Device Helps Blind, Deaf to Cross Roads
By Ella Smook, Metro Writer – from Cape Argus, South Africa 10/14/09
Capetonians with visual and hearing disabilities could find navigating the city’s roads somewhat safer in future, following the city’s announcement that it will equip all new road intersections with vibrating audio-signal buttons to ensure safe crossing.
Mayco member for transport Elizabeth Thompson yesterday demonstrated the device at the crossing outside the Cape Town Society for the Blind in Salt River.
As part of the public participation process around the Integrated Rapid Transit plan, the city received several calls for these devices from organisations representing disabled people.
Disabled People South Africa, the Cape Town Association for the Physically Disabled, the Institute for the Promotion of Disabled Manpower and the Western Cape Network on Disability all made submissions.
The organisations also called for improved accessibility and safety for disabled people using roads and transport.
Thompson said the initiative was part of the city’s efforts to cater to all people, and that its launch was linked to Transport Month in October.
“For a long time, visually impaired people and people with special needs have been feeling left out.
“The device makes the crossing of roads much easier, as not all people have someone accompanying them. The city is very excited about it.”
The Audio Tactile Pedestrian Detector launched at Tuesday’s ceremony aids blind and deaf pedestrians by providing both audio and tactile signals, indicating that the “go”light is on.
The device beeps and vibrates when it is safe to cross.
It also allows enough time for crossing, as well as raising the volume of the siren to compensate for traffic noise.
In the rollout of the device, priority will be given to intersections around institutions catering for people with special needs.
- Thanks to bhNEWS and NVRC, Fairfax
New device lets deaf-blind people converse with anyone
A two-piece portable device conceived by the state’s Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, built by a Canadian company and perfected with feedback from Seattle residents, is helping members of the deaf-blind community to communicate.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Not long ago, Robert J. Steppler walked from his home in Wedgwood to a little coffee shop nearby, ordered a green tea and chatted with the baristas.
While that may sound hardly worthy of note, for Steppler and others like him, it most certainly is.
Steppler, a deaf-blind individual, is one of the first people in the world to use a new device called the DeafBlind Communicator, which allows him to communicate freely despite his disabilities.
Read full story:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/education/2009642696_deafblind12m.html
- Thanks to the Seattle Times and KS
Dr. Phil Episode on Deaf-Blind Triplets Added to Captioned Free-Loan Media Program
From the Described and Captioned Media Program 6/26/09 http://www.dcmp.org
The last week of June is devoted to the recognition of people who are deaf-blind. Originally intended to pay homage to Helen Keller, the deaf-blind woman who was born this week over a century ago, the week now focuses on increasing public awareness and understanding of deaf-blindness. More than a decade ago, Deaf-Blind Awareness Week became an event officially recognized by the Federal government.
The Helen Keller National Center reports that there are approximately 70,000 people in the United States who have both hearing and vision loss. Of these 70,000, the only known deaf-blind triplets live in Texas with their mother, stepfather, and older sister.
In 2006, the mother of these triplets, her husband, and his mother appeared on the Dr. Phil show to discuss the trials, anxiety, tribulations, and triumphs associated with raising their young girls.
We are proud to announce that the DCMP has acquired this episode for our free-loan collection. Though the original broadcast was closed-captioned, the DCMP has created versions that feature high-quality open captions and–for the first time in Dr. Phil show history–description. This title is ideal for parents of children who are deaf-blind or for parents or teachers who seek to relate to the experiences encountered by parents of children who are deaf-blind.
NVRC NOTE: To register for the DCMP program, go to http://www.dcmp.org/Register.aspx. It’s FREE to all K-12 students who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind as well as teachers, other professionals, and family members whose use benefits these students.
To order “Silent Darkness,” from the DCMP copy the following URL into your web browser:
http://www.dcmp.org/Catalog/titledetail.aspx?TID=6290
Note how equal accessibility–description and captioning–compares with the closed-captioned broadcast of the show. If you feel it’s better, get out there and advocate for more accessibility options on TV, DVD, and the internet. Just as each individual makes a difference in the triplets’ lives, so, too, does each letter, phone call, and e-mail to media producers, letting them know accessibility makes a difference to you.
You may also want to consider showing your support of children with hearing and vision loss by making a donation to the deaf-blind children’s fund established by the family of the triplets by visiting the following URL:
- Thanks to Eli McCowan, Phillip G. Smith and Blaise Delahoussaye and NVRC, Fairfax
Deaf and Blind Clown Focuses on Ability – to Bring Out Smiles
By Scott Williams, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 4/26/09
Anyone who has ever worn a red nose and zany wig will tell you that to a performing clown, a smile is worth a thousand words.
Never has that been truer than for Kenneth Ray, a West Allis man who has spent his life working to overcome deafness and blindness.
Now, he is trying something new: He has enrolled in clown school.
With a purple wig on his head and his face covered in makeup, Ray, 59, knows that he can entertain people without exhibiting any sign of his disabilities.
He can communicate with people in a way that was never possible before.
“I’m accepting of the fact that God made me deaf and blind,” he said through an interpreter. “I don’t think it matters – I can still be a clown. And it’s great to make people happy.”
Clown instructor Maryann Ingbretson said she has never before encountered a student with such significant disabilities. But she hopes to nurture Ray’s instincts to perform.
Ingbretson noted that famed hobo clown Emmett Kelly achieved worldwide stardom without ever uttering a sound.
“There are possibilities for him,” she said of Ray. “I’m anxious for him to achieve his goals – as far as he can go.”
Born in 1949, Ray was afflicted with unknown birth defects that caused his deafness at birth and left him legally blind by age 2.
With partial vision in one eye, he wears thick glasses and uses sign language. An electronic implant in one ear allows him to hear some sounds. And speech therapy has helped him develop limited verbal skills.
He lives with his parents, Carl and Emma Ray, in the same West Allis home where he grew up with four younger siblings, none of whom was born with a disability.
Family members have marveled at Ray’s past achievements: He graduated from the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. He worked as a grocery store bagger. He learned to operate a personal computer and to play a conga drum.
Judy Hawkins, a sister who lives in Mukwonago, said performing as a clown allows her brother to step into the spotlight in a world where disabilities no longer exist.
“Clowns just act. And he can act,” she said. “They’re all normal. And he just blends right in with them.”
After developing an interest in clowning a few years ago, Ray bought his first outfit and entertained at his church. He named his clown character “Tippie,” after a small family dog that was euthanized many years ago because it bit some people.
In the six-week class being offered at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, he hopes to perfect his routine by learning new magic tricks or other gags. He dreams of someday performing for children in schools, hospitals and possibly in parades.
“It makes me feel really happy,” he said.
Ruth Stuhr recalled the day Ray asked her to drive him to a secondhand clothing store so he could pick out some clothes for “Tippie.”
Stuhr, a staffer at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in West Allis, said the purple wig and polka-dot suit were no surprise, considering that Ray already was known for wearing colorful socks and making jokes. He later told officials at the center that he had enrolled in a clown class at UW-Waukesha.
“He likes to get people to laugh – that’s part of his personality,” Stuhr said. “He really wants to be connected.”
- Thanks to bhNEWS and NVRC, Fairfax
At LI Deaf-Blind Facility, a Place to Call Home
By Delthia Ricks, Newsday 2/16/09
Melville, NY – One in a row of brown and beige look-alike buildings, Destiny Home appears as any other 1960s duplex in Port Washington. But inside, five residents are cocooned in an environment geared for people who are blind – or almost so – and deaf.
Deaf-blindness is an unusual disability that presents a number of challenges. There are mobility problems as a result of the blindness. It is more difficult to navigate from place with low or no vision. Being hearing-impaired complicates communication. An estimated 85 percent of what anyone knows about the surrounding world is perceived through vision and hearing. When both senses are impaired, affected individuals are extraordinarily disadvantaged.
The home – a first of its kind in New York that is expected to become a model for other states – is an uber-supportive environment. The passport into it is a knowledge of American Sign Language. Designers of the home’s interior took into consideration what it’s like to be cut off from the world of sights and sounds.
Beds vibrate to signal an emergency. Kitchen cabinet knobs are oversized. One resident with low vision has a computerized relay system for telephone conversations, which features a live operator who appears on screen to translate a caller’s spoken words into sign language. The resident’s signed words are translated into spoken ones for the person with both senses.
Buzz of activity
Roland, David, Damali, Tanisha and Linda are Destiny Home’s five residents. (Administrators of the home asked that residents’ last names not be published to protect their families’ privacy.) They range in age from early 20s through early 40s. They moved into the home last summer, each having waited for years to live in a supportive atmosphere.
Eavesdropping on this world, it’s easy to discover a community abuzz with activity though nary a word is heard.
While Roland donned a wide-brimmed hat on a recent chilly afternoon, as he prepared to escort a visitor around Destiny Home’s backyard, David busied himself at his computer.
A Braille version of a Nancy Drew novel – the size of a major city’s Yellow Pages – captured Tanisha’s attention, as Damali helped herself to milk and a cookie in the kitchen. Linda dressed for visitors: a purple dress and matching purple necklace.
This makeshift family has been molded from a common disability. They are among an estimated 70,000 deaf-blind people nationwide, though that figure may be as high as 1.5 million, some experts say, when adults who lose hearing and vision due to age and medical disorders are counted.
All three women are completely blind; the two men are legally blind. “When we talk about legal blindness, that’s 20/200 in the good eye with correction,” said Joseph McNulty, executive director of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, which administers the residence. All Destiny Home residents are deaf.
Most people who are deaf-blind from childhood, as is the case with Destiny Home’s residents, lose their hearing and eyesight to one of two causes: Usher’s syndrome, a rare genetic condition; or congenital rubella syndrome, which occurs during the fetal stage when pregnant women catch German measles.
Eyes on LI facility
None of the residents had been successful living independently on Long Island despite having undergone training at the Helen Keller center in Sands Point, McNulty said. The region is expensive, a job is necessary and a support system is vital. Organizers hope Destiny Home’s emphasis on job training will give residents stronger financial footing.
State-funded, the duplex has a staff of 15 people who work in shifts around the clock. It costs $1 million annually to run.
The state’s support for Destiny Home includes “life coaches” who serve as constant companions to each resident. They help with tasks such as choosing clothing and dressing, as well as explaining what’s going on, moment by moment, using American Sign Language.
For those with low vision, sign language is performed as it would be for someone who is deaf. For residents with no eyesight, words are “finger spelled” into their hand. Helen Keller famously learned to understand the world through the same technique more than 120 years ago.
Destiny Home is winning high marks from experts outside New York.
“We are excited to see that Destiny Home is available for deaf-blind people and they are living in an environment where they can be independent and still receive the support they need to be fully independent,” said Elizabeth Spiers, who is deaf-blind and spokeswoman for the American Association of the Deaf-Blind in Silver Spring, Md. Spiers was interviewed by e-mail. She is legally blind but can read words on her screen in large type.
A sign of hope
In the general population, the deaf-blind are often cut off from communication, even within their own families, often because of an unwillingness among parents to learn sign language, said Suzanne Ressa, marketing and development director at Helen Keller.
“They’re very vulnerable to abuse because they’re a silent population,” Ressa said. “How would they communicate to authorities if something happened – to say they need help?”
One of the five Destiny residents (whom neither Ressa nor other administrators would name) is a survivor of the notorious Willowbrook State School, whose long and sullied history resulted in a spate of lawsuits against the state of New York.
The Staten Island institution, closed in 1987, served as a home for mentally disabled and deaf-blind children. Many were subjected to a series of abuses, including the intentional injection of the hepatitis virus in a bizarre scientific experiment, a state commission later found.
Whatever their past traumas, the residents indicate they view Destiny Home as a safe haven and a place to grow.
David has a job at La Piccola Angelina, an Italian restaurant in Port Washington. He works in the kitchen. The opportunity came after a group from the Helen Keller center – communicating at its table in sign language – lunched there last year.
Tanisha has an internship at the Stop & Shop in Port Washington. “She unrolls the cookie dough and puts the dough on [baking] trays.” said Laura Rocchio, of the Helen Keller center. “She also does the bread. We’re evaluating her production. She can do a good number of trays in 55 minutes.”
Tanisha signs a response.
And Rocchio interprets aloud: ” ‘I love the smell of baked goods.’ ”
- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax
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