DEAF WATCH----NOVEMBER 1997 Greetings, The Deaf Expo last weekend in Pomona was a blast! The flavor Deaf unity was bold again! New assistive technology presented there makes it harder for people to come up with excuses not to accommodate the Deaf community. David Rosenbaum did an excellent job again this year making Deaf Expo '97 a role model for fully accessible Deaf conventions and expos. Keep up the great work David!!!!!!!!!! At this time of the year, as we reflect upon our own lives, lets stop and think about the other disabled around us who are less fortunate. Some of our disabled friends cannot afford to feed their families. Some of them live in cars, in parks, or in alleys. For a few, its by choice, for most it's by chance. This shopping list will be a good gift to a family of 4. 3 cans meat (6.5 oz, tuna, pork, chicken, or beef) 3 cans vegetables (15 oz.) 3 cans fruit (16 oz) 3 cans soup (11 oz.) 3 boxes of macaroni and cheese 2 boxes of dry soup 2 boxes of hot cereal 2 lbs. dry beans 2 lbs rice 2 boxes powdered milk (2 qt.) 2 cans of evaporated milk 2 boxes crackers 1 jar peanut butter (18 oz.) Optional items: dish detergent, toothpaste, soap bars. Also add : Information on local food banks, food assistance programs, and local soup kitchens. So please, if you can afford it, grab some extra groceries for a disabled's family. An ideal holiday gift to a needy disabled's family would be groceries that lasts a few days. Contact your local deaf/disability association for information on connecting to a needy disabled's family. The Editor ************************************************************* DEAFWATCH.COM WEBSITE UPDATE The Deaf Watch Website has added a few new things: 1) 'Assistive Technology' page has a lot of vendors of tdd's and gadgets. 2) 'Your Opinion Counts' page is a new addition to help researchers to understand the Deaf community. Surveys and Questionnaires by researchers are posted there. 3) 2 memorial pages. One is for advocates and the other is for the general Deaf community. 4) You will also find a page explaining how and why I started this education project. This is something that many of you are very interested in. 5) Deaf Watch Message Center is back up we have switched to a new provider of this service. The old one disappeared right into the dark along with all of the messages. GRRRRRRR! 6) 'Deaf Action Photos' one of my favorite additions to the site. Contains pictures of Deaf people in action promoting/defending our rights. The Deaf Watch Homepage continues to strive be a model website for the Deaf Community and to reinforce itself as the Ultimate Deaf Resource Center. ************************************************************* UPDATE ON JUNIUS WILSON CASE FROM FEBRUARY 1997 NEWSLETTER WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) - A deaf man who was castrated after being falsely accused of rape has struck a tentative settlement with the state for $226,000 and a home on the grounds of the mental hospital where has lived for 72 years. The deal would mean that Junius Wilson, who is between 89 and 100 years old, could continue living in his small cottage on the grounds of Cherry Hospital near Goldsboro. Attorneys for Wilson and the state asked a judge Tuesday to accept their tentative settlement of a 1994 lawsuit. The accord would continue Wilson's $250,000-per-year medical care, and pay him $226,000. Wilson was placed in Cherry Hospital in 1925 after being found incompetent to stand trial on a rape charge. In 1931, a doctor signed an order for Wilson's castration, a procedure sanctioned under state law for "mental defectives and feebleminded inmates" accused of sex crimes. But Wilson was deaf, not mentally impaired. The charges were dropped in the 1970s but Wilson remained at the hospital because no relatives could be found to care for him. Associated Press (Junius Wilson, a victim of social politics, was arrested and detained for false rape charges spent 71 yrs in a mental institution. He's also a victim of psychological misdiagnosis.) ************************************************************* ACLU Sues California Officer For Threatening Deaf Motorist Tuesday, October 28, 1997 LOS ANGELES -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has filed 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 following a January highway stop. The ACLU charges that the officer's threat violates the deaf motorist's free speech and petition rights under both the federal and state constitutions, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act. "A police officer's badge is not a license to bully," said ACLU attorney Dan Tokaji at the news conference announcing the lawsuit. "Clearly, the officer's threat was meant to intimidate our client for exercising his constitutional and civil rights. The fact that our client is deaf does not mean he is silent." Plaintiff Jason J. Kaldani's case arises from a citizen complaint he made to the California Highway Patrol, criticizing Newhall CHP officer Richard Gibson's behavior during a traffic stop. In phone and written conversations, Mr. Kaldani complained about Officer Gibson's unprofessional behavior and failure to accommodate his disability. Mr. Kaldani also complained that Officer Gibson had searched his vehicle without his consent and grabbed his wallet. Only after a second CHP officer was called to the scene was Mr. Kaldani told, in writing, that he had been stopped for speeding. At that point, Mr. Kaldani immediately produced his license and the car's registration. Officer Gibson wrote the registration address on the speeding ticket, and although Mr. Kaldani tried to explain that the address was not his because the vehicle was borrowed, the officer ignored him and ordered him to sign the citation and leave. In May, Mr. Kaldani telephoned the California Highway Patrol to make a citizen complaint against Officer Gibson. Through the "TTY" system which accommodates the hearing impaired, Mr. Kaldani expressed his concerns and was told the matter would be investigated. On June 28, Newhall Station Commander Captain Augusta wrote to Mr. Kaldani, advising him that the CHP had concluded "that Officer Gibson conducted himself in a professional manner" and that "Officer Gibson's conduct appears to have been proper and within Departmental policy. Officer Gibson is exonerated of any wrongdoing regarding this matter." On September 8, Officer Gibson wrote the following letter to Mr. Kaldani: Dear Mr. Jason Kaldani, "This letter is to inform you of the following Civil Lawsuit I will be pursuing against you in Small Claims Court. The reason for this lawsuit is a direct result of the Citizen's Complaint you filed against me with my employer, The California Highway Patrol. The complaint alleged that during an enforcement stop on January 03, 1997, I exhibited inappropriate and rude behavior towards you. "You then took it upon yourself to telephone my place of employment, the Newhall Area Office, expressing these allegations. In turn, the information obtained by telephone was forwarded to Captain G. Augusta, the Newhall Area Commander. "Captain Augusta assigned Sergeant Ben Dibene to conduct an investigation concerning your Citizen's Complaint. I was interviewed by Sgt. Dibene. At the interview I produced hand written notes written by myself and you concerning the enforcement stop and address to which the court information should be sent. Based on these documents I was exonerated of all allegations made by you. With the Complaint Package completed, I will now proceed forward with my Defamation of Character lawsuit against you. "At this time I will offer you two alternatives to settle this lawsuit. The first is a Mediation Service offered by the Los Angeles County Department Community Services. (see attached flier). The second is an out of court settlement. I am willing to speak to you using a hearing impaired service to discuss a settlement. If this case does go to Small Claims Court, I will be asking for a $5,000.00 settlement and a letter of apology which would be place [sic] in my personnel folder. I am ready to file the necessary court documents to obtain a court date. If you do not contact me by October 15, 1997, I will proceed with my lawsuit against you. "I am sorry this had to come to this, but you brought it upon yourself. The next time you are contacted by a peace officer, and you are treated in a professional manner, you might think twice about being vindictive just because you received a traffic citation. "Richard Gibson, Officer, California Highway Patrol, Newhall Area." The ACLU of Southern California is charging that Officer Gibson's threat violated Mr. Kaldani's most basic civil liberties by retaliating against him for making the complaint and attempting to sue him in small claims court. Mr. Kaldani has an absolute right, as guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and free speech and petition clauses of the California Constitution, to file a citizen complaint. Officer Gibson's threatening letter is a deliberate and obvious attempt to discourage legitimate citizens' complaints against police officers. The ACLU is also charging that the officer's threat violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability and retaliation against disabled people for asserting their rights. In this case, the officer's threat was made as a direct result of Mr. Kaldani's complaint that the officer had failed to respect his rights under the ADA. The ADA expressly prohibits such retaliation against an individual who alleges a violation of the Act. The ACLU is seeking injunctive relief to stop Officer Gibson from proceeding with his threatened small claims suit against Mr. Kaldani, and a judicial declaration that his actions violate both federal and state constitutions and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ACLU also seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Visit the ACLU of Southern California at http://www.aclu-sc.org ************************************************************* URGENT - BOBBY BURNSIDE NEEDS YOUR HELP Bobby Burnside, 54, a graduate of the Mississippi School for the Deaf class of 1963, has an immediate need for a liver transplant. Bob has Chronic Active Hepatitis "C". He has been struggling with it for several years. The drug treatments which the doctors have given him have not stopped it. He now needs a transplant, or he faces certain death. The hospital has informed him that the post-transplant medication will cost around $25,000 per year. His insurance does not cover the aftercare ($1000 per week for 5 to 7 weeks) or the medication to support the transplant. The doctors are ready to give Bobby a new liver after Christmas but they wont do it until his recovery plan is in place first. This involves having the funds to support him in the hospital apartments with nurses for some time. A fund with the National Transplant Assistance Fund (NTAF) has been set up for Bobby. Any help to Bobby will be greatly appreciated. Bobby has three older children who live in the south. Bobby's oldest son, Jimmy, is on the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. It could be at least six months until Jimmy comes home, and Bobby would love to see him again. Donna and Rosie are his two daughters. They both have young children. Bobby's youngest son is 12, Micah Burnside. Micah and his mother live in Connecticut. Micah really missed his Dad, and has missed visits due to his dad being in the hospital over the summer. They will get to see each other this Thanksgiving. Micah's mother is a RID certified interpreter, CI/C, thanks to Bob. Bobby taught her the beauty of ASL as a deep and personal language, and not just knowing a bunch of signs to make a living as an interpreter, also because of how he taught her to love his language. Bob has worked at the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf in New Jersey as a dormitory advisor, and at the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, CT as a Residential Advisor to the boys, then as a maintenance carpenter, then as a general maintenance worker and finally he ran the mail room there when his energy levels dropped. Bob took an early disability remitment from ASD after 12 years last February, 1997. In May he moved down to Mississippi to be near his family and friends from long ago. Bob also spent ten years in Connecticut and Massachusetts working with the Deaf in church ministry. Bob has no assets to fall back on. He is completely at the mercy of God, and is in need of great help. Any help to Bobby will be greatly appreciated. NATIONAL TRANSPLANT ASSISTANCE FUND P.O. Box 258 Bryn Mawr, PA 19019 Donation instructions are to make the check payable to NTAF and with "Bobby Burnside" on the memo line. The donations are tax deductible. For more questions, do not hesitate to call NTAF at their toll free number 1-800-642-8399. ************************************************************* SSA, DISABILITY AND YOU -Finally 0btaining Benefits Made Easy (Miami, FL--October 31, 1997)--Millions of disabled individuals apply and are denied SSA disability benefits. Some 70% will be denied on their initial attempt. The majority of those denied will not have had the help of a trained disability representative. As you read this, literally thousands of people are being denied benefits because they do not understand how the system works or the inability to afford effective representation. It is necessary to appeal because most claims are approved at higher levels of review. It is important to hire an experienced person because most individuals do not understand the way SSA works. Claimants who employ a trained representative are more likely to win than those who go unrepresented. At National Disability Consulting our primary goal is to help people enhance their chances of winning their Social Security disability benefits. Just applying is not enough. The Social Security disability system is complex and has many ways of denying benefits. Until recently, one's only chance of getting help with their disability case was from an attorney. Attorneys will charge 25% of their clients back benefits, which can cost thousands of dollars. We believe that we have a more effective and less expensive way of fighting for disabled individual's rights. Proper representation will assure that their case receives fair consideration from SSA. As a family operated business we offer a unique personalized service. Understanding how difficult it is for a disabled individual to sometimes get around, we handle each case primarily by mail. We will, whenever possible, speed up a case so that our client receives their decision faster. Tips on how to improve a disabled individual's chance of obtaining disability benefits: Have names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of treatments, and types of treatments received from each doctor, clinic, and hospital visited. Be prepared to discuss your work history for the past 15 years. Be honest and complete in giving information to SSA about what is disabling you. Beyond all this, the most important thing to do is keep appealing and seek the help of a trained disability consultant. If there are any further questions concerning our service, please check our web site at http://home.att.net/~NationalDisabilityConsulting/index.html or E-Mail us at NationalDisabilityConsulting@worldnet.att.net or call us at (305) 957-7527. Contact: Nelson Reyes, R.N., Certified Disability Consultant NationalDisabilityConsulting@worldnet.att.net Telephone: (305) 957-7527 http://home.att.net/~NationalDisabilityConsulting/index.html ************************************************************* "Roby Ridge" Report... A five-week standoff, in Illinois, between police and Mrs. Shirley Allen ended yesterday without Shirley being killed as many thousands had feared. WAPD in response to many Email notes and calls....mailed our/your official position and verbally visited with the Governors office plus the Executive Assistant Attorney General of the state, and others, to express the serious concerns and demands of "Justice" for this lady. We would/have done this for any disAbled person in distress. WAPD assists all disabled people! ( Mrs Allen is our neighbor in this world!...No expense of time or money is too great to protect our doorstep. This is our Mother, Sister, Wife, Best Girlfriend, Grandmother, Person... crying out for HELP!) Thanks to the many of you that responded to our call for help with this incident. We are sure that, in spite of our so-called "disabilities", a "People-United" can accomplish the seemingly impossible tasks we are faced with on a daily basis. From Beacon For disABILITY World Association of Persons With Disabilities Http://www.wapd.org ************************************************************* Disability Lawsuit List. HUD vs Vista Hills Arms Apartments (ALJ case #10-94-0411-8) Oregon Disabled woman wins $11,000 settlement. Mentally disabled woman faced eviction for refusal to give up her service dog. Her requests to move to ground floor apartment in attempts to resolve dispute with neighbor below several times were ignored. Trovato v. City of Manchester On September 30, US District Judge Steven McAuliffe in New Hampshire granted summary judgment for a woman and her daughter with muscular dystrophy who wanted to park in front of their house, where the steps were easier to negotiate. So they wanted to pave a parking spot so they wouldn't have to park in the mud but the zoning ordinance wouldn't allow it. Besides finding liability under Title VIII, he also agreed with the recent 2d Circuit decision in Innovative Health Systems, Inc. v. City of White Plains, 117 F.3d 37 (2d Cir. 1997) in holding that the ADA covers zoning. ************************************************************* This month's recipients of the Deaf Watch GOLD Award. The Deaf Resource Library ( http://www.deaflibrary.org ) Tauscher's Deaf Links ( http://www.primenet.com/~tauscher/index.html ) Thor Halvorsen's Homepage ( http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6214 ) SIGNhear Communications Center ( http://library.advanced.org/10202 ) Let's give these sites a round of applause and of course, a visit too! ************************************************************* This month's recipients of the Deaf Watch Award. SIGN-SATION (http://members.aol.com/SignChoir/index.html) Great site! Deaf Clubs (http://www.deafclubs.com/) Great looking site! ************************************************************* "Even though it was a terrible experience to be kicked out of school just because I was deaf, filing this lawsuit was also a good experience for me. In some ways it helped me to grow and become more mature emotionally. It taught me how to be more patient and more independent." Nadelle Grantham ************************************************************* "The ethnocentrism, imperialism, oralism, and paternalism we've foisted upon the Deaf community is shameful, and does us no credit. It's high time we Hearing learned from the mistakes of our ancestors, and do better." Michael Sattler ************************************************************* Letters from readers. Well, I am not alone. The Department of the Army, Aberdeen Proving Ground has a lot of employers that are notorious for discrimination. I filed several complaints. Witnesses refused to speak out for me, but I didn't give up. However, I did have some wonderful people willing to give me great advice and I would like to pass it to you. First, don't ever file an EEO complaint directly with the business you work for. Work site EEO's are biased. (I swear these people are paid off!) Second, go to EVERY outside source that you can and file your complaint. Talk to your congress people, your news people, lawyers, network friends. The idea here is power leverage. You want to show your employer you mean business. You can ruin them too! Third, file with a lawyer. EEO is bull. They spend our money and then send a letter saying they don't have time to review our case because they are so backed up. Well, hey, if they are so backed up there must be some serious discrimination! Fourth, don't quit your job! No matter how much your employer threatens you, harasses you or whatever, don't quit. An inside source from EEO told me to take a leave without pay and let them fire me. This way, if I prove they discriminated against me, I would get back pay. If I can't prove they discriminated against me, and the company is willing to negotiate, I can still get back pay. If I quit, no matter what the circumstances, the chance of getting back pay lessens. Next, this inside source told me that EEO counselors bull crap victims and tell them they can't do much to help except maybe get the person a step increase. Well, this inside source said, WRONG! They can give you front pay, back pay, benefits, step increases, promotions, new jobs, whatever. So now I know not to trust government EEO specialists. To conclude my story, I got a step increase and back pay for a couple of months until the time I quit (because I was still being harassed at home!) To this day, there are deaf friends working there and they suffer from the same ordeal. I sympathize with anyone in this type of situation. I, too, suffer from mental and emotional problems brought on by the discrimination. Unfortunately, I am not able to get social security. I have been out of work for 6 years, suffered depression from the time I left work, to today, and still have trouble getting a job. Currently, I am a grad student, hoping that the extra education will give me more employment leverage, but, truly, I doubt it. Discrimination doesn't go away. Robin kevinjk@bellatlantic.net ------------------------ Hi Richard Roehm, I must take offence with some of your sayings. It is absolutely a cop-out to say "I know what its like to be disabled. I know how it feels to have been discriminated against and be treated as a second class citizen. I also feel other Deaf people are going through the same thing I did." It is up to EVERYONE to make the best they can do, and NEVER let others to get the "better" of you, to make you feel inadequate. Only you can do that, and you have let others made you feel as a 2nd class citizen. When that happens, it is YOUR problem and you have to sort it out yourself. I do NOT believe in the American way of solving people-related problems (eg: communcations, etc) by going to the court. Down here, we try and sort it out between ourselves, often with mediators - and if we find we can't achieve what we hope to get, we simply get a move on and continue with our lives, by going elsewhere. I will later have a look at the 'Deaf Watch Homepage' to see what it is like. I think there's a great need for the Deaf Watch, as long as it strives to tell everyone (especially Deaf, but not exculsive) that it is up to you to try to achieve things without the tendency to hire a lawyer at the drop of a pin. Like many non-Americans, I'm so sick of American legal systems and the USA tendency to sue just about everyone in sight !!! regards, AndrewK Down under (Australia - where everyone gives a fair go)] ajknox@netspace.net.au Editor's Response: Disabled Americans are given the opportunity to be whatever they can be and that's the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It seems Andrew's belief which is to give up and go elsewhere while taking responsibility for our disabilities hardly parallels this. I would rather put up a fight all the way to the end than stop halfway through and go somewhere else like...with a white flag. There are some employers dont seem able to understand this law and we have to try to educate them and usually it has to be done in the courthouse as theyr'e not willing to learn it elsewhere. Again through Americans with Disability Act, disabled Americans are now given an equal chance to pursue their dreams. Richard Roehm ---------------------- I am Deaf and I've personally researched it myself for about one year. I am Deaf Network representative for Texas Instruments in Dallas. In our case, we sometime have hard time getting interpreter due to shortage and also sometime, its not worth getting interpreter when meeting last 15 minutes while company paying mininium of 2 hours. Well, unfortunately, VRS is not ready specifically for Deaf or Hard of Hearing people. Currently at market, so-called VRS technology is great but its best if you stick to one same person all the times. If you plan to use on multiple people talking or something like that, then its not worth. The better technology will come in 2000+. Hang in there. (smile) Send me e-mail anytime... Grant ========================================================== Grant W. Laird, Jr. AlphaPager: (972)597-1135 DMOS-IV Texas Instruments g-laird@ti.com Deaf & Disabilities Network Representative http://www1.itg.ti.com/deaf --------------------------------- Dear Nick News Viewers, Thank you for all of your generous feedback regarding Nick News Special Edition: What Are You Staring At? which aired on November 11 at 8PM EST. I contributed a lot of effort, because of my disability (Cerebral Palsy), and so did all the other people involved in the production of the special. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the closed captioning, but it has since been corrected. The special is currently airing in syndication with closed captioning. Nick News Special Edition: What Are You Staring At? will repeat on Nickelodeon on Sunday, November 23rd at 8:30pm EST. It will also be on in Cable in the Classroom on January 7th, and 21st 1998. So, you can set your VCRs at any of these times. If there are any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. -NickOp Rob Robert G. Targos Nickelodeon Online (The editor had written to Nick News to protest the lack of closed captioning) ------------------------ Hello My name is Marily Shaw and I am the Disability Liaison Officer at the University of South Australia. At the present time I am undertaking a research project in order to establish the best model of support for Deaf and Hearing Impaired students at University. In Australia students are provided with a note taker and an interpreter in order to access education. My collegue and I are looking to find out whether Deaf and Hearing Impaired students are more successful if Universities employ and interpreter/tutor to assist astudents. The basis for our research is that Australian Students use AUSLAN instead of signed English. AUSLAN has no written form therefore language based assessments are very problematic. Critical analysis, essays and language constructs are difficult. The reason for this letter is to request some assistance in getting data, research, or access to information which may assist us with this project. Any asisstance you are able to provide would be much appreciated. Thank you for your time. Regards Marilyn Shaw Disability Liaison Officer Student Support Centre University of SOuth Australia St Bernards Road MAGILL SA 5072 Marilyn.Shaw@UniSa.Edu.Au ------------------------------------------------------------- - DEAF WATCH - Federal ID Number : 33-0765412 - Circulation by EMAIL : 263 Subscribers - Chief Editor/Editor : Richard Roehm - Orange County, California - Internet : Deaf@activist.com - Nesmuth@bbs.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@BBS.HWSYS.COM - - Mailing lists are not sold/given to anyone. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Need to stay on the net? Try DeafWatch's own - "Keeping You Connected" sublink which is packed - with graphical links to FREE email providers. -------------------------------------------------------------