DEAF WATCH----May 1997 Greetings everyone, I am pleased with the outcome of Deaf Watch Awards program. I have screened out several sites and awarded a few. The first badge has been named after my friend, Priscilla. I first met Priscilla Vinci at a party in Huntington Beach, Ca. in 1985. She talked a lot about deaf people not understanding what hearing people are saying. Then I met her again when I was visiting T.R.W. She was a very bright lady who wanted to eliminate a barrier between the Deaf and hearing communities. She championed the rights of Deaf. She was also an activist for another community. She was brutally murdered in 1987 at a very young age and with a lot of work left to do for the Deaf community. She was our activist that was taken from us. She founded the Orange County chapter of Southern California Recreational Association of the Deaf (S.C.R.A.D.-OC). She was very active in fund raising. She appeared before Councils to get better training for the deaf and net support for Deaf awareness programs. The blast of this month goes to the psychologists and psychiatrists who oftentimes misdiagnose Deaf people. Most psychologists/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','threatening' and so forth to help companies defeat them in the courthouses. 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. I once had to contact an agency and they were VERY EFFECTIVE in resolving the problem I had in 1993. 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. Recent actions by the E.E.O.C. should eliminate some of the 'dangerous labeling' that psychologist/psychiatrists had been using on us for a long time. Deaf Watch is a Deaf advocacy newsletter. Future newsletters from Deaf Watch will reflect the newsletter's position as a Deaf advocate. There had been plans to be critical of some elements in the Deaf community. Really, this newsletter's purpose is to unite, educate, and promote the Deaf community. The Editor ************************************************************* Companies who discriminate usually end up paying large sums of money! Take a look at this sampler! $176 million. Texaco. Race discrimination. $18 million for age, race and disability discrimination was obtained by the EEOC against Monsanto and Chevron Chemical Corporation in Minnesota. $4.2 million for age discrimination against Farmers Insurance in Missouri. $3.6 million for age discrimination against Fernald Environmental Restoration Co., a division of Fluor, in Ohio. $2.5 million for age discrimination against General Dynamics won by EEOC in St. Louis. $17 million race discrimination verdict against Hughes Aircraft upheld on appeal, awarded to black physicist who was denied promotion, and his Filipino manager, who was laid off because he supported him. $10 million for failing to pay overtime was awarded to a class of California corrections officers. $2 million for age discrimination to a 60-year-old manager laid off after 18 years with Litton Systems in Los Angeles. $2 million won for disability discrimination by Washington attorney against his employer, Farmers Insurance. $1 million awarded for race and national origin discrimination to Indian veterinary doctor denied promotions by U.S. Department of Agriculture. $1 million won for age discrimination by 59-year old copier salesman in Iowa fired by Kodak. ************************************************************* DEALING WITH PROBLEM/UNETHICAL MEMBERS OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMUNITY You can email comments to the American Psychiatric Association officials regarding a psychiatrist's performance or anything you feel they should know about the psychiatrist. Please keep comments dignified and civil: J. Talbott T. Clayton C. Gartner Psychiatric Services Melvin Sabshin, APA Medical director MARK THIS "ATTN: APA BOARD" c/o M. Dewar J. Blamphin, APA Public Affairs Also the phone number for the American Psychological Association Ethics Office is (202) 336-5930, FAX (202) 336-5997, and general TDD (202) 336-6123 (this number might be difficult in terms of using it to access the Ethics Office). ************************************************************* EEOC RELEASES POLICY GUIDANCE CONCERNING THE APPLICATION OF THE ADA TO PERSONS WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES March 26, 1997, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today the release of a policy guidance that answers various questions concerning the application of the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to persons with psychiatric disabilities. The enforcement guidance is entitled The Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities. In releasing the document, EEOC Chairman Gilbert F. Casellas said, "The guidance answers the most commonly asked questions about how the ADA affects persons with psychiatric disabilities. It provides practical instruction to employers and persons with psychiatric disabilities on their respective rights and responsibilities." The guidance addresses the issue of what constitutes a psychiatric disability that is protected by the ADA. It makes clear that a qualified individual with a psychiatric disability is covered by the ADA even if medication is taken to control the effects of the disability. Other issues addressed in the guidance include: -when an employer may ask applicants or employees about psychiatric disabilities or require medical examinations (including psychiatric examinations); -what types of reasonable accommodations may be effective for persons with psychiatric disabilities; and -when an employer may hold a person with a psychiatric disability to workplace conduct standards. The text of the policy guidance will be available on EEOC's web-site at www.eeoc.gov shortly after the release of the document. Also within a few days of the release date, hard copies of the publication may be obtained by calling the Commission’s Publications Distribution Center at 1-800-669-3362 (TDD 1-800-800-3302), or writing to EEOC's Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs, 1801 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20507. In addition to enforcing Title I of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments, EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. EEOC PRESS RELEASE ************************************************************* Three views on whether or not it's appropriate for a Deaf psychologist to assess a Deaf patient over a hearing psychologist. Is it appropriate for female psychologists to assess men; male psychologists to assess women? Is it appropriate for Spanish-speaking psychologist to access English-speaking clients? Is it appropriate for deaf oral psychologists to assess ASL Deaf clients? Depending on hearing or deaf psychologists' academic qualifications and their language skills(ASL) as well as their credentials. Is it appropriate for deaf oral psychologist to assess ASL Deaf person? Is it appropriate for hearing ASL native fluency skills (a child of Deaf parents) psychologist to assess ASL Deaf person? It is obviously appropriate for qualified D/deaf psychologist to diagnose D/deaf consumers over a hearing psychologist. BFN Gary gmalkowski@onramp.ca (Deaf psychologist in Canada) -------------------------- There are no studies comparing diagnostic accuracy results between deaf and hearing psychologists. To put it in perspective, however, the criteria for quality service do not rely on the hearing status of the service provider, but rather on the quality of training, nature of experience with individuals who are deaf, and ability to communicate with the diverse representatives within the deaf community. IWLEIGH@gallua.gallaudet.edu --------------------------- The American Psychiatric Association does not have a specific policy on whether a D/deaf person should be evaluated and treated by a D/deaf psychiatrist. However, since effective communication is critical to a positive outcome, it would seem preferable that a D/deaf person be seen by a psychiatrist or other therapist who is either D/deaf or who can sign or otherwise communicate effectively. American Psychiatric Association ************************************************************* MISDIAGNOSIS, THE KATHY BUCKLEY CASE Deaf Comedienne Kathy Buckley talks in her show about being put in a school for mental retardation and thinking she was mentally retarded for many years because no one ever explained her hearing loss until she was in her 30's and bought some hearing aids. The experts took an unreasonably long time to discover that she merely had a hearing impediment. On May 7 at NBC's Today Show the reporter said the teachers took 2 years to realize their mistake. She says in her show "There are no limits as to what we can possibly do with our lives" and she also said "You spend your whole life being rejected from society...from something you have no control over" She said that by making jokes about her life experiences that society has started to accept her. (Portions from Newswaves) ************************************************************* ANOTHER MISDIAGNOSIS, THE ALBERTO VALDEZ CASE In 1959 a boy, Alberto Valdez, was misdiagnosed as either retarded or schizophrenic after taking a childhood test. He had been abandoned in state mental institutions for almost 30 yrs. His medical records showing that he had been born with a normal or even superior intelligence HAD BEEN IGNORED!!! In that time he has suffered mental and physical abuse from other psychotic patients and hospital staff and has never learned language. With no means to communicate, he'd often fight back and was severely punished for defending himself. He was kept in 3 different mental institutions even though he was neither mentally retarded or psychotic, the courts and tests have found. His sister's lawsuit against California (Alberto was a ward of the state) contended that Alberto had been improperly institutionalized. Upon finding about Alberto's case, Deaf advocates and legislators reacted strongly to it. With a Northern California Deaf Association leader calling it "a total breakdown of the system" and then State Senator John Seymore calling this an outrage and asked the Senate Budget Committee to look into Alberto's case. The Little Hoover Commission has begun to investigate treatment of the Deaf in state institutions. For a long time, Deaf and mental health advocates have been critical of hospital administrators for refusing to create oversight committees to prevent other patients from being misdiagnosed, mistreated, and abandoned. A court approved settlement provided Alberto with an annuity in which he is presently receiving $30,000 per year. Since starting in his rehabilitation, his progress was phenomenal. Alberto has worked at Goodwill Industries and according to Nancy A. Quarles, Director of Rehabilitation, Alberto has left and is now living in Northern California. ************************************************************* FREE 800 NUMBER DISABILITY BBS TO CHECK OUT Last year due to the Federal shutdown, the President's Committee for Employment of People with Disabilities Job Accommodation Network (DIAL-JAN) BBS shut down for 6-8 months. Since they restarted, the volume of traffic has been very low. It is appreciated that if those who have ANY disability interest would dial into the DIAL-JAN BBS and check it out, or if you have contact with people who are disabled, let them know of the existence of this facility. The call to the BBS is free using: 1-800-342-5526. I believe they operate at 9600 baud. On this BBS they have three conferences: Adaptive Technology, Job Accommodations, and HandiLaw. They have consultants who can answer almost any question a person might have in any of these three areas. There is another facility called Project ENABLE monitored by the same group but it is a toll call to reach them at: (304) 766-2690. Project ENABLE has probably 150 conferences and extensive disability resource files. Both of these BBS's are under the direction of the West Virginia Rehabilitation Research & Training Center in Institute, West Virginia. They publish a quarterly newsletter and have a Web site at: http://www.icdi.wvu.edu if you are interested. There is a voice line if a person needs to talk directly with one of the consultants at: 1-800-JAN-7234. The concerns are that if the volume of traffic doesn't increase, some Federal number cruncher will take the system down permanently and the people who need this service will lose it for good. (Let's try this BBS......it's FREE!) ************************************************************* This month's recipients of the Deaf Watch Award. Berna Marthinussen's Deaf site (http://www.bgnett.no/~eallan/2.html) is a great site with links to European and American Deaf organizations. Andrea's Homepage (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/3200/) Is a great site that has many links to deaf related sites (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/3200/deaflinks.html). Cindy's Tampa Homepage of ASL and Deaf Culture (http://www.gbdi.com/asl/) Another great site with an extensive collection of Deaf related links. ************************************************************* "Marriage, baby, house, job... I will leave hospital. I will live normal life" Alberto Valdez in 1989 ************************************************************* "To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men." Abraham Lincoln ************************************************************* Letters from readers. Deaf & Hearing Impaired Community, NAD! Ladies & Gentlemen! We face a serious threat from several well organized and financially powerful monopolies bonded by campaign and political contributions with politicians. 1. I the CART technology employed in courts as a standard accommodations. In addition deaf party gets as a transcript court reporter's captioning instead transcript from audio recording! However deaf community have to be aware about inaccuracy and manipulability such transcripts are affecting rights and sometimes freedom deaf party in courts! Such heavy possible damage for deaf party in courts require substitution CART technology by Voice Recognition Technology, that ALLOWS excepts possibility altering a single word in captioning arguments in a court! In addition such software allows keep recording suggested spelling alike sounding words that allows to check accuracy transcription. The accuracy of captioning is a very important for deaf community issue! In addition, substitution CART by Voice Recognition Technology allows drastically increase accuracy and reduce cost court hearing transcription. It should be kept in mind that monopolies created for extraction a maximal profit, therefore court reporters obviously take adversary to deaf party side. In my case against NJ Inst. Technology, in one hearing, a private court reporter employed likely due my demand exception court reporters received from the adversary money for captioning my classes, positioned herself with me far away from a judge and microphones for exception audio recording and arbitrary alternations captioning. In that hearing the judge claimed that a communication is too annoying(a reporter obviously had problems with understanding speech due big distance from the judge and my not so perfect pronunciation, and probably due her limited experience) and dismissed the case without giving me possibility to finish my presentation. The NJIT claimed the judge did not say "annoying communication" and since the reporter excluded possibility audio recording and she can to alter captioning by couple strokes key there is no way to prove it. One can't expect siding a member reporter's monopoly of deaf person if his adversary paid them about $100,000. for captioning only my 3 semesters at NJIT! In criminal cases a deaf party can get a long sentence for minor even accidental altering captioning or sign interpretations! Another application CART is hurting Deaf Community is employment it for classroom accommodation that costs about $100. per/h. and seems using money supplied Federal Work-Study Program. The CART doesn't provide accurate captioning, more over to cover their inability to do it court reporters are captioning sometimes contradicting sentences. In addition you can't see visual presentation on a blackboard. I am trying unsuccessfully to get pre-recorded audio and video with later captioning with voice recognition software for insurance accuracy and possibility to see captioning synchronized with speech. Such combination provides opportunity practice in lip reading in college diversity vocabulary setting. It can be done by students under Federal W-Study Program. In such setting a student can see captioning at the same time as visual presentation is processing. And most important, it will provide needy students some money and valuable experience in advanced voice recognition technology. The court reporters after 2 years stenography training simply can't provide accurate and speedy enough captioning for a student's 5-6 college level vocabulary courses. In my experience a CART reporter was not able to caption accurately even home assignments that she saw I wrote down from a screen. Considering blatant inaccuracy their captioning, reporters refuse supply even edited floppies. However a disability counselor supports their policy claiming that a reporter have only provide "real-time captioning" and suggested ridiculous addition - notes written by other student presenting in a class! That would provide possibility to see on a screen something related to speech of a professor and a short summary topics presented in a class in notes! Such "accommodations" caused me failure one course and a very poor academic progress in others, although I have passed already similar courses in the past and possess an outstanding IQ scores. Yet another negative aspect CART accommodations is increase tuition for all other students due its outrageous cost. Another challenge is from a monopoly of hearing aids dispensers. We have to fight joint abuse insurers and Hearing Aids Dispensers. NAD supplied me a phone of Medicaid Fraud Hot Line, but it does not work. It seems Hearing Aids Dispensers was supplied by Medicaid-Medicare Programs for extraction campaign and other contributions. That Hot Line gives an address only for complaints but never gives back feed. Medicaid paid for my used and defective hearing aids about $2,000. but they characteristic, but they never used it for tuning hearing aids, prefer to sell used devices and what is especially hurts, that they are defective and consumers literally have no any power against them except exchange information and avoiding especially dishonest suppliers. However Medicaid and Medicare holders can't do even it,since they have come only to pre approved service providers. Sincerely Lev Pribytkov l.pribytkov@juno.com ---------------------- Hello everyone, Arizona State University's ASL Program Coordinator position are now trimmed to three finalists. They have 32 ASL classes being taught by four hearing and four Deaf instructors. None of them are certified by either ASLTA Certification and VISTA Curriculum. Three finalists are being considered for this position, two of them are hearing with no Deaf members in their family and are NOT fluent in ASL. Just a wanna-be for the job. I'm WATCHING ASU's Selection Committee on their hiring practices. They SHOULD hire a Deaf program coordinator or CODA. This is an ASL Program Coordinator position and a person MUST have native or native-like language to run a program of its kind. We need to prevent another Holly Daniels ( the FAKE Deaf-like wanna be spokeperson for SATURN commercial ). If you would like to make any comments or concern, please send email or fax to the ASU's Search Committee before they make their final decision, please email to Dr. Julie Liss, Search Committee Coordinator at: jmliss@imap2.asu.edu . Or write a letter expressing your concerns to: Dr. julie Liss, Search Committee Chair, Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, PO BOX 870102, Tempe, Arizona 85287-0102. Voice telephone number is 602.965.2374 and fax number is 602.965.8516. We need to prevent people who are NOT fluent in ASL to run this program or any other of it's kind. Just like the DPN movement during the 1980's. We all not need to tolerate something of this kind. Thank you, Eric Scheir EScheir@aol.com ------------------------- I am trying to locate former bills that passed in the state legislators or the county councils. I had contacted the NAD Law Center and yet they haven't forward me anything. I contacted the Gally Information Center on Deafness as well, and nothing. I went to the President Ben Soukup and ask where I could get those bills. The reason that I need those bills, so I can make some changes and propose to the SC State Legislators. I am not a lawyer and expert in writing legal matters. I asked a bill on certifying or license ASL Teacher and interpreter with identification with photo with same as driver's license. Can get the SC State Board of License to issue license with approval from SCAD with IAP and SCRID. Must have grade of 4 and 5 to be qualiified to interpret in court or anywhere. But grade of 1 through 3 will be licensed to interpret in limit areas. The license will identify where they can interpret. We need something to enforce the law. We are nowdays getting toooooooooo many non qualified interpreter that have no business doing professional job. Secondly, I want a bill on forcing the SC state legislators, SC state govenor, the Horry County and the City Councils that ever lure new business or plant or factory in the soil of SC must sign an agreement to hire the disability in QUOTA SYSTEM. For example, if a company wants to hire ten new workers, then ten deafs with some experiences apply and 100 hearings apply, then of course the 10 hearings will get the job. Also need a bill that prevent any company in the state of SC in blacklisting any disability including the deaf/HH if one deaf quits or get fired. A deaf can report to traffic court or some other court about this and the court can either fine $1,000 a day or 30 days in jail or both. The judge will enforce the Co. to hire the disability in quota system. The Co. will give them 30 days training trail on the job site or enforce the Voc. Reh. to provide schooling at any school to upgrade the disability's training to compete with the hearing world. We are getting fed up of people denying deaf's jobs. About 80-85% deaf rely on SSI/SSDI for their secured income. Many deaf did apply for jobs, but the co. won't hire them because of communication barrier and job accommodations. It need to be done about this problems. Do you know where I can find those bills. Can anyone help write this in legal terms, so I can propose to the SC legislators as draft bills. I need your assistance anyway. Can someone find these bills in the WWW for me and send it to me at GolfSC@juno.com. I will be great appreciated. Thank You, George Adams III GolfSC@juno.com (Anyone can lend this fellow a hand?) ------------------------------------------------------------- - DEAF WATCH - Circulation by EMAIL : 205 Subscribers - Chief Editor/Editor : Richard Roehm - Orange County, California - Internet : Deaf@activist.com - Nesmuth@bbs.hwsys.com - Nesmuth@concentric.net - DEAF WATCH Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/deaf.htm - Visit Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/nez.htm ------------------------------------------------------------- - SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION - To be added to the mailing list, send "SUBSCRIBE" - To be deleted from the mailing list send "DELETE" - to this address NESMUTH@BBS.HWSYS.COM - - Mailing lists are not sold/given to anyone. -------------------------------------------------------------