OCDAC's Musings

Friends,

Once again our communication system is under attack. Yesterday I got
an email from yahoogroups stating that I been violating he TOS
meaning Terms Of Service. This is a common practice by the
illiterate trolls in our communities. They cant understand what I'm
talking about and they think what I'm typing up violates the TOS and
they send their complaints to the yahoogroups system.

1) Our booth at the Children Festival Volunteer Day was an astounding
success and we've been given the invite for the Children Festival
this September in which about 60 community organizations including
ours entertain about 2 million people in a single day event. This is
one grand event!

2) Our O-C Fair materals are starting to flow in. The Oberkotter
Foundation sent us samples of their freebie handouts including pretty
purple bags, a brain shaped stress buster, and a nice DVD about their
program and those who benefitted from it. And the California Avocado
Commission has sent us materials to help us design our booth.

3) We are still getting new clients from as far as Texas and
Tenneesee which is a good mark that our marketing system is working.

3) Our first board president G. Jack Digaetano is doing much much
better in the hospital, hes had to suffered a broken neck and he is
slowly regaining the use of his arms and legs. Yesterday's visit was
a positive experience for both of us.

4) The Santa Ana shakedown project is producing positive results.
We've identified 574 businesses in the city of Santa Ana that are not
disability accessible. We've communicated with these business that
we are offering refresher courses on the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Some have responded with interest in taking our class.

5) Our lawsuit with the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Irvine is still rolling
on with our firm need for TTY's at their pay phones.

6) We have been invited to a meeting in Texas and plan to make
presentations on community activism.

7) The House Ear Institute has invited us to make a presentation on
safety devices at a camp off the Ventura hills.

8) The Call Box Access Project meeting was a positive one with us
being able to re-channel our advocacy resources to places that need
our help.

9) Please check our agency's website as it has a new look. We are
continuing to make our website more accesible and attractive.

And for our advocacy brickbat;

The blast of this month goes to the psychologists and psychiatrists
who oftentimes misdiagnose Deaf people. Most psychologists and
psychiatrists are still like old dogs that are not willing to learn
new tricks (like ASL). They are usually with a 19th
century mindset. They are continually taking advantage of not only
the Deaf, but the entire disability community. Some psychiatrists
have recently labeled disability plaintiffs as 'dangerous'
or 'threatening' and so forth to help companies defeat their ADA
cases. The best way we can handle these defaming
instances is to educate the Deaf community of where to get help in
dealing with such 'shrinks'. There are a few
agencies to turn to for help. Today, there are many many Deaf
people languishing in the mental health system that are controlled by
19th century mindset psychologists and we need to identify those Deaf
people and help get them out so they can lead normal lives.

Our advocacy and activism is still in full swing in spite of the
challenges earlier this month. We are proud of our ability to
sustain the good battleship in spite of a lot of elements being
active at chipping away at us.

Always at your service!

Richard Roehm
CEO, OCDAC
Http://www.deafadvocacy.org