A Deaf Mom Shares Her World

When Fear Holds You Back
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt is something that I remind myself of every now and then.  Fear is often the emotion behind the reason we hold back.  "What if..." One of the hardest things for me to do with my boys was ...
Mon, Aug 30 2010

Bloggers Unite for People with Disabilities: Attitude
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World It's funny, I don't consider myself disabled-- that is, on most days.  Then every now and then, life will knock me upside the head and remind me that I can't access the world sometimes. I was born with hearing in the so-called "normal" range.  I know I started losing some hearing ...
Sat, Jul 24 2010

The Ghost at Christie Lake
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World From the time I was seven, I spent my summers at Christie Lake, a small lake located in Lawrence, Michigan. On the weekends, I would go up to the lake with my friend Chris, whose family owned a cottage. Most of our days were spent lazing on the water ...
Thu, Jul 22 2010

Karen Putz Chosen as a “Hidden Pearl”
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I'm proud to be among 20 amazing Deaf women chosen as "Pearls" by The M Project: The Pearls, by The M Project Next year, June 4, 2011, I will have to the opportunity to meet them all in Studio City, California.  I'm looking forward to getting to know these amazing gals! "Is a ...
Wed, Jul 14 2010

Embracing My Deaf Self
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World It is eleven o'clock at night and my house is filled with the sound of eight teenagers sitting around my family room chatting and laughing.  Some of them are signing, some of them are animatedly talking.  Some of them are deaf, some are hard of hearing and two of them ...
Sun, Jun 27 2010

Deaf Mom Around the ‘Net
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Life has been on spin cycle lately, but it's spinning in a great direction.  I'm counting the days until I can head up to Christie Lake and work from there.  And of course, I'm itching to get my feet back on the water.  In the process, I plan to drag some of the guys back [...]
Wed, May 19 2010

Find a Mentor to Get You Where You Want to Go
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Yeah, that's me on the top left, hanging on for dear life as we formed a pyramid on Christie Lake for the first time when I was a teen.  My mentor is on the bottom in the middle– Brent Greenwood.  Brent is a guy who popped into my life out of the blue,  and he [...]
Sat, May 08 2010

Start the Ripple and Inspire Someone Today!
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World For all those who think they're “too old” or that the “best years are over with,” this one is for you: Here's the script (the captioning is wonky!): Keith St. Onge: “Here we are at the World Barefoot Center with Judy Myers and Karen Putz. Very unique story we have here today. Today we have Karen Putz, [...]
Fri, Apr 23 2010

Deaf Child from Russia Needs a Loving Home
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World There's a little boy in Russia who is deaf and needs a loving home.  Read this email that I received from Elizabeth Gastelum, an attorney from Illinois: My husband and I adopted our kids from Russia last fall (both with hearing loss).  We thought they were the only kids there with a hearing loss, [...]
Wed, Apr 21 2010

On Being Deaf
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Someone asked me recently, “Do you wish you could hear?” I had to stop and ponder that one.  If you asked me that question when I was nineteen, shortly after I became deaf from a fall while barefooting, I would have said, “Hell, yes.”  No pause.  No reflection there.  The answer would have been simple: give me [...]
Sat, Apr 17 2010

We are the World– in American Sign Language
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World In early February, Jane Holtz and I dropped off our two Laurens at the Desales Family Center in Michigan so they could participate in a D-Pan weekend camp.  While Jane and I stayed in our pajamas all weekend and read books, our girls were having fun with Sean Forbes and a group of fellow campers.  [...]
Sat, Mar 20 2010

Need Viagra? Insurance Will Cover It–Not Hearing Aids
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Dear Illinois Senators, We've got a bill up for consideration, S. B. 2516, and I hope you'll pass it.  You see, there are five generations  of folks in my family who wear hearing aids.  Every time we need new hearing aids, we need a doctor's prescription to order them.  Every time we inquire about insurance coverage [...]
Sun, Mar 14 2010

Hearing Folks Can Call Each Other, Why Can't Deaf/Hard of...
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World “I am really frustrated,” said a customer recently.  “Every time someone calls my Z videophone from a Sorenson VP -200, their number shows up as an 866 number and I can't call them back.  Hearing people don't have any problem calling from a Verizon phone to a Sprint phone, so why do we deaf folks have [...]
Wed, Dec 02 2009

Fashionable Hearing Aids
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I came across a post this morning, The Shame of Wearing Hearing Aids and it brought back memories.  I was one of those kids who hid a hearing aid under long hair.  It wasn't until I was in college that I finally wore my hair up and my hearing aid perched for all to see.  [...]
Thu, Nov 12 2009

The American Sign Language Journey
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I'm sitting in a restaurant in Northbrook as I type this.  I have just dropped off my daughter at the International Center for Deafness and the Arts (ICODA) and I'm passing the time as she practices for the upcoming Peter Pan play.  Three, sometimes, four times a week, we make the one hour trek from our [...]
Wed, Oct 21 2009

Why I Love My Z-150 Made by Tandberg
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Just a year ago, I was making phone calls mostly by text relay or a Captel phone and occasionally by webcam using video relay.  In January, I took a position as a Sales Manager for Zvrs and I was introduced to the Z-150 videophone which is made by Tandberg.  Tandberg is a world leader for videoconferencing [...]
Tue, Oct 06 2009

How Deaf Weddings are Different
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World It was an absolutely stunning day for a wedding on Saturday. The colorful mums were in full bloom and the sun began a slow descent when Ron and Meredith exchanged their vows in American Sign Language. About half of the guests were deaf or hard of hearing. There were supposed to be [...]
Mon, Sep 21 2009

Lions Camp for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Kids
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World My kids are still talking about this year's week at Camp Lions.  Every year, they look forward to that one, magical week with all their friends.  The conversations last all year–via sleepovers, Facebook sharing, texts that fly back and forth and videophone calls. My kids spend all day in the mainstream going to classes with students [...]
Sun, Aug 23 2009

Twitter, My Virtual Watercooler
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I don't understand this Twitter thing,” a friend of mine said to me recently.  “I can't make sense of it all.  What's the point of all those short sentences?” My sister-in-law asked me the same thing and so did my neice: I Don't Get Twitter. That's pretty much what I thought too, when Glenda Watson Hyatt introduced [...]
Fri, Jul 31 2009
LaRonda liked this

Advocating for Captions on the Web
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I recently discovered that NBC now has some old episodes of  the Emergency series posted on their website.  As a kid, I loved that show, even though I had to lipread my way through it.  This was before the days of captioning on TV.  And today, I feel like I'm right back in the 70s– [...]
Sat, Jul 18 2009

SB 68 Hearing Aid Bill on ABC News
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Jim and Julie Chavez and Dana Craig are featured in the news segment on ABC News covering SB 68 which would provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents.  A big thank you goes to Senator Ira Silverstein who has worked hard from the beginning to push this bill through. ABC News on SB [...]
Mon, May 25 2009

Rally for SB 68 Hearing Aid Insurance Bill
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Today, I'm heading down to Springfield for a meeting to discuss SB 68 which would provide insurance coverage for hearing aids for Illinois residents of all ages.   A group of us will be meeting with the opponents of the bill to hopefully reach a common ground in pushing a bill through for insurance coverage for [...]
Tue, Apr 28 2009

Marlee Matlin Signs Her Book, “I'll Scream...
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World What a weekend! We headed out to the Oak Brook Borders on Friday night to meet Marlee Matlin at her book signing.  Marlee crafted her autobiography “I'll Scream Later” as a tell-all book and judging from the headlines of the articles swimming around, her book has revealed some surprising secrets: Marlee Matlin Book:  William Hurt Abused Me Marlee [.....
Mon, Apr 20 2009

Steak ‘n Shake, The “Other” Side of the...
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World It's amazing to me that a year later, people still remember the Steak ‘n Shake incident where my son and I were denied service at the drive-thru window of the Bolingbrook Steak ‘n Shake.  I still receive comments from time to time, and with the exception of two that were literally nasty comments, I've published [...]
Thu, Mar 26 2009
LaRonda, J.J., DeafPundit, jnevans liked this

Yes, It Is Time for Insurance Coverage for Hearing Aids
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World There's a small, passionate group of people in Illinois who are working to get the state of Illinois to pass a bill in the Senate that would provide insurance coverage for hearing aids. For people of ALL ages. Not just for children, like many other bills in other states. If you live in Illinois, this post is just [...]
Wed, Mar 18 2009

Hearing Aid Insurance Coverage–Not Just for Children
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World A small group of dedicated parents and deaf/hard of hearing adults met last year to create a bill that would provide hearing aid coverage to deaf and hard of hearing individuals of all ages.  No other state has successfully passed a bill that would mandate insurance coverage for hearing aids for all ages.  Most of [...]
Mon, Mar 09 2009

Are You in the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Closet?
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World For many years, I hid in the deaf/hard of hearing closet. I wasn't comfortable dealing with the lone hearing aid that was given to me in fourth grade. During the school day, I hid the hearing aid under my thick hair and pulled off some impressive bluffing maneuvers. I would smile and nod along to [...]
Thu, Feb 19 2009

Jill Bianco– A Deaf Gal Who Plays Baseball
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Jill Bianco is one tough gal.  A baseball going at warp speed doesn't faze her a bit.  Jill is part of a twelve-woman baseball team, the Liberty Belles and the only deaf woman that I know who plays baseball. Jill played fast-pitch softball for many years in every position except pitcher.  She joined the Chicago Gems [...]
Thu, Jan 29 2009

Steak ‘n Shake, One Year Later
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World This morning, I was greeted with this lovely comment left by David R.: you are a (bleep) retard. the world does not revolve around you, you lazy dumb (bleep).  how are the employees at steak n shake supposed to help you when you can't even hear them talking to you? it's your own fault for being lazy and [...]
Mon, Jan 26 2009

Win a Book from Mark Drolsbaugh, A Talented Deaf Writer
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World [caption id="attachment_852" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Win a book!"][/caption] I think Mark Drolsbaugh is my fraternal twin from another life. A few years back, I came across his books, Anything But Silent and Deaf Again (4th Edition) and I immediately ordered them.  I discovered a deaf writer who was funny and entertaining.  I also discovered that he b...
Wed, Jan 21 2009

Breathe In... Breathe Out
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I'm going nuts. I've never been one who is organized, but one of my big, BIG goals this year is to have everything o.r.g.a.n.i.z.e.d.  I've never needed it more than today, because I'm running around trying to find the flight info I printed and put in a “safe” place.  I discovered that I left my phone [...]
Tue, Jan 06 2009

Jill Wood, Parent Extraordinaire
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Yesterday, I finally had my first mammogram.  A mammogram that I had been putting off for over a year. “Have you had your mammogram?” Jill Wood, a parent of a hard of hearing son,  asked me during an IM conversation a year ago.  Jill had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and was about to begin [...]
Tue, Dec 30 2008

All I Wanted Was a Captioned Video
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I woke up in a great mood this morning, but now I'm grumpier than hell.  It actually started weeks ago. Lauren came home from school with the news that the Project Arrow class was going to see “A Christmas Carol” in Chicago.  I talked with the teacher and she agreed to arrange for an interpreter for the [...]
Wed, Dec 10 2008

Come and Join Us for Mom's Night Inn
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World [caption id="attachment_777" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Manicures!"][/caption] Imagine kicking back with a room full of moms. Moms who are raising deaf and hard of hearing children of all ages. Moms just like you. Yes, that's right. If you're a Mom of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, you're invited to join a bunch of us gathering [...
Thu, Dec 04 2008

Being Deaf–And Thankful
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I'm thankful I'm deaf. I was thinking that to myself on the way home from the Midwest Center on Law and the Deaf  fundraiser last night. Now wait a minute, Karen–isn't that a little crazy?  Wouldn't life be so much easier if you had hearing in the normal range? Sure.  Yeah.  A little easier, perhaps. But here's the thing: I'm ...
Thu, Nov 27 2008

John Denver Song Makes Me Think of Deaf/Hard of Hearing...
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I spent the afternoon playing around over at Overstream, learning how to add captions to a video.  I figured that it was time to learn, especially since Stephen Hopson and Glenda Watson Hyatt will be joining me to present at SOBCon'09 and we'll be talking about web accessibility. I selected a John Denver video, Children of the Universe, [...]
Mon, Nov 24 2008

You're Not Really...Deaf, Are You?
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World You're not really deaf– are you? I stared at my teammate.  We had played volleyball together for many years and she had interpreted for me and another deaf teammate during our huddles.  This was the first time she had ever asked me questions about being deaf. Yes, I said, nodding my head.  “But you're not as deaf [...]
Wed, Nov 12 2008

The Last Lecture–And the Deaf Connection
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World “For the next BookHands meeting, we're going to read The Last Lecture by Jeffrey Zaslow,” announced Tanya Hammersmith.  We had gathered at Patti Phadke's house during the recent Sunday and had just finished a discussion of Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks.   I was really excited about Tanya's pick, because it was a book on my [...]
Fri, Nov 07 2008

Wordless Wednesday–A Special Wall in my Office
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I had these four plaques scattered in various spots around the house–one was in a nightstand drawer, two were in boxes and one was in an office drawer.   One day last year, I gathered them all together and hung them above the key holder in my office.   The small one on the upper left was a [...]
Wed, Nov 05 2008

Equip for Equality Fundraiser
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Last night, I attended a fundraiser for Equip for Equality, a non-profit organization that provides legal assistance for people with disabilities.  I attended as the guest of Patrick Hughes, owner of Inclusion Solutions who co-chaired the fundraiser.  You may remember Patrick from this interview over at Diversity, Inc.: Patrick Hughes, President of Inclusion Solutions...
Wed, Oct 29 2008

Social Networking for Parents of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Kids
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World   There's a nifty little community building up over at Ning: Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Kids If you're a parent of a deaf or hard of hearing child/children, come and join us! Bookmark me! More »
Mon, Oct 27 2008

A Week of Networking, and a Birthday
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World What a week. On Wednesday, I met with Donna Cutting, author of The Celebrity Experience: Insider Secrets to Delivering Red Carpet Customer Service at Maggianos, one of my favorite restaurants.  It was the first time for Donna to dine at Maggianos and I think I successfully converted her into a Maggianos junkie. We talked about everything [...]
Fri, Oct 24 2008

Working with Your IEP Team
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World With three kids on Individual Education Plans (IEPs), we've killed a couple of trees throughout the years with the paperwork that gets generated by the schools when developing each kid's IEP plan.  Once  a year (and sometimes more if we have something to change), I meet with each child's team to go over the goals and [...]
Mon, Oct 20 2008

Blog Action Day–Taking Action to Make a Difference
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World The day is here:  Blog Action Day.  Today, over 10,000 blogs will spotlight the issue of poverty and raise funds to make a difference.  Kudos to Easton Ellsworth and the team behind Blog Action Day. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to blog about today.  My kids are deaf and hard of hearing and [...]
Wed, Oct 15 2008

The Importance of Fundraising And Getting Involved
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I love what I'm seeing on the web today– people working together–raising awareness, funding non-profit organizations and supporting causes.  Today, I want to share a few things that are important to me and I hope you'll take a moment to get involved as well. I've long been involved with supporting Hands & Voices and you may [...]
Fri, Oct 10 2008

Stepmom Shares Life with Deaf Twins
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World I love Twitter. Over on Twitter, I've been able to network and connect with a variety of people that I probably wouldn't have gotten to know through normal networking channels. I consider Twitter to be my virtual watercooler– I go over there to hang out during my breaks and I get to join in numerous [...]
Wed, Oct 08 2008

Are You Comfortable Being Deaf/Hard of Hearing?
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World “My son has some issues with being hard of hearing,” a mom recently shared with me. I glanced at her son. He seemed ill at ease. I nodded. And I understood. Because you see, I was in that kid's shoes many years ago. I grew up hard of hearing and when [...]
Mon, Oct 06 2008

Karen Putz Talks to The Celebrity Experience Author
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World Donna Cutting, author of The Celebrity Experience is on a Book Tour and today's stop is right here!  Donna and I met at the SOBCon'08 conference. You may recall Donna from a previous post where I reviewed her book and wondered, What Would Happen if Steak ‘n Shake Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Their [...]
Sat, Sep 27 2008

Karen Putz and Amy Derby Do Lunch
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World  I don't remember who suggested it first, but I found myself writing down “lunch with Amy Derby” on my calendar last week.   Yesterday, I headed out to her town to pick her up. I'm bad with directions, she wrote.  You might want to Mapquest it. I've got a navigator in my van,  I told her.  I'm sure I [...]
Wed, Sep 24 2008

Enter the D-Pan ASL Music Give Away Here!
A Deaf Mom Shares Her World     I recently had the opportunity to chat with D-Pan founder, Sean Forbes, via videophone.  D-Pan is a company that produces popular music videos signed in American Sign Language.  Sean became deaf at the age of one from spinal menigitis.  The son of two musicians, Sean was the only one of his two brothers to pursue a [...]
Fri, Sep 19 2008