Latest News

Sign language relies on the same area of the brain as verbal speech

Mon, 9 Apr 2018 20:54:42 GMT

Speaking verbally and performing sign language require the same parts of the brain, according to a new study.

Researchers at New York University found that the neural skills needed to perform sign language are the similar to those required for speaking out loud.

Their report is the first of its kind to prove the association between the two communication forms.

Deaf Man Claims Lawyer's Bad Sign Language Cost Him Millions

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 16:30:38 GMT

By The New York Post

What’s the sign for “whoops”?

A deaf former IBM worker claims he wrongly accepted a lowball discrimination settlement of $200,000 because his lawyer exaggerated his knowledge of sign language and confused the sign for “million” with that for “thousand” while negotiating the deal.

James Wang, 49, a software engineer who lost his hearing at age 2, says he hoped to pocket $200 million from IBM in 2013 after accusing the tech giant of firing him for being deaf, according to his Manhattan state court suit.

Read the full article.

ASL Art Performers Bringing Music to the Deaf Community During Austin's Music Festivals

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 15:42:43 GMT

By KVUE ABC

Austinites are accustomed to seeing live music on nearly every corner of the city. We have the biggest festivals such as SXSW and ACL, but we also have a large deaf community that sometimes doesn’t always get the same access to shows.

Read the full article.

Sign language interpreter bill clears Senate Commerce Committee

Mon, 6 Mar 2017 17:34:04 GMT

By Spokesman

House-passed legislation to license sign-language interpreters in Idaho has cleared a Senate committee and headed to the full Senate. HB 46 passed the Senate Commerce Committee this afternoon with just two “no” votes, from Sens. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Todd Lakey, R-Nampa.

Rep. Kelley Packer, R-McCammon, the bill’s lead sponsor, told the senators that licensing legislation passed both houses two years ago and was vetoed by the governor, but that led to a better bill this year. Backers of the bill worked with Idaho’s court system and others to develop the bill, which merges sign language interpreter licensing with an existing state licensing board on audiology and speech pathology.

Read the full article.

After Emotional Hearing, Idaho House Panel OKs Bill to License Sign Language Interpreters

Tue, 7 Feb 2017 16:20:21 GMT

By Boise Weekly

More than a few tears were shed Monday morning as the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee hosted an emotional public hearing on House Bill 46, which would call for formal licensing of sign language interpreters.

"These people are pleading for help," said Rep. Kelley Packer (R-McCammon), co-chair of the committee and sponsor of the measure, which would create new licensing requirements for interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing. It is estimated about 204,000 Idahoans deal with hearing loss—at least 13 percent of the population.

Read the full article.

Justice Department Awards $500,000 to Initiate Video-Based Services for Deaf Victims

Mon, 16 Jan 2017 19:03:11 GMT

By SAT PR News

Today the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) announced an award of $500,000 to the Vera Institute of Justice’s Center on Victimization and Safety to create a plan for establishing a National Deaf Service Line that will enable Deaf victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence and stalking to speak directly with a Deaf advocate or an individual who is fluent in their preferred mode of communication via video phone 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Coronado Girl, 13, Becomes Social Media Star With Sign Language Lip-Syncing Videos

Mon, 19 Dec 2016 14:23:23 GMT

By NBC San Diego

A middle school student from Coronado is striking a chord and gaining a huge following on social media as she lip-syncs popular songs on an app, all while interpreting the lyrics in American Sign Language (ASL).

Skye Vanderlinden, 13, currently has 63,000 followers and counting on the social media app, “Musical.ly,” a platform popular with her peers that is used to create and share short music video, heavily focused on lip-syncing.

Read the Full Article

Metro Deaf School to Make History with Chinese Sign Language

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 14:44:07 GMT

By StartTribune

St. Cloud State University and the Metro Deaf School in St. Paul have joined forces to include deaf and hard-of-hearing students in a first-of-its-kind cross-cultural exchange.

The Metro Deaf School has opened a “Confucius classroom” for students to learn Chinese sign language, history and culture. The school has brought in a deaf educator, Xuan Zheng, from China to lead the class. In partnership with St. Cloud State University, the school has received a five-year, $10,000 yearly grant from Hanban, the Chinese ministry of education’s outreach arm, to support the classroom.

Read full article.

Sign Language May be helpful for Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:22:35 GMT

Using sign language with intensive speech therapy may be an effective treatment for children with a rare speech disorder called apraxia of speech, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. They suggest further exploration of the results of a case study showing the effectiveness of using several therapies together in cases of early diagnosis.

Former Inmate Who Is Deaf Says Oregon Prisons Didn't Provide Interpreters for Medical Appts, Classes

Wed, 2 Nov 2016 15:11:11 GMT

By The Oregonian

A 51-year-old former Oregon inmate who is deaf testified in federal court Tuesday that he was repeatedly denied a qualified interpreter for prison medical appointments, a sought-after prison job and an in-custody class preparing for release.

David D. Vanvalkenburg is seeking $140,000 in damages against the Oregon Department of Corrections, alleging the department violated his civil rights and its own policies by failing to make proper accommodations for his disability.

Read the full article.

Deaf News: SignLive online interpreting service awarded ISO accreditations

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 17:33:08 GMT

SignLive, an Edinburgh based and Deaf-owned British Sign Language Online Interpreting Serivce (who have just become one of this site’s supporters), has just been awarded several ISO accreditations, which reflect their quality management standards.

They have been awarded ISO9001:2015 Quality Management, ISO27001:2013 Information Security Standard and ISO14001:2015 Environmental Management, representing a significant step forward for the company.

The Person Getting Raves at the Hurricane Press Conferences? The Sign Language Interpreter

Mon, 10 Oct 2016 14:43:02 GMT

If you think that the sign language interpreter at the Broward County Emergency Operations Center is more dynamic than the county officials speaking English, there is a reason for that.

While English speakers express emotion and feeling through words and tone, those who are deaf use facial expressions and their body to express emotions.

Read the full article.

Brighton’s first deaf café – open to all – to hold official launch this month

Tue, 4 Oct 2016 17:57:36 GMT

A “deaf” café is to open in Brighton this month. It will be the first sign language venue of its kind in the city.

Dottie’s Café, in East Brighton Park, in Wilson Avenue, will be run by deaf staff and sign interpreters and will be open to everyone.

Aurally challenged raise voice for sign language

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:13:25 GMT

CHENNAI: Donning yellow caps and holding balloons, more than 200 aurally-challenged people walked through the Marina promenade on Sunday evening to spread an awareness of sign language.

The rally, flagged off by TMN Deepak, founder of December 3 Movement, was organised by the Tamil Nadu State Federation of the Deaf on International Day of Deaf (September 25).

Tuscaloosa police officers receive training to better communicate with hearing impaired

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 18:25:17 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Police officers in Tuscaloosa received training today to better communicate with the hearing impaired. More than a dozen local officers from different departments attended the workshop at the University of Alabama.

24 local police officers attended the training session. Officers say they hope this workshop will help them on the street if and when they come across someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Officers learned valuable information on how to better communicate with the hearing impaired. One skill they learned was how to sign, “Do you need an interpreter?”

When ‘The Talk’ Is In Sign Language, There Is Clarity And Confusion

Fri, 26 Aug 2016 15:32:09 GMT

On a Saturday morning, a group of adults gather in a circle in an elementary school classroom on the campus of Gallaudet University. Each wears a name tag — and on that name tag is a common sexual term: “Ejaculation.” “Orgasm.” “Condom.”

One by one they introduce themselves by the name on their tag. Not in spoken words, but in American Sign Language (ASL).

Deaf community to lodge formal complaint against the AFL over interpreter for final national athem

Mon, 1 Aug 2016 14:06:57 GMT

A formal complaint against the AFL will be lodged by representatives of the deaf community to the Human Rights Commission today.

It comes after a request for an Auslan interpreter during the AFL grand final national anthem was denied.

Students bond over free sign language classes

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 15:23:49 GMT

Three years since nonprofit organization Be An Angel started offering free American Sign Language classes in Houston, plans are in the works for a reunion.

Former senator incorporates sign language in Democratic convention speech

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 15:30:22 GMT

Tom Harkin, a former Democratic senator from Iowa, used American Sign Language in his address to the Democratic National Convention. (The Washington Post)