Source Link - Girl, 9, masters 600 sign language gestures so she can tell deaf mother 'I love you'
A nine-year-old girl has become one of the youngest people in Britain to pass her sign language exams.
Tayla Reynolds mastered more than 600 gestures so she could communicate with her mother, Debbie, who has hearing difficulties.
The gruelling 23 week Level 1 British Sign Language course is usually only taken by adults, but Tayla began learning sign language after watching her mother.
Tayla said she would love to follow in her mother's foosteps, who runs the School of Sign Language in Blackburn.
Debbie, 35, who set up the sign language school four years ago, said: 'I'm extremely proud of my daughter and only wish I'd started learning at her age. If I had begun then I'd have been fully trained by the time I was 20.
'With every person who passes the tests, we get closer to getting rid of the horrible label I had to live with, growing up deaf and dumb.'
A spokesman for society the British Deaf Association said: 'We would like to congratulate Tayla on achieving her BSL level 1 at such a young age. She is a glowing example to other school children.'
* Many accounts attribute the invention of sign language to 16th Century Italy and France, while records show a sign language wedding took place in Leicester as early as 1576.
* The language in its modern form, however, can be traced back to Charles-Michel de l'Epée, who founded the first public school for deaf children in Paris in the 1760s.
* The basic structures of the sign language he taught spread worldwide as similar schools were set up in other countries.
* Today, most countries have their own versions of sign language, with international conferences recognising some 80 languages divided into at least seven linguistic groups.
* British Sign Language, used by the majority of Britain's deaf population, claims somewhere between seventy thousand and a quarter of a million speakers.
* In 2004, British Sign Language was recognised by the government as an official language.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Detroit musician spreads music to the deaf with music video company
Source Link - Detroit musician spreads music to the deaf with music video company
Sean Forbes was born into a family of musicians. According to Detroit Make it Here, a Web site powered by Crain's Detroit Business and Detroit Renaissance, Forbes' stepmother is a pianist, his brothers play saxophone and bass and his father and uncle lead the Detroit country rock band The Forbes Brothers.
The odds are likely that Sean would also have some musical genes, and he does -- the 27-year-old Farmington Hills resident plays drums and bass. But there is one thing that differentiates him from the rest of his family -- he's been deaf since he was a toddler.
This combination put Sean Forbes into a unique position. As a deaf person who loves and makes music, he understood that other like him probably had the same appreciation for music that he did. Maybe we couldn't hear voices singing, but he could feel the music of instruments vibrating. And we wanted to try to translate the power of lyrics in a way that deaf people could understand.
Detroit Make it Here, Aug. 25: In 2005, a cinematographer friend filmed Forbes performing American Sign Language to two Eminem hits: "Lose Yourself" and "Cleaning out my Closet."
"When people watch it, they really get the message of the song," he said. "So, I decided that I really wanted to show music visually through sign language."
Forbes posted his videos on YouTube, where they immediately became popular, and Joel Martin, a music publisher in Ferndale, eventually signed on to help Forbes start his own music video company, D-PAN (Deaf Performing Artists Network).
Now, the company signs deaf performance artists from around the country to star in the videos, which are compiled into DVD volumes and sold in stores and online.
Here's a popular clip from YouTube using the song "Waiting on the World to Change" by Joh Mayer.
Forbes continues to make his own original music, and also makes music videos of them that go into the compilations.
In May, Fox 2 Detroit did a profile of Forbes and how he creates his own music.
Sean Forbes was born into a family of musicians. According to Detroit Make it Here, a Web site powered by Crain's Detroit Business and Detroit Renaissance, Forbes' stepmother is a pianist, his brothers play saxophone and bass and his father and uncle lead the Detroit country rock band The Forbes Brothers.
The odds are likely that Sean would also have some musical genes, and he does -- the 27-year-old Farmington Hills resident plays drums and bass. But there is one thing that differentiates him from the rest of his family -- he's been deaf since he was a toddler.
This combination put Sean Forbes into a unique position. As a deaf person who loves and makes music, he understood that other like him probably had the same appreciation for music that he did. Maybe we couldn't hear voices singing, but he could feel the music of instruments vibrating. And we wanted to try to translate the power of lyrics in a way that deaf people could understand.
Detroit Make it Here, Aug. 25: In 2005, a cinematographer friend filmed Forbes performing American Sign Language to two Eminem hits: "Lose Yourself" and "Cleaning out my Closet."
"When people watch it, they really get the message of the song," he said. "So, I decided that I really wanted to show music visually through sign language."
Forbes posted his videos on YouTube, where they immediately became popular, and Joel Martin, a music publisher in Ferndale, eventually signed on to help Forbes start his own music video company, D-PAN (Deaf Performing Artists Network).
Now, the company signs deaf performance artists from around the country to star in the videos, which are compiled into DVD volumes and sold in stores and online.
Here's a popular clip from YouTube using the song "Waiting on the World to Change" by Joh Mayer.
Forbes continues to make his own original music, and also makes music videos of them that go into the compilations.
In May, Fox 2 Detroit did a profile of Forbes and how he creates his own music.
Monday, August 24, 2009
First Annual Silent Weekend at WOU Conducted Entirely in ASL
Source Link - First Annual Silent Weekend at WOU Conducted Entirely in ASL
Western Oregon University will hold its first ever Silent Weekend from August 14 to 16 on campus. This weekend, conducted completely in American Sign Language (ASL) is for Deaf and hearing students, interpreters, interpreter educators and ASL instructors. The weekend will open with a performance of ASL stories, poems and jokes by seven Northwest performers: Brenda Aron, Justin Coleman, Fred Farrior, Patrick Fischer, Brad Houck, Heath Goodall and Carl Schroeder. This event is free with registration for the weekend, or standalone entrance can be purchased for $5. It will be held Friday, August 14 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Smith Hall Auditorium. Attendees can choose from three possible tracks with corresponding workshops. The first is interpreter professional development, which is for working and pre-professional interpreters. The second track is for students and community members to develop their ASL skills and learn linguistic features of the language. The third track is for ASL teachers and interpreter educators and it will cover designing and discussing curriculum. This event is sponsored by the ASL/English Interpreting Program at WOU, Oregon Department of Education's Educational Interpreter Subcommittee, the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the Western Region Interpreter Education Center. The conference will take place from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Registration costs $80 for the weekend or $65 for students. If interested in attending specific days, the registration costs is $60 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Housing is available at $16 a night without linens (two people per room), or $21 with linens. Buffet-style meals for the weekend cost $40 (this includes Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday breakfast). More information about Silent Weekend, including workshop descriptions, is available at wou.edu/education/sped/wriec/Silent%20Weekend.html. Agenda for the weekend:
Friday
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Registration/Check-In
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Welcome/Icebreaker Activities
8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Performance Saturday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Registration
8:00 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
12:00 to 1:30 p.m. Silent Lunch
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Break
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 9 p.m. Talent Show
9:00 p.m. Main St. Pub Social, 21 & over Sunday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast & Check-Out
9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Closing Activity
Western Oregon University will hold its first ever Silent Weekend from August 14 to 16 on campus. This weekend, conducted completely in American Sign Language (ASL) is for Deaf and hearing students, interpreters, interpreter educators and ASL instructors. The weekend will open with a performance of ASL stories, poems and jokes by seven Northwest performers: Brenda Aron, Justin Coleman, Fred Farrior, Patrick Fischer, Brad Houck, Heath Goodall and Carl Schroeder. This event is free with registration for the weekend, or standalone entrance can be purchased for $5. It will be held Friday, August 14 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Smith Hall Auditorium. Attendees can choose from three possible tracks with corresponding workshops. The first is interpreter professional development, which is for working and pre-professional interpreters. The second track is for students and community members to develop their ASL skills and learn linguistic features of the language. The third track is for ASL teachers and interpreter educators and it will cover designing and discussing curriculum. This event is sponsored by the ASL/English Interpreting Program at WOU, Oregon Department of Education's Educational Interpreter Subcommittee, the Regional Resource Center on Deafness, the Oregon Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and the Western Region Interpreter Education Center. The conference will take place from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. Registration costs $80 for the weekend or $65 for students. If interested in attending specific days, the registration costs is $60 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Housing is available at $16 a night without linens (two people per room), or $21 with linens. Buffet-style meals for the weekend cost $40 (this includes Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Sunday breakfast). More information about Silent Weekend, including workshop descriptions, is available at wou.edu/education/sped/wriec/Silent%20Weekend.html. Agenda for the weekend:
Friday
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Registration/Check-In
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Welcome/Icebreaker Activities
8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Performance Saturday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Registration
8:00 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
12:00 to 1:30 p.m. Silent Lunch
1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Break
5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Silent Dinner
7:00 to 9 p.m. Talent Show
9:00 p.m. Main St. Pub Social, 21 & over Sunday
7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Silent Breakfast & Check-Out
9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Breakout Workshop Tracks
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Closing Activity
Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward, Lance Allred, is now an author
Source Link - Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward, Lance Allred, is now an author
Yahoo.com reporter Adrian Wojnarowski writes about former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lance Allred, who wrote the book --- Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA.
Allred, who played for the Cavaliers late in the second half of the 2008 season, is hearing impaired, with a 75-80% hearing loss. He was the first deaf player to play in the NBA.
The book is more than just about Allred's time in the NBA and in the D-League. It's also about his time at the University of Utah and growing up the son of a polygamist colony.
In Yahoo.com:
The book has been met with critical acclaim, but mostly it has been cleansing, liberating. Allred has had a dark, confusing journey. In a sport of stereotypical actors, where owners and executives, coaches and players, can be easily compartmentalized, Allred defies it all. His first book is on the shelves and a second manuscript is nearly completed: historical fiction on the 14th century Teutonic Knights in Germany. No, Lance Allred doesn't make the bus trips through the NBA D-League with an Xbox in his bag.
Yahoo.com reporter Adrian Wojnarowski writes about former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lance Allred, who wrote the book --- Longshot: The Adventures of a Deaf Fundamentalist Mormon Kid and His Journey to the NBA.
Allred, who played for the Cavaliers late in the second half of the 2008 season, is hearing impaired, with a 75-80% hearing loss. He was the first deaf player to play in the NBA.
The book is more than just about Allred's time in the NBA and in the D-League. It's also about his time at the University of Utah and growing up the son of a polygamist colony.
In Yahoo.com:
The book has been met with critical acclaim, but mostly it has been cleansing, liberating. Allred has had a dark, confusing journey. In a sport of stereotypical actors, where owners and executives, coaches and players, can be easily compartmentalized, Allred defies it all. His first book is on the shelves and a second manuscript is nearly completed: historical fiction on the 14th century Teutonic Knights in Germany. No, Lance Allred doesn't make the bus trips through the NBA D-League with an Xbox in his bag.
Church donates to Cape Coast School for the Deaf
Source Link - Church donates to Cape Coast School for the Deaf
The Christian Ministry International, based in Italy , has presented food items worth GH¢7,500.00 to the Cape Coast School for the Deaf.
The items comprising three bags of rice, four bags of maize, a quantity of yam and one gallon cooking oil were presented by the head pastor of the church, Pastor Francis Yeboah.
He said the donation was the church's contribution towards the welfare of pupils of the school.
Mr. William Kpodoh, the Assistant Headmaster of the School who received the items, thanked the church for the donation and appealed to other Ghanaians living abroad and the public to also support the school.
The Christian Ministry International, based in Italy , has presented food items worth GH¢7,500.00 to the Cape Coast School for the Deaf.
The items comprising three bags of rice, four bags of maize, a quantity of yam and one gallon cooking oil were presented by the head pastor of the church, Pastor Francis Yeboah.
He said the donation was the church's contribution towards the welfare of pupils of the school.
Mr. William Kpodoh, the Assistant Headmaster of the School who received the items, thanked the church for the donation and appealed to other Ghanaians living abroad and the public to also support the school.
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