Deaf (ASL) Actors and Writers

May 26, 2007 in Actress | Actor, Deaf, Employment, Film | Theatre

Deaf (ASL) Actors and Writers

Looking for deaf actors and writers for a 5-10 minutes production II film at columbia college. Will be shooting in about 3 – 4 weeks. If interested please send resume/headshot/scipt to email address provided. No pay but you WILL recieve a copy of the film, meals, and credit. Looking for something that is Native American in theme such as two deaf actors signing a myth or legend. THANKS!!!

Link here

ASL and Deaf training for Police in Denver- Journey to Deaf Identity

May 25, 2007 in ASL, Career, Community, Culture, Deaf, Education, Employment, Hard of Hearing, Interpreter, News, Sign Language, Special News

ASL and Deaf training for Police in Denver

Friday, May 25, 2007

I was pleased to read the article presented in an internet newsletter today that I had to ask permission from Lorrie Kosinski, who is a certified sign language interpreter for Denver Commision for People with Disabilities to reprint her article here. I feel this is an excellent example why police CAN be trained to work with the Deaf community! We only need to have motivated deaf instructors (in this article, Bonita Adair and Tammy Rydstrom) and agencies (the Denver Commission, the Denver Police Academy, ASL Essence and DOVE) determined to educate the law enforcement about the Deaf community and how to communicate with them. Other states CAN do that as well, if they have eager deaf teachers and agencies willing to work with each other! Here is Lorrie’s article:

Denver City Employees & Police are Learning Sign Language
Denver City employees are excited about learning sign language and being able to interact directly with Deaf people who may come into their office. The Denver Commission for People with Disabilities has once again been offering American Sign Language (ASL) I-III classes which will run through May 23. Participants are learning basic signs, the ABC’s, and a little bit about the Deaf person’s world.

The Denver Commission, in conjunction with the Denver Police Academy, is also offering ASL I, II, and III classes for police officers, April-June, 2007. These classes focus on terminology and protocol for communicating with people who are Deaf within the law enforcement setting, and offer CEUs to officers taking the classes.

Big thanks to Bonita Adaire, a certified sign language instructor who is Deaf, for teaching all of the classes for City employees and Denver Police officers. Bonita runs her own business, ASL Essence, and has been teaching sign language classes for the City of Denver for the past four years. Prior to Bonita, several other dedicated members of the Deaf community have given of their time to teach the sign language classes.

Thank you also to Tammy Rydstrom of Dove for presenting to the officers during our ASL II class, and to the many Deaf people who have taken the time to meet the ASL participants through the City classes. Your involvement is so valuable to the City of Denver in helping it to become more accessible to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

Now this is not a one-time occurance! This is on-going for 3 years (from my knowledge but could be more than 3 years.) You see, it proves that if agencies and individuals are VERY determined, the law enforcement CAN learn to work with Deaf community!

Deaf Photographer in Newspaper Industry – Say What’s blog

May 21, 2007 in Communication, Deaf, Employment

Deaf Photographer in Newspaper Industry

Appeal-Democrat Editor Len La Barth came by my desk last week when I was being frustrated with the Video Workshop mentioned in a previous post “Words???” He wanted to show me an article he found in the Editor & Publisher publication (original article available here, printed May 17, 2007), about a deaf photographer at the New Era newspaper who helped win three awards for his newspaper. My mood immediately brightened.

I enjoy reading about deaf people who are recognized in their career fields. Andy Blackburn, the deaf photographer in the article, is a graduate of Gallaudet University and employed full-time by New Era. The overall theme in the article was about adaption and perseverance. Co-workers adjusted to a blind copy layout editor and a deaf photographer, and the men worked hard in their jobs. It took Blackburn 5 years to break into the photography field because of anti-deaf prejudice (audism). His secret turns out to be determination; he’s not afraid to approach people in his work field. A positive attitude, determination and ability to adapt to any situation is a fact of life for many deaf people who want to succeed.

For example, it took me almost 8 months before I finally got my first career job after college in New York. I was declined many interviews for a graphics designer or illustrator job when it was discovered I was deaf. The one who finally interviewed me, was a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology and familiar with deaf people. He hired me based on my resume and became my boss along with three other graphic designers. We communicated primarily via intra-net instant messaging, e-mails, a few notes and some “survival” signs. My lip reading and speech aren’t that great, but we got along just fine. I applied the same communication skills with some upgrades to modern communication technology when I moved to Yuba City and became employed with Appeal-Democrat.

I want to close with helpful links for hearing people on how to communicate with a deaf/hard of hearing person.

Tips for Communicating with Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing People, PDF link.

Tips for Communication With Deaf Employees through an Interpreter, Web site link.

Blackburn is right about something at the end of the article — his success helped the image of the deaf in his local workplace and community. When a deaf person works with hearing counterparts and they have a positive experience, they influence the way people view the deaf. In the words of Deaf people: “Do not give up.”