DEAF WATCH----JUNE 1998 Greetings! May has been an extremely busy month for me, my staff, and my projects. On May 2, 1998 I launched the Deaf Worker's Newsletter "Deaf Workers Weekly Bulletin". It's a politically charged newsletter that includes Deaf worker issues, labor news, communications from government officials and candidates. Then came my intentions of establishing the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center in Santa Ana brought in a flood of support. My assistant editor told me he was exploring the possibility of running for the Ward 2 seat of the Santa Ana Council. Busy month May 98 was for me...huh?!?! The Editor ************************************************************* MEET RICHARD ROEHM ONLINE ON SUNDAY JUNE 7, 1998 7PM EASTERN Here is your chance to meet the man behind the "Deaf@Activist.com" handle. The Irishman will be hosting this special meeting in their chatroom. I will make a small speech "Am I a Person?". 2 ways to get in: 1) Talkcity Server A) Use your IRC client and type "/server chat.talkcity.com" without quotes. B) Join the Irishman's chatroom by typing "/join #TheIrishmansChatroom" without quotes. For more information on IRC and resources, visit DeafWatch's own "Deaf 'Net Chat' Resources" page. 2) Irishman's website A) Point your browser to : http://www.irishman2.com/chatroom.htm ************************************************************* DEAF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA MAN RUNS FOR U.S. CONGRESS To everyone: This is Eduardo Burkhart, currently elected offical as Advisory Neighborhood Commissoner 3B03, for District of Columbia, is running for U.S. Congress this fall. I will have an offical announcement on 17 May 1998 at Union Temple Baptist Church, 1225 W Street, SE, Washington, DC at 11AM. I will open the seals of four demands at announcement. There will have some VIPS and politicans will attending this announcement. You are welcome to share with others about my campaign and bring your friends to come to hear my announcement. Thank you for your support. Burkhart for U.S. Congress 98 3905 Davis Place NW #303 Washington, DC 20007 202.965.0334TTY 202.965.2253FAX eburkhart@hotmail.com ************************************************************* LA AUDIOLOGIST USES SSDI REVIEW TESTING TO TRY PUSHING COCHLEAR IMPLANTS There is a situation occurring in Los Angeles about Social Security Continuing Disability Reviews. I would like to know if this same situation is happening in other parts of California, and/or in other states. The Cochlear Implant technology was approved three years ago for use in "prelingually deaf adults." ALSO three years ago, the Social Security Administration began doing "continuing disability reviews" for deaf people. In California, the agency that does those reviews is called the State of California Department of Social Services, Disability and Adult Programs Division (also known as the "Disability Evaluation Division"). The California agency then contracts with doctors. Recently, two prelingually (born) profoundly deaf people, aged 30 and 46, were called to have their hearing checked by a letter from the "Disability Evaluation" people of the State of California. One receives SSI, and the other receives Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. Both of them were told that unless they went to the hearing test appointments, their Social Security benefits would be terminated. Both of these individuals went to the hearing test appointment. It was scheduled near downtown Los Angeles, with a Dr. Jack Pulec, of the Pulec Ear Clinic. First, the deaf individuals received hearing tests from Dr. Pulec's Audiologist daughter. Then, Dr. Pulec called them into his office to discuss their medical history. All of this so far is fine, under Social Security regulations. But, THEN, Dr. Pulec began to tell them about cochlear implants, showed them an implant, and tried to force these two born-deaf individuals to read and take home three brochures on the 22-channel Nucleus cochlear implant. One of the deaf men tried to politely say, "no thank you, I don't want it," but Dr. Pulec kept on pressuring him to take the brochures and read them. After I heard this story, I went with the second deaf individual, and, sure enough, Dr. Pulec showed him the cochlear implant, and made a major effort to get him to agree to read three brochures, and to seriously consider getting a cochlear implant. For your information, I know a bit about cochlear implants, so I decided to tell Dr. Pulec, straight out, that a person who was born profoundly deaf, and who has not heard any sounds for 30 or more years, is not a good candidate for a cochlear implant, and I asked him why he is trying to pressure prelingually, profoundly deaf people to get a cochlear implant. ** He admitted (and it also says in the brochure, with a research report reference) that many years of deafness causes a degeneration of the hearing nerve, and an implant might not be effective. ** Further, he admitted that some causes of deafness that affect the hearing nerve and/or brainstem will make a person not eligible for an implant. ** Further, he admitted that a person born without sound awareness, who is now an adult, would need between 2-5 YEARS of intensive speech therapy, several times a week, to even get any kind of good use from an implant. ** When I challenged him as to who would pay for the implant (normally $30,000), and the speech therapy, etc., he had no answer. NOW... Pay attention to this... the Cochlear Implant booklet says CLEARLY... 1.) "Prelinguistically deafened adults with a profound loss bilaterally should be evaluated by experienced cochlear implant teams and have their candidacy checked on a case-by-case basis." 2.) "Prelinguistically deafened adults demonstrte limited benefits from a cochlear implant. Most improve in detection of sound, but only a few demonstrate improved lipreading after EXTENSIVE training. Prelinguistically deafened adults who do not have functional oral speech and language and are not motivated to participate in rehabilitation, are more likely to become nonusers of the device than other adults." 3.) The Cued Speech method provides 100% accuracy for a deaf person to "visually hear" the sounds of a hearing speaker's voice. In comparison, the Cochlear Implant brochure says that their implant only results in 25% recognition of speech in absolutely quiet environments, and much less ability to hear speech sounds in noisy environments. 4.) "Implantation of the device WILL result in COMPLETE LOSS of residual hearing in the implanted ear." 5.) The implant user must protect the implant from breakage and moisture. The implant cannot be used for swimming, or in activities that generate high static electricity (trampolines, plastic slides, etc.), or in contact sports, or in scuba diving or anything that involves extreme pressure changes. 6.) The implant was approved in 1995 for PRE-lingustically (born or deaf by age 3-4) profoundly (90dB or higher hearing loss), bilaterally (in both ears) deaf people. WARNING TO ALL DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE WHO RECEIVE SSI AND/OR SSDI AND/OR OTHER SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE RECEIVING MEDICAID OR MEDI-CAL BENEFITS! If you receive a letter, telling you to go to a Continuing Disability Review, here is what the letter will say... "You are hereby notified that you need an examination to evaluate your disability claim under the Social Security Act." They will give you a name of a doctor, an address, and a date and time for your appointment. If you cannot go to that appointment, you MUST call the phone number on that letter, and make other arrangements. If you miss two appointments, your benefits will stop. THIS COULD MEAN THAT YOUR MEDICAL COVERAGE WILL STOP, SO BE AWARE OF THIS. It is evident, from the situation in Los Angeles, that these "continuing disability reviews" are an attempt to convince people to get cochlear implants, and NOT for the proper procedure of checking to see if a person is no longer disabled. According to the former Social Security regulations, a "continuing disability review" is not permitted when a person is considered to be "permanently disabled." In the past, ALL born-deaf people, or people deafened in childhood, were automatically considered to be "permanently disabled," and they were not subject to "continuing disability reviews." It seems that the laws and regulations of Social Security and the State Disability Programs Offices have now changed. These people are trying to get YOU to get a cochlear implant, so you will no longer be "disabled." Unfortunately, the statistics in the cochlear implant brochures still prove that if you are born prelingually and profoundly deaf, or had this condition in early childhood, you will STILL be DEAF even with a cochlear implant, and that you STILL will not get 100% of speech sounds with any kind of "implant," and you will STILL be disabled! Please be aware that, although you must go to the government-ordered doctor appointments, you do NOT need to bring your hearing aids with you (especially if you can't clearly hear speech with your hearing aids), you CAN ask for an interpreter to be present, and you do NOT need to use your voice if you choose not to do so. You must take the audiology test and be honest about what you hear and what you don't hear, and you must give an accurate history of your deafness to the doctor (you can write this out in advance, if you want, and just give it to the doctor). If the doctor gives you the cochlear implant brochures, take them, and leave after the appointment is over. You do NOT need to make any further appointments with that doctor, and you can throw the brochures away as soon as you leave the office. There is absolutely NOTHING that anyone can legally do to force you to have a cochlear implant, so just listen to them, take the brochures, leave, and throw away the brochures. It appears that the doctors who support "cochlear implants" have already gone to the government and they have managed to now have the government "call back" all of the people who are deaf, so these doctors can "see" and possibly "recommend" a cochlear implant. To me, this is ILLEGAL, as they have no real proof that the cochlear implant will work, and they have no authority to force anyone to get the implant. All they can do is to give you information, which the deaf community already has, and there is absolutely NO REASON to harass deaf people to go to yet another hearing test and disturb your regular schedules, just to give you "information" on cochlear implants that you don't want, and you don't need! If you agree, contact your State and Federal legislators and tell them your complaints and your concerns. Paulette Caswell ( I have been advised that Social Security, Disability Evaluation Division is removing Dr. Pulec from their list of audiologists. They confirmed that he should NOT be pushing any kind of assistive devices, cochlear or otherwise, at the Social Security examinations. ) ************************************************************* NATIONAL DEAF BOY SCOUT CAMPOREE - SPRING 1999 National Deaf Boy Scout Camporee 1999 -- Wednesday, April 28th - Sunday, May 2nd, 1999 The National Deaf Boy Scout Camporee will be held Wednesday, 4/28/99, through Sunday, 5/2/99, at the Maryland School for the Deaf, Frederick, Maryland. Hopefully as many troops from around the country as possible will be able to attend this capstone event of 75 continuous years of scouting here at the Maryland School for the Deaf. Please mark your calendars and forward this information to your troop leaders. Chad Baker Assistant Superintendent/Principal MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF 101 Clarke Place - Post Office Box 250 Frederick, MD 21705 (301)620-8551 bakerch@msd.edu ************************************************************* DEAFVISION OFFERS FREE EMAIL / WEB HOSTING FOR DEAF NONPROFITS DEAFVISION, INC., a new media company specializing in professional web development and virtual hosting is offering free email and web space hosting accounts to qualified nonprofit organizations and agencies serving the Deaf community. For more information, please visit: http://www.deafvision.com/nonprofit/ Or contact Dragonsani Renteria at renteria@deafvision.com or Michelle Briones at briones@deafvision.net. DeafVision, Inc. is a deaf woman owned and operated corporation based in San Francisco, Calif. and Washington, DC with clients throughout the country. ************************************************************* Justice For All bogle@erols.com SHOW YOUR POWER!! JFA is proud to sponsor and announce a very important event planned by the newly created American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) for Sunday, July 26, 1998. Granted, this is some time away, but this event and its success is totally contingent upon the help of our community. The event is called, SHOW YOUR POWER and as stated it takes place on July 26, 1998. Not only can you SHOW THE POWER of our community by volunteering and letting your voice be heard, you and fellow participants will receive substantial discounts on General Mills products. You and others in the community will SHOW YOUR POWER and save money on your purchases!!! So you're saying, what is this JFA is talking about? Good question and it rightfully deserves a good answer. We all know there are 54 million Americans with disabilities and we spend money to purchase products and services. Corporate America sometimes recognizes the economic power of the disability community, but not always. The SHOW YOUR POWER event, if successful, will ensure that corporate America stand up and take notice that we are here to stay in the mainstream of America and its' economy. We are viable players... During the week of July 26th, consumers entering major national retail stores (to be announced) will receive substantial discounts on General Mills products, such as Cheerios and various Betty Crocker products. For every General Mills product purchased during ADA Celebration Week, General Mills and the retailer will donate a minimum of 5 cents, up to $200,000 to AAPD. It is critical that the disability community and the general public are made aware of this event----numbers and volume will determine our overall success and will SHOW OUR POWER. Your efforts will benefit the community for years to come. You can help by ensuring that Sunday, July 26, 1998 will be the "SHOW YOUR POWER day" by kicking off this event with record number of shoppers in the retail stores across the country. You can do this by recruiting others in the community to participate. If you desire further information, please call 1-800-235-7125 (v/TTY). This event needs your help, so please call. JUSTICE FOR ALL!!! Becky Ogle bogle@erols.com -- Fred Fay jfa@mailbot.com Justice For All Moderator http://www.mailbot.com/justice ************************************************************* Lawsuit Against California Officer For Threatening Deaf Motorist Settles FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, April 29, 1998 LOS ANGELES -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California today said that a settlement has been reached in a federal lawsuit against a California Highway Patrol Officer who threatened to sue a deaf motorist in small claims court for filing a citizen's complaint against him. Jason Kaldani, who is deaf, had filed a citizen complaint with the CHP against Officer Richard Gibson in May 1997 as a result of an encounter with Officer Gibson during a traffic stop. After investigating the complaint, the CHP exonerated Officer Gibson. But Officer Gibson, saying he believed that Kaldani's citizen complaint to the CHP was false and defamatory, sent Kaldani a letter stating his intention to sue for damages in small claims court. In response, Kaldani filed his federal lawsuit, alleging that Gibson's letter was in retaliation for exercising his civil rights. In his lawsuit, Kaldani sought damages, an order preventing Gibson from proceeding with a small-claims lawsuit and a determination by the court that California Civil Code § 47.5 was unconstitutional. After several weeks of pre-trial discovery proceedings in the federal case, the parties each concluded that justice would be served by both sides dropping their respective claims. In the settlement, Kaldani has agreed to dismiss his federal lawsuit, and Gibson has agreed not to pursue his defamation claim against him. Kaldani said today that he is pleased that the defamation suit will not be pursued against him. Gibson also said he is pleased that Kaldani is dismissing his claims against him and his claim challenging the constitutionality of California Civil Code § 47.5. Visit the ACLU of Southern California at: http://www.aclu-sc.org ************************************************************* EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH PROJECT INCLUSION Project Inclusion, in collaboration with Tri City Shalom AmeriCorps program in Troy, NY, is looking for qualified individuals with disabilities to serve in its Educational Award Only Program. Tri City Shalom offers two opportunities to serve: ****Partime / Two year positions - AmeriCorps Members serve for 900 hours over two years (approx. 9 hours per week for two years) and earn an educational award of $2363. Service is performed at human service organizations in the Capital Region. Members must be at least 17 years old and may earn up to $16,000 annually from the site. ****Summer Positions - AmeriCorps Members serve 360 hours over the course of the Summer (40 hours per week over 9 weeks) and earn an educational award of $1000. Service is performed at human service organizations throughout the Capital Region. Members must be at least 16 years old and may earn up to $16,000 annually from the site. Educational awards are granted at the completion of the term of service and can be applied towards current or future academic enrollment (or even existing student loans) for up to seven years from the end of service. Tri City Shalom is accepting applications NOW. DEADLINE -May 27, 1998. Term of Service begins June 1, 1998. For further information and/or an application please contact Peter Fish at 518-271-9520 or Muff Lavigne at 800-872-5827, ext. 7144. What is Project Inclusion? Project Inclusion is a demonstration project working in collaboration with four National Direct AmeriCorps Programs to recruit and retain Members with disabilities. Project Inclusion, funded by the Corporation for National Service, is managed by United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc. (UCP). Project Inclusion’s goal is to recruit and retain 20 qualified individuals with disabilities to serve as AmeriCorps Members for the 1998-99 service year, in the following cities: San Francisco, CA; Long Beach, CA; Seattle, WA; Pittsburgh, PA; Providence, RI; Albany, NY; Miami, FL; Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; Omaha NE; and Columbia, SC. The AmeriCorps service year begins in September. What Project Inclusion Can Do For You ¨ Connect you with an AmeriCorps Program in your area ¨ Assist you with the recruitment procedure ¨ Assist you with reasonable accommodation ¨ Help you solve any issues related to becoming and remaining an AmeriCorps Member What is AmeriCorps? This national service program, modeled in part after the GI Bill and often referred to as the “domestic Peace Corps,” engages Americans of all ages and back-grounds in service to address the education, public safety, human, and environmental needs facing American communities. In return for one year of service, AmeriCorps Members receive a living allowance and/or an education award to help finance future college, graduate school, or vocational training, or to pay off student loans. By “getting things done,” AmeriCorps Members are given a unique opportunity to meet and address the challenges of local communities. For further information on Project Inclusion contact: Margaret “Muffi” Lavigne, Project Director, Project Inclusion, 1660 L Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 or 800-872-5827, Ext. 7144, or via email: mlavigne@ucpa.org ************************************************************* ADAPT ACTIVISTS TAKES OVER TENNESSEE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE ON MAY 11, 1998 Posted by Bill Scarborough. Am posting from inside the Governor's Satellite Office on the 12th floor of the Donnelly J. Hill State Office Building. About 11:00 am, we took over the office of Ms Pat Scoggs, Tennessee Governor's Office Regional Representative. ADAPT's demands: (1) Regarding _Nursing Facility Waivers_ by which people can choose not to live in a nursing home: (a,b) Eliminate Tennessee's requirement that the person be homebound and in need of 24-hour care. (c) Increase the number of people covered by _Nursing Facility Waivers_ to 5,000 people. (d) Make Nursing Facility Waivers available statewide instead of in only four counties. (e) Include consumer control options. (2,3) Requests for support of HR 2020 - MiCASA. (4) Within 30 days meet with members of ADAPT of Tennessee to develop home and community based options to nursing homes and other institutions. About 100 ADAPT protestors remain here on the 12th floor of the Hill building. Other ADAPT protestors closed off the first floor of the building. This is after about 50 protestors voluntarily left the Hill building in return for food and medicine for the 100 people still here. Protestors downstairs negotiated with the City Mayor of Memphis and the County Mayor of Shelby County and corresponding police authorities. We have been chanting, 'Free Our People,' 'Hell No, Nursing Homes Have Got to Go,' "I'd Rather Go To Jail Than Die in a Nursing Home,' and other chants. Yesterday, in a rally in Memphis city Park, ADAPT announced its Ten Worst List and Five Dishohorable Mention List to states of the United States ADAPT says are worst in attendant service to people with disabilities. Tennessee won the Bottom Prize. Protestors came from some 30 states of the United States, and musician Johnny Crescendo came from the United Kingdom. Bill Scarborough, cyanosis@bga.com - support HR 2020 -'MiCASA'-ADAPT ************************************************************* LEADER OF NEW YORK DEAF SLAVE RING GETS 14 YEARS NEW YORK (AP) - The first of 18 people convicted of enslaving deaf Mexican aliens in a moneymaking scheme were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million to their victims. Adriana Paoletti Lemus, 30, was ordered to serve 14 years and make restitution of $1 million. The FBI identified her as a leader of a New York City ring. Her mother, Delia Paoletti, 59, was sentenced to five years and $500,000 in restitution. Sixteen more defendants are to be sentenced over the next two weeks. Two others, including the alleged boss of the smuggling ring, are fighting extradition from Mexico. Prosecutors say the group earned millions of dollars through the sale of key chains and other cheap trinkets on streets and subways. When not working, the illegal aliens were kept at two safe houses, sometimes chained and beaten for not meeting $100-a-day sales quotas. ``What this case is about is an individual exploiting other individuals and holding them as slaves for over five years,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Cornfeld. The case came to light last July when four victims fled to a police station and spilled their story to detectives. Similar operations were broken up in Chicago and Los Angeles. Adriana Paoletti pleaded guilty last December to obstruction of justice, money laundering, alien smuggling and a little-used antislavery law. Her mother pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle aliens and keep them in involuntary servitude. The restitution would come from bank accounts that could contain up to $3 million, officials said. The would-be beneficiaries - about 50 adults and 12 children held in protective custody by immigration authorities - would receive between $1,500 to $60,000 each. From the Associated Press ************************************************************* RESOURCE OF THE MONTH: W. C. Duke Associates W. C. Duke Associates, the international leader in showing businesses how to make the Americans with Disabilities Act profitable. They help their clients both to comply with the human side of ADA and to realize the importance of customer service training in disability etiquette as the keys to unlocking a large, lucrative, and loyal market. Let them open doors for you to a profitable new market with an annual disposable income worth more than $188 billion. http://www.wcduke.com/ ************************************************************* Disability Lawsuit List. Kwiatek v. McCaw, No. 95-8059, Florida Circuit Court $1.3 million in HIV discrimination case. McCaw Cellular was ordered by a Florida jury to pay because the employee was forced to take a leave even though he was able to perform the essential functions of the job. LAS VEGAS DEVELOPER SETTLES ACCESSIBILITY COMPLAINT FOR $40,000 AND RETROFITS The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development along with the Utah based Disability Rights Action Committee settled with Rock Springs Vista Development Company. Ronald Smith, a disabled man who uses a wheelchair, discovered the newly built condos were not accessible for persons with disabilities. They were not in compliance with the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 prompting Smith to file complaints which was followed by investigations by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. ************************************************************* Too BUSY last month to evaluate sites. Sorry for the inconvenience. ************************************************************* "Many deaf children and adults are easily exploited because people do not expect the deaf to speak up or defend themselves" Joni Teague, Cupertino Quota Club's Deaf Woman of the Year (1997) ************************************************************* "I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family, and being successful in my work." Professor Stephen Hawking ************************************************************* Letters from readers. Hi I just recently found your website Deaf Watch and think it is wonderful! Thought I would share some information about my company. Just started my new company with my hearing husband last year. It is called "Lonely Blue Coyote, Inc." We make webpages for writers, illustrators, business and schools. I am also online resource consultant. We're slowly growing and hopefully to hire some deaf workers. I was wondering about having my company advertised on your site. Feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Teresa Battisti-Cole President/Owner of Lonely Blue Coyote, Inc Email: TerBatCole@aol.com --------------------------- Mr. Roehm, Thank you so much for your support of my candidacy. It is nothing short of a blessing to have friends like you as part of my team. I look forward to meeting with you face to face, once I get past this final week of the campaign. I truly appreciate you holding a space for me on your newsletter and allowing me to get my message out to your friends and colleagues. I have attached my statement (see below) and will trust your judgement on editing my proposed comments. While my sign language is very basic, I do know the most important sign which is "thank you" - since I can not sign for you face to face, please accept my sincere thanks for all you are doing on my behalf. Mike STATEMENT: My name is Mike Carona and I am seeking your vote to become the next Sheriff of Orange County. My campaign has focused on improving public safety and enhancing the quality of life for EVERYONE in Orange County. As a result of our message, our campaign has received overwhelming, bipartisan support from law enforcement, victims rights groups, Orange County's Professional Firefighters, and nearly 80% of the elected officials at the federal, State, and local level representing Orange County. I look forward to working with the leaders in the deaf community to identify and to resolve the criminal justice problems that are impacting you. Once again, I would appreciate your vote for Mike Carona for O.C. Sheriff on June 2nd. Thank you Mike Carona carona98@sure.net ------------------------------------------------------------- - DEAF WATCH - Federal ID Number : 33-0765412 - Circulation by direct EMAIL : 315 Subscribers - Circulation by indirect EMAIL : 9055 Subscribers - Chief Editor/Editor : Richard Roehm - Orange County, California - Internet : Deaf@activist.com - Nesmuth@hwsys.com - Nesmuth@concentric.net - DEAF WATCH Http://www.deafwatch.com - Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/deaf.htm - Visit Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/nez.htm ---------------------------------------------------------- - Education is the best gift that lasts a lifetime! - Help someone subscribe to The Deaf Watch Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------- - SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION - To be added to the mailing list, send "SUBSCRIBE" - To be deleted from the mailing list send "DELETE" - to this address NESMUTH@HWSYS.COM - - Mailing lists are not sold/given to anyone. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Need to stay on the net? 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