Day 2 of NAD Conference

My first workshop this morning was “Leading a Successful Advocacy Campaign,” given by a Disability Policy Manager at NISH  (National Institute for the Severely Handicapped), Alicia Epstein.  I have taken classes on designing health interventions and on program evaluations, so this workshop was a good refresher.  The presenter went over the main steps to advocacy campaigns:  researching the issue, collecting data, identifying the key messages, identifying resources and assets, identifying potential allies and opponents, identifying targets and agents of change, identifying strategies and tactics, and evaluating the campaign after it is over.  Epstein said, “You are the salesperson for your cause,” and emphasized that people like to feel ownership and empowerment when advocating on issues.

I had a lot of trouble understanding the female interpreters in this workshop.  Yesterday in both of my workshops, the interpreters used microphones, so I didn’t have any trouble watching the presenter on stage, looking at the PowerPoint screen off to the left, and could also take notes while listening to the interpreters.  But in this workshop, they didn’t use microphones and I was sitting too far way to hear them easily.  I decided that the microphone must have been malfunctioning…

The second workshop was “How the WFD (World Federation of the Deaf) Works for ASL and International Human Rights.”  I quickly found out that it wasn’t a problem with the microphones; I could barely hear the female interpreter speaking at all, and there was no microphone in sight.  There were people talking behind me, as well as a baby screaming, so all I could do was watch the CART captioning on the screen off to the right.  This was incredibly frustrating, because I wanted to be able to watch the presenter, Dr. Joseph Murray, signing.  It was also very difficult to switch my eyes from the captioning screen on the far right, to the PowerPoint screen on the far left, to Dr. Murray in the middle, and back.  The male interpreter was easier to understand (interpreters almost always work in tandem, switching off every 10 to 20 minutes to prevent fatigue), but I was just too far away to hear him easily.

The WFD was established in 1951 to represent the needs of the 70 million Deaf people worldwide.  The presentation was mostly about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which has the objective of legally requiring that countries grant Deaf people the human right to use sign language, and to recognize sign language as an official language in that country.  87 countries have ratified the UNCRPD, including the United States.  The core message of the presentation—and of UNCRPD—is that sign languages should be considered equal to spoken languages and speakers of sign languages should not be discriminated against.

After the workshop ended, I went up to the interpreters and asked them if I was supposed to request that they use microphones.  They said no, that microphones weren’t provided, and were surprised when I said that in both of my workshops yesterday the interpreters had used them.  One of them said that since ASL is a visual language, if I needed to rely on hearing the interpreters then I should sit next to them; but also said that they would ask someone about possibly getting microphones.  I completely agreed, but said “I didn't think to ask, since the first 2 used microphones.  Now I know!”  A guy who had been sitting right behind the interpreters said, “I was sitting right there and still couldn’t hear!”  So at least it wasn’t just me.  

I went to Starbucks for lunch again.  I got in the elevator, with my lunch in one hand and drink in the other.  One of the Miss Deaf America Contestants, wearing her crown and sash, got in with another lady (probably her chaperone).  They both signed hello to me, and I struggled to switch my drink over to my left hand and say “HELLO” back.  The contestant saw that I was a first-time attendee and asked if I was enjoying the conference so far.  I understood what she asked, but it took me a few seconds to process it, and by then she was saying something else.  I signed, “SORRY, I’M STILL LEARNING,” and she repeated her question slower.  I said “YES, I’M ENJOYING!”  She showed me her sash, and asked if I was attending the competition tomorrow night.  I signed “YES, TOMORROW!”  As they got off the elevator and waved goodbye, I signed “GOOD LUCK!” and she thanked me.  I was so excited that I had (finally) successfully communicated in ASL!

Both of my afternoon workshops were given by the same panel, representing The Deaf Bilingual Coalition.  The first was entitled “Deaf Babies’ and Children’s Human Rights to ASL and English.”  The founder of the DBC, John Egbert, is Deaf and was raised orally (speaking only, no signing) and did not learn to sign until he attended Gallaudet University.  He is married to a Deaf woman, and both of their children are Deaf.  The second presenter, David Reynolds, is also Deaf.  The third presenter, Tami Hossler, is Hearing and has a Deaf daughter who is 25 years old.  She spoke fluent ASL throughout the presentation, and the translator spoke for her.  (And I was relieved that the interpreters both used microphones!)

The Deaf Bilingual Coalition states that

“Signing from the start gives success for a lifetime.”

The two main purposes of the DBC are:

1. To emphasize the importance of the social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive aspects of ASL pertaining to early visual language acquisition for all Deaf infants and young children.
2. To make the general public aware of the prevalence of misconceptions and misinformation that devalues ASL.

Deaf babies are deprived of “visual language learning,” and are therefore deprived of learning any language at the beginning of their lives.  The DBC laments that the medical profession focuses on the pathology of deafness—viewing the lack of hearing as a problem that needs to be fixed.  They claim that over 90% of parents are ill-informed (or not informed at all) about sign language, and are warned not to let their Deaf children learn ASL.  The DBC panel provided data showing that babies taught ASL from the start have a stronger foundation in language and reading skills, despite claims that teaching them ASL hinders their language and literacy skills in English.

To provide Deaf babies and children ASL, the Deaf Bilingual Coalition advocates for Bilingual-Bicultural Education.  This means that the child is taught ASL first, and is then taught English as a second language.  The book A Journey Into the DEAF-WORLD, which I recently read, also advocated “Bi-Bi” education, as it is often called, and gives detailed reasons for why it is the best choice for educating Deaf children.

The second workshop by the DBC was entitled “Language Begins with Early Detection and Intervention: A Need for Systematic Changes.”  The presenters argued that the national Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program, which tests the hearing of newborn babies and sends those who fail to an audiologist, is based on the pathological view of deafness, and does not provide any information to Hearing parents about ASL or Deaf Culture.  They joked,

“To the medical perspective, we are just ONE GIANT EAR, needing to be fixed!”

Instead of this pathological view, the DBC wants to reframe how deafness is perceived, and to establish a “united front against The System.”  They feel that the reason Hearing parents are devastated when told that their newborn baby is deaf, is because it is presented in such a negative connotation.  John Egbert said, “We don’t have a problem, we just happen to be Deaf.”  He later stated that he is “not against Cochlear Implants or speech,” but is “for the education of our [Deaf] children.

These workshops were quite emotional for me, and while I already supported the theoretical idea of Bi-Bi education for Deaf babies and children, I am now a firm believer in it.  There were several times during the presentations that I started to get tears in my eyes, it was so powerful and emotional!

I kept thinking that one of the interpreters from today's workshops looked awfully familiar, but I couldn’t place where I would know him from.  I finally realized that it was Jon Wolfe Nelson, the actor who portrayed Marlee Matlin’s ASL interpreter on the Showtime show The L Word!  I started watching The L Word a few months ago when I was researching Marlee, and all but the final season were available on Netflix Instant View.  I watched the show for the ASL, and learned some rather naughty signs!

The College Bowl Tournament tonight was a lot of fun.  The questions covered categories including Literature, Natural Science, Mathematics, Geography, Entertainment, Current Events, and Deaf Culture and History.  Gallaudet University won the tournament, with the Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf just 2 points behind, and California State University at Northridge came in third.