Activities expand at Aspen camp for deaf kids

Kids psyched up for an adventure speak the same language, and “Me first!” looks the same in American Sign Language as it sounds coming in shrieks from an 8-year-old who wants to climb a sheer rock wall.

The Aspen Camp for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Old Snowmass is celebrating 40 years of getting deaf children involved in those and other activities. The camp is also entering something of a new era of expansion into winter and opening its door to more campers.

Clint Woosley, the camp program coordinator, has a knack for getting people’s attention. Bearded and quick with a smile, the outdoorsman and certified ropes course instructor from Maryland was born deaf but can read lips and hears with the help of hearing aids. read more

website frustrations

Well, what do you know! I found a new webspace host back in June for the Wyoming School for the Deaf website. I used to have a website called "Deaf Wyoming" which also included information and stuff for WSD. Well, that old website was basically deleted due to lack of update for months, so I decided I wanted to make a whole new one. And hopefully this new one will be better than the old one as well. read more

New faculty a good sign for new Deaf Studies program

UVSC has recently hired an experienced husband-and-wife team to teach its new Deaf Studies program.

"They're going to be key to the program," said Bryan Eldredge, ASL and Deaf Studies program coordinator. "Both of them bring energy; that's the biggest thing. They just love to be in the classroom with their students."

Garrow, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Studies and a master's degree in linguistics, first encountered the deaf community while pursuing a professional snowboarding career in New York. read more

R.I. School for the Deaf to Remain in Providence

LINCOLN, R.I. (AP) -- The Rhode Island School for the Deaf has decided against relocating. Officials had planned to build a new facility in Lincoln, but then realized that the property wasn't big enough to accommodate the building.

As a result, the state says it decided to build the new facility in Providence, on the grounds of the existing school. Roughly 105 students, between the ages of three and 21, attend the school.

Officials said a new school was needed because the current building could no longer meet the students' needs. read more

MCE and ASL

In the past we have talked about different types of sign language and though we have done that we haven't come out and said what there is to say. Most forms of sign language in America is a form of MCE or Manually Coded English. English remains the base for the signs. The signs can come from American Sign Language or they can be shortened or simplified (or lengthed and complicated) versions. Often Signing Exact English will make signs longer and more complicated by adding prefixes and changing tenses. American Sign Language doesn't add an ed or an ing to change when something happened or will happen, but SEE II does.

Any way...

Manually Coded English (and in other countries other forms of Manually Coded Languages) arose from a need to bridge the gap between the hearing and the deaf. Parents struggled to learn a new language to communicate with their children (and many who choose to use ASL still struggle). MCE was a way to use signs and also to communicate easily without having to learn a new language. Often the signs are the easy part of learning to communicate, it is the difference in grammar and structure that causes one to have difficulty. You have to retrain your brain to think in ASL.

Sign language isn't universal. There are differences in regions, in different circles, different books, and all across America. Not to mention that ASL is different then BSL (British Sign Language) which is different then FSL (French Sign Language) and so forth. It is true, however that if you put a FSL user in the same room with a ASL user and a French speaking person in with an English speaking person, it would be the deaf who would be communicating faster. Much faster. This has to do with how words are represented and the natural inclination to work through communication issues. If you have spent your whole life working through communication problems...it's not as much work as if you think everyone should just understand you. read more

Firm friends help Auckland deaf

When Pt Chevalier residents Leonie Morete and Carmen Otatahu met, they could hardly have imagined that they would enjoy a twenty-year friendship based on helping others in the community. Leonie is deaf, and taught Carmen to speak New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), and now they both assist in training new translators with a multicultural volunteer deaf group based in Avondale.

Carmen, whose husband Finau is profoundly deaf, says that although there are good courses for learning sign language, those who are deaf make excellent teachers because they use so much expression when communicating with others. read more

Deaf Benefit from Computer Technology

Web cams, projectors, DVD's, and portable laptop computers are being put to good use by the deaf in New Zealand in their desire to communicate with others in the community.

One group that is doing so with good success is the Avondale Deaf Group of Jehovah's Witnesses. Official volunteer groups based in Avondale and Christchurch are using technology to train translators and care for the needs of the deaf not just in big cities, but in provincial areas of New Zealand. read more