Deaf Wrestler Sues Over Interpreter Rules

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: A high school wrestler who is Deaf is suing MHSAA to have an interpreter with him on the mat.



DETROIT -- WXYZ - A Royal Oak High School wrestler who is Deaf has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan High School Athletic Association.



The senior at Royal Oak High School says he is Deaf, and that shouldn’t be a problem. It has become one during meets because the MHSAA is restricting his use of sign language interpreters.



“It is not fair,” said Ellis Kempf, of the rule.



Kemp says at meets sponsored by his school his sign language interpreter is allowed to move around the outside of the wrestling mat. At MHSAA sponsored meets that is not allowed. The MHSAA says the interpreter must be in Kempf’s coach’s designated corner. “That’s not going to work. I can’t see,” said Kempf.

To activate this feature, press the "CC" button.

“They are saying Ellis can have an interpreter he can’t see. He can have an interpreter if the interpreter stands behind his back. That does Ellis no good,” said Attorney Jason Turkish.



So why does the MHSAA have this rule?



The MHSAA says it is for the safety of interpreters. At tournaments there are often several wrestling mats lined up next to each other. While it is rare for wrestlers to go outside the boundaries and collide with each other as an official can stop the action, the MHSAA says an interpreter circling the mat likely would not see competitors from another mat coming toward her or him.



"The MHSAA allows and always has allowed interpreters for the Deaf in wrestling,” said Geoff Kimmerly, an MHSAA spokesperson. "This student has been competing in high school wrestling with the aid of an interpreter for three seasons. There are some limitations on where interpreters can move during competition, especially at large tournaments with multiple mats in close proximity, so the interpreter does not get in the way of coaches, officials and competitors. This is a safety concern. These accommodations have been used for other Deaf wrestlers without problems in the past."



Ellis says the only person getting hurt is him. He points to the fact his record shows he is more likely to win wrestling tournaments that allow sign language interpreters.



“There have been times I lost first place because I didn’t know what was going on,” said Ellis. Source

Being Deaf Person Is Weirder Than You Thought

Deaf News: Society has traditionally treated Deaf people like garbage, 1 of the top 5 reasons life as a Deaf person is weirder than you thought.

CRACKED -- There are over 500,000 Deaf people in the United States, but the only time we hear about Deaf Culture is when someone is making up sign language at presidential funerals, rioting, or teaching kids on Sesame Street.



As a result, the average person has no idea what being Deaf involves, and therefore life can get downright weird for anyone who can't hear like the rest of you. Well, I'm a sign language interpreter and an American Sign Language (ASL) graduate, and I'll try to give you a glimpse of how strange things can get...



#1. Society Has Traditionally Treated Deaf People Like Garbage.

For much of our history, society just didn't know what to do with Deaf people. In the B.C. era, the law of the Talmud denied Deaf people the right to own land, while St. Augustine in the early A.D.s made deafness a straight-up sin. It wasn't until the 1960s that interpreting for Deaf people was even a profession.



Before then, Deaf people relied on the help of family, teachers of Deaf people (like Helen Keller's Deaf-Blind teacher Anne Sullivan), and the occasional clergyman that learned some signs. If you didn't live in an area with a thriving Deaf community, you might as well be cut off from the world entirely.



Educators didn't have a problem with Deaf people until the 1880 Conference of Milan. A bunch of hearing people and one token Deaf guy got together in Italy to figure out just how Deaf people ought to be educated. You can sum up their conclusion as "Fuck sign language, just try real hard to speak." Even today, many Deaf people remember having their hands tied and wrists slapped to stop them from trying to sign.

This, as you can imagine, made life a lot more difficult for Deaf people and their families. From many (god-awful) parents' standpoint, it was easier to ship them off to a different country or just put them in an institution. To make matters worse, around the same time, Alexander Graham Bell was running amok.



The same guy who invented the telephone was actually an inventor/douchebag on par with Thomas Edison. And, like the douchiest bags of his day, Bell was really into the eugenics movement (Hitler found his work inspirational).



He spent his life pushing legislation that would force Deaf people to undergo surgery to make sure they couldn't have children together and make a "Deaf Race." Fearing this day, Bell pushed for the abolition of sign language because it brought Deaf people together. (Oddly enough, Bell's own mother and wife were Deaf. So yeah, probably some awkward holidays for that family.)

This should help explain why Deaf people are wary of anyone who claims to be able to "fix" them. Big-D Deaf people often oppose cochlear implants, and it isn't because they're anti-technology.



It's because they have a distinct culture that people have tried to wipe out. It's not easy feeling like you're doing a pretty damned good job of getting by in life, only to hear a whole group of people look at you and scream, "We have to stop any more unspeakable horrors like this from existing!" ...Read More: 5 Reasons Life as a Deaf Person Is Weirder Than You Thought - Cracked.com.



Visit CRACKED official site - http://www.cracked.com



Related - #Weird News

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested

VIDEO [CC] - Exclusive Interviews: Deaf woman arrested by NYPD settles case against city for $750,000.



NEW YORK CITY - A Deaf woman who said she was wrongly arrested by cops who ignored her disability settled her case for $750,000 Tuesday, a figure her attorneys say is the largest of its kind.



Diana Williams charged in her suit filed in Manhattan Federal Court that the New York City Police Department officers who slapped her in cuffs ignored police guidelines requiring them to request a sign language interpreter when interacting with Deaf people.



“Deaf individuals have rights, and they do not have to tolerate discrimination and injustices of any kind,” her attorneys Andrew Rozynski and Eric Baum said in a statement.



“Ms. Williams hopes that the settlement will send a message to all law enforcement agencies across the country that they should adopt proper policies and procedures to ensure full communication access for Deaf individuals.”

Two New Yorkers who can't hear or speak and communicate only by sign language claim they were wrongly arrested by NYPD officers in two separate incidents.



Williams’ ordeal began Sept. 11, 2011, when she called 911 for assistance evicting a difficult tenant from her Staten Island home.



Most of the people in the house were Deaf, but cops allegedly ignored training requiring them to request an interpreter.



Without being able to explain to Williams what was happening, Officer Christian Romano arrested her and the tenant for allegedly getting in a fight, and for the next 24 hours police ignored her attempts to communicate, the suit said.



Williams was so panicked she even wrote the letters “HOSP” on the window of a police cruiser in an effort to tell them she needed to go to the hospital, the suit says.



Romano checked the “No” box on the arrest report asking if an interpreter was needed, according to documents. He later checked “No” on different paperwork asking if Williams had a disability.



Williams’ attorneys, who run the Eisenberg and Baum Law Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said they believe their client has received the largest payout ever to an individual alleging Deaf discrimination by a public agency. A Deaf advocate at the firm, Sheryl Eisenberg-Michalowski, also worked on the case.



“Settling was in the best interest of the city,” a Law Department spokesman said. Source by New York Daily News

Starbucks Sued For Discrimination Deaf Employee

Deaf News: Starbucks sued for allegedly discriminating against Deaf staff.

PHOENIX, AZ - The American Genius: Having a product that is in demand is vital, but maintaining quality help is the very bedrock of successful companies. A business, even the most reputable one, cannot make an impact without respectable, pleasant and reliable employees.



Regulars get used to seeing helpful, friendly faces and before you know it, instead of merely stopping by a coffee shop to grab your favorite cup of joe, a connection is made. Patrons become invested in the success of the company because they’re invested in the relationships they’ve fostered with the staff.

And so the cycle begins.



This is the type of emotional correlation that breeds success, but these connections can only occur when employees are valued and supplied the proper modifications at work. With that being said, shame on you, Starbucks.



Obviously, most of the adult world couldn’t function without their java, but that doesn’t give companies like Starbucks a pass on providing disabled employees proper accommodations.



Laura Roberts, a Starbucks employee for seven years, has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks. She claims that the store fired her in retaliation after she repeatedly asked for American Sign Language (ASL) accommodates.



Roberts, who has been Deaf since infancy, requested interpreters during staff and training meetings on various occasions.



She can read, and during her employment relied on a printed schedule for her hours. She also utilized her ability to lip-read in order to serve customers.



After a managerial transition, she was denied a printed schedule, and required to read her schedule from a posted list. Thus, limiting her ability to understand the hours she was required to work... Read More: http://theamericangenius.com/business-news/starbucks-sued-for-allegedly-discriminating-against-deaf-staff/



Related Post:

Deaf Customers Sue Starbucks Over Mocking

Deaf Korean Starbucks Barista The Signs

Deaf Woman's Video At Starbucks Goes Viral

DCW50 Interviews Deaf Top Model Nyle DiMarco

VIDEO: DCW50's Paul Wharton interview with 'America's Next Top Model' contestant Nyle DiMarco.

WASHINGTON DC - DCW50's Paul Wharton is a popular television personality, lifestyle trendsetter - meet the America's Next Top Model’s first ever Deaf contestant Nyle DiMarco, 26, is one of three models representing the District of Columbia area in this season of America’s Next Top Model.



DiMarco is also the first Deaf model to take part in the show. Check out our exclusive interview with him and find out why he thinks being Deaf gives him a strong advantage in the world of modeling.

About America’s Next Top Model - Cycle 22 of America’s Next Top Model, hosted by Tyra Banks, will feature the third “Guys and Girls” edition. Selected men and women living under one roof will battle it out to earn the prestigious title of America’s Next Top Model.



Connect with America’s Next Top Model Online:

Facebook - https://facebook.com/antm

Instagram - https://instagram.com/cw_antm

Twitter - https://twitter.com/cw_antm

Pinterest - https://pinterest.com/thecw/americas-next-top-model

America’s Next Top Model Website - http://on.cwtv.com/topmodel



Follow Nyle DiMarco:

Subscribe - https://youtube.com/nyle222

Facebook - https://facebook.com/nyledimarco

Twitter - https://twitter.com/nyledimarco

Instagram - https://instagram.com/nyledimarco

Model Mayhem - http://modelmayhem.com/nyledimarco

Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/nyledimarco

Tumblr - http://nyledimarco.tumblr.com

Official site - http://nyledimarco.com



Related:

ANTM Cycle 22 Finale Winner Is... Nyle DiMarco !

Nyle DiMarco - The Mecca Of The Deaf Community

Deaf Male Model - Introducing Nyle DiMarco

Top Models Learn ASL For Deaf Contestant

DCW50 Interviews Deaf Top Model Nyle DiMarco

ANTM Cycle 22 'BOOTYful' Music Video - Nyle

'ANTM' Contestant Nyle DiMarco's ASL Phrases

'ANTM' Nyle DiMarco Comes Out As Sexually Fluid

The Homosexual Scandal In Deaf Community

DEAFestival SWAG & Stilettos Fashion Show

Deaf Man Jailed Without Interpreter, Wins Case

Deaf News: Deaf man jailed without sign language translator wins case against District of Columbia jail.



WASHINGTON - A Deaf man who was jailed for 51 days without a sign language translator - left unable to communicate with prison doctors, his counselor, his teachers and other inmates - has won a discrimination case against the District of Columbia.



William Pierce is profoundly Deaf and communicates with sign language. After he pleaded guilty to a simple assault charge stemming from a domestic dispute, he was sentenced to the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America.



The jail assumed that "lip-reading and exchanging written notes would suffice," and did not provide a translator, the court found.



"They figuratively shrugged and effectively sat on their hands," the court's decision read. Pierce felt isolated and confused by what was happening in jail, he said in court filings.



The court found that the District and CCA had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.



“I am very pleased with Judge Jackson’s decision to find that the District of Columbia violated my rights as a Deaf man and a human being,” Pierce said, through an interpreter, in an American Civil Liberties Union press release.



“Video phones and interpreters are critical for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing inmates to have access to the same opportunities as other inmates," Pierce said. "Unfortunately, even with this decision, the denial of service and adequate access continues... Read more: http://nbcwashington.com/news/local/Deaf-Man-Jailed-Without-Sign-Language-Translator-Wins-Case-Against-DC-Jail.html

A Deaf Perspective: ASL Signs and Slang

VIDEO [CC] - A Deaf Perspective: ASL Signs and Slang | ft. Ren Putz.



Rogan Shannon shares the educational video in ASL. Ren and Rogan talk about different American Sign Language signs that have no English equivalent, and some slang. Any time we use an ASL sign, they will be bracketed with [ ].

To activate this feature, press the "CC" button.

This is the second collab I did forever ago in May, and many thanks to Ren for being patient with me!



Follow Rogan Shannon:

Subscribe - https://youtube.com/user/flamemaverice

Facebook - https://facebook.com/rmtshannon

twitter - https://twitter.com/shan_no_nosays

Linkedin - https://linkedin.com/in/roganshannon

Plus Google - https://plus.google.com/+roganshannon13

Official site - http://rogans13.wix.com/roganshannon

The Totally Biased Deaf Jam

VIDEO: Totally Biased: The Totally Biased Deaf Jam.



Tonight we play a game, The Totally Biased Deaf Jam! Rockstar American Sign Language interpreter Amber Galloway Gallego signs hip hop jams and our contestants name the tune! Starring comedian W. Kamau Bell. On stage, Bell does mostly observational comedy on recent news stories and current events.

Totally Biased: Kamau Chats With Amber Galloway Gallego.

Kamau chats with rockstar interpreter Amber Galloway Gallego! They discuss her recent viral video and what it's like to translate Kendrick Lamar into American Sign Language!

Follow Totally BiasedFX - W. Kamau Bell:

www.fxx.com/totallybiased

facebook.com/TotallyBiased

twitter.com/totallybiased

youtube.com/TotallyBiasedFX

Manitoba Deaf Athletes To Get More Sign Language Help

Deaf News: Manitoba Deaf athletes to get more sign language help. Province to spend up to $40K a year for interpreters following human rights complaint.



CBC WINNIPEG - The father of a Deaf athlete from Winnipeg says he is pleased to hear Manitoba will now be providing interpreters to help other deaf players communicate.



The Manitoba government will set aside up to $40,000 a year to help Deaf children participating in amateur sport communicate with their teammates, coaches and game officials, following a human rights complaint.



Two parents of Deaf children initially approached the Manitoba Human Rights Commission complaining that lack of money for sign language services made it harder for some Deaf children to participate in sports.



The parents said the lack of interpretive services meant their children couldn't participate fully in sports, develop leadership skills and have the same advantages as their peers.



One of the complainants, Rick Zimmer, says his son, Cody, wanted to play soccer but couldn't because there was no interpreter available for him and other Deaf players. ... Read more story.



Related Articles:

VIDEO: Manitoba increasing funding for deaf athletes after human rights complaint-ctvnews.

VIDEO: Young, Deaf athletes get a sporting chance-winnipegfreepress.com

Deaf athletes to get more sign language help-globalnews



Related Post:

Deaf Canadian's Gallaudet Dream

Manitoba Deaf Athletes To Get More Sign Language Help

Manitoba Swimmer At Deaflympics

Deaf Homeless Man In Compassionate Gesture

Deaf Canadian Curling Champion Dies

Winnipeg Most Racist City In Canada: Maclean's

Changing The Way Deaf People Bank

VIDEO [ASL/CC] - Your bank. Changing the way Deaf people bank from SignVideo.



John runs a conservation wildlife park in Scotland. In this video he tells us how, as a Deaf customer, going into a bank used to be a stressful and at times embarrassing experience. He explains how using the SignVideo link to speak to an interpreter online makes a massive difference. Today he can speak with the bank independently, privately and without any of the stress that was previously attached.

Our customers have always given us the best ideas, so we've launched Your Bank, a new online community where you can share your ideas. If you've got an idea, share it at www.yourbank.barclays.co.uk



You can find the full article on Sign Video at https://www.yourbank.barclays.co.uk/t5/Your-ideas-brought-to-life/Sign-Video-Changing-the-way-deaf-people-bank/ba-p/810.

First Deaf Won Showcase 'The Price Is Right'

VIDEO [CC] - First Deaf won showcase from 'The Price is Right'.



Eddie Buck (Edward) The first Deaf won the showcase on from 'The Price is Right' air from May 20th 2013.



Edward, and his sign language interpreter Matthew, are on the turntable with a shot at winning a Kawaskai STX 15F Jetski (A) from the clutches of Squeeze Play.

Price Is Right-May 20, 2013, Deaf Contestant - A Deaf contestant got onto the show on May 20, 2013. Watch to see how the Deaf contestant does that day.

Winning information: http://www.qwizx.com/tpirepguide/#.UZtfyNgSqSo



Follow The Price Is Right:

Subscribe - http://youtube.com/priceisright

Twitter - https://twitter.com/priceisright

Facebook - https://facebook.com/thepriceisrightcbs

Official Website - http://priceisright.com

Guests with Disabilities - http://priceisright.com/accessibility

Holmes Make It Right: Deaf Space

VIDEO [ASL/CC]- Holmes Make It Right: Deaf Space, All-New Episode: Breaking Through.



A Deaf woman homeowner tries to handle a bathroom renovation on her own after finding the right contractor proves harder than it looks.



But her DIY project turns into a nightmare, so she contacts the one contractor she can trust: Mike Holmes.



Mike comes to the rescue and discovers she hasnt had a working shower for months. But this standard bathroom reno turns into breakthrough project as Mike goes the extra mile to give her a 'Sign Language' friendly home.

SOURCE



For more photos & videos, visit: http://www.holmesmakesitright.com

Nigel Howard: Deaf Interpreters: The State of Inclusion

VIDEO [ASL] - Nigel Howard: Deaf Interpreters: The State of Inclusion. Nigel presented, Deaf Interpreters: The State of Inclusion, at StreetLeverage - Live.



Nigel Howard talk explored some of the perceptions that challenge better integration of Deaf interpreters into the field and into daily practice. Most notably, the perception that ASL-English interpreters have that requesting to work with a deaf interpreter is an indication of an inferior skill-set.



Additionally, he highlighted that the definitions ASL-English and Deaf interpreters hold of each other, correct or not, is the basis of their effectiveness working together and that both have equal responsibility for the processing of information and outcome of the communication. Recorded by Street Leverage.

Deaf Interpreters: The State of Inclusion.

Douglas College Instructor Builds Bridges Between Deaf and Hearing Communities - For Nigel Howard, working at Douglas College is all about building bridges between the Deaf and hearing communities.



"I am the only Deaf instructor nationally who teaches courses about topics other than interpreters, sign language and Deaf culture," says Howard.



In addition to teaching for the Program of Sign Language Interpretation (INTR), Howard instructs classes on personal and professional development, wellness and community in other programs in the Faculty of Child, Family and Community Studies. While students are required to only use American Sign Language (ASL) in INTR classes, Howard lectures with an interpreter in his other courses.



"There's a pretty progressive attitude here at Douglas College," says Howard.



Howard, who has taught at the college for about 12 years, enjoys elements of both INTR and other courses.



"I get to see both cultures and languages working in this setting. The variety helps me become flexible. I see what's out there in the world in other programs and bring it back to INTR. You need to be skilled in both cultures and languages to move between them," says Howard.



INTR is "my contribution to the students and to the community. I give to them and they give back to the Deaf community," he says. ...READ MORE http://www.douglas.bc.ca/about/features/feature_story_archives/2008/douglas-college-instructor-builds-bridges-between-deaf-and-hearing-communities.html

Medical Services - Understanding Deaf Culture

VIDEO: Medical Services - Understanding Deaf Culture.



Participants will learn how to provide culturally sensitive and competent mental health services to members of the Deaf community through gaining a better understanding of the culture and its specific needs



Participants will also gain a better understanding of sign language and how this can affect the process of communication in mental health treatment.



Participants will learn how Americans with Disabilities Act applies to working with Deaf individuals in mental health settings as well as how to work more effectively with interpreter in these settings.

Objectives: The cultural aspects of the Deaf community that are necessary to understand in order to effectively provide mental health counseling and to make proper diagnoses, Information regarding commonly held myths about the Deaf community, How ADA applies to this population, How to effectively communicate in the therapeutic process using a sign language interpreters,



Elijah Buchholz, LPC, is the Director of Deaf Services for the Missouri Department of Mental Health. For the past six years, Buchholz has provided mental health and substance abuse services to the Deaf community. He has conducted numerous trainings for both mental health clinicians and interpreters across Missouri and Kansas.



Related Post:

Haley Educating The Hearing People About The Deaf World

Advices To Parents With Deaf Children. ASL

To Educate Hearing Parents of Deaf Child

Educate For Hearing Parents With Deaf Childrens/Toddlers

Importance of Educating Hearing Parents

Interview With Hearing Parents Of A Deaf Son

ASL Rose: Two Deaf Babies

Sign Language Interpreter Rules Criticized In Michigan

VIDEO: Reform for sign language interpreter rules criticized in Michigan.



LANSING, MI. - In April 2005, a Deaf Roseville woman confessed to police to killing her boyfriend without knowing she had a legal right to have a lawyer present and remain silent through an interpreter.



The Michigan Supreme Court later tossed out the confession, concluding Mary Ann McBride's unqualified interpreter failed to communicate through sign language McBride's Miranda rights.



McBride was later convicted in the stabbing death of Robert Adelsburg, but the case and other incidents of sign language miscommunication in legal and medical settings prompted a 2007 law requiring more stringent education and testing requirements for interpreters.

"Unfortunately, situations like that continue to happen," said Sheryl Emery, director of the state Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing.



Six years later, the new rules are beginning to go into effect, but not everybody is happy with the reforms as Michigan imposes some of the toughest testing requirements for Deaf interpreters in the country intended to prevent interpreter mistakes. Some longtime professional interpreters and graduates of college-level sign language programs say the new state licensing test is difficult and too focused on English language concepts not used in everyday interpreting with Deaf people in community, educational, medical and legal settings.



Robina Anderson, an interpreter from Trenton and the daughter of two Deaf parents, has used sign language for 55 years, but has twice failed a new state exam that places a heavy emphasis on antonyms, synonyms and reading comprehension. Her state certification will become invalid this year under new licensing requirement set to go into effect in June. ...Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130408/METRO/304080345/1409/Reform-sign-language-interpreter-rules-criticized - SOURCE

Waitress Teaching Fellow Employees Sign Language

VIDEO [CC] - Local Waitress teaching fellow employees sign language for school project.



KDKA PITTSBURGH - “Hello, welcome to Kings. My name is Ashley. I’m your server. What can I get you to drink?”



Waitress Ashley Carney uses sign language as she waits on Taylor Doyka. Taylor, Deaf since birth, appreciates the effort made on her behalf.



Her friend, Emily Gabriel, herself a part-time waitress at Kings in Delmont, taught fellow employees the art of sign language.



“Emily had everyone come back in the back and we all came in and learned a little bit of everything,” Ashley recalls. “She went through as much as she could, and then we tried to copy her.”

Emily is a junior, minoring in sign language, at Saint Francis University in Loretto. As part of a class project, she asked manager Jim Pochedly if she could teach sign language to a couple of waitresses.



“He was actually like, why don’t you teach everyone?” Emily says. “And it just kind of snowballed.” She’s thrilled by the response of fellow waitresses. ...Read more: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/03/28/local-waitress-teaching-fellow-employees-sign-language-for-school-project/

Sign Language Advocates Create Visual Book For Deaf & Hearing Students

VIDEO: Sign language advocates create visual book for Deaf and Hearing students.



The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Princess and the Pea and Rapunzel are classic children’s stories that have been adapted, retold and redrawn in classrooms and homes over and over again.



But Dublin resident Laurie Meyer has found a new way to tell those stories: through American Sign Language. She believes the books her company, ASL Tales, is creating can revolutionize the way all children, Deaf and Hearing, learn about and access language.



“We don’t want to be targeted as a book for kids with disabilities,” said Meyer, co-founder of ASL Tales. Instead, her team is thinking, “How can we change the world if everybody had access to this language?”



ASL Tales published its first book in 2008, and its latest project, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, will be released next month. Each book comes with a DVD on which a professional retells the story in sign language, going page by page alongside the illustrations. The DVDs also offer clues that help viewers break down what the signs mean and how they fit together.



Meyer and ASL Tales’s co-founder Pinky Aiello have worked with people from across the country to create the books, but The Boy Who Cried Wolf was made almost exclusively by New Hampshire residents. Concord residents H. Dee and Connie Clanton did the sign language and illustrations for the book, respectively, and other contributors come from Bedford, Dover, Manchester and elsewhere. Parents, teachers and others who want to purchase the books can find more information online at asltales.net.



The goal of ASL Tales is to help children learn language in a visually rich way, and they are not meant exclusively for people who want to become fluent in sign language.



“You don’t have to be curious about American Sign Language to have these books be helpful, that’s the part that people have the hardest time understanding,” Meyer said.



Visual learning can improve the way hearing students learn language, and it allows students with disabilities or language problems to understand stories and words in a different way, Meyer said. The books have also been translated into several other languages, including Arabic, French and Portuguese.



“One of the things that I’ve said for a long time is that ASL, I think, could be a universal precaution against language delay,” Meyer said.



Although the company has been producing books for nearly five years, its been difficult to get the books into classrooms, Meyer said. Many librarians will put them into the section for students with disabilities, but the books are meant for all children, she said.



Another goal of ASL Tales is correcting misunderstandings about what American Sign Language is, she said. Sign language is not simply stringing together a series of signs for different words. Like any language, there is a specific way to put signs together to construct sentences and communicate messages. ...READ MORE: http://www.concordmonitor.com/community/town-by-town/concord/5331184-95/sign-language-advocates-create-visual-book-for-hearing-and-deaf-students

ASL Tales The Princess and the Pea.

Alisha says, "Hi, I'm Alisha Bronk and I want to tell you about an exciting new book with an ASL DVD.



The ASL storytelling, done by Pinky Aiello, will delight Deaf people, Children of Deaf Adults (CODAs), grandparents, students, interpreters, and anyone interested in learning sign language. Please check www.ASLTales.net. It's worth your time!

Sean Berdy Interview By TBDProds

VIDEO [CC] - Exclusive interview with Sean Berdy, Live from the red carpet at the TV Academy's 'Switched at Birth' screening and panel event.



LOS ANGELES - TBDProds chat with Sean Berdy about what's coming up in the second half of the first season, including the wedge that comes between Bay and Emmett and what the crazy outpouring of support for Emmett means to him.

Also, will Emmett rock the drums again soon? GoingBerdy are putting closed captioning for the parts where the interviewer is asking questions, for the benefit of the Deaf and HoH.

Sean Berdy: How To Sign Valentine's Day Phrases

ABC's "Switched at Birth" star Sean Berdy teaches you how to sign Valentine's Day phrases.

ABC Family Channel © Disney ABC Television Group. All rights reserved. Property of ABC Family. No copyright infringement intended or implied.



For more info and full episodes of Switched at Birth visit: http://abcfamily.go.com/shows/switched-at-birth

ISD - Deaf Poetry Out Loud Competition

VIDEO: Six students compete at the Iowa School for the Deaf Poetry Out Loud competition.



CBTV17 News - ISD sophomore Auna Ferguson wins the local competition and will advance to the state competition in Des Moines, Iowa.