I am not completely deaf and sometimes.........

I have a hard time communicating tough issues over the phone as a customer with businesses. I don't have a TDD and tried working with them via computer but their staff are not the people I need to talk to. They use staff who are not familiar with business issues to communicate the issues to key staff which frustrates the communication more. That delays more which costs more.

So I have my wife who is hearing who deals with the telephone conservations. Sometimes, they won't talk to my wife simply because she is not "Jim" and my wife explains that she is like a relay operator but better. Most of the time they work but some business won't accept her.

How can businesses deal with the needs that hearing impaired people have? There is an awful lot that they can do in configuring those to make communication easier and better, and they do not do that. Not enough attention is paid to that and, as a result, they are struggling to communicate in environments that their best friend would not want to impose on them. They don't treat their customers as their best friends.

We want something that meets our need, and we want it to meet it now. We do not want to wait for months to solve that problem; we want to do it now. Because if you have to wait, they will cause us to lose our motivation, and it makes things much more difficult and at the end, the businesses wins while the deaf/hearing impaired customers loses while waiting to find communication solutions to solve the actual issue.

Ohio Association of the Deaf, Inc (OAD) and Deaf Fair 2009

History relating to Ohio Association of the Deaf, Inc (OAD), you will find it here OAD has 10 Board members and eight regional representatives who are available and willing to listen to issues which concern deaf Ohioians

OAD is hosting 2009 Deaf Fair Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 10:00AM to 5:00PM
at the Ohio Expo and State Fair – Lausche Building 717 East 17th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43211

I plan to be there.

Deaf Women of Ohio......

Deaf Women of Ohio is dedicated to serving Deaf, hard of hearing and Deaf-blind women and girls in Ohio. Deaf women of Ohio want to make a difference. This organization began in April 2004 with their first elections of Officers and Board Members, and they have been growing by leaps and bounds since then.

Gov't bill would make Internet more accessible for disabled via real-time texting, closed captioning

A new bill will aim to make content on the Internet more friendly to those with disabilities

HSBC agrees to nationwide deal to help blind and deaf dispute credit card charges

A national credit card company has agreed to do a better job serving customers who are blind or deaf after it told a vision-impaired New Yorker she had to complete a written form to dispute a charge.

Exercise puts medical students in deaf patients' shoes

Every medical schools should do this.

The event, the only one of its type in the country, has students consult "health providers" who are actually members of the local deaf community. It was started by med students in 1998.

Deaf Culture and Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell's influences of audism is still effective even today through his organization. I have been watching many of the wording of AG Bell's promotion of their organization. I can see they are not accepting deaf culture as fact of life. My main issues is Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's (AGBell's) negative attitude towards the Deaf culture in general.

Audism basically means those who discriminate or stereotyping against Deaf culture. Audism means a system of practice, behavior, belief, or attitude. Stereotypes, biases, and misconceptions leap into one’s mind. Stereotyping has created by showing incorrect judgment of a possibility by making people into stereotypes that leads to myths. Nowadays, it is hard to tell the difference but I believe that with today's technology and disability discrimination laws that are out there, there should not be any ignorance. My only conclusion is that people are doing audism rather than being ignorant.

Alexander Graham Bell had helped banning deaf people getting married. His reason was he thought deaf people are growing becoming a race with the language that is not graceful for him. He thought preventing deaf people getting married would prevent from deaf people growing. His opinion was deaf people need be fixed and speak only that would help them better life. deaf people suffered oppression by Alexander's ignorant and audism for 120 years.

Audism is a negative or oppressive attitude towards deaf people by either deaf or hearing people and organizations, and a failure to accept deaf culture, one example would be the refusal or failure to use sign language in the presence of a sign language-dependent person is considered audism. We must remember that the Deaf culture is based on the heritage and traditions of the Deaf community, not about deafness itself. We are to treat all deaf individuals equal opportunity to understand all aspects of the deaf community, culture and education. This is really about about non-culturally Deaf people learning to accept Deaf culture & language without judgments.

What we should do is have diplomacy to have all organizations who work with deaf individuals be united that we all get together in alliance to accept all aspects of deafness.

Teacher furloughs, other academic, athletic cutbacks will cost students at the schools for deaf, blind

Edward E. Corbett Jr., the superintendent at the deaf school, said he thinks students realize that, in a bad economy, changes must be made. Read the article....State schools for the deaf and blind -- especially centralized, residential institutions like Ohio's -- are increasingly rare. But both schools here are more than 150 years old and have ardent supporters.

Many institutions like these will be hurt because they are invisible and not fully recognized by many.

Last year, I completed a survey for Deaf411

I was curious about the result for a long time until I ran into this report which came out recently. Columbus, Ohio is on the list as well as my home state, Boston, MA.

This “Deaf Friendly Cities” report includes a narrative of a selected city from each of four U.S. regions, lists several community resources, and photos representing a variety of situations that are considered “deaf friendly” to deaf consumers or travelers.

"While research for this report should not be considered scientific," a Deaf411 representative explains, "this sampling of consumers with significant hearing loss who depend primarily on sign language provides solid criteria for evaluating cities for accessibility from a deaf friendly perspective."

Actual Report (free registration may be required)

Deaf411 surveyed deaf Americans by asking if they considered the current city they live in is “Deaf-Friendly.” The survey also included questions about accessible recreational activities, community events, resources in these cities for deaf people, etc.

A Study 10 Years Ago...,DEAF ENTREPRENEURS

Is there a latest study out there?

A NATIONAL STUDY OF DEAF ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS : IMPLICATIONS FOR CAREER COUNSELING

My deafness was undiagnosed until I was 4 years old

I missed out my communication skills and hearing bedtime stories until I was finally diagnosed I am hearing-impaired. From birth up to until I was about 4 years old, my family didn't know I was deaf until I had a hearing test in a famous hospital in Boston. I could hear loud noises but I could not communicate or even talk normally. As soon as they found out that I have a major hearing loss, my grandparents got me a new hearing-aid and I actually remembered the first day I actually HEARD anything including my mother's voice and of course a TRUCK outside the hearing-aid store. My first hearing-aid was a Zenith.

Then before attending deaf school, I was in speech therapy and then soon, I was able to talk basic words but not really having a conversation. Soon, I started attending the Boston School for the Deaf for 7 years which was an oralist deaf school (now closed). I was not to learn or use sign language until I was about 19 years old. I really wished I learned better english grammar, even through sign language because I wanted to communicate effectively. Today, even though I can hear and can communicate effectively. My grammar will always be off and words I say will always be off the mark.

In "person", I am mildly reserved and low-key person because I am usually afraid of saying something wrong grammar or speech. I am not big on small talk. I usually prefer in-dept discussion about important issues rather than small talk. Along with my deafness, I had to struggle with the conditions that affect the development of my communication skills within personality and intelligence. Today's experts say that "Age of onset plays a crucial role in the development of language". It took me YEARS to overcome my lack of understanding in english grammar as well as sign language.

I missed out alot when I was diagnosed.

Looking forward to retire so I can be involved in Church ministries including disability

Now that I found a good Church that I can enjoy worship God and fellowship with other Christians, I am looking forward to retire so I can focus some of my time serving God through Church ministries. The members of my new church are more adaptable and full of fruit of the spirit that they are eager to try to help. The Bible also teaches us to bear the burdens of someone with a disability fulfills a command of scripture (Galatians 6:2). 2 Samuel 9:3-4 tells the story of David’s kindness to Mephibosheth, the lame son of Jonathan, modeling the way the church should minister.

People with disabilities make up one of the largest minority group in the country, especially withing Christian Churches. Many of the Church's members are volunteers and by no means they are expected to be experts on certain issues, especially in disabilities including deafness. They are simply "Helpers", 1 Corinthians 12:28 is amplified in Romans 12:7,8 by the gifts of contributing, giving aid, showing mercy and perhaps also rendering service. This gift is the most common and perhaps very important because Peter encourages those who render service to do it "with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 4:11).

It is tough for small churches make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way the church provides its services. The responsibility rests not just with church leaders, but with everyone.

Deaf fan sues Ohio State to get captions at games

Its common sense that public places, especially in bars where you can't hear the TV, everyone would want the "caption" and see what they are missing by not hearing what they are saying.

Deaf fan sues Ohio State to get captions at games

Deaf or Hearing: Bookkeeping Business...how many of you run it?

I am curious how many of you own a bookkeeping business and how you are doing?

What involves in a typical bookkeeping? Do you use Quickbook or Peachtree?

What software do you use?

I am an expert on Excel Spreadsheets, do excel help your business?

Do you use Access?

Thanks, Jim

Familiar with National Deaf Business Institute ?

Is anyone familiar withNational Deaf Business Institute ? I am hard of hearing and a graduate of NTID, would they be useful for me as I start a new business?

Audism, Struggles and Growth

Audism basically means those who discriminate or stereotyping against Deaf culture or hearing-impaired individuals. Audism means a system of practice, behavior, belief, or attitude. In the deaf culture, calling someone an audist is akin to calling someone a racist. People who have audist attutides are considered to be audists. Many of us are sharing our insights from our first-hand experiences with deafness. Often when we think of the disabled, we often think only of those who are in wheelchairs or are otherwise, visible physically impaired. However, the word can also refer to the deaf community, though many deaf persons do not consider themselves to be disabled. Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults. Mostly, we deal with socially and professionally disabled more than deafness.

Many disability obstacles such as discrimination, attitudes, ignorance, stereotyping, or alienation are still around by all of us whether we realized them or not. Stereotypes, biases, and misconceptions leap into one’s mind. Stereotyping has created by showing incorrect judgment of a possibility by making people into stereotypes that leads to myths. Audism, like racism and sexism, is discrimination against deaf and hearing-impaired individuals. However, I do acknowledge that there is a significant difference between ignorance and audism. Nowadays, it is hard to tell the difference but I believe that with today's technology and disability discrimination laws that are out there, there should not be any ignorance. My only conclusion is that people are doing audism rather than being ignorant.

In spirit, the purpose of Christianity with disabilities is not to avoid difficulty, but to produce a character adequate to meet it when it comes. It does not make life easy; rather it tries to make us great enough for life. Paul wrote in Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

A Christian who is rooted deeply and very fruitful, who concentrates on the eternal root system of his or her life is going to bear fruit upward, but if he or she concentrates on the eye-appealing temporal things, he or she may end up a rootless failure. A person who is elated by success and is cast down by failure is still a carnal Christian. At best, his or her fruit will have a worm in it. God's timing is infallible. He takes every factor and contingency into account. We often want to pluck unripe fruit, but He will not be pressured into premature action. A mature Christian disciple will not stumble because of apparently unanswered prayer. A mature Christian disciple will not, however, adopt a fatalistic attitude when he or she examine his or her prayers and seek to discover the cause of failure.

Jesus said in John 15:1-2, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." With the Holy Spirit and love, we can and will walk in the Spirit because Christ produces the fruit in us through His GRACE. In "the sufficiency of God’s grace" in the worst of human circumstances is that when a person is weak in a temporal sense while the person is strong spiritually by God's Grace in eternal sense.

Jesus also said in John 15:5, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing." Carlo Carretto explained it nicely, “We are the wire, God is the current. Our only power is to let the current pass through us”. We must remember that we are still in the flesh even though we have Christ in us. It is the Holy Spirit's conviction that God’s design for us is to be radically transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) Our hope for this radical transformation is by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13). With the Holy Spirit and love, I will walk in the Spirit, Christ produces the fruit. It is Christ through the Holy Spirit produces power, love, sound mind through us. Christ helps us. Without Christ, we are nothing. Our faith is not in our works. Our faith is the generator of our works. Faith produces works. Works reveal faith or the lack of it. Being is expressed in doing. Faith is a gift from the Holy Spirit, without the Holy Spirit, we can't have faith and without the Holy Spirit, we can't be spiritual. Faith will express itself in faith deeds not just words alone. Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

In my own experiences, God lead me to what I call "coincidences" in my life which perhaps God will make sure that His wills will be done at His right time and place. God will yet have His way while at the same time, as responsible forgiven sinner, I also must make my choices in any situations I may face. Often I make decisions when I think that they are part of God's will however, circumstances will make me change directions. Someone has said “Life is God’s novel. Let Him write it.” (Isaac Bashevis Singer). My life is like a pencil in God’s hand, He does the writing and the pencil has nothing to do with God’s writing. We often try to alter our circumstances to satisfy ourselves, instead of letting God alter us. God does not desire to destroy our will, but to sanctify “our will into His will”.

The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our sovereign God. We are to allow the Holy Spirit do what He will through us and see what He does with us. God tests His real disciples more severely than lukewarm ones.

True life is:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 20:24, Proverbs 21:1, Jeremiah 10:23, Romans 8:28-29, Matthew 10:29-30)

Our faith should recognize the fact that God is in control of our lives. Whether we believe it or not, it's a fact that God is in control of the world. If we don't believe it, we are just robbing ourselves of the enjoyment of the fact.

Advocacies for Deaf and hearing loss.

Why many deaf people do not want to be a member of AG Bell's organization?

Hearing loss experiences differ individually. There are those who have been born with hearing loss (like me). There are those who lost their hearing later in life. To many, hearing loss is more of a social and professional disability rather than a physical disability. Many keep forgetting that the majority of the deaf community is often late-deafened, and especially with the baby boomers now entering the old age, we are seeing declining hearing and it is unlikely we’d see them rushing to learn another language like ASL.

Last month, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) denounced repeated demonstrations against the association and its members by several groups claiming that AG Bell discriminates against individuals who are deaf who use sign language, specifically American Sign Language (ASL). One group for an example is “Audism Free America”. I found that there are some hard-core deaf idealists out there. Organizations like this are wasting time and money on divisive activities rather than looking for ways to give all people with hearing loss the ability to achieve their dreams, whatever they may be. Idealism basically means holding on to a set of beliefs which are a rigid system of the way life is "supposed to be" or "should be". Idealism belief system basically means you have adopted about how things "should be done" which often gets challenged by the way things are in reality. Many idealists find it difficult to fully accept anyone the way they really are and chronically attempt to control them so that they can become the way they "should ideally be" which often leads to become fatalistic, hostile, pessimistic, and negativistic attitudes. I truly believe that "over-idealism" is a control issue and that it is at the root of our need to over-control situations, people, places, or things in order to ensure that they come into compliance with our ideal image of the way reality is supposed to be.

Historically, there is a large degree of mistrust between the Deaf community and the AGBell because their philosophies are different. Depending on each individual, some may continue to use ASL after.CI surgery along with other forms of communication within their society. They can enjoy both deaf culture and hearing. There are those who will continue to be against AGBell unless they are willing to change. It is up to each individual (or parents) that a deaf person should learn to interact with other people in the most effective way. It’s up to the parents to help encourage a deaf child to interact with society as well as possible. All parents have the RIGHT to make decisions about cochlear implants and communication methodology for their own children.

I can understand as parents, they find it very tough for parents to find the "right" path for their deaf and hearing-impaired children when their parents are not getting ALL of the information about deafness. AG Bell should be sharing all aspects of what can help parents of deaf children regardless how we think should be the right way. Deaf and Hearing loss advocacies are to be very diverse who are very open minded and willing to learn everything unconditionally whether they "communicate orally, with signs, cue, and/or combined methods". What can parents of deaf children can do for their kids? They can make sure that their children can communicate effectively so they can have a "normal" relationship. I have learned that many children with hearing problems will face both experiential and language deficiencies. My speech is so good that no one will ever know that I am deaf but if they listened to my grammar and/or my speech, they will figure me out.

From birth up to until I was about 4 years old, my family didn't know I was deaf until I had a hearing test in a famous hospital in Boston. I could hear loud noises but I could not communicate or even talk normally. As soon as they found out that I have a major hearing loss, my grandparents got me a new hearing-aid and I actually remembered the first day I actually HEARD anything including my mother's voice and of course a TRUCK outside the hearing-aid store. My first hearing-aid was a Zenith.

Then before attending deaf school, I was in speech therapy and then soon, I was able to talk basic words but not really having a conversation. Soon, I started attending the Boston School for the Deaf for 7 years which was an oralist deaf school (now closed). I was not to learn or use sign language until I was about 19 years old. I really wished I learned better english grammar, even through sign language because I wanted to communicate effectively. Today, even though I can hear and can communicate effectively. My grammar will always be off and words I say will always be off the mark.

In "person", I am mildly reserved and low-key person because I am usually afraid of saying something wrong grammar or speech. I am not big on small talk. I usually prefer in-dept discussion about important issues rather than small talk. Along with my deafness, I had to struggle with the conditions that affect the development of my communication skills within personality and intelligence. Today's experts say that "Age of onset plays a crucial role in the development of language". It took me YEARS to overcome my lack of understanding in english grammar as well as sign language.

Deaf Juror dismissed In Ohio (Update)

Hearing-impaired woman should not have been on jury, court says Does this mean that deaf jurors are disqualified from sitting on juries?

Mistrial caused by a Deaf Juror

Yesterday,The Columbus Dispatch reported that
Family outraged to learn of retrial The court concluded that boat owner Scott Speer of Fairlawn didn't receive a fair trial be cause a hearing-impaired woman was on the jury and she couldn't fully comprehend the vocal nuances in Speer's 911 call, a key piece of evidence in the case.

This decision will create alot of feedbacks from deaf and hearing-impaired citizens around United States. Could this cause problems for hearing jurors in deaf-related trials?

Law against texting while Driving: Does this discriminate Deaf drivers?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 80 percent of vehicle crashes and 65 percent of close calls are caused in part by driver distraction. One of the growing problems in driving is text messaging. One example case is when five teenage girls were driving to a vacation home in upstate New York when their sport utility vehicle crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer, killing all of them. The police later learned from phone records that the driver had been typing text messages on her phone just before she swerved out of her lane. Toxicology tests ruled out alcohol and drugs as possible causes. Article

Text Messaging is illegal in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington and the District of Columbia have a text messaging ban for all drivers. Many believed this is not discriminatory and it is a public safety issue for everyone. Cell Phone Driving Laws Research have shown that teenagers and Generation Y (ages 16-30) drivers are more likely to send text messages while driving.

What do you think?