Tag: Sign Shares

Twelve Days of Christmas Movies

by Taylor Southerland, posted in Uncategorized

Co-contributor Taylor Southerland

Twelve Days of Christmas Movies

The Christmas season is finally upon us! I don’t know about any of you, but Christmas movies are my favorite! To be honest, I watch them all year long. Watching movies is a great way to spend some time together as a family during the holiday season. To save you the trouble of searching for the perfect Christmas movies, I have compiled a list of my all time favorite movies that I watch every Christmas season. If you start this watch list on December 13th, you can watch a different movie every night for the twelve days of Christmas!

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS

This is my absolute favorite Christmas movie! I love this movie so much. I actually have a tattoo of the grinch on my arm. This is the live action version starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch. This movie came out in the year 2000. It is about a man that hates Christmas and a little girl who tries to show him the true meaning of the holiday. The little girl, Cindy Lou Who,  attempts to change the Grinch’s view about Christmas. Nothing works. The Grinch thinks that Christmas is all about the presents people get and the decorations they put up. To try and ruin everyone’s Christmas he goes to the town of Whoville on Christmas Eve and steals all the presents and decorations. When everyone wakes up happy on Christmas morning, despite not having anything, the Grinch realizes that Christmas means more than just presents and decorations. This is a wonderful movie to watch with the kids. It shows them that Christmas is about family and spending time together. This movie can be found on HBO MAX with a subscription, and Prime video to rent for $3.99.

THE LEGEND OF FROSTY THE SNOWMAN

This is a different version of the classic movie “Frosty the Snowman”. This movie came out in the year 2005. It is about a small town that has very strict rules for all the people that live there. The town has been this way for so long, it seems like there is no fun to be had due to the rules. Frosty the snowman comes to this town to restore joy and bring happiness just in time for the holiday season. I believe that every adult needs to watch this movie every year. It shows that there is more to life than just all work and no play. This movie can be found on Peacock and Prime Video to rent for $3.99.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS

This is another movie that is a retelling of a classic. We all know and love the original Beauty and the Beast Disney movie. This is the Christmas version. This movie came out in the year 1997. It is about Belle trying to celebrate Christmas in the castle. Little does she know, the Beast hates Christmas. He tries everything to make sure Christmas does not happen. However, Belle is persistent. She does everything in her power to make him celebrate Christmas again. It isn’t until Beast finds the gift Belle made for him, that he finally opens his heart to the idea of Christmas. This is another great movie to watch with the kiddos. Especially ones that already love the original. This movie can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription. 

THE POLAR EXPRESS

This movie is great for the kids that are starting to think Santa is not real. This will help keep the magic going for a little bit longer. This movie came out in the year 2004. It is about a boy who has stopped believing in Santa. It takes you on his journey upon the Polar Express traveling to the North Pole to meet Santa. The end of the movie allows kids to realize that you don’t need to see Santa to believe in him. This movie can be found on HBO MAX with a subscription or Prime Video to rent for $3.99. 

THE SANTA CLAUSE

I watch this movie every Thanksgiving. It is a tradition in my family. When the other two movies came out, we added those to the tradition as well. This movie, starring Tim Allen, came out in the year 1994. It is about this man, Scott Calvin, who does not have much Christmas spirit. On Christmas Eve Scott sees a man, Santa, on his roof and yells at him to get down. Santa gets scared, he slips, and falls off the roof. Scott puts on Santa’s jacket and, unbeknownst to him, becomes the new Santa. The rest of the movie and the next two movies take you through his journey of juggling family like and being Santa Clause. This movie, as well as the other two, can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription and Prime Video to rent for $3.99.

JINGLE JANGLE

This is a modern take on a Christmas musical. I found this movie by accident one day while I was trying to find something new to watch. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. This movie came out in the year 2020. This is about an inventor who had his inventions stolen from him. Instead of picking himself back up, he falls into a bad slump and alienates everyone. His granddaughter, deserprate to meet him, makes up a lie so she can spend a few days with him. This movie takes you through the journey of this man finding his spark again and putting his family back together. The music and singing in this movie is phenomenal! This movie can be found exclusively on Netflix with a subscription.

THE MISTLE-TONES

This is another Christmas musical. This movie came out in the year 2012. It is about a woman, Holly, trying to join a caroling group that her mom was previously apart of. Holly was rejected from the group and decided to start her own. This movie takes you through their journey of trying to beat out the Bells for the caroling spot at the mall on Christmas Eve. This is a really cute movie with great music! This movie can be found on Prime Video with a subscription, Peacock, Freeform, and Tubi. 

UNLIKELY ANGEL

If you love Dolly Parton, you will love this movie! This Christmas movie, starring Dolly Parton, came out in the year 1996. This is about a woman, Ruby Diamond, who has died in a car crash. She has not done enough for other people to get into Heaven. Ruby is sent back down to earth to help put a family back together. The movie takes you on her journey trying to be a nanny for this family while also trying to fulfil her good deed to get into Heaven. This movie can be found on Tubi, Pluto, and Prime Video to rent for $2.99.

ELF

This movie, starring Will Farrell, came out in the year 2003. This is about a human, Buddy, who was raised in the North Pole by elves. He really believes that he is an elf and is devastated when he figures out that he is human. Buddy realized that his biological dad lives in New York. He travels to New York to find his father, only to find out that his father doesn’t do Christmas. Buddy tries everything he can to connect with his father and make him believe again. This is such a great family movie. It is a comedy for any age. This movie can be found on HBO MAX with a subscription, and Prime Video to rent for $3.99.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

This classic movie is based off the Charles Dickens book. This Disney animated version came out in the year 2009. This is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. This movie takes you on Ebenezer’s journey of seeing the errors of his way. It shows him that being a mean person will only make him end up all alone. This a great movie for the kids to watch. It shows the value in sharing. The Disney version can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription, and Prime Video to rent for $3.99.

MICKEY’S ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS

Now, I’m not going to lie to you. I am almost 27 years old and I still watch this movie every Christmas. This movie came out in the year 1999. This has three different stories in it. The first story shows what it would be like if Christmas was everyday. It shows the good thing about Christmas being one day a year. The second story is about Goofy trying to show his son that Santa is real. The third and final story shows that it isn’t the gift that counts, but the thought that is put into it. This movie is great for little kids, big kids, and adult kids. This movie can be found on Disney Plus with a subscription, and Prime Video to rent for $3.99.

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Now this is a Christmas classic! This, in my opinion, is one of the best christmas movies ever made! This classic came out in the year 1946. This story shows that no matter what you think, you matter to the people around you. This shows the importance of the impact you can make on even one person’s life. This is such a wonderful heartfelt movie that always makes me cry happy tears. This movie can be found on Prime Video with a subscription. 

That concludes my twelve days of Christmas movies! I hope these movies bring light and joy to your family like they have for my family. The holidays are a time to be with family and make memories. Maybe you can make some new memories with your family this Christams with these Christmas classics. 

Coming to you from 258 Terp Time

By yours truly,

Taylor Southerland

Stress Awareness

by Taylor Southerland, posted in advocacy

Co – Contributor: Taylor S.

Stress awareness

When you google how to deal with stress, everything will say the same things. They say breathe, meditate, exercise, eat healthy, ect. However, what if your stress is money, time, or your relationship. How is meditating, or eating healthy, or breathing supposed to help with those stresses. Some of those things could even add to your stress. What if you don’t have time to exercise, or the money to eat healthier? How is meditating going to help with your relationship?  This isn’t your average article about stress. Here we are going to discuss three different topics of stress and how to try to manage those stressors. 

Almost everyone I have ever talked to stresses about money. With increased gas prices and inflation on pretty much everything, money is a huge stressor. How do you start to manage your money stress? The biggest thing is to redo your budget. I started saving over $500 a month just by redoing my budget. You would be surprised how many of us have memberships or subscriptions that we don’t even use or have completely forgotten about. There are many of us that eat so much because delivery is so convenient nowadays. The easiest way to start redoing your budget is to go through your bank account for the last 90 days. Write down all recurring charges to your account and look up what they are for. If it is a subscription that you forgot about or something you don’t use anymore, cancel it. That gym membership you have not used in four months, or that streaming service you started paying for so you could watch that one show, cancel them. You don’t need them. I just did this myself last month and started saving $300 just by canceling unused memberships. The next thing you do is, go through your bank account for the last 30 days. Write down all the charges you have for takeout or restaurants. You will be surprised how much you actually spend in just door dash or uber eats orders alone. I realized I was spending over $800 a month in food. For just two people! I was completely flabbergasted when I saw that amount. Now I know not everyone wants to cook every night or for lunch everyday. However, you will be amazed by how much you could save by only eating out once or twice a week. You don’t have to cut out door dash or uber eats completely. Just maybe don’t order it for every meal, every day. Doing those two tasks will help you save so much a month and will lower your stress when it comes to money.

Everyone always says there aren’t enough hours in the day. Sometimes it may feel like this when you have a busy schedule. Time management can be very stressful for a lot of people. How to reduce this stress? Make a schedule. But don’t just make the schedule, actually stick to it. Make a schedule for your day. Plan out how much time you are willing to spend on each task that is needed to be done for that day. Now don’t just wake up and make your schedule for that day. Sit down the night before and plan out what needs to be done. You want to do this the night before so you will know what time you need to go to sleep and what time you will need to wake up. Sticking to a schedule will give you a visual on what you actually have time for and what can wait til later. Once you make your schedule, do not add to it. Did friends or family ask for your help with something that’s not already in your planned schedule for that day? Learn to say no. Now, I know we all want to help our friends and family. However,  it is okay to tell someone that you do not have the time. Don’t be afraid to make your own life and daily activities a priority. Keeping a schedule and not adding more to it will help reduce your time management stresses. 

After talking with quite a few people, I found that another big stressor in life is relationship stress. Couples who have been together for 10 or 20 plus years still stress over their relationship. It is very common. Now, did I read this online somewhere? Absolutely not. I asked real people in very real relationships. New couples, long term couples, engaged couples, married couples. It is the same thing across the board no matter what stage you are in. Am I doing my part, is my partner happy, does my partner feel seen and respected? These are questions that people ask themselves throughout their entire relationship. How do we deal with these stresses? This is actually a very simple answer. Keep doing the little things. Don’t spend the whole day stressing over your relationship. Instead spend the day doing something small for you, your partner, or both of yall as a couple. You would be surprised how the little things can make a big impact. Maybe you and your partner are hanging out with friends outside on a cool night. You know that your partner only drinks water. Next time you go over to the cooler to get yourself a drink, maybe take that bottle of water that’s underneath all the ice and put it on top. Your partner will talk about that one small gesture for days. They will have felt seen and know that you thought about them. Is your house a mess after a long week and you have a day off? Clean the house. Your partner will come home and know that you thought of them and did something so that they didn’t have to after a long day at work. They will know that you respect everything they do by not adding something else for them to do. Now let’s say that you are stressing over feeling like you and your partner are not spending enough time together. Does that mean that you have to plan a fancy date night to add to your money stresses previously mentioned? No! Do something small. Plan an evening in. Maybe yall cook dinner together instead of only one person doing it. Watch that show that yall have been wanting to watch, or watch that episode of that show you missed from last week. Again, it doesn’t have to be big. Continuing to do those little things will help reduce the stress of “am I doing enough”.

 Let’s take a beat and talk about how these stresses can impact your life and your mental health. If you are someone like me, when you get stressed you get very anxious. Not dealing with those stresses head on will make that anxiety grow until you feel that it is impacting your motivation to get things done. We all get overwhelmed with our stresses and this can lead to anxiety. It’s not always easy to deal with anxiety. Now, I am not a doctor so I can’t touch too much on the subject. However, I can share a few links at the bottom of this article that can touch more on the subject as well as a hotline you can call to talk through the anxiety you are feeling

Stress is something we all deal with. It can be overwhelming. However, there are ways to try to reduce each stressor. I really hope this article can help you deal with daily stressors. I have attached a link and a few different numbers you can call if the stress becomes too much and starts impacting other aspects. Please do not hesitate to call one of them. You are not alone. There will always be someone who is there for you. 

Coming to you from 258 Terp Time

By yours truly,

Taylor Southerland

Mental health services link 

https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substance-use/mental-health-crisis-services

24/7 mental health helplines 

Citations

Anxiety Hotline Number, https://www.mentalhelp.net/anxiety/hotline/. 

Bulgn. “National Stress Awareness Day Holiday Concept Vector Image on Vectorstock.” VectorStock, 9 Oct. 2020, https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/national-stress-awareness-day-holiday-concept-vector-34167769.

“Mental Health Crisis Services.” Texas Health and Human Services, https://www.hhs.texas.gov/services/mental-health-substance-use/mental-health-crisis-services. 

Texas Poster Contest for Artists with a Disability

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

A picture of a Texas Capitol entrance with the Texas flag hanging in front and on top of the Capitol.
The Office of the Governor promotes disability inclusion through the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities.

According to a bulletin from the Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities is calling for art entries for the
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Poster Art competition. Entries must be submitted by May 31, 2017.

Picture of screenshot of two former posters, one is paper art of a moon and another shows a cowboy in the sunset.
Above are examples of previous poster contest winners. Use the link below to learn more about the artists and their work.

The winning artist gets statewide recognition when the committee releases free copies of the winner’s art on posters to businesses across Texas.

“The winning artwork is incorporated into the Texas HireAbility Campaign #TXHireAbility,” according to the press release.

In 2016, the committee distributed 2,500 posters.

Submissions

Submissions from Texas artists with disabilities can be sent to the committee via email at GCPD@gov.texas.gov with a photo attachment of the original work in a high resolution digital format, either JPEG or PDF.

They also accept color photocopies, or images on a CD sent by postal mail. The original artwork does not need to be submitted unless it wins the competition. It is free to enter.

All entries must be accompanied by a signed Entry Form, which is available on our website along with the Submission Guidelines.

Due date

Entries must be received by email or postmarked by May 31, 2017. The winner will be announced by June 21.

Artist Recognition

Besides having their art on a poster that is distributed across the state, the original art and the poster will be placed on display in the Office of the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, as well as at other exhibits.

See previous winners at this link.

The winning artist may opt to be a featured guest at the annual Lex Frieden Employment Awards ceremony this October. Sign Shares, Inc./International won a Lex Frieden award for its support and inclusion of employees with disabilities.

Spread the love for inclusion

Join Sign Shares in ensuring that your office provides access an inclusion in the workplace. If you have an employee who needs sign language or foreign language services, request language services with Sign Shares.

 

Get Awesome Materials to Raise Hearing and Speech Awareness

by Christina Goebel, posted in Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Communities, Education

Two groups have created a variety of useful materials about communication disorders that are free to use and distribute.

To raise awareness about communication disorders, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association observe Better Hearing and Speech Month each May.

This month, they are holding a social media contest and providing an inforgraphic and a quiz about hearing loss, as well as other communication disorder information in press releases, information sheets, posters, and more.

May Is Better Hearing and Speech Month. Communication: The Key to Connection. National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders logo. Side profile of a woman’s face as she is speaking. Letters float out of her mouth and into the air.

According to the institute’s website, 48 million Americans have a form of communication disorder, while 37.5 million of us have hearing loss–that’s 15 percent of Americans.

NIDCD Hearing Loss and Hearing Aid Use Infographic

Want to use the infographic above? The institute has created a version you can upload to your website or blog here.

Currently, the institute supports research for promoting accessible health care and urges people who think they have hearing loss to have their hearing tested.

Since only 25 percent of Americans who could benefit from hearing aids have used them, there are potentially people who might want them who haven’t had access to them, or who may need them for safety or work-related issues.

On their website, you may take a quiz in the right-hand column to determine if you should have your hearing tested.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association is promoting a social media contest to raise awareness. The association will award points for sharing information on social media and issue prizes for those earning the most points. Prizes will include Amazon gift cards and association promotional materials.

Learn what people with communication disorders, audiologists, speech-language pathologists are doing to raise awareness on this interactive, international map.

The association has also provided many press release materials and patient information handouts about hearing loss–in English and Spanish.

Sign Shares, Inc./International educates society about awareness issues concerning communication disorders through this blog and also on our website, including answering questions people ask about using sign language interpreters and information about how to empower communities by providing communication access.

Request sign language services from Sign Shares here.

 

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Doctors with Blindness and Vision Loss Break Attitudinal Barriers

by Christina Goebel, posted in Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Communities, Education, Medical careers for people with blindness or low vision

Dr. Jeffrey Gazzara, DO, is a resident in neuromusculoskeletal medicine at Mercy Health Muskegon in Muskegon, Mich. According to an article in DO, from the American Osteopathic Association, Dr. Gazzara is legally blind.

A three-dimensional white figure wears glasses, walks with a white cane, and has a yellow arm band with three black dots.
What preconceptions do you have about what a person who is blind or has low vision can or can’t do? Do you believe they can be doctors? If you don’t believe they can, are you basing that on your experience with sight, or on your experience with blindness?

Dr. Jeffery Gazzara, DO

As with doctors with blindness before him, Dr. Gazzara says that treating the patient is easiest. Adapting to existing medical systems is more difficult for a doctor with vision loss.

“During my clinical years,” he said, “I was rotating in a different hospital every month. That was difficult because I use a special computer system and I had to reconfigure it to access each hospital’s electronic medical record system.”

Dr. Jacob Bolotin

Dr. Gazzara is among other doctors influenced by the success of Dr. Jacob Bolotin, who became the world’s first fully licensed medical doctor, and who was blind since birth.

this picture is a graphic of two hands forming a heart and showing a heart beat pattern. The heart also makes multiple hearts as a representation of beats.
Together with captions for pictures, Sign Shares’ blog posts include Alternate Text for people who use screen readers. That way, they will know that this picture is a graphic of two hands forming a heart and showing a heart beat pattern. Photo credit: geralt, pixabay

According to a National Federation of the Blind article, Dr. Jacob Bolotin “fought prejudice and misconceptions about the capabilities of blind people in order to win acceptance to medical school and then into the medical profession. He was one of the most respected physicians in Chicago in the early twentieth century, particularly well known for his expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs.”

Commenting in 1914 on Dr. Bolotin’s accomplishments, the Philadelphia Inquirer observed, “It is one of the most amazing instances of mind triumphant over physical handicaps that the world has ever known… [Dr. Bolotin] will rank with Helen Keller as one of the wonderful blind persons of history.”

Dr. David Hartman

According to a Gettysburg College article, Dr. David Hartman, a psychiatrist and author, was the first blind person to complete medical school in the U.S.

Dr. Hartman lost his sight at age 8 to glaucoma, according to the article. Though he earned a bachelor’s degree with highest honors and distinction, he was rejected by nine medical schools.

Dr. Hartman wrote a story of his medical experiences, White Coat, White Cane: The Extraordinary Odyssey of a Blind Physician, which was published in 1978, and is the subject of a television movie, Journey from Darkness.

Dr. Timothy Cordes, MD

Dr. Timothy Cordes, MD, has progressive vision loss and is on staff at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, Wis.

Dr. Cordes is a psychiatrist who specializes in Addictive Behaviors.

According to an article in The Braille Monitor, Dr. Cordes  interviewed at a residency in the northeast. His interviewer asked, “You know, I just don’t get it. How are you going to know what’s going on with a patient?”

He said, “Well I know you’re reading your email right now as you are talking to me.” Dr. Cordes attributed his sense of humor to part of his success.

Graphic shows a three dimensional model of the bones of the lower part of the spine, hips, and pelvis.
Anatomical models are one of many tools people with low vision or blindness can use during medical education.

Dr. Cordes did things many people with sight might find extraordinary, such as operating: “I scrubbed in, holding that retractor for hours on end. I reached into live people’s bellies and identified organs and blood vessels. I caught babies. In pediatrics I examined kids. One of the children’s parents was a guy I knew. He said, after they finished the exam and walked out, his son said, ‘That was fine, Dad, but who was the dog for?'”

For an Eyeway.org article, Dr. Cordes was asked if there were people who were skeptical about his wanting to study Medicine.

He said, “Everybody but the University of Wisconsin! All the other places just said, ‘No, thanks.'”

According to an NBC News report, “In a world where skeptics always seem to be saying, stop, this isn’t something a blind person should be doing, it was one more barrier overcome. There are only a handful of blind doctors in this country. But Cordes makes it clear he could not have joined this elite club alone. ‘I signed on with a bunch of real team players who decided that things are only impossible until they’re done,’ he says.”

Sign Shares Logo of hands and slogan, Interpreting Your WorldAt Sign Shares, we believe in exploring our potential and horizons and not putting limitations on what a person can do.

If you’re a person who is Deaf-Blind and you need interpretive services to make your dreams a reality, have your college or business contact us here to learn more!

Deaf and Interpreter Physicians Open Doors for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

Doctor sitting at desk reaches out hand for a handshake.
Who determines which qualified candidates will still be rejected at medical school because of a disability? Is it still happening? How many doctors with disabilities do you know?

While many doctors with hearing only worry about earning good grades in their classes–doctors with deafness worry about admission to medical school after the good grades. In the past and perhaps in the present–doctoral candidates who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing wondered if they would be admitted at all, despite their other abilities.

Some pursued their profession past all advice and against the rejection from myriad medical schools. Another crossed the communication barrier and became a Certified ASL Interpreter to meet the needs of patients who wanted to openly communicate with their physician.

The following doctors are pioneers that have opened doors to medical school for people with hearing loss or deafness, and to the Deaf Community. They opened the minds of a Hearing Community that didn’t understand their abilities were less by the ability to hear than by the societal attitudes that believed they couldn’t achieve.

DEAF DOCTORS WHO OPENED DOORS
TO MEDICAL SCHOOL

Picture of a door with punch number code
These physicians with deafness unlocked doors that were closed to them by physician and medical school gatekeepers.

Dr. Judith Ann Pachciarz lost her hearing as a toddler, according to Celebrating America’s Woman Physicians. She believes she may be the first deaf person in history to earn both a Ph.D. and an M.D. She is also the “first profoundly deaf woman physician.” Dr. Pachciarz served as doctor at the 1985 World Games for the Deaf in the Los Angeles area.

Dr. Pachciarz advocated for the right to study to be a doctor when they were considering Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

A pile of keys of different sizes and colors
There are many keys to open access to careers, including education, advocacy, and communication tools.

“In 1963 I met all the qualifications for medical school admission as I did in 1979. In 1977 I wrote Health Education and Welfare Secretary [Joseph] Califano, who was considering the provisions of Section 504: ‘I am a thirty-five year old deaf woman who has wanted to be a doctor of medicine since early childhood. I have encountered resistance and discrimination at every step from grade school through graduate work to a Ph.D…thus the enthusiasm, expertise, and dedication I could provide to health care…is denied…When will our equal educational opportunities be protected under the law? Fifteen years—how much longer do I have to wait?’ Secretary Califano signed Section 504 after concerted collective action, and I was accepted into medical school two years later,” she said in the article.

At the time of the article, Dr. Pachciarz was a hospital pathologist and director of the blood transfusion service at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles.

Picture of an older man in a suit with the words...Deaf doctor makes patients feel heard.
A screen shot of Dr. Phillip Zazove on CNN.

According to a CNN report, Dr. Phillip Zazove, who is deaf, “makes patients feel heard.” Zazove, who has profound hearing loss, was the third if American physician. Not only does he serve the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community, but he also mentors doctors who are deaf.

According to the article, Dr. Philip Zazove is an author, physician and chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.

Drs. Pachciarz and Zazove were both told as children not to expect much for careers. They chose to be pioneers and advocates, instead of giving up.

DR. AND INTERPRETER WHO RAISES THE BAR FOR DOCTORS

Hands using sign language spell A, S, L.
A-S-L, The hands spell the abbreviation for American Sign Language, a tool that enable doctors to communicate with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community in one of their languages.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dr. Deborah Gilboa is “one of the few doctors in the nation who is fluent in American Sign Language.”

While completing prerequisites for medical school, Galboa became a certified ASL interpreter.

Pencil eraser over notebook paper with pieces of the eraser on the paper.
Many people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing wish doctors would erase communicating with them using pencil and paper and begin using sign language or having interpreters. Photo credit: Hometown Beauty via photopin (license)

“People who are deaf or hard-of-hearing are said to be one of most under-served disability populations in terms of health care. Lack of sign language interpretation is the most frequent subject of Department of Justice cases regarding compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in health care settings, according to the website ada.gov,” according to the article.

Dr. Galboa said doctors need to step up and meet the Deaf Community’s needs, “The deaf community puts up with uncertainty about their health care that leaves them poorer for it, and I don’t mean financially. As doctors, we want to know what’s really going on. The deaf community’s expectations of doctors is very low. We need to raise those expectations.”

FROM THERE TO WHERE?

How will societal attitudes limit future physicians with deafness or hearing loss? How many physicians will opt to learn ASL, or at least adopt methods of communication that are suitable for truly understanding procedures and conditions?

Have times changed?

COMMUNICATION ACCESS FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS OR PROFESSIONALS

  • Are you a person with deafness or hearing loss who wants to become a medical professional?
  • Do you want to provide communication access to medical students?
  • Are you a medical professional who needs more communication access?

Woman with unreal blue eyes and black hair and background, reads, Sign Shares, Interpreting Your WorldSign Shares, Inc. can help! We provide services for people with deafness, hearing loss, and deaf-blindness, as well as foreign language translation for people with hearing.

Request Services here!

 

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Adapting to Usher Syndrome and Deafblindness

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

Molly Watt is a young speaker, vlogger, and author who is Deaf-Blind and advocates for people who have Usher Syndrome, the condition she has. Watt has created an awareness video about the syndrome, as well as an open-captioned vlog about technology she uses daily to assist her with both hearing and vision loss that comes from having Usher Syndrome.

Young woman walks down street using a guide dog. Words at bottom of slide "and the worst case scenario for any deaf person is to lose their sight"
Molly Watt describes how Usher Syndrome is a worst case scenario for someone with hearing loss in one of her awareness videos. http://www.mollywatt.com/keynote-speaking

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Usher Syndrome is a genetic disease or disorder that affects both hearing and vision and is one of the leading causes of deaf-blindness.

Symptoms of the syndrome include:

  • deafness or hearing loss,
  • balance problems,
  • retinitis pigmentosa, which causes night-blindness, and
  • a loss of peripheral vision (side vision) through the progressive degeneration of the retina.

Screen shot from a video showing tunnel vision and the words Steps can be quite disorientating.
Molly Watt portrays the tunnel vision she has in an awareness video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq6rRQTIoqM

Retinitis pigmentosa eventually causes “tunnel vision,” where a person can only see straight ahead.

There are three types of Usher Syndrome, ranging from Type 1, where children are born profoundly deaf, have problems with balance, and eventually become legally blind, to Type 3, where children may have normal hearing at birth, and gradually lose hearing, vision, and balance.

Picture of cell phone with message that it's connecting to hearing devices. At the bottom fo the slide text asks how she hears music if she can't hear and the response is Hearing Aids-duh!
Watts wears hearing aids that she pairs with her cell phone. The direct connection between her cell phone and hearing aids provides better quality sound. She also pairs her hearing aids with a smart watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-yrqbaN1II

According to the institute, early diagnosis of Usher syndrome is important so parents can enroll their children in training programs to manage hearing and vision loss.

Frame from a vlog that shows a black guide dog and says "Occupation: guide dog for the blind my mobility aid."
Molly Watt’s vlogs often include her guide dog, which is a vital tool for her independence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-yrqbaN1II

Typically, treatment will include:

  • hearing aids,
  • assistive listening devices,
  • cochlear implants,
  • communication methods such as American Sign Language;
  • orientation and mobility training;
  • communication services; and
  • independent-living training that may include Braille instruction, low-vision services, or auditory training.

Sign language can be a vital tool for communication for people who have advanced Usher Syndrome, since people without hearing or sight may choose to communicate using Deaf-Blind Tactile with an interpreter. This process allows the person with deafblindness to feel the interpreter’s hands as they sign.

Sign Shares, Inc./International provides services for people who are Deaf-Blind, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing, as well as for people who are Foreign Language Hearing.

You may book an interpreter with Sign Shares using this link.

Download the fact sheet on Usher Syndrome at this link.

Learn more about Molly Watt and her mission to educate others about Usher Syndrome at http://www.mollywatt.com/.

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Sign Shares Holiday Party 2016

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

Sign Shares had its annual holiday party on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Massa’s South Coast Grill in Houston.

Joe Massa and the South Coast Grill team provided fabulous food and hospitality as consumers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and Sign Shares’ staff and interpreters gathered to have a hilarious time.

Sign Shares' Kathy Fritsche wears a green sweater with attached ornaments and tinsel.
Kathy won the ugly sweater contest with win her spin on holiday threads.

One of the evening’s highlights was the Ugly Sweater contest, which was voted on by party goers and was won by Kathy Fritsche, who wore a green, hand-decorated tinsel and ornament sweater. Other sweaters ran from silly to adorable and Mrs. Claus appeared!

Teams competed in the challenging Snowball (marshmallow) toss, where team members tried without much success at times to catch marshmallows by mouth.

Men and women in holiday sweaters pose in front of a lit Christmas tree inside a restaurant.
Sign Shares’ Executive Assistant, Anthony Butkovich, and CEO, Eva Storey, pose with Deaf community members and advocates Darla, Robert, and Nancy.

See pictures of the event on our FaceBook page . . . share more with us if you have them!

This was a great night of the Sign Shares team and community just enjoying ourselves!

Computer screen and projected image of a crackling fireplace fire.
Nothing like a portable fireplace for parties and bright holidays!

Happy Holidays 2016 style from the Sign Shares’ Team! Love & Blue Light!

Houston Deaf Rally Educates Community about the Need for Live Interpreters

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

Thursday, Aug. 18, despite thunderstorms, a group of advocates who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing stood up at the Houston City Hall for their right to have preference given to their choice of accommodation at their doctor’s offices or hospitals.

People all wearing white NO VRI, Video Remote Interpreters T-shirts, hold rally signs saying NO VRI.
Houston advocates represented the Deaf Community at City Hall.

Despite recent law revisions, the Deaf community braces for the education needed to ensure that a person who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind will receive the accommodation of their choice at appointments with their health care providers.

KPFT’s Local News Reporter, Jacob Santillan, covered the event. Listen to the broadcast here or read the broadcast transcript here below the mp3 recording.

Many doctors and hospitals protest paying for live interpreters and in many cases now, people who are Deaf are provided with Video Remote Interpreters, or VRI, without regard to their specific need for accommodation.

The resistance from doctors, hospitals, and clinics to providing interpreters has been nationwide, as evidenced by cases taken up by the U.S. Department of Justice across America as part of the Barrier-Free Healthcare Initiative.

Recent changes involve health care providers adopting Video Remote Interpreting programs to save money instead of asking patients from the Deaf community what they need.

Communication problems addressed by some of the above legal cases would make some health care providers wonder if they would save money after all, if remote interpreting services fail due to technical errors or the physical limitations of having an interpreter over a small screen with a small voice.

A woman signs to a group of people.
Advocates gather around as Dr. Angela Trahan signs. A sign language interpreter voices for people who are hearing.

At the rally, Deaf advocate Robert Yost pointed to a flaw in the Americans with Disabilities Act as the source of problems people who are Deaf have when requesting interpreters for health care.

“Once the law was being passed, it was done by the business community that made an influence on Congress people to vote and put that one word in there that says ‘Reasonable Accommodation’ and that one word is realized that businesses, doctors, medical centers, police departments, everywhere, to have a right to do the cheapest way to interpret for Deaf people,” Yost said, according to the KPFT report.

Other advocates stressed their choice to have their preference of accommodation met.

Man signs to a group of people, some filming him.
Advocate Dana Mallory signs his views.

Advocate Dana Mallory signed, according to the report, “So I am here to recognize the problems we are noticing here in the Deaf community, preferring to have in an emergency situation a live person rather than a video remote interpreter. To meet their goals, we as Deaf would prefer to have a live person. We want to be able to have the choice.”

Having news radio coverage wasn’t lost on Sign Shares’ CEO and Capsule’s Founder, Eva Storey. “This is unique. I love the fact that we get the hearing world especially public radio coming in here, because the only way to get and make effective for the Deaf community is going to the hearing world, and mainstreaming them and with education. It’s three words we use: Advocate, Educate, and Legislate, and that’s all we are here to do.”

Learn more about the event at Capsule Facebook page. Like our page and stay informed!

Deaf Community Holds Rally about Video Remote Interpreting

by Christina Goebel, posted in Uncategorized

Capsule and Sign Shares' LogosOn Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, The Capsule Group, known as Capsule, along with Sign Shares, Inc./International, will sponsor a Houston rally for Deaf rights in partnership with the Houston Center for Independent Living, or HCIL.

The community-demand rally, “Deny VRI – Video Remote Interpreting,” will be held on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Houston City Hall.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. on the steps of Houston City Hall facing Hermann Square.

Map shows participants will meet at the intersection of McKinney St. and Smith St. at the Houston City Hall.
Once parked at the library, participants will meet at the section of City Hall that’s at the intersection of McKinney and Smith Streets.

Shows map of Houston library and how it's close to Houston's City Hall.
Rally participants can park at the Houston Public Library Central Library and walk from there to nearby City Hall.

Parking will be at Houston Public Library. Parking is on Lamar Street and is $2.00 an hour. Participants will meet at the library and march to City Hall.

The Houston City Hall is located at 901 Bagby St, Houston, TX 77002.

The rally concerns the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Deaf-Blind communities that experience barriers to proper language communications access by healthcare providers within medical based settings, with the improper use of Video Remote Interpreting, or VRI, rather than giving patients the right to choose the use of a live interpreter(s).

To view advocates who are Deaf sharing about the rally or to learn more details, visit the Capsule event page here.

Woman shows confused expression and captions read: "The Deaf person is completely confused."
Darla Connor, an advocate who’s Deaf, signs about the confusion a person with deafness has when they receive a Video Remote Interpreter at a medical appointment instead of a live interpreter.

“Now VRI…” Darla Connor, an advocate who is Deaf signed,”a Deaf person requests for a sign language interpreter and the doctor says, ‘Yeah, we will go ahead and provide that interpreter for you” and so they [the person who’s Deaf] says, ‘Fine, thank you.’ So the Deaf person is sitting there waiting and surprisingly what do they bring? A VRI screen, and the Deaf person is completely confused. Because they say, ‘I didn’t request for VRI.’ They didn’t clarify.”

Patients’ rights are being sidelined due to healthcare district budgets. Budgets should not jeopardize a person’s medical urgencies and well-being. This is a human rights’ issue and a violation of civil rights. VRI is being pushed upon the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities.

CGLogo_Confetti_ROUNDEDThrough research held by The Capsule Group, known as Capsule, the group learned that people who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Deaf-Blind, are not given their patient rights, or civil rights to be consulted about their preferences, options, or freedom to choose a video remote interpreter versus a live interpreter, since theirs is a 3D, gestural language.

Woman signs showing a small computer screen. Captions read, "Let me explain to you about that."
Dr. Angela Trahan signs about the VRI video screen, showing how it reduces the size of communication.

Dr. Angela K. Trahan, an advocate who’s Deaf, signed, “Now a long time ago, you used to have live interpreters and now we are being given the video screens. We don’t like that, but if we continue to accept that, that means maybe in the future, we won’t have any live interpreters.”

Man uses sign language for interpreter and captions read: "My friends said 'VRI Deny. We choose a live interpreter.' That's a great idea."
Deaf Advocate Robert Yost signs about the right to choose a live interpreter.

“They are oppressing me and they are not giving me my choice,” signed Deaf advocate Robert Yost, “and I am hoping all deaf people will complain about that word ‘reasonable.’ Remove that word and let’s add ‘choices.'”

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act revisions that went into effect this past July affirm the obligation under the Title II regulation of the Americans with Disabilities Act “to give primary consideration to the choice of an aid or service requested by the individual with a disability.”

Sign Shares boat logo with blue handsSign Shares Inc. was the first sign language agency in the United States, four years before the American With Disabilities Act came into fruition. When the ADA arrived at the laws to be written around the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities, they contacted Sign Shares Inc. to provide them guidance around these communities.

In 2016, Sign Shares reached their 30-year mark within the industry and after seeing the hardships, the denial, and injustices within the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities, Eva Storey, President and CEO for Sign Shares Inc., founded Capsule, a cross-disability business with a mission to advocate, educate, and legislate on behalf of people of all disabilities to have unlimited access to resources and support needed to achieve life.

The CEO of Sign Shares and Capsule’s Founder, Eva Storey, said, “We have been interpreting for 30 years for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. Now we are interpreting for the entire community’s voices.”

For more information or to reserve your space at the meeting, visit the Capsule Event page on Facebook.