NATION
Alabama
BIBLE FULLY TRANSLATED INTO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE FOR FIRST TIME ($)
Jehovah’s Witnesses announced earlier this year that the group had published the first-ever American Sign Language translation of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations. The ASL New World Translation Bible production started in 2004, with the individual books published upon completion. The final book came out just before the COVID pandemic shut down everything in March 2020.
California
LAUSD’S INDEPENDENT STUDY PROGRAM IS OVERWHELMED. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES PAY THE PRICE
Maya Flores stared at her laptop screen, watching as her teacher guided classmates on how to complete online assignments. But there was a big problem. Maya, 11, is deaf. Her teacher doesn’t know American Sign Language. For more than two months Maya waited for a sign language interpreter to help her because she could not understand how to participate in the Los Angeles school district’s online independent study program.
Connecticut
STRATFORD NEWS: GRANT AWARD WILL FUND A HEARING IMPAIRED SMOKE ALARM
The Stratford Fire Marshal’s Office is proud to announce winning approval for a 2020 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant of $60,891.43 from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The Fire Prevention and Safety Grant award will fund a Hearing impaired smoke alarm program for the citizens of Stratford.
District of Columbia
SUPREME COURT WEIGHS EMOTIONAL-DISTRESS DAMAGES FOR DISCRIMINATION ($)
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled with whether people with disabilities can seek monetary damages for emotional distress when they allegedly face discrimination in obtaining medical treatment. At issue was the case of a deaf and visually impaired woman in Texas who needed physical therapy for back pain.
Maryland
SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF EMPLOYEES AND FILMMAKER LOOKING TO INSPIRE WITH DENALI CLIMBING ADVENTURE
Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger never set out to be self-taught mountain climbers, but a lack of outdoor resources for deaf people put them there, so they decided to overachieve. Lehmann, a Frederick resident and math teacher at the Maryland School for the Deaf, has climbed the highest mountain peak in all 50 states, and Shayna, his girlfriend, has started joining him.
Massachusetts
WILLIE ROSS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF ANNOUNCES MARY CATE MANNION AS NEW TRUSTEE
LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf (WRSD) announced that Mary Cate Mannion has joined the school’s board of trustees. Mannion works for Garvey Communication Associates Inc. (GCAi) and is a former news anchor and reporter for Western Mass News.
LEARNING CENTER FOR DEAF CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN TEACH DIVERSIFICATION PILOT PROGRAM
FRAMINGHAM – The Learning Center for the Deaf has been selected to participate in the Massachusetts Teacher Diversification Professional Learning Community Program. TLC is one of only 100 schools statewide who will join the year-long program. Launched in April 2019, the Teacher Diversification Pilot Program is a state-funded pilot grant program that provides approximately $2 million in competitive funding to support local school and district efforts to strengthen and diversify existing teacher recruitment and retention programs.
Nebraska
UNL ALUM TAKES ON NEW ROLE IN HELPING DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN
Growing up with a sibling who was deaf, Jamie Bozarth knew she wanted to be a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing. Now, she has taken on the role of clinical manager at VocoVision, a telepractice provider working with children across the country. Bozarth’s position at VocoVision has evolved over time, initially working with students through telepractice and then becoming the deaf and hard of hearing education liaison.
New York
DEAF KIDS CODE EVENT AT GOOGLE STORE IN NYC
Joey Antonio, Daily Moth Guest Reporter: Hello! I’m Joey Antonio. I am a guest reporter for The Daily Moth. [B-roll of the exterior and interior of a brick-and-mortar Google Store in New York City. It is nighttime. There is a large projector/screen that shows a deaf man giving instructions on how to use a Google app. Employees and store staff are seen mingling in a store while wearing masks]
Oklahoma
OSU BECOMES FIRST OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY WITH BACHELOR’S DEGREE FOR AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE
STILLWATER, Oklahoma – Oklahoma State University is creating new opportunities for the Deaf community. The university approved a bachelor’s degree program for American Sign Language (ASL) in August of 2021, making it the first university in the state to do so.
Pennsylvania
LITTLE LAKE THEATRE TEAMING UP WITH WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF FOR PRODUCTION
In theory, the immediacy and spontaneity of live theater is a world that’s closed off to people who are hard of hearing or deaf. It’s tough to follow what is unfolding onstage if you can’t decipher what the actors are saying, even if they are aiming for the last row of the balcony.
South Carolina
SCSDB CHORUS CHRISTMAS PERFORMANCE 2021
The SC School for the Deaf and the Blind Chorus normally travels all over the state to perform. They especially love to spread Christmas Cheer. Unfortunately this year they are unable to travel and perform due to Covid. Enjoy this video of the students performing Christmas songs.
Utah
AUTHOR BRINGS BOOKS, SMILES TO CHILDREN AT UTAH SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND IN OGDEN
(Ogden, UT) — Some deaf and hard-of-hearing children get the gift of donated books this holiday season – thanks in part to author Laura Blum. Around 30 children at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind got a visit from Blum, who not only is an author but a sign language interpreter, ‘signing’ her books at Friday’s event. Blum brought with her some books to donate, books that include Colorful Ocean, Sweet Baby and Fruits and Vegetables.
Vermont
In September 2014, the parents of deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind students in Vermont were anxious. Early that month, the Brattleboro-based Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing had closed abruptly. The center had anchored a statewide system of deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind — or DHHDB — education staff, and parents were worried about the future of their children’s schooling.
WORLD
Australia
DARWIN THEATRE COMPANY BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS FOR HEARING IMPAIRED COMMUNITY
A Darwin theatre company is breaking down barriers with its latest performance and reaching a new audience in the process. The show includes a hearing impaired actor and auslan interpreters feature to make the play more accessible.
Canada
PROFILE — THESE 2 TEENS BUILT A SIGN LANGUAGE TRANSLATOR DURING THE PANDEMIC
While the rest of us were napping during lockdown, two 17-year-olds from Richmond Hill, Ontario, were working hard to invent a new device to help people who are deaf. The ConchShell Bracelet that Jin Schofield and Sarvnaz Ale Mohammad designed uses a camera and tiny computer to translate American Sign Language (ASL) into spoken English.
DEAF RESEARCHERS ARE ADVANCING THE FIELD OF SCIENCE — BUT BARRIERS STILL HOLD MANY BACK
In a scrubby patch of forest near Halifax, Saint Mary’s University professor Linda Campbell and her master’s student, Michael Smith, squelch through mud, looking for lichens. The lichens they’re after can be used as natural biological monitors of pollutants from former gold-mining sites, like this one.
Ghana
90% OF EMPLOYERS REFUSE TO HIRE HEARING IMPAIRED PERSONS – GNAD
A representative from the Ghana Association of the Deaf (GNAD), Johnson Mahama has disclosed most companies and business outfits in the country refuse to hire persons with hearing impairment. Although the country’s laws speak against discrimination of persons with disabilities, the reality is far from this.
Greece
8 years ago, the oldest and largest special school for the deaf in Ampelokipi was closed. The United Association of Parents and Guardians of the Disabled of Attica and islands recently complained that three teachers of Special Auxiliary Staff were removed from the special primary school for the deaf in Pefki.
India
WORLD DISABILITY DAY: 14-YEAR-OLD ASSAM BOY DEVELOPS APP TO CONVERT SIGN LANGUAGE TO TEXT
Tejas Shukla, a class 10 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Silchar, Assam was looking for his favourite television channel when he stumbled upon a news programme for hearing-impaired people on Doordarshan. A woman was using sign language to translate news events for the deaf hearing impaired.
Kenya
KBA UNVEILS SIGN LANGUAGE PLATFORM FOR BANK EMPLOYEES
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 3 – The Kenya Bankers Association Thursday launched the first Kenyan sign language online platform which is aimed at supporting bank employees to learn basic sign language, facilitating better communication with Deaf bank clients.
Sweden
DEAF-RUN THEATER RIKSTEATERN CREA HOSTS SIGN LANGUAGE ARTS EVENT
Renca Dunn, Daily Moth Reporter: Riksteatern Crea is a Deaf run theater in Stockholm, Sweden just like how we have our Deaf West and National Theater of the Deaf here in the USA. From November 17 to 21, Riksteatern Crea organized an event that focused on sign language arts mainly on visual vernacular and poetry.
United Kingdom
STRICTLY COME DANCING: DEAFNESS ‘NOT A BARRIER’ TO THE ARTS
The success of actor Rose Ayling-Ellis in this season’s Strictly Come Dancing is shining a spotlight on an “invisible disability”. Two teenagers are hoping to follow in her footsteps. Strictly star Rose Ayling-Ellis is inspiring more deaf young people to pursue careers in the arts.
Desk of the PIO 