DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- April 17, 1999 Greetings, Our National Deaf Workers Campaign is about to be canceled due to lack of support from our community. We do need $70.00 very soon to complete the domain name registration for the website. I'm not a rich guy and I've spent over $2,000 of my own funds supporting the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center operations. Only you can help me help the community. Only you can help me continue the good work in as many facets as possible. Last Thursday night at the DNOC executive board meeting, I learned that Bob Dornan is running again against Loretta Sanchez for the 46th congressional district. This is GREAT NEWS for us as Bob Dornan will continue to humiliate and embarrass Republican candidates with his latino bashing tactics. With Bob Dornan running again in 2000, Democrats have an excellent chance at gaining more seats inside Orange County. If you take a look at this http://www.gladinc.org/boards/advisory.html page you will see on it that Russ Bye is a member of GLAD's advisory board and he's one of the candidates for the California Association of the Deaf (CAD) presidency. Do you folks want GLAD's level of incompetency be spread throughout the state via a Deaf state organization? What has GLAD done for us in the past seven years? What will CAD do for us in the next 2 years if Russ Bye gets elected as president? Richard Roehm ---- FEDERAL RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY SPENDING UP 3.4 PERCENT WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal spending on retirement and disability topped a half-trillion dollars for the first time last year, totaling $507.2 billion, the Census Bureau reports. Overall, Uncle Sam spent $1.5 trillion for domestic benefits, subsidies, grants, goods and services, and salaries and wages in fiscal year 1998, the Bureau said in two reports released Wednesday. That total represents a 3.4% increase over 1997. "The main reasons for the increase were payments for disability and retirement, grants and procurement contracts," said Gerard Keffer, chief of the Census Bureau's Federal Programs Branch. The $507 billion in direct payments for disability and retirement was up from $489 billion a year earlier. ---- HOSPITALITY ADA KITS FOR GUESTS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES SCRUTINIZED Here is information you can copy and pass on to the hotel and motels in your area. SEND THIS POST TO YOUR PRINTER TODAY! The ADA kit makers have been selling the ADA compliance kits for guests with hearing disabilities at exorbitant prices and it's time the consumers and the hotel and motel industry knew the REAL COSTS of making their rooms accessible to people with hearing disabilities. The Americans With Disabilities Act show that hotels and motels must have the following to make their rooms compliant for guests with hearing disabilities: 1) Closed Captioning in television sets. 2) Teletypewriter Device for the Deaf (TDD) and phone amplifiers. 3) Door and telephone (flashing light) notification. 4) Fire alarms with flashing light notification. Similar kits presently offered to the hospitality industry ---------------------------------------------------------- Ameriphone Kits #11 and #12 $599.00 Hearmore Options #1 $740.00 and #2 $775.00 NFSS Kit #2 $589.95 Ameritech Set #3 $647.00 Harris Communications "ADA-500" kit $617.75 and "ADA-1000" kit $712.85 All the items above were obtained from catalogs published last year and this year's catalog may have small differences in pricing. And at least, these were the prices they had last year when they offered the ADA kits to the hotel and motel industry. My listing is based on acquiring all the items needed to complete the ADA access requirements for guests with hearing disabilities. The pricing are, of course, different as the contents of the kits differ greatly from each other. Each kit will be different from another but the cost would basically represent how much a hotel or motel will have to spend to get all the equipment to make their rooms fully accessible to people with hearing disabilities. Many of the kits had extra things in them that were not necessarily required for accessibility to people with hearing disabilities. All of these hotels we visited in our research already had television sets with closed captioning technology built in them and were not a problem for these hotels to acquire. That is because it didn't cost them extra to acquire this accommodation for people with hearing disabilities. In the past week two clients from the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center have decided to help and join us in our research on the costs of the items needed to make hotels accessible for guests with hearing disabilities. The three of us combed GTE Phone Mart, Home Depot, Home Base, Sears, Montgomery Wards, Fry's, and a number of small and large electronic and hardware stores and we also researched on new and refurbished TDD's. We have a surprise! We were able to find parts of the kits in many different stores and some parts can be manufactured by yourself at a fraction of the cost. Another surprise is we have tallied the total cost for parts to complete ADA accessibility for guests with hearing disabilities to be about $197.00 or even less!! This is no joke. 197 clams comparing to at least 589 clams for the ADA kits already offered by the suppliers! These prices listed are actual retail prices as of April 1999 and they can go even further down if bought at wholesale or in greater quantities. Many hotels and motels already have wholesale purchasing capability. It's time they start using their wholesale buying power to make their rooms more accessible to people with hearing disabilities. Here is the parts listing: ########################## Telephone amplifier : $10.99 ---------------------------- 1) Snap on amplifier Radio Shack #43-229 $10.99 -OR- Telephone amplifier : $0.99 ---------------------------- 1) Snap on amplifier TeleTronics #CA-31544 $0.99 at 99cents only stores. ======================================================= Telephone notification assembly : $17.72 ---------------------------------------- 1) Fone flasher - Radio Shack #43-177 $14.99 2) 2 to 1 Phone Jack Adapter $0.99 cents at 99cents only stores 3) Light bulb socket Eagle # 32664-27310 $1.49 Ace Hardware 4) 100 watt light bulb 25 cents at 99cents only stores -OR- Telephone notification assembly : $8.99 --------------------------------------- 1) Mini-Fone flasher $8.99 Radio Shack part 43-179 (complete) (ideal for darker rooms with telephones away from lighting) (not tested yet for effectiveness) ======================================================= Doorbell Notification assembly : $20.73 --------------------------------------- 1) Wireless remote switch by Lamson Home Products $17.99 at Home Base Hardware 2) Door clip for remote switch $1.00 1" by 7" bent metal strip 3) Light bulb socket Eagle # 32664-27310 $1.49 Ace Hardware 4) 100 watt light bulb 25 cents 99cents only stores -OR- Doorbell Notification assembly : $12.50 --------------------------------------- 1) Door Handle Alarm w/light LS&S Group $11.50 2) Door sign "Touch doorknob to alert guests" $1.00 ======================================================= Battery operated smoke detector : $74.95 ---------------------------------------- 1) 2.5 candela strobe $74.95 LS&S Group part #HI-5693 ======================================================= Refurbished TDD : $99.95 ------------------------ 1) Reconditioned VUphone $99.95 from Deafworks ( http://www.deafworks.com/vuphone.html ) -OR- TDD : $99.95 ------------------------ 1) Paragon TDD $99.95 soon to be offered by Deafworks. ======================================================= I know many of you will be shocked with our findings. But the kit suppliers had the means and the power to encourage the hotels and motels to comply with the ADA. And the kit suppliers did not make any attempts or show any indication of marketing low cost or 'budget' or 'economy' versions of the ADA kits comprised of used and working parts. The ADA kit suppliers have decided to offer the products ONLY at the higher possible price range. With their pricing, they kept the welcome mat to 25 million guests with hearing disabilities out of the reaches of many hotel and motel owners! It is time the consumers knew what was on the minds of the ADA kit makers when they were pushing these ADA compliance kits out. ---- NEW HARRIS SURVEY MARKS STRONG APPROVAL FOR ADA NINE YEARS AFTER PASSAGE 9 of 10 Americans Who Are Familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act Express Support Washington, DC (April 15, 1999) - A new Harris poll released today reveals strong and sustained public endorsement of national civil rights protections for Americans with disabilities. Louis Harris & Associates surveyed 1,008 U.S. adults about their attitudes and perceptions of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. The findings may be especially timely in light of this month's oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Olmstead case. This lower court decision from Georgia will test key provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its implications for state and local governments. [Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh has submitted an amicus brief in the Olmstead case on behalf of the National Organization on Disability.] Alan Reich, President of the National Organization on Disability, said, "This survey knocks on the head any suggestion that America's commitment to ending discrimination against people with disabilities is flagging. On the contrary, we see new evidence that fundamental fairness, which is the essence of the ADA, remains a cornerstone American value." The Harris survey was conducted for the National Organization on Disability. The wording of questions and format, however, were designed and executed solely by the Harris organization. N.O.D.'s identity was not known to respondents. Highlights include: - Nearly nine out of ten (87%), of those adults who are aware of the ADA, support and approve of the Americans with Disabilities Act. - A full two-thirds, or 67% of all adult Americans have read or heard about the Americans with Disabilities Act, which helps, supports and protects people with disabilities - Three-quarters of all adults (75%) think that the benefits to people with disabilities are worth the additional costs to governments and businesses. - On specific areas of discrimination, the support for ADA protection was overwhelming: More than eight out of ten adults (83%) felt that creating opportunities for those with disabilities will decrease welfare rolls and increase employment opportunities; while only 1 in 8 (12%) feel it will be very expensive and not worth the cost for employers to hire more people with disabilities. 94% of the total sample believe employers should not discriminate against any qualified, job candidate with a disability. 85% agree that employers with more than 15 workers should make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. 91% want to see public transportation made accessible to disabled people. 95% agree that public places such as hotels, restaurants, theaters, stores and museums, must not discriminate against visitors with disabilities. And finally, 86% state that government must offer home care services that allow more people with disabilities to live at home instead of in nursing homes. The National Organization on Disability promotes the full and equal participation of America's 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life. Founded in 1982, N.O.D. is the only national network organization concerned with all disabilities, all age groups and all disability issues. N.O.D. receives no government funds and is supported entirely by private donations from individuals, corporations and foundations. For more information, please contact N.O.D. at (202) 293-5960, TDD (202) 293-5968 or visit them on the World Wide Web at http://www.nod.org This Harris Poll was conducted by telephone within the U.S. between March 19 and March 23, 1999, among a nationwide cross-section of 1,008 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to reflect their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with a sample of this size, one can say with 95% certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. The wording of the questions used in this survey are attached for reference. Media seeking comment or interviews with spokespersons for the National Organization on Disability, please contact Mary Dolan. Questions regarding the survey methodology may also contact Humphrey Taylor, Louis Harris & Associates at 212-539-9657. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HARRIS SURVEY MARCH 1999 AWARENESS OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) Have you seen, heard or read anything about a law called the Americans with Disabilities Act, which helps, supports and protects people with disabilities or not? Total Have seen, heard or read about it 67% Have not 33% FAVOR/OPPOSE THE ADA Overall do you favor and support the American with Disabilities Act or disapprove and oppose it? [This question was asked only of those who have seen, heard, and/or read about the ADA] Total Favor and Support 87% Disapprove and Oppose 8% Don't Know 5% SUPPORT/DO NOT SUPPORT SPECIFIC PROVISIONS OF THE ADA A. Employers may not discriminate against someone who is qualified to do a job just because they are disabled. B. Employers with more than 15 employees must make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. C. New public transportation vehicles must be made accessible to disabled people. D. Public places like restaurants, hotels, theatres, stores and museums may not discriminate against customers on the basis of disability. E. Government must offer home care services that allow more people with disabilities to live at home instead of in nursing homes. Total Items Support Do Not Support Don't Know A. 94% 5% 1% B. 85% 14% 1% C. 91% 8% 1% D. 95% 4% 1% E. 86% 12% 2% COST/BENEFITS OF THE ADA Given, what we have just told you about the Americans with Disabilities Act, do you think that the benefits of the ADA are worth the additional costs involved or that it is too expensive? Total Benefits are worth the additional costs 75% Too Expensive 17% Don't Know 7% Refused 1% EMPLOYER vs. WELFARE COSTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Which of the two following statements comes closes to your opinion? A. If more people with disabilities had paid employment, it would reduce welfare payments, they would become productive taxpayers and everyone would benefit. B. It will be very expensive for employers to hire many more people with disabilities and it will not be worth the extra cost. Total Agrees with A 83% Agrees with B 12% Don't Know 5% ADA AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE Do you think the ADA has helped or has not helped improve the lives of people with disabilities? Total Has Helped 84% Has not Helped 10% Don't Know 6% ---- HARASSMENT OF DYSLEXIC EMPLOYEE COSTS NEW JERSEY $227,030 New Jersey officials are not laughing about a $227,030 jury verdict to Philip Lanni, a dyslexic employee of New Jersey's Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife in the state's Bureau of Law Enforcement, awarded because state employees' wisecracks and threatening pranks were found to constitute a hostile work environment. The verdict may be the first award ever under the ADA for a hostile work environment claim, according to one of Lanni's attorneys, Linda Wong of Wong, Tsai & Fleming in Edison, N.J. She and Lanni's other attorney, Daniel Fleming (of the same firm) are seeking more than $500,000 in attorneys' fees. Lanni was diagnosed with a neurological impairment when he was three years old. "He had special education his whole life. He really overcame a lot. His mother was a special education teacher and gave him a lot of support," said Wong. After graduating from high school, Lanni worked as a communications operator in the Navy. In the morning, he attended training class and then voluntarily attended the same class in the evening to compensate for his dyslexia and other impairments. In addition to dyslexia, Lanni had dyscalculia (difficulty with basic mathematical calculations), dysnomia (assigning the wrong names to things), visual-motor coordination problems, and difficulty with visual and spatial reasoning and problem-solving, Wong stated. Soon after he was hired, some division employees called Lanni "stupid," and made fun of his misspellings and the way he communicated slower with others. The division employees knew he had a disability when he was hired, according to Lanni. "He asked them, 'Why did you hire me if you new that I was neurologically impaired?' And his supervisor said, 'You weren't the first choice,'" stated Wong. Lanni's colleagues dubbed him a dupe because of his disability. "Most of them had college degrees," Wong said, noting that Lanni did not. "He was seen as different because of that. The officers would talk about books they liked to read. Lanni could hardly ever read," but would listen to books on tape. "When speaking, he is slow and deliberate in his manner. He is slow in his responses. He has to think before he responds ... and would hesitate. We had a friendly witness who said when she first met him she thought sometimes, 'hurry up and give me the answer.' There was the perception that he was slow and stupid." After six months on the job, Lanni distributed an article about dyslexia, but, according to Wong, "It was ridiculed." In spite of consistently favorable performance reviews, supervisors and colleagues began taunting Lanni. "There was a locker-room mentality, a lot of joking and name-calling. He could not keep up with the jokes, and it became worse. He was labeled and stereotyped," said Wong. In addition to supervisors and coworkers routinely referring to him as "stupid" and a "moron," some supervisors mimicked his facial expressions and the sounds of mentally-retarded people when they talked to him, according to Wong. Photos of Lanni allegedly were placed around the office, including a cut-up of Lanni's face attached to the body of a person in a wheelchair. Lanni's shy demeanor was lampooned, and Lanni's boss referred to him routinely as "Phyllis," the complaint asserted. Gardening magazines to "Phyllis" were sent to Lanni. The boss also placed Lanni's likeness on a life-sized turkey decoy, the complaint alleged. When Lanni complained about the verbal abuse, a supervisor told him to "get used to the locker-room atmosphere." Barbara Berreski, New Jersey's deputy attorney general, said that Lanni was sometimes called "Phyllis," but that Lanni had teasingly called his boss "Fat Man, Cannon and Barney," referring to the large purple character popular with infants. "It was the same kidding and joking that had been going on for years and suddenly he had a problem with it," she said. As for the photo, Berreski said that the photo was not of someone in a wheelchair, but that someone in the office pasted Lanni's photo onto a woman seated in a chair who was next to another woman that a coworker thought looked like Lanni. The work atmosphere was casual, she said, and "They felt they had included this guy, and made him part of the group. They ribbed him. He ribbed them." Some of the taunts were more threatening. Lanni's former boss chased him with pepper spray and discharged the spray into Lanni's face once, Wong noted. A division lieutenant drew his gun and pointed it over Lanni's head and numerous officers pointed their pepper spray canisters at him and pretended they were going to spray him, Wong stated. At a training exercise, after someone shot a target labeled the "good guy target," one officer allegedly said, "Oh, you shot the good guy. It's Phil Lanni. Let's pump a few more bullets in." Other officers grabbed their guns in their holsters to pretend they were going to shoot him, Wong said. When Lanni asked the officers to stop their physical taunting, one superior told Lanni that the officers did these things to relieve their stress. Berreski denied that many of these incidents occurred. Although Berreski acknowledged that Lanni's supervisor sprayed him with pepper spray, she said that Lanni had told others that the spraying was accidental. After Lanni's complaints, an investigation was conducted and two officers were counseled and had letters placed in their personnel files for violating standard operating procedures, including the firing of a handgun at work after hours to celebrate someone's wedding announcement, said Berreski. She asserted that the state was barred by the union agreement from taking more drastic action because Lanni complained about the incidents too long after they occurred. As for the allegations that some workers threatened to shoot Lanni, Berreski said, "Two witnesses said that once they might have kidded, 'Oh Phil, go to your room,' and touched their guns like they could shoot. He laughed and they patted him on the back." "You know, you expect to go to work and have a cup of coffee and do paperwork and be productive. Imagine being at work and being the brunt of everyone's jokes. It was demeaning," Wong remarked. Lanni sued, but meanwhile became too depressed to work and took a leave of absence, Wong said. He came back to work and was moved to a clerical position but soon took another leave after he blacked out at work. On Dec. 5, 1997, the U.S. District Court for New Jersey permitted his hostile work environment claim to go forward in an unpublished decision, Lanni v. New Jersey (C.A. No. 96-3116 (AET) (D. N.J. 1997)). "In view of the clear congressional intent to protect the rights of the disabled, federal courts have recognized that if the disabled are to be afforded the same level of protection as racial minorities and women under federal antidiscrimination legislation, they must be allowed to bring claims of hostile work environment based on disability discrimination similar to those recognized in the context of racial and gender discrimination," the court wrote, citing Haysmann v. Food Lion Inc. (893 F. Supp. 1092 (S.D. Ga. 1995)). "A work environment is 'hostile' when it is 'permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult' [that] is sufficiently pervasive so as to alter the conditions of employment," the court explained. After determining that there was an unlawfully hostile work environment, the jury awarded Lanni $70,930 in back pay and $156,100 for emotional distress under both the ADA and state law. Although two of the officers were held individually liable under state law, only New Jersey was held liable under the ADA. Berreski remained insistent that New Jersey did nothing wrong, saying, "Whatever angst feelings he [Lanni] had resulted from personal issues, not a hostile work environment." Berreski characterized the case as presenting the bureau with a catch-22. "If he was treated differently and the officers did not talk with him and invite him to their weddings and go to his house and put in a kitchen floor, there would be a lawsuit. They treated him the same and joked around with him, and there was a lawsuit." Asserting that Lanni's co-workers had been provided with ADA training, she said that the state will consider whether it will appeal after the court has ruled on post-trial motions. Wong said that she doubted the state would appeal, speculating that an appeal might result in a larger award for Lanni. She criticized the division for having "no meaningful discrimination training. One of the main instigators was the captain of the central regional office. ... He sent the message that it was O.K. to call Lanni names, ridicule him and use weapons in a joking manner." Wong advised employers to "set up an effective complaint mechanism. There has to be an effective communication of the law to supervisors. They have to know what the law requires. It comes from the top." (From EEOC) ---- ORANGE COUNTY DEAF ADVOCACY CENTER TO SELL 'BROWN BAG' HOTEL AND MOTEL ACCESS KITS FOR GUESTS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES. Our goal is to help hotel and motel make their rooms accessible to their guests with hearing disabilities. We bring the costs of making their rooms accessible to guests with hearing disabilities down with our Brown Bag kits soon to be offered. Our Deaf center will soon offer 'Brown Bag' kits to hotels and motels at very reasonable prices. All parts inside these kits are brand new. Our prices include shipping charges and a 6 month parts warranty. For more information on the Brown Bag kits and other products by our volunteers and clients, visit http://www.deafadvocacy.com/product.htm . ---- 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 ---- POLITICAL STRATEGY AND COMMUNICATIONS PAID INTERNSHIP AVAILABLE * Opportunity to learn political campaign strategy, media relations, research and administrative skills, while working with consultants on a range of projects -- including local, state, and federal campaigns, public policy issues, and corporate and non-profit public policy campaigns * Minimum 15 to 20 hours per week commitment * Modest stipend * Strong oral and written skills required * Internships begin in mid-May or early June and continue through August; extended commitments welcome * We will work with your advisor to obtain course credit Please fax or mail cover letter and resume to: Staton & Hughes Attn: Rima Zobayan 530 Howard Street, Suite 250 San Francisco, CA 94105 Fax: 415/495-5733 No phone calls please. Deadline to apply: May 14, 1999. It is to your benefit to apply as soon as possible, as earlier applications will be considered first. ---- COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF LIZ FIGUEROA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STATE SENATE POSITION AVAILABLE OFFICE AIDE, FREMONT DISTRICT OFFICE OF SENATOR LIZ FIGUEROA Effective immediately, Senator Liz Figueroa has a opening in her District Office in Fremont, for a part-time Office Assistant - approximately 17 ½ hours per week. The position is temporary through September 15, 1999. Duties will include (but are not limited to) providing primary coverage on telephones, responding to constituent requests, recording constituent information into database, assisting with press binders, providing general office assistance to other staff members. Candidates must be able to work well in an atmosphere of high energy, possess strong interpersonal, organizational, computer, written and verbal communication skills, and be a self starter who can balance several tasks at one time. Salary commensurate with experience. Please direct your resume to: Liz Fenton, Chief of Staff c/o Senator Liz Figueroa State Capitol, Room 2057 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916)445-6671 ---- JOB OPPORTUNITY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Political/Research Assistant National Democratic consulting firm seeks mature, enthusiastic individual to assist firm Vice Presidents in all aspects of marketing, research and client service. This is a permanent, full-time position in our Washington, D.C. office. The candidate will begin in mid to late summer, 1999. Required: Excellent verbal and written communication skills Prior writing and editing experience Prior experience in internet, phone & periodical research Bachelor's Degree A great attitude & tireless attention to detail In addition, the candidate must be computer literate (preferably Macintosh) and have experience in Word, Excel, and Internet applications. Please fax cover letter and resume to: (703) 289-0017 ---- JOB ANNOUNCEMENT April 14, 1999 Director of Constituent Services U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is seeking applicants for the position of Director of Constituent Services in her San Francisco office. Job Description: The Director of Constituent Services is responsible for responding to all constituent requests for assistance with federal agencies. This includes problem identification, contacts with federal agencies, follow-up letters and case resolution. Staff in the Senator's San Francisco office handle all such requests received from throughout the State of California. Requests are received in writing, by telephone or through e-mail. In performing the responsibilities of the job, the Director supervises and is assisted by a staff of six caseworkers. The position reports directly to the Senator's Chief of Staff. Experience and Qualifications: Excellent communication skills and writing skills are necessary. Knowledge of federal, state and local agencies is required. Applicants must also have substantial experience in working with government agencies such as the Immigration and Naturalization Service to solve problems for people. Applicants must be exceptionally well organized and able to work well with other staffers. Supervisory experience is highly desirable. Contact information: Send or fax letter of interest and resume by May 6 to: John Hess, Office of US Senator Barbara Boxer, 1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111. Fax number is (415) 956-6701. ---------------------- Letters from our readers: The movie, "Blue Moon" was very lame, and was played by a hearing girl, the one from the Diet Pepsi commercial. I am very saddened by the fact that they made a movie with a deaf child, then use a hearing actress. That is not fair to the deaf community. The child barely said anything, and when she did you could tell she was hearing. Then only signed a few words. That is a disgrace to the deaf community. It's like showing the hearing people that we can't communicate with them at all. I just think it is awful that they used a hearing child instead of a deaf child, I really think it would have been a better movie if they had a deaf child, a real one. That is my thought of the movie! Katie, St. Louis Ritr5536@aol.com ============================================================== 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 =============================================================== 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. 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