending deaf events, you wouldn’t feel worried not knowing anyone there as long as you knew sign language. You can literally start chatting with people as soon as you come into the event as if they were your friends for years.  What might surprise you is that a lot of hearing people don’t realize that deaf culture is such great way of life. I believe that if hearing culture was a more friendly culture, then there would not have been all of these misconceptions about deaf people and sign language. Maybe it is time for everyone to learn sign language and about deaf culture. That way, both cultures could feel friendlier and more comfortable with each other.