Many police, criminal justice and court officials assume the since a deaf person asks for a paper and pencil or a computer screen that they can communicate through writing. This seldom is the case. They typically ask for paper and pencil or the computer screen because they have no other recourse. Routinely police officers and […]
Over the past few years, I’ve been asked to provide language evaluations in cases that involved crimes involving Deaf people against each other, typically domestic violence cases. In several of the cases, the Deaf person with better speech skills would gain control over the police questioning when the arrest occurred, with police becoming more sympathetic […]
We celebrated Rev. Martin Luther King’s birthday by watching the 90-minute PBS special documentary, ‘I Am Not Your Negro.’ The movie was part celebration, part eye-opener, and part sadness-filled and left us wondering, when will racial hatred stop? Why does the color of one’s skin have to matter? Why do we hate people who look […]
Consider this scenario. During a domestic dispute, a husband who is deaf hits his wife who is also deaf. This occurs in the couple’s kitchen with their young seven-year-old hearing daughter watching such a horrible incident. The assaulting husband flees out the door. The mother, badly bleeding from a mouth cut, calls 911 on video […]
Book Review: The Language of Light: A History of Silent Voices (2017) by Gerald Shea Yale University Press. New Haven. By Jean F. Andrews This is a history of sign language – “the language of light” – and how Deaf people have fought for centuries for the right to use their language. The controversy of […]
By Jean F. Andrews For many Deaf individuals the parole process is a complex web. And for those Deaf persons who have poor English and sign skills and are not aware of their Constitutional Rights, the stakes are particularly high. What creates this web of confusion? For one, the rules and regulations of the parole […]
By Jean F. Andrews Mrs. T., a single mother who is deaf, made a medical appointment when her hearing son complained of headaches and earaches. As a native Signer, Mrs. T. requested a qualified ASL interpreter for the doctor’s office visit. She was informed that a staff audiologist interpret. But the Audiologist was busy with […]
By Jean F. Andrews Is Deaf culture an important tool in the literacy classroom in Deaf education? Many who work closely with Deaf colleagues – and many reading teachers – say “Yes.” These people utilize this tool, when building their practical instructional models. Deaf culture serves as a strong support mechanism in teaching both ASL […]
By Jean F. Andrews Embed from Getty Images In his book, Literacy, Culture, and Development : Becoming Literate in Morocco, Professor Daniel Wagner (1993) describes the complex language learning contact situation of hearing boys and girls in Morocco. Deaf children are no different. They too are born into a complex language contact situation where their […]
By Jean F. Andrews Deaf babies should learn sign language just as soon as their hearing loss is diagnosed, at birth, 3 months, 6 months or before the age of two. Recent research in Neuroscience and Psycholinguistics has shown that when a baby’s brain is exposed to two languages between the ages of 6 and […]
“While they DO have a TTY machine here, but it doesn’t work properly — AND the only time we are able to use that machine is when someone is available to “monitor” it. What that means is my “counselor” has to take time of her work to sit beside me and read our conversation” (email to HEARD, January 10, 2013). And still another prisoner complained there was no power outlet near the phone for the TTY to continue working.”
By Jean F. Andrews C. J. Jones from Los Angeles, California, performed for 150 Lamar University students, faculty and community members last week in Beaumont, Texas. C.J. used visual storytelling, American Sign Language, mime, and audience participation to “bring down the house” with humor, laughter and heart-warming stories about his youth and early adulthood. C.J. […]
By Jean F. Andrews What if you are deaf, serve time in prison and are released with the stipulation that you are banned from using a cell phone or the Internet? Could you survive? Yes, but with great difficulty. Did you know that some released deaf inmates are banned from cell phone use and the […]
By Jean F. Andrews Reading continues to be one of the major obstacles for deaf adults in obtaining their Constitutional Rights. Reading court and legal documents is next to impossible. Even with a sign language interpreter the concepts are difficult to grasp. In the ivory tower the debate is whether the reading process is qualitatively […]
By Jean F. Andrews Deaf people are treated unfairly by housing leasing staff, according to a front-page story in the Houston Chronicle, January 27, 2014 by news reporter Jayme Fraser. In fact, office managers are reported to have rudely hung up on deaf inquirers who call in using relay interpreters. Why is this situation still happening in this […]
By Jean F. Andrews [Author’s Note: Dr. Paris is an assistant professor in the Dept of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University. She has done research with Native American Deaf Communities. — Jean Andrews] Native American and Deaf Communities: Parallels of Oppression Damara Paris, Ed.D, CRC, NCC Recently, the news has been rife with reports […]
By Jean F. Andrews Learning ASL and English does not happen quickly. It takes time as do all first language and second language learning. Delays in language learning is a fact in many deaf persons’ lives. But it does not have to be. Being deaf does not cause a language delay. It is the lack […]
By Jean F. Andrews Since I’ve been in higher education, I’ve seen an increase in numbers of graduate students who are deaf apply to deaf education programs. I have also seen the increase in the hiring of professors who are deaf in different institutions where I have worked. The topics of their research papers are […]
By Jean F. Andrews As more and more deaf individuals earn degrees in higher education at the doctorate level, they are entering high education as professors and administrators. Oftentimes, they experience both physical and attitudinal barriers. Professors who are deaf provide role modeling for deaf undergraduate and graduate students. But working in an environment where […]
By Jean F. Andrews It was the end of August, 1974 and I was sitting in a crowded classroom next to 25 other students at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel’s College) in the bottom basement of the campus library. The professor, dressed casually in a light blue guayabera, walked into the classroom, picked up a […]
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