The Welwyn & Hatfield Times – Andrew’s bid to conquer Everest

May 22, 2007 in Business, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, News, World

The Welwyn & Hatfield Times – Andrew’s bid to conquer Everest

22 May 2007
EDITORIAL – whtimes@archant.co.uk

MOUNT Everest is the destination for a Times Territory man set to trek for over two weeks in aid of a children’s charity.

Andrew Marsden, of Brookmans Park, will scale mountain faces and undulating trails on an 18-day trudge to the foot of the world’s uppermost peak.

Mr Marsden, a father-of-two from Calder Avenue, is aiming to raise £5,000 for Sense International, a charity for deaf and blind children later in the year.

He said: “I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be following in the footsteps of the great explorers through some of the most breathtaking scenery on earth to the roof of the world.”

“My own children are very privileged when some have nothing like what they have.

“To take on such a terrific challenge, and to raise money for such a worthwhile cause at the same time, is enormously rewarding.”

The 46-year-old mechanic will be part of a group walking almost 150km from Lukla in Nepal to the 5,600-metre high, Mount Everest base camp.

Towering over them will be the summit of Everest, which stands at 8,848 metres (29,028ft).

He has started training for the arduous trek and has already climbed Mount Snowdon, the highest point in Wales.

Mr Mardsen is doing the London to Brighton cycle next month and will be organising a Nepalese-themed night for July to help raise sponsorship.

To find out more about Sense International go to www.senseinternational.org.uk or to support the cause visit justgiving.com/ andrewmarsden

:: Hawk Relay Proposes New Deaf-Blind Relay Service – Emediawire (press release) ::

May 18, 2007 in ASL, Communication, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Education, Hard of Hearing, Interpreter, News, Sign Language, Technology

Hawk Relay Proposes New Deaf-Blind Relay Service – Emediawire (press release)

May 18, 2007

Hawk Relay has a petition before the FCC requesting they allow reimbursement of relay services geared towards deaf-blind people. Deaf-blind people are left out of access to telecommunications–even with the presence of Telecommunications Relay Services and Video Relay Services. This new service would allow deaf-blind people to join mainstream America in enjoying the ease and convenience of telecommunications.

Sioux Falls, SD (PRWEB) May 18, 2007 — Hawk Relay today submitted a proposal to the Federal Communications Commission for a new Deaf Blind Relay Service which would effectively plug in the final gap in the continuum of relay services that is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

To date, deaf and hard of hearing people have enjoyed access to the telephone network via Telecommunications Relay Services utilizing text telephones and then, more recently, via Internet-based TRS and also via Video Relay Services. These enhancements have served to empower a large percentage of the deaf and hard of hearing community–except those who are deaf and blind. As Sam Hawk, President of Hawk Relay, states, “Many deaf-blind people communicate most effectively through either tactile or up-close sign communication. Obviously, both these options are not available with traditional TRS or VRS. Therefore, we at Hawk Relay felt we needed to develop an innovative solution which enables deaf-blind people to join the telecommunications mainstream.”

Jamie Pope, the Executive Director of the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, adds, “As a national voice for Americans with dual hearing and vision loss, the AADB gives two ‘thumbs up’ for Hawk Relay’s effort to open the doors to full telephone access by deaf-blind individuals. It is time that no deaf-blind be left behind in the wonderful world of telecommunications.”

Hawk Relay’s DBRS will work by utilizing Communication Facilitators who are physically present with the deaf-blind user and act as the go-between for the deaf-blind person and the hearing person they are conversing with on the telephone. Communication Facilitators will be housed at ten different regional DBRS Centers across the nation, as well as will be dispatched to the deaf-blind user’s location–be it office, home, library, or other place.

“We at Hawk Relay hope the FCC moves expeditiously with this proposal,” Hawk continues. “We are ready to almost immediately begin providing this service, pending FCC approval. After all, we are talking about upwards of 60 or 70 thousand deaf-blind people who are not able to effectively utilize the telephone network–even more than 15 years after ADA-mandated TRS services began to be established.”

Hawk Relay was established in 2006 and provides VRS and internet-based TRS services. Its mission is to provide deaf and hard of hearing people with the necessary tools to achieve full and equal telecommunications access.

:: Netflix | The Miracle Worker DVD Rental ::

May 9, 2007 in Actress | Actor, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Film | Theatre, Netflix

The Miracle Worker

A bout with scarlet fever has rendered Helen Keller (Patty Duke) blind, deaf and mute. When her parents can no longer cope with the feral girl’s tantrums, they call in novice but innovative teacher Annie Sullivan (Anne Bancroft). Though Helen perceives sign language as a finger game, Annie’s unflagging tutelage ultimately awakens in her charge the concept of words. Oscars deservedly went to Bancroft (Best Actress) and Duke (Supporting Actress).