Deaf News Today

Implant Stolen
Deaf News Today A mother had part of her son's cochlear implant stolen. It was inside Kimberly Blodgett's purse when she dropped off her children at daycare. KFOR-TV has a video report. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sun, Feb 17 2019

Community Learns Sign for 2-year-old girl
Deaf News Today A deaf toddler in Massachusetts got a wonderful gift from her community. CBS News has a video report.
Sun, Feb 17 2019

Deaf baristas: Starbucks discriminated against us
Deaf News Today Two deaf baristas are suing Starbucks, claiming discrimination. They say the manager at the store in Seattle where they worked put them in positions for long hours that were especially difficult for deaf workers and that they were excluded from conversations with other employees, among other things. KIRO-TV has a video report below. There is a captioned video here. ...
Sat, Feb 16 2019

City Council Drops Use of Terps at Meetings
Deaf News Today If you live in Cleveland, your City Council meetings will not include sign-language interpreters anymore. The Council thinks it's too expensive, according to a letter one of the members sent to a man who is hard of hearing and had requested interpreters. The city provided them for a while, but the letter to Rico Dancy now offers him the use of headphones instead. Read...
Fri, Feb 15 2019

On this date in history...
Deaf News Today image from Green Party NZ  The New Zealand Parliament made history on this date (Feb. 15) in 2012. Mojo Mathers, the first deaf member of the body, gave her first speech. Since Mathers' speech was translated into sign language, the 13 other members of the Green party who spoke had their speeches translated into sign language as well. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Fri, Feb 15 2019

Mom Remembers Daughter
Deaf News Today A video posted on Facebook shows a deaf mom with dementia remembering her daughter. Watch it here. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Wed, Feb 13 2019

Mother Gets ASL Lesson After Using the Wrong Signs
Deaf News Today A mother wanted to teach her one-year-old child some sign language. She shares on Reddit how she accidentally taught her daughter some wrong signs. Fortunately, two deaf women saw them trying to sign in a restaurant and they graciously showed the mother the correct way to sign the words. Read the story here. Some of the comments of other mistaken attempts at signing a...
Tue, Feb 12 2019

How Murder Shattered a Quiet College Campus
Deaf News Today A murder took place during the year 2000 at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. An episode of People Magazine Investigates is dedicated to the crime. "The Sound of Silence" will air Monday at 10 pm, Eastern on Investigation Discovery. An article published by the magazine this weekend describes the crime that shook the campus. You can read it here. Read More at De...
Sun, Feb 10 2019

The missing sign from the Super Bowl
Deaf News Today Did you see the national anthem signed by Aarron Loggins during the Super Bowl? You didn't if you were watching the CBS broadcast of the game. That's because the network only showed Loggins for a second at the end of America the Beautiful. A video posted by the National Association of the Deaf of Loggins from the Super Bowl has been viewed more than one-and-a-half mil...
Sun, Feb 10 2019

Two New Apps Related to Hearing
Deaf News Today Google has two new Android apps aimed at the deaf and hard of hearing. Live Transcribe is a speech-to-text app that works in real time and Sound Amplifier does what you would expect it to do based on the name—it makes sounds louder. The user with hearing loss puts on a set of headphones and can adjust the app's settings for voice clarity, decreasing the ambient nois...
Wed, Feb 06 2019

BBC Captioning History
Deaf News Today 1979 - A documentary is the first program to be subtitled on the BBC 1986 - Blue Peter becomes the first live program to be subtitled on the BBC 1990 - The first live BBC broadcast is captioned by a stenographer 1990 - The BBC begins subtitling its news 2001 - Respeaking is used for subtitling for the first time by the BBC Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Wed, Feb 06 2019

Helen Keller video
Deaf News Today Here is a Newsreel showing Helen Keller & Anne Sullivan recorded in 1928 with Open Captions and Audio Description. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Mon, Feb 04 2019

Security guard attacked by deaf Uber driver
Deaf News Today A Houston security guard is recovering after being attacked by a deaf Uber driver. The confrontation was caught on camera. ABC-13 has a video report. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sun, Feb 03 2019

America's First Female Deaf Mayor
Deaf News Today Amanda Folendorf became the mayor of Angels Camp, California just a year ago. The little town is located east of San Francisco. Amanda was born with a rare birth defect called diaphragmatic hernia. The medications she had to take as a baby ultimately damaged her hearing. Folendorf pick up some low-frequency noises and has some skill at reading lips. But the former Mis...
Sun, Feb 03 2019

Gallaudet's Motion Light Lab
Deaf News Today The PBS Newshour profiles Melissa Malzkuhn and her work at Gallaudet's Motion Light Lab in the video below. Malzkuhn says her "early access to sign language allowed her to connect with humanity." Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sat, Feb 02 2019

Samantha Bee on Police and the Deaf community
Deaf News Today Nyle DiMarco joined comedian Samantha Bee for a section of her show about the difficulties faced by the deaf when they encounter law enforcement. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sat, Feb 02 2019

City settles Captioning Lawsuit
Deaf News Today Key West, Florida has agreed to add captioning to its meetings—and pay $10k to settled a lawsuit. Eddie Sierra, who is deaf, filed the suit, saying the failure to include captioning is an ADA violation. Read more on the story in the Miami Herald. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Fri, Feb 01 2019

Deaf Couple has a Complaint against Delta
Deaf News Today A deaf couple say they were discriminated against by Delta Air Lines while in Detroit and ended up missing their flight. In response to their claims Delta released a statement saying it takes "situations like these very seriously and as part of our culture of continuous improvement, we are using this as an opportunity to learn." Socorro Garcia and Melissa Yingst were ...
Fri, Feb 01 2019

On this date: A deaf man helps to stop a bank robbery
Deaf News Today A deaf bank customer helped stop a bank robbery on this day (Jan 30) in 2003. A bank teller in Rochester, New York tipped off the man as he was going through the drive-through. The robber had entered a branch of HSBC yelled that he was robbing it, then jumped on a counter and pistol-whipped a teller. Another teller at the drive-up window just happened to be helping a ...
Wed, Jan 30 2019

New Signing Science Apps
Deaf News Today A new app provides a signing glossary for museum visits. Users can search among thousands of words related to science and an Avatar will sign it to them, along with its definition, among other things. The free apps work with iPhone and Android mobile devices. You'll find more information on the six new apps here. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sun, Jan 27 2019

Getting to know.. audiologist Marion Downs
Deaf News Today image from Marion Downs Hearing Center  One of the people most responsible for newborn hearing screening in the U.S. was born this day (Jan. 26) in 1914. Audiologist Marion Downs published two books and over 100 articles on the topic during her lifetime. The Marion Downs Hearing Center opened nearly a decade ago at the University of Colorado Medical Center. WVXU r...
Sat, Jan 26 2019

Can 2 Deaf Strangers Fall in Love with 36 Questions?
Deaf News Today Jubilee's "Tea for Two" video series is based on a column about 36 questions "that lead to love," written by psychologist Arthur Aron. There are questions like, "What is your most treasured memory?" or, "When did you last cry?" On season three, episode one, Jubilee brought together two deaf people: Ryssa Fleischer and Patrick McMullen. You can see how it turned out b...
Fri, Jan 25 2019

Deaf Ref Sues Athletic Assoc
Deaf News Today Donald Jacobs is suing the Georgia High School Association for discrimination. The deaf basketball referee says that while the association requires refs to attend the Georgia High School Association referee camps for training and evaluation, it refuses to provide an interpreter, insisting he come up with his own. Read more about Jacobs plight in the Atlanta Journal-Co...
Thu, Jan 24 2019

Ariana Grande's New Video
Deaf News Today Ariana Grande just released her new video 7 Rings with captioning. The move comes after she failed to include captioning on her video thank u, next. Nyle DiMarco called her out for the mistake, saying, “466 million people with hearing loss” who would like to watch it." Below is the new video. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Mon, Jan 21 2019

On this date: Sorenson Dies
Deaf News Today James LeVoy Sorenson(image from Southern Utah University) A driving force in the Deaf community died on this date (Jan. 20) in 2008. James LeVoy Sorenson passed away at a Salt Lake City hospital at the age of 86. Utah's richest man was estimated to be worth $4.5 billion by Forbes magazine. Perhaps best known for co-developing the first real-time computerized heart mo...
Sun, Jan 20 2019

Actress Defers to a ‘Brilliant Deaf Woman’
Deaf News Today image by aitchisons One of the stars of The Good Place says she turned down a role to play a deaf woman because "it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take that role and they should find a brilliant deaf woman to play that role.” Jameela Jamil was born partially deaf but revealed her decision at the Press Association this week. Read more in the Huffington Post he...
Sat, Jan 19 2019

Insurers now must cover hearing aids for Idaho kids
Deaf News Today Idaho lawmakers have changed state law so that insurance companies are required to cover hearing aids, speech therapy for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. You can read the official rule here. KTVB-TV has a video report: Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sat, Jan 19 2019

Deaf Man Shot & Killed in Phoenix
Deaf News Today A father and member of the deaf community was shot and killed outside of a Phoenix apartment complex this past Monday, reports KNXV-TV (ABC-15). Police are looking for the culprits even as friends of Gary Herrera try to raise money for his funeral by holding a car wash Saturday. Below is a video report. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sun, Jan 13 2019

Deaf And Unemployed
Deaf News Today "Amanda Koller is getting her second master's degree. She has applied for more than 1,100 jobs in the past year. She hasn't gotten any full-time, permanent job offers. She is also profoundly deaf." That's how an NPR story on the difficulties facing deaf people seeking jobs. Read the full story here. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sat, Jan 12 2019

Donald Trump in ASL
Deaf News Today Ever wondered how to say ‘Donald Trump’ in American Sign Language? The Washington Post has a suggestion here, along with some other politicians. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Thu, Jan 10 2019

Getting to Know.. the First Teacher of the Deaf
Deaf News Today A Spanish monk in the 16th century named Pedro Ponce de Leon (1520–1584) is recognized by most historians as the first teacher of deaf children, though some experts point to Spanish painter Juan Fernandez Navarrete, who lived in the earlier part of the century. Ponce de Leon was a Benedictine monk who took a vow of silence and developed a form of sign language to co...
Wed, Jan 09 2019

Getting to Know.. Greg Hlibok
Deaf News Today image from Gallaudet University Greg Hlibok oversaw the FCC's Disability Rights Office from 2010 to 2016. Profoundly deaf since birth, Hlibok was the first deaf law student at Hofstra University. Hlibok is best known in the Deaf community as the student body president of Gallaudet University during the 1988 Deaf President Now protest. He serves on the Gallaudet Unive...
Mon, Jan 07 2019

Deaf-friendly Workout Classes
Deaf News Today A San Diego gym is hosting free workshops that include sign language and other deaf-friendly options. CBS-8 has a video report. CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News Station - KFMB Channel 8 Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Sun, Jan 06 2019

Getting to Know... Hearing Tests
Deaf News Today Here's what won't happen during a hearing test: No one will use a needle and there will be no request to strip off your clothes.Here's what WILL happen: An audiologist will check to make sure you don’t have a build up of wax in your ears before taking you into an acoustic testing chamber that cuts out outside noise.You’ll put on headphones that cover your ears and...
Sun, Jan 06 2019

Airline Travel Tips
Deaf News Today Make each airline agent aware of your situation at each stage of your trip.. from the booking agent all the way to the gate agent and flight attendants.Arrange for pre-boarding and have a friend or family member escort you to the gate. Escorts can get a gate pass that will allow them through security and to the gate.Airlines will often seat you at the front of a plane...
Sat, Jan 05 2019

Katie Irwin becomes the first deaf person to give UAA...
Deaf News Today Katie Irwin delivered the commencement address to fellow students at the University of Alaska Anchorage in December. She becomes the first deaf person to give the commencement. KTVA-TV has a video report. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Fri, Jan 04 2019

Getting to Know... Hearing Loops
Deaf News Today When you see a blue sign of a human ear that's a cue to hearing aid users that they can press a tiny button to hear a special broadcast sent directly to their device. This is called a hearing loop, a thin copper wire that radiates electromagnetic signals in a room. A tiny receiver called a telecoil built into most hearing aids and cochlear implants picks up the signal...
Fri, Jan 04 2019

Video shows Taco Bell Refusing to Serve Deaf Man
Deaf News Today Taco Bell fired an employee in Ohio after he refused to serve a deaf man. The employee even threatened to call the police if he did not leave. The man's mother posted a video of the encounter on Facebook, saying, "This is my Deaf son getting discriminated against in the Taco Bell drive thru on Dorothy Ln in Kettering. He was trying to show them his order and they told...
Thu, Jan 03 2019

Accessibility in Tampa Bay
Deaf News Today Deaf advocates in Tampa Bay applaud the inclusion of Text 911. But they also say there's still a lot to do to make the community accessible. Read more in the Tampa Bay Times here. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Thu, Jan 03 2019

Getting to Know... Service Animals
Deaf News Today image from Wikimedia Commons What is the legal definition of a service animal?  Therapy Animals are not legally defined by federal law but there is a legal definition for service animals in the Americans With Disabilities Act. Service animals are specifically trained to help the disability-related needs of their handlers and are not considered 'pets'.Is using a serv...
Thu, Jan 03 2019

The Rise of DeafSpace
Deaf News Today Hansel Bauman, the architect who established the DeafSpace Project at Gallaudet, "is adamant that DeafSpace is very different from ideas such as 'human-centred design' and 'universal design.' Architecture for the deaf community should go beyond the goal of producing a design that simply suits its users well, he says. Instead spaces built for the deaf should understand...
Wed, Jan 02 2019

Getting to Know.. your Hair Cells
Deaf News Today Clusters of hair cells Hair cells play a critical role in our hearing. When they are damaged, doctors say they act like blades of grass. When someone walks on grass, the blades initially lie down and then bounce back up. but if you keep walking that same path over and over again, the grass will stay down. Hair cells are the same way, if you send waves of sound from t...
Wed, Jan 02 2019

On this date.. at the South Pole
Deaf News Today (image from NASA) Ian Berry become the first deaf man to walk to the South Pole on this day (Dec. 31) in 2009. The UK native dragged a sled across 112 miles of ice to raise more than $40,000 for the National Deaf Children's Society. The 43-year-old reached the pole on New Year's Eve as part of a five person team. Read more about his adventure here. Read More at DeafN...
Mon, Dec 31 2018

Deaf History.. Artist William Agnew
Deaf News Today Amateur artist William Agnew died on this day (Dec 21) in 1914. The deaf painter created a series of pictures (none of which survived) which made him famous, showing Queen Victoria using finger spelling to communicate with a deaf woman on the Isle of Wight. Educated at the Glasgow Institution where he took a leadership role as an adult, Agnew opposed the oral system ...
Fri, Dec 21 2018

It's OK to Point!
Deaf News Today The CDC offers a video explaining some differences between hearing and Deaf culture. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. spoke with Jack Volpe, who is an ASL instructor and director of a play, which brings together both Deaf and hearing actors in Montreal. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Wed, Dec 19 2018

On this date: Long-time Gally prof killed
Deaf News Today A former Gallaudet professor was killed on this day (Dec. 18) in 2013 when she was hit by a car leaving a parking garage where she lived in Washington, DC. Peggie Parsons was 90 years old and had spent her life setting up schools around the world that would teach sign and voice and wrote several books. She taught art history and retired from Gallaudet in 1988. Read Mo...
Tue, Dec 18 2018

Happy Birthday, Curtis Pride!
Deaf News Today Image from Gallaudet University Today is the birthday of Curtis Pride. He was born on Dec 17, 1968 in Washington, D.C. The only deaf player in the major leagues during the modern era, Pride played for 11 years in the majors as an outfielder and pinch hitter and a dozen more in the minors. He hit 20 home runs in his 421 major league games with such teams as the Detroi...
Mon, Dec 17 2018

The Ottoman Empire used a Secret Sign Language
Deaf News Today Ottoman court signer from a  17th-century costume book (via Wikimedia Commons) "In the 1600s, the court of the Ottoman Empire employed some 40 deaf servants," professor Sara Scalenghe writes. "They were chosen not in spite of their deafness, but because of it. The deaf servants were favored companions of the sultan, and their facility in nonverbal communication made...
Wed, Dec 12 2018

How deaf researchers are reinventing science communication
Deaf News Today Science jargon can be a barrier to deaf researchers when there isn't a good sign for an English word. In an attempt to avoid a ridiculous amount of fingerspelling, there is an effort "to help ASL catch up by inventing new signs." Verge Science visited graduate student Lorne Farovitch in his Rochester, New York lab to find out more. Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
Tue, Dec 11 2018

Happy Birthday, Thomas Gallaudet!
Deaf News Today Born - Philadelphia on December 10, 1787 Family - Oldest of 12 children College - Attended Yale at age 14, graduating with highest honors at 17 Ministry - Ordained in 1814, sometimes preaching at church Deaf Interest - Became interested in deaf issues when he met a 9-year-old deaf neighbor School - Founded The American School for the Deaf during 1817 in Hartfo...
Mon, Dec 10 2018