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Posts Tagged: sign language
Deaf Man Refused Citizenship for being Deaf
Canada has refused to allow a Russian painter to immigrate because he is deaf. Dmitri Smirnov was unable to pass the verbal language test--although he performed well on the test when allowed to answer in American Sign Language. Smirnov has been working as a commercial and residential painter but his work permit was expiring soon, so he applied last year to stay in Canada as a permanent resident. When an immigration officer refused his application in November, Smirnov appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, arguing the rules requiring the test be taken verbally discriminate against the deaf, but the court turned him away. The Canadian Hearing Society's Chris Kenopic is quoted by the National Post as saying, “The federal government is not recognizing sign language as a means of communication." Before coming to Canada seven years ago, Smirnov lived in the U.S. where he learned ASL. Read a detailed review of the case here.
Daniel Radcliffe joins BSL campaign
Actor Daniel Radcliffe is offering his support for a sign language awareness campaign in the UK. It started today (Friday). He supports the Life & Deaf Association's Sign Good Morning campaign. Find out more here. Below is a video from the effort.BSL students at Remark! from Life & Deaf on Vimeo.
A Peek inside the Deaf Lounge
Lsat week we told you about the bar where you can order in sign language-the Deaf Lounge in North London that just opened--which you can read about here Below is a peek inside the new club.
Judge Rules in favor of Deaf Inmates
Deaf California prison inmates must get access to sign language interpreters when they are put in solitary confinement, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken says the ADA rights of deaf prisoners are being violated. She said the state is also violating section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In 2001, a state plan to deal with the issue was put in place, but over the years, various courts have said California corrections officials have not hired enough interpreters to provide for the needs of prisoners. In her ruling, the Northern District of California judge wrote:
Wilken warned corrections officials that she wants to see the problem quickly addressed.Plaintiffs also have offered declarations from deaf prisoners who have been in administrative segregation, who felt depressed and who wanted or attempted to hurt themselves. They said that they wanted to tell the mental health staff about their feelings but could not communicate with them. To the extent that Defendants argue that deaf prisoners were not harmed because none have actually succeeded at committing suicide since this policy was implemented, the court need not wait until a death to require compliance with its orders. The court already found in the 2007 order that Defendants had consistently and systematically denied sign language interpreters to deaf prisoners, including to suicidal prisoners, causing them significant harm.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken
Order in Sign Language at this Bar
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| London's Deaf Lounge |
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Judge rejects abuse suit request
A group of students who attended the Alberta School for the Deaf--but a Canadian judge says they can't file a class-action lawsuit. Two women and one man say they were physically and sexually abused by staff and other students at the Edmonton school. Even though lawyers say some 100 people have expressed interest in joining the lawsuit, the judge decided too much time had passed to grant the request. The attacks allegedly took place in before 1996, when the school discouraged the use of sign language.Related Blogs
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The Secret is in the hands
To best understand someone, don't look at their face, look at their hands. That's the finding of Stanford University researchers. Here's why: Michael Slepian and his team showed videos to volunteers from the World Series of Poker. Some videos showed player's faces, other clips showed their hands. Some clips showed chest, arms and head. The volunteers weren't very good at figuring out the quality of the player's hands when watching just the player's face. Their guesses improved when the player's could be seen from the waist up. But the best guesses came when the volunteers could see only the person's hands. Slepian speculates that people break their rhythm in body movements when anxious. While the researchers didn't look into how this might play out with sign language, their findings may suggest that signers could be more likely to spot anxiety and thus deception on the part of other people because of the awareness sign language users have of a speaker's hands and arms. Details of the Stanford study are in the journal Psychological Science.Related Blogs
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Deaf Culture #11
Most deaf children have deaf parents?
False. Only 10% of deaf children have deaf parents. The remaining 90% have hearing parents. These children are more likely to attend a public school with a mainstream program, have an amplification device, and rely on oral skills, or Signed Exact English, as opposed to ASL.
Working with a deaf person requires an interpreter all of the time?
There are many day-to-day activities that do not require an interpreter. Often the deaf person will communicate with pen and paper in order to ask general questions, order fast food, go to the pharmacist, and other mundane tasks. Though many Deaf use an interpreter for on the job training, staff meetings, and other important work functions, there are very few who have an interpreter with them at work at all times.
If you do not know sign language, it is acceptable to write back and forth with a deaf person?
True! This is one of the most acceptable and often used methods of communicating with a deaf person, if you don’t know ASL. Many members of the Deaf community developed a tendency to carry a pen and notepad with them so that they are readily available when needed.
Deaf people don’t mind working in noisy environments?
You may find it surprising to learn that this is false. The word “deaf” is an umbrella term that may refer to people of many different degrees of hearing loss. Some people may be bothered by high tones, others by low tones, and still more by mid-tones. Even people with complete hearing loss can be sensitive to “environmental noise”, which are the vibrations caused by sound waves. Working in a noisy environment can be just as distracting for a deaf person as it is to a hearing person.
Deaf people tend to be more sensitive to the light?
This is true. It is not uncommon for people who experience sensory depravation to have their other senses compensate for the one that is lost. Deaf people may be more sensitive to light, vibrations, smells, or even tastes. Light is also an important issue to consider when signing too much, too little, and reflections can make it difficult to see the other person.
