Deafness/HOH @ About.com

Deaf Teachers Losing Jobs Because of English
Jamie Berke (About.com) Nobody likes to see deaf people lose jobs, particularly teachers. However, in Massachusetts, deaf teachers who can not pass the state's English competency test for teachers are at risk of...
Legal Education Fri, Jul 03 2009 · 17 hours ago

After Nearly Dying, Autoimmune Hearing Loss
Jamie Berke (About.com) Rebecca on the forum describes how she nearly died, and was diagnosed with an autoimmune hearing loss. Her story, which she posted in hopes of helping someone else, is...
Art and Storytelling Education Thu, Jul 02 2009

Story of the First Caption Action
Jamie Berke (About.com) If you were born after 1975, you probably never heard of the first Caption Action. Caption Action was a national grassroots campaign to get closed captions on home video. And...
Media Language Tech Culture Tue, Jun 30 2009

Internet Captioning Bill Introduced on Hill
Jamie Berke (About.com) The 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act of 2009 has just been introduced in Congress by Representative Ed Markey (D-MA). This is the bill that if passed, would require...
Media Language Tech Legal Mon, Jun 29 2009
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Hearing Industries Association
Jamie Berke (About.com) Have you struggled to pay for hearing aids? The Hearing Industries Association is one of the organizations trying to get Congress to pass legislation to require insurance companies to at...
Tech Culture Sun, Jun 28 2009

Does Your Baby Have a Hearing Loss?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Newborn hearing screening is everywhere now -- in the United States and other advanced countries. However, there are countries where newborn hearing screening is not as available, and even in...
Tech Sat, Jun 27 2009

Cable Television Moves to the Internet. Any Captions?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Both Time Warner and Comcast have announced that they are going to be making cable television content available on the Internet. Will this cable television content have captions online?? This...
Media Tech Fri, Jun 26 2009

Purse With Hearing Aid Stolen
Jamie Berke (About.com) Catherine is a hearing aid user in Ireland who lost her hearing aid when her purse (with the hearing aid) was stolen. Now she can not afford to get new...
Culture Tech Thu, Jun 25 2009

Is The National Deaf Academy Under Control or Out of...
Jamie Berke (About.com) The Orlando Sentinel reports that the National Deaf Academy in Mount Dora has made numerous calls to the local police for help. (The NDA is one of the few residential...
Education Culture Wed, Jun 24 2009

Supreme Court Makes Important Special Education Ruling
Jamie Berke (About.com) The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on one of the most important special education court cases ever. The rulemaking in a nutshell: if parents find that public schools can not...
Education Legal Tue, Jun 23 2009
DeafPundit liked this

How to Handle Staring and Pointing?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Someone Twittered me a question: how do you handle staring and pointing when you have deaf kids? That is something I have not had to deal with, or do not...
Mon, Jun 22 2009

Blog Post of the Week: Get Out of the Way, Deafie.
Jamie Berke (About.com) Jimm at the Raging 8th Nerve has posted a blog post that will strike a chord with many of you: Fifth Wheel Sucks. In it, he describes how whenever his...
Audism Culture Sun, Jun 21 2009

Oregon Kids to Be Covered for Hearing Aids
Jamie Berke (About.com) Oregon is joining the growing list of states requiring insurance coverage of hearing aids for children. House Bill 2589 mandates coverage of hearing aids for kids under 18, PLUS it...
Tech Legal Sat, Jun 20 2009

No Shout-Signing Cartoon
Jamie Berke (About.com) Someone posted this cartoon on Facebook, and it was so funny that I requested they post it on the forum here too. In this cartoon, a woman tells a deaf...
Media Art and Storytelling Tech Culture Fri, Jun 19 2009

Deaf People in Arizona May Lose Medicaid Coverage of...
Jamie Berke (About.com) Deaf people in Arizona who receive Medicaid, may soon not be able to have Medicaid pay for cochlear implants and Baha (bone anchored hearing aid) implants. Hi_Dan has posted a...
Tech Culture Thu, Jun 18 2009

Got Some Hearing Left? Perhaps You Can be a UPS Driver.
Jamie Berke (About.com) United Parcel Service (UPS) and deaf and hard of hearing drivers have finally settled an old lawsuit. Under the settlement (which settles a case that had been continuing since 1999!)...
Legal Culture Wed, Jun 17 2009

Walk4Hearing Team Needs a Name
Jamie Berke (About.com) Shelly on the forum needs help to come up with a creative name for the Walk4Hearing team she is on. (Walk4Hearing is a fundraising activity for Hearing Loss Association of...
Wed, Jun 17 2009

Today's Teens Don't Care If They Go Deaf?
Jamie Berke (About.com) We have heard the warnings about the dangers of hearing loss from overly loud iPod and cell phone use. The danger level for iPod use is 80 percent volume for...
Tech Mon, Jun 15 2009

If Netflix Added Captions to Streamed Media, Would You...
Jamie Berke (About.com) We need to demonstrate to Netflix how much of a potential market they are missing out on. What better way to demonstrate that than this poll? After all,...
Media Tech Sun, Jun 14 2009

This Week in Comments
Jamie Berke (About.com) This past week these blog posts got at least one comment each: Netflix Responds on Their Blog Need a Text Only Cell Phone Plan? Question on Sebotek Aid How to Handle a Deaf-Unfriendly Class Need...
Media Language Tech Culture Sat, Jun 13 2009

Review: Moments of Truth - Story of Robert R. Davila
Jamie Berke (About.com) Just reviewed, Moments of Truth: Robert R. Davila, The Story of a Deaf Leader. From the Foreword to the Afterword, this was an excellent book and I had a hard...
Media Higher Education Art and Storytelling Education Culture Fri, Jun 12 2009

Netflix Responds on Their Blog
Jamie Berke (About.com) Netflix has just responded to the deaf and hard of hearing community and its hearing friends about the captioning of streamed media issue. The response is on their blog. The...
Media Language Tech Culture Fri, Jun 12 2009

Need Hearing Aids for Your Kid? Become Unemployed.
Jamie Berke (About.com) A mother in Virginia was able to get hearing aids for her daughter only after she lost her job. That qualified her for Medicaid. Before she lost her job, she...
Tech Legal Wed, Jun 10 2009

Will Epix Have Captions?
Jamie Berke (About.com) The online video streaming market is about to gain a new competitor: Epix. According to the bare bones website, Epix is a joint venture of Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. Already,...
Media Tech Tue, Jun 09 2009

Phil Moos Passes Away
Jamie Berke (About.com) Phil Moos, whose name may seem familiar to you if you had subscribed to his USA-L News, has passed away. Details are in this page on DeafTimes.com. His picture can...
Media Culture Sun, Jun 07 2009

Consumer Reports Hearing Aid Guide
Jamie Berke (About.com) Consumer Reports has published in its July issue a comprehensive guide to buying hearing aids. As part of preparation for this guide, Consumer Reports followed a dozen people as they...
Tech Culture Sun, Jun 07 2009

Ideas for Helping a Deaf/HOH Organization Grow?
Jamie Berke (About.com) This morning I went to a social meeting for a local deaf/hard of hearing organization. This organization faces the same challenge that many if not most deaf/hoh organizations are facing:...
Tech Culture Sat, Jun 06 2009

Interpreters Not Joining Interpreting Organizations?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Sharon was challenged with answering the question, "Some interpreters prefer not to belong to local or national organizations" for interpreters. Why would this be, when belonging to local and national...
Culture Fri, Jun 05 2009

How to Handle a Deaf-Unfriendly Class?
Jamie Berke (About.com) This week I have been taking a training course at work. It has been rather stressful, because the way it is taught is deaf-unfriendly. Speedy lecturing, flashing powerpoint slides so...
Language Education Tech Thu, Jun 04 2009

Purple's New Dream Bigger Campaign
Jamie Berke (About.com) I'm always interested in anything that involves deaf role models, so when Purple contacted me today to let me know about the new Dream Bigger campaign that honors deaf role...
Media Culture Wed, Jun 03 2009

Sign Language Learning Experience?
Jamie Berke (About.com) A new Readers Respond page has been published: Sign Language Learning Experience. On this page, readers can share their own experiences with learning sign language. I started the page off...
Language Education Culture Tue, Jun 02 2009

Hulu Has Captions and Netflix Doesn't. Why?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Today I found out the real reason why Hulu.com has closed captions, and it is NOT because Hulu.com planned to be accessible from the very start. Here is the true...
Media Language Tech Mon, Jun 01 2009

Can We Win Against Netflix? Yes. Remember Caption Action?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Can the deaf and hard of hearing community and its hearing friends win against Netflix in the fight to get them to put captions on their streamed video? Yes, we...
Media Tech Legal Sat, May 30 2009

Blog Posts of the Week: Netflix CEO An Insensitive B******
Jamie Berke (About.com) To see an example of insensitivity to the needs of deaf and hard of hearing people, look no further than the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings. As seen in blog...
Fri, May 29 2009

Losing an Interpreter
Jamie Berke (About.com) Another slice of my deaf life: today I found out that I was going to lose an interpreter at work. This interpreter and I had developed a good working relationship,...
Language Culture Thu, May 28 2009

Is there a deaf (or hearing person in the deaf community)...
Jamie Berke (About.com) Is there a deaf (or hearing person in the deaf community) person that you most admire? Do you admire a deaf person living today, or someone who had a role...
Culture Wed, May 27 2009

How Are This Year's Deaf College Graduates Faring?
Jamie Berke (About.com) You may have seen the statistic in the news: Less than 20 percent of 2009 college graduates have found jobs, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. ...
Higher Education Mon, May 25 2009

Coming Soon..African Sign Language?
Jamie Berke (About.com) AllAfrica.com has a report that the Harare-based African Rehabilitation Institute (an African Union agency) is working to develop a single sign language for all of Africa. Not only that, the...
Language Education Culture Sun, May 24 2009

Review - Deaf Daughter, Hearing Father
Jamie Berke (About.com) Just in time for beach season, a review of the book Deaf Daughter, Hearing Father. In many ways, it is similar to yet the opposite of the classic Deaf...
Media Language Art and Storytelling Culture Sat, May 23 2009

Learning to Hold Conversations - A Growing Up Deaf Memory
Jamie Berke (About.com) My class at work today was discussing communication skills, and it brought back a growing up deaf memory for me. When I was a young teen, I was weak in...
Language Education Fri, May 22 2009

Before Wisconsin, There Was Kentucky
Jamie Berke (About.com) Although most news articles have said Wisconsin is the first to require insurance companies to cover both hearing aids and cochlear implants for children under 18, Kentucky was actually the...
Tech Legal Thu, May 21 2009

Not Qualified to Be a Firefighter?
Jamie Berke (About.com) The Orange County Register reports that a man with hearing loss who lost a job offer as a firefighter, is asking for $1 million or the job offer reinstated. What...
Audism Legal Culture Wed, May 20 2009

Warranty Has Expired and Can't Afford Service Plan
Jamie Berke (About.com) Heidi is the mother of a little girl with a cochlear implant that she got years ago. Now the implant's warranty has expired, and at the same time, the speech...
Tech Tue, May 19 2009

Cheers for Wisconsin's Cochlear Implant/Hearing Aid Bill
Jamie Berke (About.com) Every deaf person, even those opposed to cochlear implants, should be cheering for Wisconsin's 2009 Senate Bill 27 that requires insurance companies to cover both hearing aids and cochlear implants...
Media Tech Legal Sat, May 16 2009
LiLis Mom liked this

Blog Post of the Week: Is That Baby Retarded?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Any protective parent will identify strongly with baby Shiloh's mother who had to deal with a very painful situation recently. At the daycare center, someone noticed the hearing aids on...
Audism Education Fri, May 15 2009

Got an Ossified Cochlea?
Jamie Berke (About.com) Is your cochlea or your child's cochlea, ossified after surviving meningitis? Were you able to get a cochlear implant despite the ossification? ...
Tech Fri, May 15 2009

Special Announcement: All Comments Now Moderated
Jamie Berke (About.com) After six years I have finally had to take a step I hoped to avoid having to take. The number of inappopriate comments from several people increased to the point...
Media Thu, May 14 2009

Will Deaf Iowa Kids Lose Interpreters?
Jamie Berke (About.com) RadioIowa reports that deaf kids in a rural area in Iowa are at risk for losing their school interpreters. Their interpreters can not meet newer, tougher standards for educational interpreters...
Language Education Legal Wed, May 13 2009

Woof! I Can't Hear You.
Jamie Berke (About.com) Is Fido hard of hearing now? Next year at this time, Fido may have his own hearing aid if all goes well. A researcher at the University of Cincinnatti is...
Tech Wed, May 13 2009

Dissertation Topic: Why Should Hearing Parents Learn Sign?
Jamie Berke (About.com) How important is it for hearing parents to learn sign language to communicate with their deaf children? This is the question being asked by Luis68 on the forum, as he...
Language Tue, May 12 2009