Deaf Persons Inner Dialogue

I have a question for you. My girlfriends sister brought up an interesting conversation about the deaf persons inner dialogue. As a hearing person, I will never fully be able to understand this, but when you are thinking or day dreaming or just having inner dialogue with yourself, do you “hear” things in your head as you talk to yourself, or do you see pictures or more visual things? For example, do you see words or sentences in your head, instead of auditory? Or is there something else that is going on? I tried to explain to her that you know english, but she wasn’t understanding how you could have a thought without “hearing” it in your head.

Is there any way that I can explain this to her in an appropriate and PC way? I know that I probably have not asked this question appropriately, and it may not make sense, but I thought you would be a good person to ask.

Again, I apologize if I have asked this in any way that is offensive, I am having a hard time wording what it is I am asking. I am not completely aware when it comes to deaf culture.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Sarah, Section 601

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Hi Sarah:

The brain has different ways of learning things if you can’t see…same with if you can’t hear….same if you are dyslexic and your brain flips letters around….you still learn to read. Someone asked a question when we were talking about how children learn to read. Since most hearing children learn to read by using phonics (sounding words out) the class got into a debate about how if you can’t hear….how do you learn to read…that’s when the whole lecture turned to shapes of letters….children can recognize their names before they can read….they don’t “hear” their name when they see it. It is triggered as recognition from seeing it …not hearing it. Its just a different way of learning. Words have sounds to people because they “say” them in their head while reading. But it is a symbolic language we have put sound to…it doesn’t have to have sound to understand. Just like you don’t have to hear to have thoughts in your head. Its kind of an odd question …how do you think without hearing things in your head? It is almost like asking if a blind person can see their dreams….and if they can’t, how can they dream?

Good Luck

Bug

 

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Hi Eric,

Thank you for such as a quick response. You explained it much better than I did! I dont think she completely understands, but how can she, or I? We are not deaf. However, it was a perfect response to the question, and I thank you for it! It was an odd question, because you are correct, just because you cant hear doesnt mean you cant think. She was not understanding that, and neither was her psychology class, which is where the question was first broughtup. But, I now can explain it to her, and my mother, who also asked the same question, but I was unable to explain it in an effective way!

Thank you again!

Sarah

Travel News/ Sign-n-Tours / The amazing “Thousand Hand Guanyin”

There will be a special amazing China deaf dancer troupe who will perform for Sign-n-Tours group in April 22. They are the “Thousands Hands Guanyin” who are extraordinary dancers. You may view the website below.

We are thrilled to be a part of this tour with a special show who will perform for us. See below

Also we will have special tour to a Deaf School.

Visit the website/ www.sign-n-tours.com

Dorothy Garner/ deaf owner/ sign_tours@bellsouth.net

SO beautiful!!!

There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the net. Considering the tight coordination required, their accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring. Its first major international debut was in Athens last year at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries. Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute.

The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.

ABC News-interview about TreeWise book by Deaf Author

Dear Friends & Family;

My interview with ABC News in Chicago will air this Sunday, March 2nd during our 8 am show. I will come on around 8:15 to 8:30.

I also wanted to tell you that National Theatre of the Deaf has bought my story. They are working on adapting into the play for the national children tour. I am thrilled since the story will go out there to be shared. You may contact NTD for more info…

Aaron Kubey
Executive Director/President
The National Theatre of the Deaf
139 North Main Street
West Hartford, CT 06107
http://www.ntd.org/

Thank you for your support!

Best, Antoinette Abbamonte

A Climber’s Blind Determination

I work on behalf of Hear the World, a non-profit initiative developed to raise awareness for the topic of hearing loss. This link (http://www.hear-the-world.com/events.htm?id=5084&checksum=269CD39B7378CD140C27A2CD56476971) will bring you to a story about Bill Barkeley, a Grand Rapids, MI man who suffers from Usher’s Syndrome, a unique disorder that affects both vision and hearing (only about 100,000 worldwide suffer from this). Bill has worn a hearing device since the age of 5, and his vision is slowly closing.

Recently, Bill decided to train to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro (the 7th tallest mountain in the world) with the assistance of renowned climber Jeff Evans (It’s important to note that Bill never climbed a mountain of any kind prior to this trip). His decision to climb was both for his own personal satisfaction as well as to raise awareness for the issue of hearing loss and the mission of Hear the World. If possible, would you consider posting a message about this story in hopes to help continue to raise awareness about hearing loss, one of the world’s most preventable, yet most common disorders. Currently more than 500 million people worldwide have some form of hearing loss…. That number is expected to hit 700 million within the next 10 years.

As background, you may want to check out the below link to a Good Morning America clip from late-December that is sure to inspire!

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4051909&affil=kdnl

Best regards,

Michael Sinatra
www.hear-the-world.com

Rare Gallaudet Pictures

Here (below) are some really neat photos of the Gallaudet campus that I found in the 1897 and 1907 annual reports.

My favorite is the “View from the farm” photo. That’s how the caption read. Someone stood in a field full of some crop that the students were growing and took the photo. You can see the Capitol Building in the distance.

It’s interesting that the students worked the farm to grow their own food and meat. I’m not sure what year the practice was discontinued, but in an early report, EMG wrote that it was necessary to grow food and raise meat on the campus because the school was so far from the market places!

The Columbia Institution for the Deaf annual reports from 1858 onwards are now available for downloading on the Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaudet_University_Annual_Reports

The files are the unabridged versions of the reports, with all the appendices, and names of students in attendance, etc.

–Brian Riley (guest blogger)

Gallaudet boys dormitory designed by a Gallaudet graduate (1897)

Gallaudet Chapel Hall porch and Tower Clock (1897)

Gallaudet dormitory for female students and pupils (1897)

Gallaudet dormitory for male students, cabinet shop and laboratory, College Hall (1897)

Gallaudet professors house and the gymnasium (1897)

Gallaudet statue of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell (1897)

View of Gallaudet campus and Capitol building from the farm (1897)

College Hall and Chapel Hall (1907)

Gallaudet Alumni (July 1, 1907)

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Enlargements from the alumni photo above:

George Veditz

Amos Draper

Samuel Porter

Edward Miner Gallaudet

John Hotchkiss

James Stewart

possibly Clyde Stevens

probaby George Andree

Please Save Wyoming School for the Deaf Building

 Note:  FB receieved an email from Deaf person asking for help. We should share this with you. Hope you can help. Read on:

Do you guys have any ideas of what the local deaf community could to to fight against the School District to keep the Wyoming School for the Deaf building open?  Or perhaps you might know of people who would be able to help us take action?

This was the email I just sent out a few minutes ago to a lot of people that could possibly take action (hopefully!):

I just wanted to let you all know that there is still a chance that we CAN save the Wyoming School for the Deaf building from being torn down!  We need to take action.  Write letters to the editor and express your opinions and concerns about the building, pester the school district, etc.  Get your friends and/or families involved!

I myself cannot write a letter to the editor since I work for the Star Tribune and employees cannot write letters.  So it is up to you guys to write the letters.  You can send letters to
Casper Star Tribune
Letters Editor
170 Star Lane
Casper, WY 82609

or email your letters to the editor at: daniel.sandoval@trib.com

Or, you can send your letters to me and I can take them directly to the editor.  Whichever works best for you.

Keep passing around those petitions.  There is NO good reason for the building to be torn down.  So if you want to see the building saved, take action!  Spread the word and fight against the demolition.  There are even many who are working for the school district that want to keep the building up and are against the school district’s plans of tearing down buildings and replacing them, and just wasting money.

I’ll do all I can to help keep the building up, but you guys can help out too.  It’d be great if we all can work together and get the school district to change their plans.  I know we can do this.

I’ll keep sending out any more information when I know more, and doing what I can.  I can help with petitions outside work, etc.

Here’s some contact info for the school district if you guys want to send letters:
Superintendent: Jim Lowham
supt@ncsd.k12.wy.us

Central Services Facility
970 N. Glenn Road
Casper, WY 82601

There is no reason to let the school district win.  They just want to waste money by rebuilding every school in the district when it’s not even necessary.  Lets fight them and keep the WSD building open.  The WSD building is still being used on a daily basis; people are constantly coming by to use the library/resource center or the offices, and the building is still in great shape.  Pineview Elementary was condemned, the WSD was not.  And the WSD building is a unique building design, and it was built to last many, many years.  Let’s save it!

Also, I am still trying to work on the WSD Archives website.  I am having issues with the current host server, so I am looking for another host for the website.  I will let you know as soon as I can of the new web address.

Maybe you can be of help too, I don’t know.  I just want to get as many people involved as possible to save the building.  Hopefully you’ll have some ideas or people that could really help.

Deaf Softball Team Sick In The Airplane

Interesting story…..yesterday I flew to Denver to visit a another teacher. On the plane was a Deaf softball team that had played in a tournament in St. Louis. Not long after we took off, one the players started getting sick. Not just airsick…..pulse was very fast, breathing was difficult. A flight attendant was trying to help her, but was having problems communicating. I offered to interpret….as best I could. Then another team member got sick. The flight attendants asked if there were any medical people on board. There was a doctor and a nurse. Eventually 5 of the softball team members had the same symptoms. I’m no doctor, but one of the team members told me they all ate the same thing last night…..so I think it might be food poisoning. The captain radioed to the Denver airport and had the paramedics meet the plane as soon as we landed. It was quite an experience, and a lot of the team told me they were glad somebody on the plane knew enough ASL to help out. I’m hoping the airlines gives me a free flight…..hahaha.

Abe from St. Louis

UPDATED: 7-25-07 We received an email from our concerned reader asking how they are doing. We were told that the doctor said one of them might be going into liver failure, and the paramedics had an IV in him as soon as they landed. If you happen to know anything, contact us or leave your comment. We hope they get well soon -FB

They want Deaf person on TV but “Being Deaf” Is not necessarily a requirement”

We received anonymous email saying that Wheelchair Getawaways of Colorado is looking for two Deaf people to be filmed for their television commerical. In the email (see below) John M Anderson, President and Owner of Wheelchair Getaways of Colorado said that “Being Deaf” is not necessarily a requirement. Guess they don’t mind to cast a hearing person to act as deaf character in their commerical. Unidentified person wrote, “Look this article. I was puzzled so I thought ud like to see this. Its not right. We prefer real deaf instead pretend being deaf.” Here’s what Wheelchair Getawaways wrote:

From: Wheelchair Getaways of Colorado
[mailto:co@wheelchairgetaways.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 1:25 PM
To: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Need Deaf People for Television PSA

The needs are pretty straight forward. We are looking for two people to use sign to talk to one another. Being Deaf is not necessarily a requirement (hint, hint). Randy is working with the film crew to narrow down the window, but it appears that it would be Friday afternoon for a couple of hours (I would guess something like from 1-3). We are also looking for wheelchair users, as well as low-vision or blind who use a cane (the basic concept is disabilities that would have visual clues to drivers that there would be special concerns.) If you have ANY suggestions, I would welcome them. I will also get together with randy about the postings.

Thanks

John

Deaf Celebrities at the ASL EXPO in Chicago

Jason with CJ Jones (CJ Jones Live)

Jason with Matt Hamill (Matt Hamill ‘The Hammer’)

Jason with Ken Davis and Michi DeMarrais (Deaf Newspaper)

Deaf Resident Lives By Paris Hilton

 

Paris Hilton Mugshot

There is a Deaf resident living in that area where Paris Hilton lives. Deaf man doesn’t wish to be identified. He is willing to share his experience with Fookem and Bug’s readers. Also, we learn that unidentified person is in 70’s and live in his neighborhood area for about 20 years. He lives close to Hilton, just a few houses from her. “I hate paparazzi chaos,’’ he said. I always passed Paris house. She sometime saw me walking and jogging. She smiled and waved at me. I was jogging around the street. I was confused there was lot of media around that area where she lives. I thought it was strange because Paris was still in the jail. I wondered why there was a paparazzi chaos. I stopped and asked one reporter. I wrote down for our communication. I found out that she (Paris Hilton) has been released from jail after serving just three days,’ he said. A day later he was surprised to see the media van blocked his driveway. He was unhappy about it. He saw a few reporters running after the sheriff vehicle but he did not see Paris Hilton because there was a paparazzi chaos which they blocked him from the sight of Hilton.