Deaf Freedom Cruise 2007

At the end of October, the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas will set sail with over 4,000 passengers. For the first time in history, the cruise will consist of deaf and hard of hearing passengers.

On the entire ship.

That's right, the Deaf Freedom Cruise will be the first time an entire cruise ship is devoted to deaf and hard of hearing passengers. This cruise was made possible by the hard work and dedication of the staff of Passages Deaf Travel.

Passages Deaf Travel is owned by Tabitha and Max Partlow, a husband and wife team. Tabitha first became involved with the Deaf community when she went to college to become an interpreter. The idea of creating a travel business devoted to deaf and hard of hearing persons came about when they attended a cruise with twenty-two other deaf passengers. Despite being promised interpreters and room kits, the deaf passengers boarded the ship only to find out there were none.
"It was at that point that Mac and I realized the need for travel agents to specialize in deaf travel" said Tabitha.

Last year, the team hosted Adventure Cruise 2006 with a group of 350 deaf and hard of hearing travelers aboard Royal Caribbean's Adventure of the Seas. "We had such a wonderful response to that cruise that I wondered if enough people would be interested enough to fill an entire ship," said Tabitha.

"When we had this idea," she continued, "I went to many different cruise companies to see who wanted to do this. Some cruise companies turned me down. Royal Caribbean and Carnival wanted to do it. Royal Caribbean really stepped up and decided to provide the interpreters and room kits at no additional cost to our clients." Real-time captioning will also be provided.

The staff of Royal Caribbean also convinced Tabitha that she could fill up the newest and biggest ship, Freedom of the Seas. "I wasn't thinking about the biggest cruise ship at the time... but Royal Caribbean talked us into it," she said. "Now I am thrilled, it is the best ship!"

Over 3,800 people have booked their rooms and the ship is nearly at capacity. Fully booked, it will hold 4,100 people. Royal Caribbean plans to take pictures of all of the passengers together, but will have to divide it up into four pictures. "Perhaps we can put all four pictures together to make big one!" Tabitha chuckled.
Current sponsors of the trip include Hands On VRS, Worldvuer, DeafNation and Crown Jewelers and more. Entertainment will be provided by some well-known performers, including John Maucere, Bernard Bragg, Keith Wann and CJ Jones. "Keith Wann will have a morning talk show that will air on TV in each cabin, every morning!" said Tabitha. "Keith will talk about the events happening that day, weather, dinner, and other things. Each day, he will interview someone from the ship."

This cruise is the accumulation of a dream for Tabitha. "We feel that the travel industry should provide more access for deaf people" said Tabitha.

"Maybe once they see how successful Deaf Freedom Cruise is... maybe they will come around."

View the DeafNation video of Freedom of the Seas

$65 Million Dollars for a pair of pants-- Absurd!

What would you do if the local dry cleaning establishment lost your favorite pair of pants?

Like most people, you would get a little upset. You might become tremendously pissed off and make the establishment refund you for the cost of the dry cleaning and the pants. At worse, you'd haul them off to small claims court and let a judge settle the case.

Then you'd go out and buy another pair of pants and go off to work.

Like most people.

Apparently, Roy Pearson isn't like most people. He's a judge from Washington, D.C. who decided to take his own case to court and sue the local dry cleaners to the tune of $65 million dollars.

For losing his pants.

The Chungs, who own the dry cleaning establishment, have done everything they can to remedy the issue without going to court. They've offered plenty of money to replace the suit and settle the matter. An offer of twelve grand did nothing to satisfy Mr. Pearson.

He's still dragging them to court and asking for $65 million dollars for the inconvenience of having to rent a car and drive across town to use another dry cleaners.

To top it off, the Chungs claim that they have found his pants.

Let's hope a more level-headed judge will throw this case out and make Pearson pay for this absurd use of our legal system.

And to help this case out, I've got a perfectly good suit sitting in my husband's closet-- Pearson, do you want it?

Deaf Characters in Books--All In One Place

For as long as I can remember, I have always had my nose buried in a book. My mom used to complain when I brought a book to the dinner table. Recently, while doing some surfing on the internet, I came across a compilation of books that have deaf or hard of hearing characters in them on My Shelf.

Brenda, the website owner, has a personal interest in books with deaf characters. Her 24-year-old son is deaf. One day in 1998, she decided to put together a list of fiction books. Today, you will find books on American Sign Language and other non-fiction topics as well. Brenda has read many of the books herself, and provides a summary of each as well as personal notes on some of them.

Check it out: My Shelf-- Deaf Characters

Disabled, Schmabled--Blogging Against Disablism

Over at Diary of a Goldfish, they're Blogging About Disablism. Simply put, Disablism is right up there with a long line of "isms," which boils down to a simple word: discrimination. I also call it a reality based on fear or discomfort.

As many of you know, the hubby and I are deaf and we're raising three deaf and hard of hearing kids. At first glance, we don't look any different from the hundreds of families in our neighborhood. We're just another family in the typical American tract home, driving three kids in two cars to three different activities on the same day.

Glance at us a second time, and you'll find hearing aids in each of our ears. Our youngest son sports red, white and blue earmolds. We've gone through quite a few color combinations throughout the years, including the blue and white swirls in honor of their school colors. Your eyes might catch us signing or tapping each other on the shoulder.

Invite us to a party and you find that we might be a bit quiet at times. Joining in on group conversations is nearly impossible for us. Our eyes simply can't play ping pong with conversations. As soon as we've lipread one conversation and turn to lipread a response from someone else, the conversation moves yet again. That's why we love people who are willing to understand the logistics of group conversation and slow down until we've made eye contact and take turns speaking. Unfortunately, it's a rare occasion when this happens. That's why we like our activities with a group of deaf and hard of hearing friends-- conversation flows and the communication barriers fall to the wayside. I get riled up when people tell me that we need to be "in the real world with hearing people." Believe me, we're in the real world everyday. I just like my world accessible.

We have a couple of people in our lives that have that "deer in the headlights" look whenever they're around us. They're quite uncomfortable making conversation and they offer a few sentences and then dart away. There's no real deep meaningful dialogue because they're so afraid of having to repeat themselves and the tension runs too high. Sometimes we joke about slipping a few anti-anxiety pills in their coffee.

Making a phone call to us can be a bit tricky but it is improving with technology all the time. We now have a regular number that people can call without us having to explain what a relay service is. In years past, we would have to give out an 800 number and our home phone number and people would often give up before attempting to call us. We still have kinks to work out with people who hang up when they get an operator instead of us directly.

The invention that I personally love right now is the videophone. I use a wireless phone to talk to people directly and I have an interpreter on a screen in front of me who signs everything that is being said. Most of the time, conversation flows pretty easily with this method.

Around the internet, I identify myself as "Deaf Mom." It's me, it's who I am, it's a part of me 24/7. Being deaf is so much a part of me that if you can't see beyond the lack of hearing stuff, then you've got a disability of your own.

A Brief Moment of Wishing... for Hearing

On Monday, I attended Austin's birth with my friend Beth and her husband. During the twelve hours of labor, various nurses, the doctor and family members came in and out of the room.

For a couple of moments throughout the day, I briefly wished I could hear.

Don't get me wrong. I feel quite comfortable with myself and I'm assertive enough to ask people to repeat what is being said. So it's not a matter of accepting that I'm deaf. I was comfortable enough to feel that I didn't need an interpreter.

However, there are always situations that come up where asking to repeat things can't happen. For example, one of the husband's friends came into the room and a lot of conversation was flowing. I couldn't join in, since it was moving far too fast for me. A new nurse would come in every couple of hours and I would have to get used to lipreading a different person all day long. Those are the kinds of situations that deaf and hard of hearing people face on a daily basis and frequently get left out of, because there's no polite way to join in the conversation and comprehend everything that's being said.

I've attended two of Beth's births previously and felt quite comfortable supporting her. We've been friends for fourteen years. When it came time to push, I was on one side holding one leg, the hubby was on the other side. Pushing was moving alone routinely.

In the middle of Austin's birth, all hell broke loose. The doctor called a code and suddenly the room filled with doctors and nurses. I, of course, couldn't hear what was going on. Beth's husband mouthed the words, "They're calling for a cesarean!" Austin was stuck.

For several frightening minutes, there was a lot of yelling. I saw the doctor go in with both hands, and I knew instinctively that there was little time to spare. A nurse jumped on top of Beth and applied pressure. I knew those were emergency measures and something inside of me made me lean over Beth and urge her to push.

"Beth, push!"

And somewhere during the moments of praying, watching, and holding my breath, a thought suddenly popped into my mind.

I wish I could hear what everyone is saying.

The thought quickly disappeared as the events unfolded. Austin was brought to the baby warmer and for several heart-wrenching minutes, we didn't know if he was going to make it. It took a few minutes to get him breathing and he pinked up.

It wasn't until today that I reflected back on all that had happened and about that thought that had popped in to my head.

Why in the world, in the middle of all that was happening, did I wish that I could hear?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized why: when I urged Beth to push, I was operating on instinct. There was no way for me to hear the doctor's instructions.

What if I was wrong? What if pushing at that moment was not the right thing to do.

What if my lack of hearing and understanding had hurt my friend?

So it had me wondering about deaf and hard of hearing doctors and nurses-- there are several of them around the U.S.-- how do they handle emergency situations when a code is called?

Stay tuned as I find out more.

It's a...

It's a boy! A big boy! Austin arrived weighing 11 pounds, 12 ounces.

It was a scary birth though after twelve hours of uneventful labor. At one point, the doc called for a cesarean (the baby's head was showing but not progressing) and tried to push the baby back in. Quickly changed his mind and with several pushes, Austin came out with the cord compressed near his head and shoulders.

Mom and baby are doing fine today.

A Baby Coming Up!

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. My friend Beth is heading to the hospital to have her fifth baby. Tomorrow's birth will be the fourth birth we've shared together. Beth attended my daughter's birth and I've attended two of her son's births.

For a couple of years, I entertained the idea of becoming a professional doula. My third child was born at home and his homebirth sparked the idea that I wanted to help support moms during birth. I started the process of becoming a childbirth educator and began studying for certification.

I've been fortunate to be able to share in several births with a few friends. When my friend Sue gave birth to her third child, it was one of the toughest births for her. Katie arrived faced up. She gave her mom a rough time in labor, but she's one of the sweetest kids you've ever met.

My friend Cathy gave birth to a tiny little girl-- Caitlin was just one pound thirteen ounces. I arrived at the hospital just in time to see them wheeling her out of the room in an incubator. Today, Caitlin is in first grade and smart as a whip.

The one birth that I will always remember vividly is M's birth. M and I met online. We chatted online frequently and got together with our kids. Her two children were born via cesarean and M was planning a homebirth. She invited me to support her at her daughter's birth.

I was in Michigan when I got the call that labor started. I jumped in the car and got to her house in record time. She labored on and off all night. By morning, she was starting to vocalize more and become uncomfortable. I urged her to step in the tub for some relief and her husband called the midwife. I looked down and realized that the baby had moved down quite a bit. "The baby's moving down," I said.

"No, not yet," she replied.

About a half hour later, I knew that the baby was going to arrive soon, with or without a midwife. I looked at her husband and asked him, "Are you ready to catch?"

At that moment, the midwife walked in. She grabbed some gloves and with a couple of strong pushes, M's baby arrived in the water.

Ah, birth-- there's nothing like the arrival of a new little one into the world.

I can't wait for tomorrow!

I Want One of These!

Five Minutes for Mom is giving away a neat prize: A Phillips Digital Photo Frame!

This neat gadget rotates photos from a memory disk. I really want one of these things because my digital photos are almost never displayed in my home, because I'm too lazy to get them printed out!

Yesterday's Field Trip-- Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy Day

Yesterday, my son David took a field trip to attend an annual "Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advocacy" day. This event is the brainchild of Katie Ward, a supervisor of a program that serves deaf and hard of hearing students in Lockport, Illinois. There were 104 students attending and about 20 parents. Most of the students attend their local schools and some of them attend specialized programs for deaf students.

Earlier in the year, the students were encouraged to share a story about their life and the different ways that they advocate for themselves. Unfortunately, David's itinerant teacher forgot to share that information with us so we weren't able to participate. David's good friend, Aubrey Millar, won an award as a semi-finalist for her wonderful powerpoint presentation.

This year, there were nine deaf and hard of hearing adults who shared a bit about their life-- their careers, travels and advocacy tips. There was a financial advisor, a marketing specialist, vision teacher, village trustee, physical education teacher, band director, network administrator, stay-at-home mom and an audiologist. Each of them had the same message to share:

"Don't let anything stop you from acheiving your dreams."

It's No B.S. Mom, I Love You Too!

I grew up in a family with five generations of hearing loss. My Great-Grandfather, Grandmother, my mom and all of her siblings were deaf or hard of hearing and none of them knew sign language. All of my siblings have hearing loss as well as my children and one niece.

My mother's hearing began to decline in her twenties. All of my brothers and sisters were born hearing and one by one, we each lost our hearing. My oldest sister was three years old when she fell, hit her head and instantly became profoundly deaf. My parents sent her off to live with my aunt and she attended Central Institute for the Deaf, an oral school. My brother Dennis was 36-years-old when a wooden beam fell on him at work and he woke up in the hospital two days later with a severe hearing loss. My sister Jeanie began to lose hearing in her 20's and a few years ago, she slipped on a rug and became profoundly deaf. My brother Kenny has a mild hearing loss that began a few years ago also.

I came along 10 years after the last sibling was born. When I was five, I was diagnosed with a moderate to severe hearing loss. I muddled along in school, receiving a hearing aid in 4th grade and speech therapy. Because I “functioned” so well and was able to keep up my grades, I was pretty much lost in the system. Teachers lavished praise on the “girl with the hearing loss.” My loneliness was often overlooked.

My life stayed this way all through my school years. I made friends with a select few who could look beyond my hearing loss. In high school, I met another girl, Shawn, who also wore hearing aids and we became fast friends. We each shared the horror of dealing with group situations and the anxiety that came with it. We learned to adapt so well that some of our friends had no clue that we wore hearing aids. Of course, we missed out on the punch lines of many jokes while laughing along with the others.

When I began attending classes at the local community college, I started to fear that I had no future ahead of me. I had interviewed for several jobs, but no one had the courage to hire me or deal with my inability to use the phone. I took one job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant and earned money mostly by babysitting. The future began to look pretty bleak. The few guys that I dated weren’t good marriage prospects. I began to wonder just where I was headed.

On a whim, I decided to transfer to a college that had a program for deaf and hard of hearing persons. My mother reluctantly supported my decision. She was afraid to see her last baby go off to the great unknown. How in the world would I cope at a university when I could barely get by at the community college?

Just before going off to college, I was water skiing on my bare feet and I turned to cross the wake. I fell hard, and for the next few days, I kept feeling like I had water in my ear. I had become profoundly deaf.

Going off to college turned out to be a blessing. At first, it was quite a culture shock. I was living on a co-ed floor with people who signed so fast that it was intimidating. Little by little, I was transformed. Slowly, I was introduced to a Deaf life to the point it felt like “coming home.” I was in a world where hearing didn’t matter. It was a world where, if I missed the punch line of a joke, someone would kindly sign it over again until I could join in the laughter. Of course, occasionally I encountered: “Sorry, train gone!”

My mother and siblings began to see a new person blossom in front of them. I introduced them to a TTY, and a new, accessible world began to open for them. My mom admitted that she wished she had known more about sign language while we were growing up so that we could have had access to interpreters.

When my oldest son became deaf, my mom began to ask how to sign certain things. It made me smile to see my 70-year old mom signing to my kids. One of her favorite signs was the sign for “I love you,” which is made with the thumb, forefinger and pinky finger extended and the two middle fingers bent downward.

Every time we got into the van to leave to go home, Mom would flash her “I love you” sign. There was only one problem though…

Mom would occasionally forget and leave the thumb bent inward, which turned the sign into “B.S.”

It is quite a picture to see Mom flashing her “B.S.” sign when we are pulling out of the driveway. It always puts a smile on my face.

It’s no B.S., Mom. I love you too!

The Dog, Interpreters and an SOB Conference

On Saturday, I arrived home from a baseball tournament to a note on the door:

"Dear Mom, Kaycie ate the chocolate peanut butter cups. I'll tell you more when I get home."

My daughter and her friend had gone to the movies. I found the nearly empty tub of Trader Joe's chocolate peanut butter cups in the garbage. My heart stopped for a minute. The twelve-ounce tub was full when we left. But Lauren's friend had a certain penchant for those Trader Joe chocolates. She was known to polish off the entire tub in a weekend. Was I panicking for nothing?

After a quick call to the vet, I realized that I needed to play it safe. Chocolate, in large doses, is toxic to a small dog. Two hundred and forty eight dollars later, I learned that Kaycie had indeed polished off the entire tub of chocolate. It took her a day to recover from her ordeal.

Two hundred and forty eight dollars.

Which leads me to the reason why I need to convince Liz Strauss to give me a discount to the upcoming SOB Conference:

I spent my registration money on my dog!

Now, if that isn't enough to convince Liz that I deserve that $100 discount for the upcoming SOB Conference, I'm betting that as blogger who happens to be deaf, I'll be able to add a unique aspect to the blogging discussions that will take place on May 12th. For me, the internet is a visual medium and occasionally I encounter podcasts or videos that are not accessible to me or the millions of other deaf and hard of hearing users on the web. Perhaps I can add an "eye-opening" perspective as to how to make blogs accessible.

I want to thank Liz Strauss and the SOB team for agreeing to provide interpreters for the upcoming SOB Conference. I'm looking forward to being able to fully participate in the blog discussions.

After I get my $100 discount, of course.

Friday the 13th-- My Lucky Day

One year, my father handed me an envelope with money inside for my birthday. Years later, I cannot remember the amount of money that was inside, nor the year that it was given to me. But I saved the envelope inside my nightstand for years. Typed on the outside was this little poem that my Dad wrote:

Karen

Friday the 13th, a suspecious day
But you came along and I say;
It's hard to believe but it's true
Wish we had two just like you.


Your Mudder, Fodder and everybody else.

Years later, when I was in college, I couldn't wait for the weekends to head home or to ahem, party with my friends. One day, out of the blue, my mom sent me a package. Inside was a plaque:



Hang on, Friday's coming!

After spending yesterday bawling at yet another IEP meeting (I'm sure I have a reputation in my district as an emotional mom, nevermind that I can advocate for someone else like a Piranha!), I'm just glad that today's Friday, and the 13th at that. I'm heading to work this morning then out to lunch with a friend.

The best part of all-- there's actually a glimpse of spring today!

Custom Greeting Cards by a Deaf Designer

Jill Stark, another mom who is deaf, runs a business designing customized greeting cards. Jill has an amazing eye for design and her cards are beautiful. If you're looking for a customized wedding invitation, greeting card, birth announcement--she's the gal to go to.

The design you see above is one of the samples from her site: Jilizart.

A Snowy Easter

We headed up to Christie Lake on Saturday and as soon as we arrived, it began to snow. There was already an inch or two of snow on the ground. My brother and my nephew had put the pier in the water the weekend before. If you look closely at the photo above, you'll see a swan gliding on the left.

Published in Another Book!

Yesterday, a flat package arrived in the mail. I tore open the envelope and found the book, Don't Cut Me Again! True Stories About Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Edited by Angela Hoy, owner of Booklocker and Writer's Weekly, the book is a collection of birth stories centered around women birthing vaginally after previously having a cesarean birth. About a year ago, I had submitted the story of my youngest son's homebirth. My two older children were born via cesarean. The story is included in the book, along with pictures of my kids.

Angela also runs a VBAC blog here: Angela's VBAC Blog.

A few months ago, I received my copy of On The Fence: The Hidden World of the Hard of Hearing, written by Mark Drolsbaugh. I had submitted a chapter in that book as well, highlighting my experience of growing up hard of hearing and becoming deaf.

Someday, in my lifetime, I'd like to write my own book.

Passing on some "Success Secrets"

I've been tagged by Stephen at Adversity University to share some daily success habits. The Daily Success Secrets started over at Today Is The Day. The idea is to list five or ten "success" habits that you follow on a frequent basis.

Wake up grateful.This is a relatively new habit of mine. On most days, I tend to wake up with a mental list of things to do for the day. I am learning to replace this with thoughts of gratitude.

Do something nice for someone else. My mom taught me this one-- she often helped neighbors, baked something for someone or lent an ear when someone needed to talk. Spread some good stuff, and the good stuff will come back to you.

Maintain a balance. Life gets crazy at times. It becomes tough to maintain a balance in all areas of life. However, when things are out of balance, then the success of other habits begins to shift. I've learned to let go of some things or create new habits to maintain balance.

Enjoy life. If you're not having fun, laughing, loving someone or enjoying life-- then what is it all for? Every day, every moment, is a gift.

And the ultimate recipe for success:

Follow the Happiness motto. Back in high school, an itinerant teacher gave me a small plaque that said: "The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

I'm tagging my friend Groovy next!

Goovy's Ruminations

A Quick Vacation and Back to Reality

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. On Friday night, David's friend Aubrey stayed overnight and I drove the two of them to a local junior high to meet up with their dodgeball teammates for the day. June Prusak, the youth director at Chicago Hearing Society was driving the team up north. Fourteen deaf and hard of hearing kids were entered in a tournament at the Schaumburg Park District.

The kids had a blast at the tournament and David headed home with another friend for a sleepover. I was busy packing up a suitcase for our trip to the Dells. My neighbor Barb came over with her kids and we ordered some lunch.

On Sunday morning, we picked up David and took off for Wisconsin. The trip is an annual tradition for me and my friend Sue and our families. Sue and I met at Northern Illinois University. We became roommates and close friends, sharing pregnancies together and raising deaf and hard of hearing kids. Our kids are close friends as well. Sue has five kids (two step-children) and all of the kids get along great.

This year, we headed out to the Wilderness Resort. I was surprised to see how much the resort expanded from our first visit years ago. The place now has three waterparks with a variety of water rides. The adults spent time in the indoor/outdoor hot tub (with grown up drinks) while the kids roamed. This was the first year we could really kick back and let the kids take off. Such a bittersweet feeling-- to enjoy the freedom on one hand but also realize how our kids have sprouted wings too soon.

"Through Deaf Eyes," And Through My Own

Yesterday was one of those crazy days. My parents and sister came in from Michigan and my cousins came in from Maryland and Missouri. My brother and his family joined us for dinner. All of us are deaf or hard of hearing with the exception of a few. We had a great dinner of my mom's famous lasagna and Red Velvet cake aferwards.

After dinner, a friend of mine and another guy installed a new videophone system in my office. I am starting a new job and wanted to make sure that I had several videophone options to rely on. If you're not familiar with a videophone--it is a webcam that is hooked up to a tv or monitor and an interpreter shows up on the display. I use a phone to talk directly to the person I'm calling (or who is calling me) and the interpreter interprets/signs what is being said. The conversation is almost seamless for me with very little lag time.

When 9:15 p.m. rolled around, I suddenly realized that the PBS Special, "Through Deaf Eyes" had already started. My mom and one of my cousins joined me in watching the show. It was definitely an "eye opener" for them.

While watching the documentary, I found myself taking a few trips back in time. When I graduated from college (just yesterday, ahem!), I started a deaf senior citizens group and often spent time with older deaf persons who shared what their life was like while growing up. They shared stories of traveling great distances to see their friends, only to find out that no one was home. An older woman shared the same thing on the PBS show. When they showed the early TTYs,(early phones for deaf people), which were big Western Union teletype machines, I thought back to the calls I made on the last few teletype machines that were still working less than twenty years ago. Today, my TTY machine is collecting dust on my kitchen counter. I now use a captioned phone and video phone to make my phone calls.

The documentary also featured the National Theatre of the Deaf and that took me back to my college years when I attended a show for the first time. I knew very little sign language back then and could not understand any of the theatrical American Sign Language that was flying across the stage. I remember leaving that play feeling quite lost and empty-- I was still dealing with becoming profoundly deaf and learning a new language. The same thing happened when a band called "Foxfire" performed-- I couldn't follow any of the music or the signing. I've since learned that for me to enjoy any musicals or plays with ASL, I have to turn off my hearing aid and immerse myself in the ASL. Otherwise, if I attend a concert, I obtain an interpreter who can interpret with an emphasis on English so I can match the sounds going in my ear.

I was happy to see the variety of communication modes on the show because there's truly a diverse population of deaf and hard of hearing persons. I was surprised however, not to see an interview with an adult or family using Cued Speech as several of the families that I know use this method of communication.

My cousin is heading home today and plans to enroll in an ASL class. I look forward to teaching her all the naughty words in sign.

AG Bell Retreat At Local School

On Friday, I headed out to Child's Voice after a Deaf Mentor session in the morning. This was the first time I had joined an AG Bell event. The retreat was for deaf and hard of hearing adults.

The morning session consisted of observing a child in a one-on-one session with a teacher. We then gathered in the main gym and had an "Advocacy" session with about twenty deaf and hard of hearing children from kindergarten to first grade. Many of the children had one or two cochlear implants and several of them had hearing aids. A teacher lead the discussion and began with questions about ways the children and adults could advocate when communication breaks down. The kids eagerly raised their hands to answer questions and share their advocacy tips. The teacher repeated or summarized each answer. I found that it was quite a feat to make sure that I could understand everyone and I had to get up and move around to make sure that I had access to the conversations. At one point, I missed an answer to a question and made sure that I demonstrated my own advocacy skills to get it repeated.




After a delicious lunch, the adults met with the parents from Child's Voice and four deaf adults shared their experiences during a panel discussion. One was a lawyer from San Diego, a student in a business college, a doctoral student in Audiology and a school psychologist from Indiana School for the Deaf. We all sat in a circle and everything was captioned on a large screen. I was grateful for the captioning because I was able to lip read the deaf participants and then glance at the screen for anything that was missed.

On the drive home, I was thinking about a comment that one of the panelists shared. She mentioned that her parents attended every AG Bell convention since she was a little girl. It was during these conventions that she met other deaf and hard of hearing people and realized, "I am not alone, there are other people out there who are just like me."

I thought it was the most important message of the day.

Tinnitus-- The Roaring in my Head

It's back.

One can only liken it to Chinese Water Torture-- the incessant roaring, screeching sound that exists in my head. Much like a steady drip of water, it is a constant sound that occasionally fades to the background but comes roaring back at a moment's notice.

Tinnitus.

As a kid, I had no idea what the roaring sound was in my head. I can remember many nights of tossing and turning on a school night, trying to get some sleep and wishing that I could crawl out of my head and get away from the sound. For a long time after becoming profoundly deaf in college, I was blessed with peaceful nights of sleep. In the last few years, I've had a few episodes of tinnitus that fortunately, do not last long.

There are lots of Resources on Tinnitus including some interesting pills made of botanicals that one can take to reduce it.

Most of the time, hearing aids help mask the ringing sounds, but this most recent bout won't go away even with my hearing aids in. I usually resort to hypnotherapy (something that I used when I birthed my son at home) to quiet my mind and take the focus off of the sounds. Another thing that helps is to listen to my son's music on his Ipod.

One blast of Weird Al Yankovich and the sounds are gone.

Advertise Free Food--And You've Got an Event!

On Saturday night, I donned my i711.com polo shirt and headed off to the new Video Relay center in Schaumburg where i711.com was hosting an open house for the community. Robyn Girad, the Community Marketing Manager for GoAmerica which operates i711, gave a power point presentation explaining the new services. If you're not familiar with relay services, it is a service that uses a hearing operator to "relay" calls from a deaf/hard of hearing person to a hearing caller. I can make relay calls using AOL instant messenger to call my doctor, neighbor, etc. and I can also use a video relay operator to make calls also. More information is available here: Relay and Beyond.

We had so many people crowded into the new call center that there wasn't enough room to fit everyone in. Before we knew it, the food disappeared:

A Disappointing IEP Meeting

Yesterday's IEP meeting for my oldest son was a doozie. For those of you who are not familiar with IEP meetings, these are legal meetings with school personnel that outline an Individual Education Plan for students with disabilities or in special education.

Yesterday's meeting was an Annual Review, but the hubby and I brought up a change of placement for our son. We live in a district that has a strong inclusion policy in their approach for education for children in special education. This means that our deaf and hard of hearing kids attend regular classes with accommodations such as sign language interpreters and FM systems that amplify what is spoken in the classroom. We asked for a change in schools to allow our son to attend a high school with nearly seventy other deaf kids. He would still attend classes with other hearing students, but have access to his deaf peers during lunch and other activities. He would also have the option of taking several classes that are team taught by a teacher of the deaf and classes with deaf students. This is something that is currently missing from his middle school in our district. He meets with three other hard of hearing students three times a month in a group run by the school social worker and itinerant teacher.

The district team was very mixed in their response to our request. The Special Education person running the meeting was not supportive and indicated that our request was not the Least Restrictive Environment for our son and the district couldn't justify this placement. He's been doing just fine in middle school, they said. Frankly, keeping our son in a high school where he is the only deaf student is indeed quite restrictive for his social/emotional development. Academically, he will do fine at either high school, but he won't have peers that he can communicate freely with in group situations at the district high school. I actually broke down crying at this IEP meeting.

The district has decided to gather more information from us and our son via the school's social worker and determine placement on the outcome of that report. Then the team meets again to decide which high school is the appropriate placement. We'll be bringing an advocate with us and looking into legal counsel. Sadly, the outcome lies with the district and their interpretation of the law. I'm not sure how much our input will have an effect.

So at this moment, I have no clue as to where my son will attend high school in the fall or what our plans will be if they don't agree with our request.

Come On Over to the Party!

It's party time! Five Minutes for Mom is hosting the ultimate blog party this week.

Today, you're invited to mine! Yesterday, my daughter and I spent the day making one of my favorite treats from the Taste of Home Magazine, Pecan Delights. If you like Fannie May Pixie candy, then you're going to fall in love with these. So grab a bite and kick back.


So those of you who are new here, welcome! I'm Karen from the state of Chicago, er um, Chicago, Illinois. I'm actually from Bolingbrook but unless I tell people that we're right next to Naperville, (the number two city ranked as the "Best Place to Live" in Money magazine) they often have no clue about my town. I'm a deaf mom with three deaf and hard of hearing kids and a deaf husband too. You can hear the music blasting from our house clear across town.

Today, I've got a sick kiddo at home and an IEP meeting this morning. Thank goodness for neighbors who step in when needed.

That doesn't stop me from crashing a couple of parties this week. Of course, I have to stop over at Groovy's house, she's throwing a game party. Groovy and I met on a writer's board and she's got a wicked sense of humor. A couple of weeks ago, she did a Google search for images under her name and my photo popped up. Groovy recently made it into the Reader's Digest and now I tease her that the more famous she becomes, the more my photo will come up. Go, Groovy, go!

Rocks in my Dryer is hosting a unique writing challenge: write yourself a letter going back in time and reflect on some knowledge that you've gained.

Jenny, from Home is Where You Start From writes about homeschooling in sunny California. That's where I wish I was right now...

I expected some desserts on Dessert Diva but I found a fellow photographer after my own heart: she's got my favorite Robert Frost poem on her site, "The Road Not Taken."

Another writer and another Karen shares about life on Write From Karen.

So tonight, I'm planning to kick back with the Pecan Delights that are left over and read more!

Howie Seago Teaches Deaf People to Sing!

Howie Seago provided entertainment on Friday night at the Illinois Teachers for Deaf and Hard of Hearing conference. Howie Seago is a deaf actor who has done many plays, television shows (Star Trek, The Next Generation, Hunter and The Equalizer) and a movie, Beyond Silence.

During his comedy routine, Howie called up three deaf individuals to the stage: Chicago locals Gary Etkie and Terry Kourt, and Mark Bella from California. Howie announced that the skit was called "The Three Tenors" and he would be teaching them to sing a song titled, O Sole Mio. The three guys gave Howie an incredulous look; how were they going to convert their deaf voices into song?

So one by one they began to sing O Sole Mio, with Howie directing each word and wrapping their hands to keep them from signing. By the third round of singing, the audience was in stitches. June Prusak from Chicago Hearing Society was laughing so hard that Howie stopped the show momentarily so that she could regain her composure and view the rest of the show. The audience used a show of hands to judge the singing ability of each and Howie awarded them with a bottle of water for their efforts.

The next day, Jane Holtz and I did a presentation on "Hands & Voices, Supporting Families Without Bias" for the teachers. Despite being in the last time slot of the conference, we had a nice turnout.

Marlee Matlin in "Working Mother" Magazine

Yesterday, I went to get a haircut and saw the February/March issue of Working Mother sitting on a display stand. I glanced through it and saw the familiar face of Marlee Matlin.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you have to admire Marlee for her continued success as a working mom and actress. A lot of peole figured she was a "one shot wonder" when she won the Academy Award as the youngest actress. Here she is today, a mom of four and still performing. She's involved in various charities, published two children's books and continues to be a regular Hollywood icon.

My guess is that this mom of four has a lot more dreams and accomplishments planned and we'll be seeing her around for many more years.

Triplets Who Are Deaf Blind-- After the Show

"What do you do when this stretches out for the rest of your life?" commented Dr. Phil on his show today featuring the Hooker family with triplets who are deaf blind. The first half of the show gave viewers a peek into the daily life of caring for the three of them every day. Diapers, special pajamas that zip up in the back, head rocking, temper tantrums and drinks that end up on the floor. The daily struggle of trying to build up language while simply trying to survive through the day.

As I watched the show, I found myself thinking about the sheer amount of work it takes to try and communicate with three young ones using tactile sign. I noticed that one triplet had a cochlear implant, so I'm sure the family's life includes visits to the audiologist on a regular basis for mappings. One child who is deaf blind is a challenge; three requires some daily outside help to keep your own strength going. It's no wonder the family's mental resources were tested to the limit.

Dr. Phil brought on Jennifer Rothschild, author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark to inspire the family. Jennifer became blind a the age of fifteen. While her story was inspiring, I really felt that Dr. Phil could have made a greater impact by bringing on an adult who was deaf blind. Brian Hubbard, for example, is a psychotherapist who happens to be deaf blind and an inspirational speaker as well.

Perhaps as a result of this show, the Hooker family will be able to connect with other families raising children who are deaf blind and adults who are deaf blind.

For a summary of the show, go here: Triplets Who Are Deaf Blind.

Triplets who are Deaf Blind on Dr. Phil Show

Imagine having your hands full with triplets. Now imagine that each of them are deaf blind--your hands would be truly full. Jamie Burke did an interview with the parents, Liz and George Hooker, when the children were close to five years of age: Deafblind Triplet Daughters.

The Hooker family will be featured on the Dr. Phil Show on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007. Check your local listings for the time.

From the Dr. Phil Show listing:

Most parents find raising a child overwhelming enough, but imagine if that child could neither see you, nor hear you. Now imagine having three children like that. Liz is the mother of the only known deafblind triplets in the world. Her three daughters are now 6 years old, but one of the girls is able to communicate at a 2-year-old level, and the other two at only 10-month-old levels. Liz's world is consumed with their 24-hour care, plus the care of her oldest daughter, who is 10 and often times overlooked among the chaos of the triplets. After years of dealing with the girls on her own, a new man stepped into Liz's life to fill the shoes of her ex-husband. George thought he could become Liz's hero, but their relationship has been strained from the start and the stress is tearing them apart. See what a day in Liz and George's lives are like, and the surprises Dr. Phil has in store for them. Plus, meet an inspirational woman who says her world turned from light to dark at the age of 15. She's got a message for George and Liz. Don't miss this heartbreaking and heroic story!

Deaf and Hard of Hearing People-- The Realities of Employment

At a recent Parent Connection meeting over the weekend, a supervisor of deaf education mentioned that deaf and hard of hearing people often have difficulties finding employment and most are underemployed.

Many deaf and hard of hearing persons, the supervisor explained, often do not have opportunities to move up to higher positions despite being qualified to do so.

On the Hands & Voices website, the statistics are rather dismal but many of the studies are also quite old: A Snapshot of Statistics.

From the site:

Approximately 40% of deaf adults are unemployed and 90% are underemployed. (Siegel, 2000).

Underemployed simply means that someone has degrees, qualifications or skills that are not being utilized in their current employment.

The truth is a somewhat muddled picture. Today, with so much technology available, there are many more opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing persons to take on a variety of jobs that were considered unthinkable thirty years ago. We have doctors, lawyers, vets, reporters, realtors, financial advisors-- the list goes on. Yet, deaf and hard of hearing persons often have a difficult time of even getting their foot in the door and obtaining an interview. The one thing that often presents a barrier is the attitude of the person doing the hiring. One has to wonder how many qualified, talented deaf and hard of hearing persons are overlooked for jobs because of the perception that their "hearing deficiencies" will present a problem.

Jo Waldron sums it up: "The worst barrier in the world is attitude." Marlee Matlin, in a Business Week article also has something to say about attitude: All it takes to realize that a deaf person can rise to any task is a little awareness and interaction. All it takes is a little awareness. I like to say that the greatest handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear, it lies in the mind.

Check out Trudy Suggs' article: Will Work For Food.

Thoughts, anyone?

Itching for Spring

It has started.

I was in line at Lowes yesterday and picked up my first gardening magazine of the year. I love that moment when I recognize that spring is coming and I can sculpt my backyard with a shake of a seed package.

There's one plant that I've never had any luck with, the purple echinacea in the photograph above. I took that picture at the Holley Family Village in Michigan a few years ago. They had a wonderful, small garden filled with native plants and grasses. For the last couple of years, I've tried transplants, potted plants and seeds in an effort to get purple echinacea in my landscape.

At first, I tried just one potted plant, figuring that I could harvest the seeds and divide the plant for the following year. I'm such a cheap gardener, I don't like to spend money on something that can be propagated easily. That first year, the rabbits mowed the plant down to the ground.

The second year, I tried seeds in various locations. The rabbits had a picnic as soon as the seedlings sprouted.

I also hate having to barricade a plant, so plants have to be tough to survive in our backyard. We live across the street from a prairie filled with coyotes, so the rabbits take refuge in suburbia. You know that old rule about seeing one rabbit? It means you've got a family of a million rabbits instead.

Last year, I didn't bother with the echinacea because I was experimenting with white daisies from my neighbor. I was so happy that a clump of white daisies managed to survive the rabbits without a barricade.

So perhaps this summer will be the summer of purple flowers for me.

Stay tuned. Pictures will be forthcoming in August.

Assuming, of course, that the rabbits don't win again.

Doing an Article on Cochlear Implants

It was bound to happen.

I'm currently working on an article that will feature families who've experienced a rough journey with a cochlear implant. The idea for the article came about when my daughter's friend experienced an implant failure. Her implant simply stopped working during dinner one night. It was really tough for my daughter's friend to have to go through several weeks without her implant, deal with another surgery and the long adjustment process afterward as she got used to a different brand of implant.

Don't get me wrong, the majority of my friends and the families that I know who have implants get great use out of them and have no regrets. If you do a search for cochlear implant stories, you will find a vast wealth of stories of implant users who are happy with them.

So when I got the idea for this story and went looking for families and adults to share their stories of difficulties, I took a beating.

How dare you discourage parents from considering an implant by writing only about the negatives?

Parents will get enough disclosure before surgery as the implant team will go over all the possible complications that can result. Why worry parents with things that happen in only 1 to 2 percent of the cases?

I also found my name dragged through the mud on one forum by someone who didn't even know me. Another accused me of running a PR campaign for the Deaf Community.

And the irony is that I'm getting closer to getting an implant myself.

All I really wanted from this article is to share the stories of families/adults who have gone through a difficult time with an implant. So that my daughter's friend and the other families that have struggled would be able to relate to others who have "walked that walk" and know that they weren't alone.

The real point of this article is not about the implants-- it's about the families' journeys. It's about sharing feelings of what families/adults have experienced when encountering difficulties with an implant. Every family/adult has a story that needs to be honored and shared, and sometimes it includes stories of families and adults who've had outcomes that fall in the that lower end of the statistic.

So if you're an adult with an implant who has had a difficult journey or a family with a child with an implant and you are willing to be interviewed, contact me at: parentsofdeafhoh (at) aol (dot) com.

Update: Here's the article-- Twists and Turns, Journeys with Implants.

Back to Reality--And It Bites

We just got back from a short vacation down in Kissimmee, Florida. I had won some money from Epinions and it was in the form of an Ebay gift certificate. So we decided to use it on a time share vacation at Silver Lakes Resort.

The resort was quite nice, although the two-bedroom villa that we stayed in was a bit outdated with the decor. We sat through a 90-minute presentation and toured the brand new facilities which were packed with a "wow" factor. Granite countertops and plasma tvs in every room-- we almost wanted to buy a time share right then and there. Fortunately, one look at the checkbook balance and we came to our senses.

We spent one day at Wet-N-Wild, a water park run by Universal. The temperature was 74 degrees with nary a cloud in site and the water was heated. Best of all, there were almost no lines and we were able to try every ride in the resort. The youngest kiddo and I wisely declined the 90-degree body slide, preferring not to do bodily harm to our backside.


We played tennis at the resort one day and it was the first time that the kids had ever held rackets. The boys constantly fought the urge to swing the tennis racket like a baseball bat but they took great delight in chasing after tennis balls whenever they would hit it out of the court. "This is the most fun I've ever had!" exclaimed the oldest. The hubby and I looked at each other in amazement. The free stuff beat out the expensive water park, go figure.

So here we are back home to a dusty house, a sink full of dishes and snow piled up outside. There's homework to be done before the kids head back to school tomorrow and grocery shopping to do.

Ah, back to reality.

But before I head to the kitchen, I'm taking one more look at the palm trees swaying in the wind...

Surviving Substitute Teaching

For the last three and half weeks, I have been substitute teaching at a local high school in the foreign language department. The teacher that I subbed for participated in the Deaf Olympics as an interpreter for the USA Hockey team. The USA team took the gold medal.

I subbed in three different American Sign Language classes with about fifteen students in each class. In two of the classes, the students were absolute angels. One class had a few students who enjoyed disrupting the class and clowning around. They certainly kept me on my toes. Fortunately, no one had to visit the dean.

It was easy for the students to take advantage of having a deaf sub because I could see them whispering answers to each other during quizzes. It was nearly impossible to monitor it closely so I'm sure a few of them got away with some assisted answers. They also got away with talking to each other during movies.

On the last day, the students wrote a one-page essay describing their experiences with a substitute teacher. I was pleasantly surprised to receive some nice feedback.

Last night, the regular teacher stopped by to pick up her key and some papers and gave me a t-shirt from the Deaf Olympics.

I'm actually going to miss those students!

Supporting Families Without Bias-- The Hands & Voices Way

One of most frequent questions I'm often asked is how can you support families without bias? I've come across several professionals in the field who give me incredulous looks when I describe the Hands & Voices philosophy:

"Hands & Voices is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them. We are a parent-driven, parent/professional collaborative group that is unbiased towards communication modes and methods. Our diverse membership includes those who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing impaired and their families who communicate orally, with signs, cue, and/or combined methods. We exist to help our children reach their highest potential."

Support families without bias? they exclaim. That's impossible! Everyone is biased!

Yes, we all have our personal belief systems, but we cross over into bias when we have a pre-determined outcome in mind for a family when working with them. When we operate with an agenda, no one wins.

In the four years that I've been involved with Hands & Voices, I've had the chance to meet a variety of families who have chosen a variety of modes and methods of communication with their deaf and hard of hearing children. It is this varied and wide exposure that leads to the ability to support families without bias because we've seen families with well-adjusted, successful kids in every communication mode. If you come from only one perspective, it is difficult to see the value in other modes/methods of communication. I have grown and changed my own perspectives as I've worked with families making a variety of choices. The bottom line that families have to face: Can I communicate with my child? Does my child have the ability to turn his thoughts into language and the ability to communicate that?

With infants now being diagnosed with hearing loss on their second day of life, parents have the ability to seek out options and talk with other parents, professionals and deaf/hard of hearing adults without having to quickly make a decision about communication methods/modes. However, in real life practice, especially in the state of Illinois, what's really happening is that parents are referred to a pediatric audiologist and the state's early intervention system which has no control over the bias of information that goes out. Parents are still heavily in contact with professionals in the decision-making stage of their infant's life. In states like Colorado, Wisconsin and Michigan, the early intervention programs have a mix of professionals, parents and deaf/hard of hearing adults under a program called Guide By Your Side.

We also have the current practice of flooding parents with a variety of options and saying to them, "It's your choice, pick one." Parents are at the beginning stage of dealing with feelings, inexperience and a whole host of other factors, some factors which will only reveal themselves with time.

When parents have a good support system in a safe arena, they're going to be open to questions and exploring options and most importantly, looking at their child's perspective of the journey as well. We stress this at Hands & Voices-- that it's not just the parent's journey, it's the child's journey as well. Look at where your child is leading you-- no decision is set in stone and you have the option to make different decisions as your child grows.

My One Paragraph of Fame in the "O" Magazine

I was cranky when I arrived home from subbing today after battling four inches of snow on a rural road. My niece excitedly greeted me by hollering, "You're in Oprah's magazine!"

My mind scrambled to figure out what I sent to the magazine. I had sent out several queries in the last couple of weeks and couldn't remember just what I had sent to the "O" magazine.

As it turns out, my letter to the editor was printed in the March issue of "O" Magazine Just a simple paragraph thanking Oprah for a personal lesson that she shared about weight and food.

It may only be a paragraph, but it sure is nice to open up the pages and see my name in print!

Tyson Foods: Listen Up!

I'm pissed.

My family loves chicken fajitas and we normally make them with chicken breast strips from Trader Joe's. The other day, the hubby and I were at Meijers and decided to grab two bags of Tyson Fajita Chicken Breast strips. After all, as you can see from the Tyson picture below, the white chicken breasts look quite delicious:


But after cooking up the Tyson product, here's how much of the purty white stuff we ended up with:


Did I mention I was pissed?

As I continued to cook the product (which was advertised as fully cooked. I was merely "warming up" the product) the hubby and I began to remove the not-so-delectible selections of meat that we found in the pan:



Yes, that plate on the left is the fatty dark meat that comprised over ninety percent of this supposedly white meat Tyson product.

Oh, I was pissed. And the hubby was too. Twelve dollars of meat and hardly enough to feed a family of six.

But what I'm about to show you is not for the faint of heart. Make sure you're sitting down as you direct your eyes to this next photograph:


Does this even resemble anything close to white chicken breast meat?

Listen up, Tyson foods-- that's deceptive advertising. I won't be buying this product ever again. And I'm betting the readers of this blog won't be, either.

Update:

Tyson responded quickly:

Dear Ms. Putz:

We appreciate your taking the time to share your comments regarding the
chicken fajita strips. I understand your frustration when a product
does not meet expectations.

I visited your blog spot--the pictures helped me to understand part of
the issue. The first picture (from our web site) is a 6 ounce package
of Tyson Fajita Chicken Breast Strips. These are sold refrigerated, not
frozen. The second picture (item that you purchased) is a 20 ounce bag
of frozen Tyson Fajita Chicken Strips. The fajita chicken strips
include both thigh and breast meat.

A report regarding the fatty thigh meat was sent to the Quality
Assurance Manager. I also forwarded your message to the Marketing
Product Manager. Per our product guarantee of satisfaction, a refund
for the two bags will be mailed to you at the address included in your
e-mail. Again, we appreciate your feedback.

Best regards,

Willie D. Barber
Manager, Consumer Information Services
Tyson Foods, Inc.

Note from me: I apparently posted the wrong bag of chicken breast strips, but if you look closely at the bag that I took a picture of-- you can see the same white chicken breasts on the second bag (there's no "breast" in the bag description). Still deceptive advertising!

Update: Tyson followed up with a letter and apology and a check for a full refund. They also sent a coupon for two more bags of Fajita strips.

Uh, no thanks!

Chicago Gets Ready For Another Super Bowl

For the last two weeks, I have been substitute teaching at a local high school. On Friday, I was telling the students about the 1986 Super Bowl. They looked at me with a blank look on their faces and I suddently realized that none of my students were even born when the Chicago Bears went to the Super Bowl in 1986. What a reality check. I remember the 1986 Super Bowl like it was yesterday.

My friend Tena, who was a Honey Bear cheerleader during that Super Bowl, is probably taking a similar reality check today, except she looks just as good today as she did in 1986. You go, Tena!

We are heading over to a deaf party tonight and I look forward to cheering on the Bears and sharing this piece of history with my kids.

On another note, Karen Meyer, ABC reporter, had a feature on a Bears player this morning:
Chicago Bears Player Reaches Out to Children About Stuttering.

Go Bears!

Deaf Teacher Featured in Rocky Mountain News

Susan Elliot, a deaf teacher, serves as a Hands & Voices board member and on the Gallaudet Board of Trustees. She was recently featured in the Rocky Mountain News: Massaro: After a Pal's Suicide, She Chose Life.

I first met Susan via videophone last summer when we were scheduled to give a presentation together at a leadership workshop. It is quite a feat to pull off a presentation with someone you've never met before, but I enjoyed working with her.

Gotta love this quote in the article: "If Elliott ever engaged the battery rabbit in a competition, stretcher bearers would haul off the bunny by halftime." It's true-- Susan has boundless energy!

Here's what a former student has to say: Aspirations Encouraged by an Encounter With A Deaf Teacher.

Social Bluffing--Revisited

Back in February of last year, I posted a question on a listserv about "social bluffing" a term that I came up with to describe the practice of pretending to understand conversation. I had googled the term and found nothing on it in reference to deaf and hard of hearing people so I came up with a definition.

"Social bluffing," as I said in my article, " is pretending to hear or understand something that is being said, and behaving in a way that shows you understand, even when you have little or no clue as to what is being said."

As a result of the discussion that I initiated, someone mentioned that they were going to write an article about it. I was already in the midst of my own article on social bluffing which was printed in the Hands & Voices Communicator (Summer, 2006):

Calling Our Bluff: Using Communication Strategies in Social Situations.

Kathy Allen's Communication Strategies Sidebar

I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery because the article "Bluffing...The (Not So) Social Truth" by Jay Wyant appeared in the January/February issue of Voices, a publication by the Alexander Graham Bell organization. They also included a sidebar of "Tips and Strategies."

But hey, a little credit would have been appreciated.

Chicago Parent Magazine--Wanting to be Heard

This month's issue of Chicago Parent magazine has several articles on parenting deaf and hard of hearing children:

Wanting To Be Heard.

I would have liked to see Illinois Hands & Voices included as a resource in this article. Looks like we'll need more publicity so that every parent in Illinois can know about us.

Magazines and more Magazines-- for Parents

I love magazines. Correction, the hubby and I love magazines. We have piles and piles of magazines in our house and I've actually cut back on the subscriptions that we used to get.

It just dawned on me that I no longer read parenting magazines anymore. When my first child was born, I subscribed to Parents and American Baby. By the time the third child came along (born at home), I was digging into Mothering magazine instead.

Last week, while waiting for my teenager to get his hair trimmed, I thumbed through a couple of different parenting magazines. I remembered the days of trying to get some sleep throughout the night, the huge diaper bag filled with everything under the sun and the countless days of playing "Hunt for the Binky." I can remember turning to my parenting magazines to help me get through the ups and downs of motherhood.

I find myself on "the other side" as I guide some of my friends through their mothering days with their first babies. These are the gals who have finally become mothers late in life. And just as I did years ago, I see the same parenting magazines lying on their coffee tables.

Sound and Fury, Six Years Later-- Purchasing Information

Note: This is a re-post which includes information on how to purchase the film, Sound and Fury, Six Years Later.

When Sound and Fury was released in October, 2000, the movie spurred discussions about cochlear implants all around the nation. The movie covered the story of two brothers who had deaf children. One chose to obtain a cochlear implant for his son, the other decided not to choose that for his daughter.

I saw the movie in Chicago at a film festival with a friend. Never before had I experience a movie that was so raw and up close about the decisions that parents make when raising deaf and hard of hearing children.

Sound and Fury often stayed on my mind, so about a year ago, I decided to get in touch with both families and find out how they were doing. I learned that all of the deaf members of the Artinian family had obtained a cochlear implant, with the exception of Peter. You can read the article here: Sound & Fury: A Family Comes Together Again.
Josh Aronson, the director of the film, has now released a new film: Sound & Fury, Six Years Later. Heather Artinian obtained an implant at the age of nine and the film chronicles her life as a teen. For more information on how to obtain the film, contact Mr. Aronson at: aronsonfilms@aol.com.

On another note, the youngest child to receive an implant is three months old: Music to the Ears.


If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the film, contact Josh Aronson at: Aronsonfilms@aol.com. For schools and libraries, contact: linda@filmakers.com or lbK@aquariusproductions.com.

United States Marines-- The Few, The Proud

Sixty five years ago, on January 23, 1944, my father arrived in the Pacific and began his journey as a United States Marine in World War II. He fought in Guam and Okinawa and then the Occupation of China. He was overseas for two years.

As a child, I used to look through my mother's hope chest and finger the rough wool of his Marine jacket. It wasn't until many years later, that he would share stories about the war. He told of trudging through fields and being so hungry that when they came across a potato field, the guys feasted on the raw potatoes. He recalled the time that he sneaked out to the PX to purchase an ice cream bar, only to hear his commandeer hollering his name. He quickly hid the ice cream bar in his pants pocket only to have to dig out a melted mess a few minutes later.

Many of the war memories were rough ones, and it was difficult for him to share the horror of what he endured.

One summer, the power went out during a storm while my parents were on a trip. They came home and had to clean out a freezer full of meat. The stench, said my dad, reminded him of the war.

Today, my father is in his eighties and has been retired for several years. My oldest brother is also a Marine and he served in Vietnam. The two of them have a special bond--Marine buddies who have shared a piece of history.

Ellen Roth's Article in Oprah Magazine

Ellen Roth, a Chicago area resident, had her story published in the Oprah magazine. Ellen obtained a cochlear implant and shared the new sounds that she experienced with it. Jayne Dough put the story on her blog (scroll down to the January 20th entry): Ellen Roth, My Story.