DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- November 28, 1998 Greetings, It is sad that a father who preferred fixing his son's eyes over helping him adapt to the disability has decided to take extreme measures in an attempt to make his point. This tragedy occurred at the Orange County Department of Education building in Costa Mesa, California last Monday. The question is : What did the Deaf son want? Braille or a fix? It is clearly his choice. Apparently nobody has given him the choice as it is clearly demonstrated that his mother and father were fighting over his educational needs. The Deaf boy wasn't given the control of his Individual Education Program (IEP). When I was in high school, I was given a good say in what I wanted in my IEP, I had control of my own educational plans. The decision on what to do about the onset of a disability should be made by the person with or expecting to have the disability. We dont need other people telling us how we should live our lives. People with disabilities the best people that decide on what their needs are. In this case the student should have been given control of his IEP and this tragedy would definitely have been avoided. He is the best choice to make the decisions on his educational needs. Who is at fault? Certainly the Orange County Department of Education for allowing other people to take control the lives of people with disabilities. It is also sad that many people in Orange County remains bent on trying to keep the control of our lives out of our own reaches. Basically this tragedy is not really about a disgruntled father of a Deaf boy, but it is really about who makes the decisions for people with disabilities. Richard Roehm ---- UPSET PARENT KILLED IN STANDOFF COSTA MESA, Calif. (AP) -- A man upset at the treatment of his deaf son was fatally shot by police Monday after he went to a county education building with a gun and took an administrator hostage, authorities said. The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was killed by a police sharpshooter in the parking lot after he left the Orange County Department of Education building at about 5 p.m. Televised news reports showed the man holding a gun to the back of another man, whose arms were raised. The hostage was unharmed. The gunman was believed to be the father of a deaf student in a special education program at University High School, and had been confrontational with school officials in the past, county Superintendent of Schools John Dean said. The man entered the building early Monday afternoon looking for Dean but took his assistant hostage instead, Dean said. A police SWAT team surrounded the building and evacuated nearby homes. Negotiators spent three hours trying to coax the man into surrendering. ---- NAD's YLC'99 DIRECTOR YATES AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR EBERWEIM APPOINTED SILVER SPRING, MD --Maureen A. Yates of Landover Hills, Maryland has been selected as Director of NAD's Youth Leadership Camp'99, with Adele Ann Eberwein of Walnut Creek, California serving as Assistant Director. During the 1998 session, eight Camp Directors in Training, all college students, shared the work of Assistant Director. This enriching pilot program was funded by Gallaudet Universtity and Rochester Institute of Technology / National Technical Institute for the Deaf, co-sponsors of the 1998 Youth Leadership Camp. NAD Youth Programs personnel were therefore fortunate to have the opportunity to choose from a number of trained applicants. "I got to know both Maureen and Adele Ann well last summer when I worked at YLC'98 with them for six weeks," said Nancy B. Rarus, Associate Executive Director (Programs) at the NAD. "They worked well together, and I am delighted to be working with them in mosquitoless Oregon this summer." Maureen Yates is currently a graduate student, majoring in Deaf Education at Gallaudet University after receiving her Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. She also works as a Graduate Assistant. She brings with her varied camping experiences, both as a camper and staff member. She attended the Lions Camp, Green Top, Isola Bella and Camp Mark 7 as camper. At Camp Mark 7 and at NAD Youth Leadership Camp, she was a staff member. Maureen was the Dean of Campers during the 1998 YLC session as well as being involved in the Camp Directors In Training project. She was also Miss Deaf America in 1994. Adele Ann Eberwein is currently a graduate student at San Francisco State University majoring in Deaf Education. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Gallaudet University. She also was one of the Camp Directors in Training last summer and served as a camp counselor in 1994. Adele Ann was a student assistant for the CISS (Committe International de Sports de Sourdes) office for two years before moving to the west coast. Applications for a variety of staff positions are now being accepted. For further information, contact Nancy B. Rarus at NADyouth@nad.org. You can also reach Yates at YLC99@aol.com. (YLC'99 begins on June 20 and ends early on the morning of July 17) The National Association of the Deaf, established in 1880, is the nation's largest consumer organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care, and telecommunications. The NAD focuses on grassroots advocacy and empowerment; captioned media; deaf-related information and publications; legal assistance; policy development and research; public awareness; certification of interpreters and American Sign Language teachers; and youth leadership development. Additional information on the NAD can found on the World Wide Web at http://www.nad.org. ---- HEY DEAF RV'ERS. THIS SMALL NEW MEXICO RV SITE CATERS TO DEAF RV'ERS Enjoy the great outdoors and support the Deaf Community! A special rate of $18.50 per night is a great deal! For each night, $6.00 will be donated to the new Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center in Santa Ana, California. Visit and bookmark the website at http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/8449/ ---- SIGNING DEVICE COULD IMPROVE TV FOR THE DEAF (NOV. 11) WENN - BULLETIN - TWO - An incredible new device invented by British computer experts could revolutionise television for deaf people. The experts have created a virtual-reality figure which stands in the corner of the screen and uses sign language to translate words spoken during programmes. The technology, developed by researchers at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, could make subtitles obsolete. The character is called Simon the Signer, and is a result of a project between the university, the Independent Television Commission and a Norwich-based graphics firm. Professor Andrew Bangham, head of the university's School of Information Systems, says, "Simon can convey the content of subtitles in sign-supported English. We are consulting the experts, the deaf community, on how to improve his signing." Simon's creators have won a prestigious Royal Television Society technical innovation award for their invention - but he won't be seen on the screen for some time yet. Professor Bangham adds, "We still have a long way to go, but it is very gratifying to receive this award in recognition of the great potential of our work." (WNTRE/MCM) (From USA-L) (Note: Some leaders of interpreting agencies are expressing concerns that this project may lead to the development of a computerized version of an interpreter that takes interpreter's jobs!) ---- SANTA ANA CHURCH TO HAVE INTERPRETED CHRISTMAS EVENT Calvary Church of Santa Ana is having a special Christmas program called the "Christmas Post" being performed on December 4, 5 & 6 at 7:00 p.m. and a matinee on Saturday, December 5th at 2:00 p.m. ($3.00) with sign interpreting available at the matinee for guests with hearing disabilities. They are located at 1010 North Tustin Ave., in Santa Ana Calif. Their phone number is (714) 973-4800. Their Web Site is http://www.calvarylife.org/chrstpst.html for more information on this event. ---- NEZ'S CYBER MALL SUPPORTS THE DEAF COMMUNITY Nez's Cyber Mall is a fundraiser project that will help support the newly created Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. This mall has been designed with accessibility in mind. All commissions generated by sales activity within this mall will be used to support the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. Nez's Cyber Mall can be found at: Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/deafmall.htm ============================================================== DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY Orange County, California Richard Roehm President Internet : Deaf@activist.com Deaf_Workers_OC@usa.net Website Nesmuth@worldnet.att.net Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/dwoc.htm =============================================================== Circulation Information Direct Email subscribers : 49 Indirect Email Subscribers : 33 Feel free to redistribute this newsletter in it's entirety and if you are planning to add a mailing list as a subscriber then let me know for my records. Thank you. =============================================================== Deaf Workers of Orange County will continue to aggressively pursue justice, fairness, and equality for the Deaf Community. =============================================================== Education is the best gift that lasts a lifetime! Help someone subscribe to Deaf Workers Weekly Bulletin =============================================================== SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION To be added to the mailing list, send "ADD WORKERS BULLETIN" To be deleted from the mailing list send "DELETE WORKERS BULLETIN" to this address Deaf_Workers_OC@usa.net Mailing lists are never sold/given to anyone. =============================================================== Need to stay on the net? Try DeafWatch's own "Keeping You Connected" page which is packed with graphical links to FREE email providers. ===============================================================