Bienvenida !

Bienvenida del País de Gales. Hola, este es Melow M. Espero que usted puede seguir algunos de mis blogs en español. Por favor. Tenga en cuenta, estoy usando un sistema de traducción en línea que estoy libre de errores gramaticales. Mis intereses son sordos mayoría de las cosas, se adquiere mi sordera. A veces me plantean la cuestión también!

Ok es el texto para leer? (Mi blog anterior).

Niños Sordos Error, maltratados, y con una mala salud mental ...
Los niños sordos "ser no por las autoridades locales"

Este informe de la BBC dice que los niños sordos están en riesgo de "resultados menos que óptimo" Casi dos tercios de los las autoridades locales en Inglaterra están fallando a los niños sordos y sus familias, sugiere una investigación. El Universidad de Manchester, el estudio de los 57 las autoridades encontraron el 60% no ven a los niños sordos como "los niños en la necesidad ", a pesar de ser definido como tal en la ley. El informe, para la Sociedad de Niños Sordos de la Nación, dijo que los niños sordos fueron 3,4 veces más probabilidades de ser víctimas de abusos y el 40% tenía problemas de salud mental. Ello los principales problemas planteados por la protección de los niños sordos, los CND, dijo.

Experiencia.

La investigación encontró que sólo alrededor de una tercera parte de las autoridades locales habían equipos de especialistas o de acuerdos con los responsables designados para los niños sordos y sus familias.

Deaf Children Failed, abused, and with poor mental health...

Deaf children 'being failed by local authorities'



This BBC report says deaf children are at risk of "less than optimum outcomes" Almost two-thirds of local authorities in England are failing deaf children and their families, research suggests. The University of Manchester study of 57 authorities found 60% did not view deaf children as "children in need", despite being defined as such in law. The report, for the National Deaf Children's Society, said deaf children were 3.4 times more likely to be abused and 40% had mental health problems. It raised major concern over deaf children's protection, the NDCS said.

Expertise.

The research found that only about a third of local authorities had specialist teams or arrangements with designated responsibility for deaf children and their families.

Equality ? who ARE they kidding ?

The Disability Discrimination Act (UK). The Act says that it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a disabled/Deaf person, but it also forbids advert for jobs best suited for deaf people in the deaf support areas, because it doesn't allow hearing people a free run at jobs in the deaf field. You cannot e.g. advertise "Position available for a suitable deaf person, to oversee a small deaf day care centre, priority given to those who can sign BSL...."

That advert broke a number of equality laws, in that you cannot allude to the suggestion 'deaf only', or insist a knowledge of sign would be essential because those in care were all signing deaf. Both would be seen as a 'excluding' hearing people. A recent charity job advert in my area, wanted a person with executive qualifications, and welsh language awareness, full in the knowledge there are probably no welsh deaf who sign with that qualification.

That job can then ONLY go to a hearing person. Charities in the UK have mostly unloaded all their deaf management, and replaced them all with hearing, most do not have any incentive scheme so that deaf might feel it worth while applying to work in that area, or a training scheme and work experience set up to help deaf overcome the glass ceiling.

Two primary deaf charities in the UK have no deaf at any level of senior management, and refused to use funds to train the deaf up,preferring instead using funds to finance and run service provisions deaf have no say in how they are run, and creating deaf dependencies on charities in the UK who now see deaf people as a lucrative cash cow.

Recent rumblings at the 3rd sector in the UK which is the 'face' of charity, saw larger charities now wanting to eliminate 'competition' by objecting to small groups setting up service provisions according to localised needs, and wanting to maintain national set ups that offer deaf and HoH no real choices at all. Without competition there is no impetus to improve, or to include. Where is the law being applied in regards to running a monopoly service ? Apparently charity has exemptions all around and cannot be taken to task, surely this is bad news all around for the deaf ?

Who are also suffering institutional discriminations in not being allowed to challenge funds given to charity or to insist or oversee how these funds are used, which in many cases is TRAINING for hearing people, who cannot sign or are not deaf aware, whilst the deaf are not given work training or adequate support to do the same, mainly because the state wants provision supplied on the cheap, and deaf want to challenge that, especially as at present they have no choice in provision of services..

Member-led charities have also neutered members, and running campaigns that have nothing whatever to do with deaf people. It goes without stating even IF you are a major recipient of services, you have no say in how that service is applied to you.

Quality of life similar to hearing peers.

Deaf children with cochlear implants report similar quality of life to that of normal-hearing kids

DALLAS – Feb. 25, 2010 – Profoundly deaf children with cochlear implants to help them to hear rate their quality of life equal to their normal-hearing peers, according to new research from UT Southwestern Medical Center auditory specialists.

In addition, the earlier a child is implanted with a cochlear device and the longer he or she wears the device, the better overall quality of life the child reports and the more successful the child is in school, according to the findings, published in the February issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

"Wearing cochlear implants doesn't seem to create greater psychosocial problems overall for their users," said Dr. Betty Loy, clinical research manager in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and lead author of the study.

Cochlear implants are small electronic devices that are surgically implanted in the inner ear and activated by another device worn outside the ear. They bypass damaged or diseased parts of the ear by directly stimulating the auditory nerve, which is connected to the brain.

Researchers surveyed 88 families of children with cochlear implants, including parents. They then compared the responses with normal-hearing peers in two age groups: 8- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 16-year-olds. Quality-of-life factors assessed included physical, mental and emotional health; self-esteem; relationships with family and friends; and school performance.

Researchers found that younger cochlear implant recipients rated overall quality of life more positively than those who were in the older age group, although that may simply reflect greater adolescent angst, Dr. Loy said.

The survey results also confirmed that parents are generally accurate in gauging their child's perception of quality of life, although they slightly overestimated the satisfaction levels at school for older children.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, approximately 188,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants as of 2009. In the U.S., roughly 41,500 adults and 25,500 children have received them.

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I don't WANT to be a role model... OK ?

Mostly my blogs and comments tend to be erm... direct at issues ! I usually spare neither my acquired deaf sector or the cultural one if I feel strongly about an issue, and charity plugs are guaranteed to push my buttons ! but recently I WAS shocked (Unusual for me !), in that one reply was:

"Your constant criticism of (Charity name omitted because I am NOT giving deaf charities a plug), is very negative, the, (See last declaration on charities!), do a lot of good works for the deaf (NO they don't that's the point, but do carry on...), and all this chipping away and whining at charities, is going to undermine our support. You should be a role model for younger deaf. While you are not an declared cultural deaf person, you ARE deaf, and should be leading by example, and put the positive aspects of deaf people, younger deaf can follow, not consistently negative ones."

No thanks, what am I a pop star or something ? a golf player ? I am not out to promote myself as any sort of role model. I learnt that lesson day one. It was a very curious response, for many many years, being even remotely linked to any deaf sector was a subject of some debate, now I 'might' be viewed as a 'role model' by default ? c'mon !

Is it my 'duty' to mind everything I say because deaf must ALWAYS be seen in a positive light ? i.e. passive and non-complaining ? When they are abused or deprived of support ? If there is any sort of 'attitude' the deaf can take from my blog, I would hope it is that, if you feel something is not right, then SAY SO. Complain, complain and complain again. Let the rest throw flowers and do "I'd like to teach the world to sing...

These people are doing deaf down of all kinds, I am not going to give them a round of applause.. nor be grateful for being patronised either, it's my right I am not going to beg for it. The internet has more than enough deaf people happily plugging positive deaf aspects, they don't need me as well, and anyway, I consider complaining about poor services, VERY POSITIVE for deaf. I suppose I could smile more while I am doing it, but it would lose effect...

Do I want a knighthood from the Queen, erm..... no ! The deaf community needs it's 'At the Rim-mer's', even its 'Ridor's' we may never achieve any sort of deaf recognitions, we will certainly NEVER be thanked for it, since no-one in the system likes to be told they are doing a bad job (especially charity), but hopefully I might raise enough fuss so the door is forced open for the more moderate deaf to build on, I get no thanks, I don't expect it.

The British way is, build you up, then knock you down as soon as you can, they hate success, and those who succeed, little wonder I get it in the neck lol.... while Americans worship success, the Brits do their level best to cut the ground under you. No wonder half our ancestors went west... The only thing I really fear or worry about is apathy.

I want to be a role model
for every deaf to be
To always be so positive
and never mean (That's me).
I'd thank them all so kindly
for their patronising cant
I'd grovel at their footfall
And never ever rant.

If I could be a role model
I'd get my hair done every day
Have nips and tucks
and make big bucks
And smile my life away..

Being deaf well,it aint fun
(That's what we shouldn't hear)
Should I celebrate and ruminate
not hearing ? Not a chance,
No bloody fear !

(That's it ?)....

Deaf Lottery Winner (On the run from relatives).

A deaf South African cleaner and his family who won 91 million rand (USD 11.82 million) in a lottery have fled their home after hordes of relatives, friends and strangers besieged them to ask for money. South African media reported that 52-year-old Cape Town hardware store cleaner Stanley Philander and his family disappeared from their wooden shack in the back garden of a relative's home after their win attracted scores of people.

Philander and his wife of 12 years, Diana - who is also deaf - told a Cape Town tabloid newspaper that they had been inundated with requests for money since news got out that their ticket matched Friday night's winning numbers and then disappeared, South Africa's Daily Star newspaper reported.

The Star and other news outlets quoted Diana Philander's sister, Wilma Vlok, as saying that after news of Philander's win spread on Friday night, "family members and people that I don't even know" came to her home in the Parkwood suburb of Cape Town. Sometime on Sunday people, who Vlok believed were from the National Lottery, took Philander, his wife and their children, Logan and Kirsten, to an undisclosed location, the Star reported. Vlok was not at home when the Philanders left, so she was not sure where they were or when they would be back.

South African Disabilities Minister Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya appealed for supplicants to stop approaching the Philanders for a share of the lottery winnings, which rose to 91 million rand after the lottery was rolled over several times. "This record price will change the life of the winner forever," the South African Press Association quoted Mayende-Sibiya as saying.

Millions of blacks in South Africa are still living in poverty after apartheid ended in 1994, with government under increasing pressure to deliver on its promises to improve housing and water provision.
A spate of violent protests has highlighted unhappiness over the lack of electricity, water and sanitation, with South African police firing rubber bullets in the latest flare-up earlier this month.


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Time to turn off Hearing Aids ?

It is true Hearing aids of some types certainly contribute to a more rapid deterioration of actual hearing,as do the plethora of 'hearing amplifiers', that "Let you hear a whisper at 20 feet away". These 'amplifiers' are plugged incessantly to older people who are losing hearing. It is important that if you are constantly turning your aid up to hear things more, time is running out for change. The louder you turn things up the more you will hear. This is valid in very short term only, and is linked directly to Tinnitus also.

There are audiologists who suggest there should be an absolute limit on db output, charities warning on safe limits to hearing, but NOT on deaf equipment ? If excessive volume damages normal hearing, then it is certainly going to affect those already losing it surely ? An charity here sells amplified telephones at plus 124db output, quite legally, the same charity running a national campaign to silence ipods to safe levels,and shut down noisy Disco's and music equipment designed for those who want to hear music 5 miles away !

You cannot tell audiologists that is a 'safe' level by anyone's standards. It is if you believe brute amplification is OK. Expectations are mostly unrealistic with aid wearers too, they think if they have an aid and it is loud enough they will hear more, so drive to gain better and more expensive aids, but many frequencies cannot be regained at all by aids, if they can the ear is already too far gone to hear them.

I think the cut off point of practical use of hearing aids is actually a lot lower than we are seeing, but you are up against a psychological barrier, by people who want to hear, anything, so will turn up those aids as much as they think it will stave off deafness, maybe combine that with louder setting on TV's and such as well, 'noise is life', seems to be the epitaph of realistic expectation. Albeit in doing so many are contributing to it's onset quicker, they won't see that. I was reading an music site and one person stated "Unless it is really loud music is not worth listening to, we aint dead yet...", (Why do I keep looking nervously at my qwerty keyboard ? and why do they put the d and f so close together !).

At what point an hearing aid is just decoration or even useful, is perceived not by the electronics, or by the tests, but by the individual's perceptions and desire. It is said the UK population has 3 million people who probably need a hearing aid, so why are they all resisting that... as we live in an easy-going and noisy world, most do not realise it until too late, and opt for the loudest they can then obtain. Environmental health inspectors who monitor excessive noise in the community is snowed under with complaints, indicating many many people are raising more and more volume, to excess levels.

I read somewhere that mankind is terrified of silence, is uncomfortable in the quiet, is this the reason they need so much going on around them that is noisy ? It's a comfort ? I confess when I was going deaf, yes it was... and would give a lot to hear noise again too...

Love Story.....

Well it is Valentine's Day here...

Marvin and Ruth Marcial prove that being deaf is not a hindrance in finding one true love. The couple outside their home in Virginia, USA.What makes a love story great?

Literature can give us a number of stories that can make our hearts either flutter or break, like the winding twists and turns of Cupid and Psyche, the melodramatic turn of Romeo and Juliet, and the much talked about pop culture couple of our generation, Edward and Bella.

But what of quiet stories - the ones that can be likened to a scenic ride to a nearby seaside, no fireworks, no grand theatricals, just two people who work hard, love freely, and trust much. Such is the story of Marvin and Ruth Marcial.

The story....

RNID REPRISE

Well, they said it....

First educational film captioned (USA 1962).

Note the way the captions are used...

Deaf Brain, AD Brain, no brainer ?

IS sign language acquisition in Acquired and deafened people after formative years affecting speech ? The recent re-showing on the BBC's SEE HEAR program of the deaf brain showed us,that brain areas that are usually designated for speech/language in born deaf were utilized by the brain for signing. Which apparently gives conclusive proof of sign as a language. However once the brain HAS formed the neural pathways for speech and the spoken language, and a person goes deaf or is severely so, and learnt sign language, are those thought processes being replaced by the need to process sign language ?

Recently Acquired deaf taking up sign language as an assistive aid, again found that issue of their speech deteriorating, and even Dr's here advising them to take speech therapy on some cases. In the past the answer was much clearer from the medical professions, don't sign at all. Does this mean the medical profession still assumes sign language seriously affects speech usage ? yes it does. So much so, they suggest therapy, to encourage deaf people who had good speech to start using it again. In numerous blogs I have been picked up on this point, that my own speech started deteriorating as I went deaf, and as I started to acquire sign knowledge, and had entered the 'deaf world' where speech was superfluous anyway, subconsciously I was emulating the deaf ? or, was the sheer effort to sign, forcing the AD brain to choose one language or the other ?

Do we need research into the AD brain to settle this issue once and for all ?

I took it very seriously at the time, because I really needed my speech and still do, and my parent at the time noticed a decrease in speech usage by me, that wasn't entirely down to my poor lip-reading, or lack of confidence, which is a major factor in less speech being used. I took the issue direct to the Sign language class tutor, explained my reservations that sign appeared to be affecting my use of speech, the tutor was rather off-hand, even hostile to a point, as I recall and said "Deaf don't talk anyway.. it's not a big deal so long as you abandon the thought of re-integrating with hearing people again, you are now deaf, you cannot be in two camps, and deaf signers do not like people who talk more than they sign, they will think you are a hearing person..." I said "I am...where it really counts.." "You have to choose..." she said, so I chose not to take the chance of anymore deteriorations in my speech, given SHE had made that choice in the lessons, by discouraging me talking while I signed anyway.

I felt I had no choice the but to abandon BSL classes, my speech was too important to me, and I cut deaf club visits to once in a blue moon really, in case I slipped back into the silent ways again. Onthe street where most of us live, there are no sign using people, it made no logical sense to acquire sign language to any degree given that fact, and sign usage also took my thoughts away from lip-reading, in reality it is WHERE you are socializing that makes 100% of the difference. It is difficult to maintain every waking hour's concentration on the need for speech, and to avoid NOT speaking when I signed. I wonder does sign really make you stop using speech, or is the social aspect at fault, or the class teaching systems ? Maybe all of them.

My speech is getting to a monotone level, but still clear, I only get caught out if outside the home in other areas where obviously background noise is alien to me, then people will insist I speak up, say I mumble, or am quiet, none of which is true....I am not a quiet spoken person usually ! I have an awareness when it is too loud, but if there is noise in the background you HAVE to raise your voice, and I don't know a way around that. I am told the hearing world today is horrendously noisy to before I went deaf, that is why we appear to see people shouting into mobiles and things, they ARE ! Unfortunately shouting seriously affects our ability to lip-read too.

New helpline for Deaf MH sufferers...

Deaf people can communicate face-to-face with mental health advisers using a webcam like this.



Mental health advisers use sign language on line to give support to deaf people in cases of stress, depression or suicidal thoughts...

People who are deaf are almost twice as likely to experience a mental health problem as people who can hear, and the very nature of the disability ­creates problems accessing helplines that could offer support in cases of stress, ­depression or suicidal thoughts.

However, an innovative webcam ­service that allows deaf people in Scotland to ­communicate face-to-face with trained mental health advisers has been ­honoured in this week's awards by the Helplines Association (THA). The service, funded by Scotland's NHS 24 care and information service, is run by Breathing Space, a Scottish helpline for people feeling depressed or down. The fact that callers and advisers can see each other and communicate ­directly ­using British Sign Language allows a much more nuanced ­conversation.

It has been running for only six weeks, but THA chief executive Rekha Wadhwani says "its unique concept and use of existing technology" was enough to secure joint winner spot in the ­Innovative Use of Technology category in the awards, held in conjunction with BT on Monday.


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Inscrutable !

Scientists in Japan have created a smoke detector for deaf people which warns them with the smell of wasabi. Boffins from Shiga University of Medical Science say they needed to come up with a way of waking deaf people if they were asleep.

The problem was that 50 percent of fire victims in Japan are elderly and often have poor hearing - meaning ringing alarms don't wake them. Professor Makoto Imai's design uses a synthesised version of wasabi which is sprayed into the air created the pungent odour. This is said to wake most sleeping people within two and a half minutes… and give them a uncontrollable craving for sushi.

Ref:

The British demanded one that smells like fish and chips, the Americans wanted one that smells like Big Macs..... Mexico wanted the chilli con carne....

Deaf woman not told she was dying of cancer

David Nelson got the bad news about his wife in December 2005. He just didn't know it.

For three months, the Nelsons met with doctors at North Memorial Medical Center, but they weren't aware Mary Ann was dying of cancer. In fact, they thought she was doing well enough in her battle with the disease that she could go to her retirement party. So they were stunned in March 2006 when her oncologist abruptly put an end to their hopes -- and their request -- with a terse note saying, "We can't cure the cancer!"

It was the first time the Nelsons, both deaf, understood the cancer was terminal, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Mary Ann Nelson died in May 2006.

In Detail...

Why Deaf relay services ?

Should deaf people be refusing to support text-deaf relay services, on the grounds they are entitled to use the telephone direct the same as other people ? given deaf relay services take longer and cost us more too, are deaf allowing others to exploit our deafness ? and does this prevent telephone operators making their systems totally deaf accessible ? Can readers take part in a small survey ? I haven't used my Minicom in 10 years, is there any point now ? Should the Brits dump Typetalk for good ?

We haf ways of Identifying charity...

Kudos to Fintan for this, brilliant...