Mothers of Deaf Children Want Insurance Companies To Pay For Hearing Aids

Jacksonville.com - Mothers of Deaf children want insurance companies to pay for hearing aids.



ATLANTA - A handful of mothers with Deaf children urged legislators Tuesday to require health insurance companies to provide hearing aids.



The women estimated there are fewer than 400 children needing the devices which can run as much as $6,000 for a pair every five years. Medicaid, the state’s insurance for the poor, already provides them, but most private insurance companies don’t because, unlike devices such as pacemakers, they aren’t necessary for survival.



The mothers, who formed LetGeorgiaHear.org, argue that spending $40,000 on hearing aids during a child’s youth avoids tenfold costs for special education.



“It’s going to be hard. It’s not a very popular concept,” admits Kelly Jenkins, one of the group’s co-founders and the mother of 3-year-old Sloane who was fitted with hearing aids before she could walk.



Comer Yates, executive director of the Atlanta Speech School, said 90 percent of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, so they are unlikely to learn sign language from their parents at an age when other children are developing their vocabulary.



“Early exposure to language determines a child’s pathway in life,” he said.



Rep. Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta, is the sponsor of House Bill 74 that would mandate hearing-aid coverage for children. ...READ MORE: http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2013-03-12/story/mothers-deaf-children-want-insurance-companies-pay-hearing-aids

Mainstream School Faces Financial Uncertainty

VIDEO: Kare11.com - Local school for Deaf children faces financial uncertainty.



ROSEVILLE, MN - Chris Schuette is determined to give his two-and-a-half year old daughter an independent life. Just 48 hours after Isla was born Chris and his wife were told their newborn was severely deaf.



"It was devastating because we didn't know if she would ever hear us say 'I love you,'" Chris said.



Isla received two cochlear implants when she turned one. She cried the first time she heard sound. Today, she's learning how to make sound with the help of teachers at Northern Voices.



The non-profit school has severed hundreds of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children for the last 15 years. Now the school that has helped so many is in need of its own.



In the early years of the school it was fully funded by school districts, according to Erin Loavenbruck, executive director. But as the economy went down so did funding. Now, the school is struggling to stay in the black.

The classes aren't cheap. It costs $29,000 per student for one year. There is tuition and fundraising to help cover expenses but that hasn't been enough. Loavenbruck is fighting to keep money coming in so the school can keep operating. ...READ MORE: http://www.kare11.com/news/article/1014882/396/Local-school-for-deaf-children-faces-financial-uncertainty

Prince Harry Learns Sign Language

VIDEO: Sky.com - Prince Harry learns sign language: Prince Harry gives a nod to his late mother's fundraising work during his own charity mission to Africa.



LESOTHO - Prince Harry has made a visit to an African community to take a lesson in sign language at a school for Deaf and Blind children. The Prince mentioned Diana, Princess of Wales, as he gave a speech at a gala dinner for his Sentebale charity.



Earlier in the day, he met youngsters at a school for Deaf children in Lesotho, where he learned sign language and took part in a kneeling dance.



The royal hopes to raise £2.5m to build the Mamohato Centre, which will provide psychological care and offer mentoring to children with HIV/Aids.



"It seems only right that it should be named after His Majesty (of Lesotho) and Prince Seeiso's mother, Queen Mamohato Bereng Seeiso," he said in his speech in Johannesburg. "She was so loved as the mother of the nation. I hope she would be proud of what we are trying to achieve in her name.

Video by 7NEWS



"I hope that my mother will be proud, too. Maybe, just maybe, they are together somewhere up there, with blueprints and sketches already mapped out. I can only hope we put the swings in the right place."



Harry told guests that the Mamohato programme was already "transforming the lives of children living with HIV". He said: "I have met some of the children who have attended the Mamohato Camps, and they have so much more confidence and knowledge of how to live healthy lives."



During his visit to the Kananelo Centre for the Deaf on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, the Prince was seen writing on a blackboard and laughing with the children. He joined the country's Prince Seeiso for a cookery class, making a kind of doughnut known in the local Sesotho language as makoenya.



Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford, in the capital, said: "He interacts incredibly beautifully with young people, even those who are Deaf, when communication is obviously an issue.



"But he was learning and asking them through sign language experts what their favourite subjects were at school and they were all really straining to talk to him, obviously overwhelmed by him." ... READ MORE: http://news.sky.com/story/1057572/prince-harry-i-hope-diana-is-proud-of-me

Creating Music Accessible For Deaf Children

VIDEO: BBC News - Creating music accessible for Deaf children. (Captioned)



Lying on a sound box: Deaf children listen to music.



The National Orchestra of Wales has staged a series of workshops and concerts for Deaf people, many of them children, to explore how it is possible to experience music without being able to hear it fully.



The National Orchestra of Wales has been staging unique workshops and concerts for Deaf people. Radio 4 reporter Andrew Bomford discovers children listening to music in a very physical way and speaks to those behind it. Here he blogs about his emotional day.

Video source bbc.co.uk/news/uk



I'll admit that I am a bit weepy sometimes. I cried at the end of Les Miserables, so the moment that the Welsh National Orchestra string section got started, and Katherine Mount stood there, signing and singing to her profoundly deaf - but clearly enraptured - ten year old son Ethan, I wasn't surprised to feel myself choking up again. Watch Katherine Mount singing Ethan's Song on YouTube



It was towards the end of a long, joyful, but emotionally draining day with the orchestra and children from The Ysgol Maes Dyfan special school in Barry near Cardiff. Some of them are almost completely deaf and others have serious hearing problems, but the joy and enthusiasm shown by the children in their appreciation of the music they were experiencing was wonderful to see. ... READ MORE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ouch/2013/02/lying_on_a_sound_box_deaf_chil.html

Adopted Deaf Child To Force On Cochlear Implant

Amarillo.com - Family flies Deaf child to Italy for surgery not approved in US.



LUBBOCK - From an onlooker’s perspective, Anna Burch is like any other 5-year-old. She’s friendly, energized and quite interactive. But if you call her name, she won’t respond. She’s not being rude. She simply can’t hear you.



Amy Burch is a single mother of three adopted girls Amelia, 8; Lucy, 3; and Anna, 5. Burch adopted Anna from Anyang, China, just a few weeks before her fifth birthday with the help of her parents. Debra Burch, Amy’s mother, said she and her husband Mike were with her daughter when she made the decision to adopt Anna. “We knew she was Deaf,” said Debra.



The disability didn’t hinder the family’s excitement to adopt her and figured Anna’s deafness could be treated with a hearing aid or cochlear implant. The extent of Anna’s condition was unknown until the family had her hearing assessed.



Anna was born with no cochleas, said Dr. Steven Zupancic, assistant professor of Speech-Language & Hearing Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Allied Health Sciences. The cochlea is what allows hearing, said Brittany Hall, clinical supervisor for SLHS at TTUHSC SAHS.



Anna was profoundly Deaf. Debra said cochlear implants and hearing aids would be of no use, so the family began looking into other options. She was taken to Hall for an assessment in August.



“Anna is such an amazing little girl,” Hall said. “She has no formal language of communication, but she is such a communicative little girl. … I saw her for an assessment in 2012. She was communicating, but it wasn’t through words. With the help of the family, she learned sign communication.”



Hall said before Anna’s departure to Verona, she was working to teach her Anna to pair signs with speech by reading lips. ... READ MORE: http://amarillo.com/news/texas-news/2013-02-19/family-flies-deaf-child-italy-surgery-not-approved-us

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Related of Cochlear Implants:



If you travel consider which company you use. Your dreams could be destroyed. Some of you may be considering a Cochlear Implant for yourself or a child. As a Cochlear Implant Recipient, The following video is important for you to watch before making a decision on which implant to receive: Warning To Cochlear Implant Users



Historically, women and girls have faced forced laws that tell them what to do with their bodies against their will which is a violation of human rights: A Violation of Human Rights: Forcing A Deaf Child to Wear CI



My experience with people telling me there is a "cure" for deafness: Cochlear Implants Is NOT A Cure!

One Deaf Child: Presentation By Rachel Coleman

Video: One Deaf Child: Presentation by Rachel Coleman in captioned.



In this presentation for Deaf Awareness Week, Signing Time's Rachel Coleman talks about her compelling journey that began when she learned that her daughter, Leah, was Deaf.



This video was produced by the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM – pronounced “en-cham”) at Utah State University.

Video by SigningTime



The goal of NCHAM is to ensure that all infants and toddlers with hearing loss are identified as early as possible and provided with timely and appropriate audiological, educational, and medical intervention... Read more: https://www.signingtime.com/blog/2012/11/one-deaf-child-presentation-by-rachel-coleman-video/



Visit www.signingtime.com for more informations.

Being Deaf In Cambodia, A Punishment ?

Video in english subtitles: Being Deaf in Cambodia, a punishment ?



Phnom Penh - According certain beliefs in Cambodia, any disabilities is the result of a bad karma due to bad actions in a previous life.



The NGO Aide et Action runs a project which aims at changing people's behaviours, mentalities and integrate Deaf and Blind children into society. Through education, Aide et Action fights against exclusion and discrimination.



In Cambodia, the percentage of the population living with disabilities is one of the highest in the world. At least 650,000 Cambodians live with a disability, and the exact count may be as high as 1.4 million.

Video by aideetaction



The incidence of disability is also expected to increase in the future. Despite the fact that many Cambodians have at least one disability, the country does not have adequate legal provisions to protect the human rights of people with disabilities.



There are no comprehensive laws that address disability issues. The few existing laws provide only implicit protections and some directly discriminate against people with disabilities... Read more: http://digital.law.washington.edu/dspace-law/handle/1773.1/521

Deaf Art Community of Indonesian

Video: Deaf Art Community - Aku Ingin Menjadi Kupu-Kupu in captioned.



Jakarta, Indonesia - They are just like us, but they did not complain as we are.



What wrong we were born in this world. We also born from the fruit of love just as the children of Adam and Eve perfect, is the word that hurts us as spears inserted in our gut.



What wrong we were born in this world, we also born from the fruit of love just as the children of Adam and Eve just perfect for a normal person and not perfect for the Deaf.



What wrong we were born in this world cynical faces who saw us it was also equally painful but we're still confident that we still have the ability.

Video by anakjogjaid



Indonesian:

mereka sama seperti kita, namun mereka tidak mengeluh seperti kita.



Apa salah kami lahir di dunia ini Kami juga lahir dari buah cinta Sama seperti anak-anak Adam dan Hawa Sempurna, adalah kata-kata yang menyakitkan bagi kami Seperti tombak yang ditusukkan ke ulu hati kami.



Apa salah kami lahir di dunia ini Kami juga lahir dari buah cinta Sama seperti anak-anak Adam dan Hawa sempurna hanya untuk orang normal dan tidak sempurna untuk tuli.



Apa salah kami lahir di dunia ini wajah-wajah sinis yang melihat kami itu juga sama menyakitkan tapi kami masih tetap yakin bahwa kami masih memiliki kemampuan.



Visit: http://ardhachandra-ryan.blogspot.com for more details.

Short Film: 'Love Language'

Video: 'Love Language' in captioned.



This video was re-created to spread awareness to the American Society of Deaf Children within my community. There are moments in life when we feel a connection so deep words can hardly describe it. But how do we know that it's real?



This is the story of a boy who meets a girl and falls in love. (Please do not continue reading until after you watch the video!)

Video by JAMitProductions



The Jubilee Project makes films for good causes. This film was produced to raise awareness and support for the American Society for Deaf Children. There are two ways that you can support this cause. This video was created for a School Public Service Announcement for the school. Originally made by The Jubilee Project, all credit goes to them for the story content within this film.



I would also like to take the time to forward you to their website where you can buy the song used "Peaches" by: New Heights for $1.00 and your dollar will go straight to the donation of the American Society of Deaf Children. Please visit that link here: http://jubileeproject.bandcamp.com/track/peaches

The original short film 'Love Language'

Video by JAMitProductions



The Jubilee Project is an organization for good causes. With your generous contribution you can help raise money for Deaf children. Visit the original video as seen right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyB_U9vn6Wk

Deaf Children 'Blessing or Curse ?'

Video: Deaf Children 'Blessing or Curse?' A film by Sandrine Ngnasoke exploring the treatment of hearing impaired children in the United Kingdom compared to Cameroon.

Video by DFSHarpenden



Anyone with some level of familiarity with Deaf people will agree that there are some deep philosophical differences in how we interact with, work with, and approach Deaf children.

Stolen Futures Petition

LONDON - Stolen Futures petition. As this e-petition has received more than 10,000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response.



As the National Deaf Children’s Society acknowledge in its ‘Stolen Futures’ report, the Department for Education has already taken action to protect the resources available for special educational needs (SEN) provision, including support for Deaf Children. We have ensured that the Dedicated Schools Grant is, overall, at the same cash level per pupil as in 2010-11. We have also announced that we will not seek to recover SEN funding from local authorities where schools have converted to Academy status. This should help protect services on the ground at a time of transition and emphasises our commitment to improving the system of support for disabled children and those with SEN.



Government, at both national and local level, is having to make tough choices given the current financial environment. Those decisions, however, must also be based on a good assessment of local need and well thought through and transparent. Most importantly, families should have clear, accessible information about their rights and the support available to them. This petition has been initiated by the National Deaf Children’s Society.

Read more: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34073

Stolen Futures Petition - Shake, Sign and Share!

SIGN THE PETITION NOW: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/petition Share it: Post to your Facebook,Twitter, YouTube, email contacts and other accounts.

Montreal Institute For The Deaf Ex-Students Allege Horrific Abuses

MONTREAL (CBC) - Montreal School for the Deaf's ex-students allege horrific abuses. Warning: This story with the video contains potentially disturbing content.



Former students at a church-run institute for the Deaf in Montreal have come forward with graphic tales of sexual abuse they allege they suffered during more than four decades.



Quebec's Superior Court authorized a class-action lawsuit last March against members of the Clerics of St-Viateur who worked at the school, formerly known as the Montreal Institute for the Deaf.



The former boarding school was run by the Clerics of Saint-Viateur, a religious congregation founded in 1831.



According to students who attended the all-boys institute between 1940 and 1982, violent sexual assaults were commonplace.



Denis Chalifoux, who alleges he was eight years old when the abuse began in 1968, is one of 64 claimants taking part in the class action against 28 religious staff and six lay workers. Only four or five of the alleged abusers would still be alive today.



Most of the alleged victims' identities are protected in court documents, but Chalifoux came forward to tell his story to CBC's French-language service with the help of a sign language interpreter. He described horrific acts allegedly at the hands of a staff member.



"He showed me his penis. It was in front of me, in my face. I didn't want to look," Chalifoux told Radio-Canada. "He touched my cheek with it. All the while, he was masturbating." ... Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/11/25/alleged-sexual-assault-st-viateur-deaf-institute.html?autoplay=true

Related News:

Sexual Abuses Children At Montreal School For The Deaf

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God

Sexual Abuses Children At Montreal School For The Deaf

MONTREAL - Lawsuit alleges dozens of clergy abused children at Montreal school for Deaf. Another chapter of Quebec’s dark history of the sexual abuse of children in church-run institutions was aired this week by Radio-Canada. But this was not just any chapter. It threatens to be one of the most horrifying in an already heartbreaking record.



It deals with the sexual abuse of young boys, already vulnerable because of their age but doubly or triply so because they were also Deaf and mute. Their alleged abusers were educated men who promised to set the boys free from their silent world.



Clerical and lay members of a much-admired Roman Catholic teaching order, the Clercs de Saint-Viateur, these men did not set the boys free. The boys who say they were abused ended up in a living hell, terrified of telling anyone what was happening to them. They remained trapped in that hell in adulthood, unable to erase the grotesque images in their heads of masturbating priests and anal rape.



This case may turn out to be the worst ever seen involving the abuse of Deaf children. Unlike the previous record, held by a single Roman Catholic priest, Lawrence Murphy of Wisconsin, in Quebec more than 30 clergy are alleged to have abused the Deaf children in their care, sometimes one after another. (Murphy, who may have sexually assaulted as many as 200 children at a school for the Deaf in Wisconsin, was denounced in 1996 to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.



Radio-Canada’s investigative program Enquête called its program The Perfect Victims. The boys came as boarders to the only school for the deaf in the province at the age of 7 or 8. Many were thrilled to be at the school, where for the first time they would be taught to communicate with other children and learn to read and write. ... Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/literacy/raiseareader/Lawsuit+alleges+dozens+clergy+abused+children+Montreal/7602508/story.html



Watch the coverage video: http://www.radio-canada.ca/widgets/mediaconsole/medianet/6495646



Related News:

Montreal Institute For The Deaf Ex-Students Allege Horrific Abuses

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House Of God

The Deaf Dream: Join Dreamers Around the World!

Video with subtitles - The Deaf Dream: Join Dreamers Around the World!



The Deaf Dream empowers Deaf across the globe through education, employment, and the right to dream. Founded by traveling college student, Destiny Yarbro, this organization recognizes that so many capable Deaf around the world desire to change the world but are limited by their circumstances.



We need your help! We welcome all big dreamers to join our organization and change the world!



Find us at www.thedeafdream.org for more information.

Follow us: twitter.com/DeafDreams

Like us: facebook.com/TheDeafDream

Subscribe: TheDeafDream

Video by TheDeafDream

The Importance of Sign Language

Video with Captions - The importance of sign language.



Gaza City - A short video highlighting the importance of teaching sign language to everybody. This will facilitate communication between the Deaf and hearing communities, so reducing isolation of Deaf people. From CBM partner organisation Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children.



Read more: http://www.cbm.org/programmes/Atfaluna-Society-for-Deaf-Children-265810.php

 Video sources CBMworldwide

Loud Shirt Day Flashmob

Loud Shirt Day Australia - The Loud Shirt Day Flashmob is LIVE!



Wear your support for Deaf children. Register now for Loud Shirt Day: http://www.loudshirtday.com.au



What is Loud Shirt Day? Loud Shirt Day is the perfect way to show your support for Deaf children.



Loud Shirt Day is a fun one day event on Friday 19 October 2012 when you can wear your brightest clothes (love ‘em, hate ‘em, whatever) and raise money to help give the gift of sound and speech to Deaf children. Whether you fancy stripes, florals, polka dots or paisley, as long as its got colour and pizzazz, it will be perfect for Loud Shirt Day.



If you’re the social and energetic type, why not organise an event at work, school or with friends? Create a theme – wear your best and brightest frock, the most hideous shirt, the most outrageous outfit – and get people to contribute on the day for the honour of participating (and having a really good time).



Any excuse for a get together is good. Have it over morning tea, lunch, and don’t forget the catwalk parade!... Read more: http://www.loudshirtday.com.au/about



Subcribe: LoudShirtDayAus

Video source LoudShirtDayAus

Save Deaf Young People's Support At School

Video with Subtitles - Save Deaf Young People's Support At School.



Watch a video explaining why the government is making changes to Deaf young people's support at school. Help us by signing the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34073



National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), the leading charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for Deaf children and young people. Visit http://www.ndcs.org.uk/ for more information.



Subscribe ndcswebteam

Video source ndcswebteam

Stop Bullying Deaf Children !

Video clip of the Stop Bullying Deaf Children ! Deaf vow to be silent..."NO MORE" !



This dance piece was created for Free the Children's Vow of Silence Campaign. What are you silent for? Free the Children Video-Vow of Silence Dance Piece



530 A.D. - Benedictine Monks invent signs to circumvent "Vow of Silence". These signs may have been used later in attempts to teach Deaf children. http://www.aslinfo.com/trivia.html



Free the children: http://www.freethechildren.com/vowofsilence/?gclid=CPvhi9PTq7ICFcldTAod0hUARA



Video source irishlady60

Hope For The Deaf

Video with english subtitles - Hope for the Deaf.



Isaiah 55 Deaf Ministries explains how Instituto Isaias 55 in Reynosa, Mexico is transforming the lives of Deaf children.



Isaiah 55 Deaf Ministries (MISION ISAIAS 55) is a grace-based mission that evangelizes the communities of mexico through the education of the Deaf - an unreached and often neglected people group. A vital part of this mission is ministering to volunteer work teams as they join us in fulfilling the great commission. Visit http://www.isaiah55.org for more information.



Isaiah 55 Promotional: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lse1Uv5ZneM



Subscribe Isaiah Fiftyfive

Video source Isaiah Fiftyfive

Deaf Kids Across America

Deaf Kids Across America - Charitable Organization video.



Video source Mike23Fink