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 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 […]
By Jean F. Andrews Backspace by Steve C. Baldwin, published by Savory Words Publishing (2015) Set in southeast Texas, Dr. Steve Baldwin crafted a briskly paced murder mystery filled with family violence, addiction, bullying, blackmail, deceit and greed, murder, and incest. In the early 1950’s, stuck in an unsympathetic hearing world filled with ignorance, misinformation, […]
By Jean F. Andrews On Friday, November 13, 2015, at the University of Houston’s Jose Quintero Theater on campus, the National Theater of the Deaf entertained a mixed audience of hearing and Deaf members. They presented a show called “A Show of Hands.” Behind a bright green vertically slotted curtain, you could only see the […]
By BitcoDavid We haven’t had a digest post in quite a while, but when enough news happens in a short period of time, it becomes necessary to cover it in a single post. First off, this past Thursday, October 1st was Felix Garcia‘s birthday. Pat Bliss sent me the following: October 1st is Felix’s birthday. […]
By Jean F. Andrews Recently, I covered the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, in Greece. Here’s an update on that story. In the Maryland Bulletin (Spring, 2015, p. 12), James E. Tucker, Superintent of the Maryland School for the deaf in Frederick, Maryland wrote about the recent lack of sign language interpreters […]
By Jean F. Andrews In a southern state in a Federal prison, Jill is serving a 10-year term. While sign language interpreters are provided for her when her attorney comes to visit or during her hearings with the judge, she does not get interpreting services within the prison. For example, she does not fully understand […]
By Jean F. Andrews Surrounded by the Acropolis and other stunning Greek monuments, the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf held their 22nd annual conference, titled Educating Diverse Learners; Many Ways, One Goal, on July 6 to July 9, 2015. It was the stage for more than 700 researchers. It was a revitalizing […]
By Jean F. Andrews A Photography Exhibition by Amy Elkins at the Houston Center for Photography, May 8th to July 5, 2015 Amy Elkins, photographer examines capital punishment and solitary confinement through her powerful, haunting and evocative exhibition. For many years, Ms. Elkins had a personal relationship with many inmates on death row through letter […]
By Jean F. Andrews Sexual predation is considered to be a heinous crime rather than a disease. In a paper written by Dr. McCay Vernon – the late psychologist who specialized in mental health issues and deaf persons – pedophilia is a “a curse,” because crimes by sexual molesters arouse so much public anger, and […]
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 I’ve been in court, when both judges and prosecuting attorneys were not familiar with the term linguistic incompetence, and how it related to a deaf defendant’s case. They were familiar with the term, mental incompetence. Mental incompetence is defined as the inability is of a person to make or carry out […]
By Jean F. Andrews In collaboration with a deaf inmate, we put together 50 different ways to use the Internet. For a deaf person, the Internet is a necessity not a luxury as it is for hearing people, who have the option of using the audio-cell phone. Banning deaf persons who are released from prison, […]
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 BitcoDavid In Nowhere Man in a Nowhere Land, by Jean F. Andrews, we told the story of Junius Wilson. He was a Deaf, Black man living in the Jim Crow South. He spent 76 years in the State Hospital for the Colored Insane – wrongfully charged with rape. On February 11th, HEARD and the Disability […]
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