This article originally appeared at i711.com.

I’ve got lots on my mind, so bear with me as I go into a million tangents.

Why can’t manufacturers or companies create an attractive alert and alarm system ideal for the home? All the alarm systems and signal systems on the market specifically designed for people who are deaf are white, black or silver, and ugly. Not to mention clunky. On my husband’s nightstand is a stark white alarm, and on my nightstand is a drab black alarm – both eyesores in our bedroom full of wooden furniture. What I usually do is throw the alarm clocks under the bed when guests visit.

So how about it, manufacturers? You’re sitting on a money-making idea here.
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Am I the only one driven crazy by the new, widespread sign for “e-mail,” where the non-dominant hand makes a “C” while the other hand ‘slashes’ through it?

I asked a linguist why this sign seemed so wrong to me. Thank heavens he had an answer. He explained that the “C” handshape already has a purpose assigned to it in ASL linguistics: to show a bump on a wall, a cup/jar, a shape/size, or other related classifier tasks. So the use of “C” in the sign for e-mail violates the handshape’s linguistic rules, among other rules. And I’m not alone; a lot of people tell me they hate the sign, too – usually those who have been signing since birth.

The irony: when I ask deaf people why they use this sign, they say, “Interpreters told us to use this.” When I ask interpreters why they use this sign, they say, “Deaf people told us to use this.” Let’s not mangle the language of ASL any further, please.
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A while ago, someone made a motion during a meeting for one of the organizations I belong to. That person wanted to remove the word “of” from the organization name (I’ll use a fictitious name): “Deaf People of Earth.” S/he also wanted to make it “Deaf People Earth,” because “If we use English words in organizational names, we’re oppressing ASL.”

What’s even funnier is that this person’s own company name has “The” in it. Go figure.
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I, like so many others, am riveted to the Gallaudet presidential search process and the controversy sure to follow. But there’s lots going on at the state level around the nation, too.

One instance is the superintendent selection process at Indiana School for the Deaf. Indiana School for the Deaf was among the pioneers in bilingual/bicultural education back before “bi-bi” was cool, and is considered one of the elite deaf schools in the nation. Just like the Gallaudet selection process, people in Indiana are divided into two camps – some bitterly – over the candidates. I’m curious how this pans out. And has anyone noticed how more and more hearing superintendents are being hired at deaf schools around the nation, even with more and more deaf people getting their administration credentials and doctorates?
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There’s nothing that makes you appreciate live captions more than being in a small town. I visited my grandmother over the weekend, and I lost my patience after a few minutes watching the local news which used scripted captions. The captions flew by, out of sync with the spoken words, and then froze for a few minutes before it flew by again in a blur. Ugh!

When I got back to Minnesota, I immediately wrote an e-mail to KARE-11 and thanked the station for its superb captioning.
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I was fortunate enough to visit the Greater St. Louis Association of the Deaf’s new center over the weekend, after the DeafNation Expo. Impressive! Kudos to the people there for ensuring that the financial donation they got didn’t go to waste.

Even as deaf clubs disappear around the nation, we continue to find a way to gather. This is the spirit of the Deaf community, folks.
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Thanks for letting me get all this off my chest. Gotta love the Deaf community, hands down.

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There’s been a string of lawsuits at hospitals across the nation for the lack of qualified and/or certified sign language interpreters, including one here in Minnesota that resulted in over 20 hospitals coming together for better accessibility. Mind you, these lawsuits aren’t about simple cases like having the flu or an ear infection; these are about solemn situations where lives were put at risk because the hospital didn’t consider the legality of consent for surgical and/or invasive procedures.

So why did “ER” – one of NBC’s top primetime shows – find it necessary to ignore all these lawsuits? In a March 30 episode, a deaf man is beaten by cops and taken to the hospital where an interpreter is never once called. Rather, Jerry, the bumbling idiotic front desk worker, suddenly becomes “trilingual” in American Sign Language. Sure, Jerry used the right signs, but it was obvious that he had simply memorized the handshapes instead of truly learning the language.

This made me remember when Shoshannah Stern appeared on the show. Back then, I laughed at how Dr. Weaver (played by Laura Innes), a poor signer, was able to understand Stern’s fluent signing without any difficulty. As an ER fan for all of the years it’s been on the air, I was quite disappointed at Thursday’s episode. ER has aired episodes in the past where stereotypes about deaf people were effectively tackled, such as Phyllis Frelich’s doctor character. So why didn’t Innes, who directed the March 30 episode, do her homework? Don’t say that she probably didn’t know about the lawsuits. A simple Google search would have brought up report after report. Besides, it wasn’t her first encounter with deaf people.

Sure, this isn’t a reality show; these are actors. They’re taking on roles that may or may not be realistic. Still, television shows have astounding influence upon society at large. They share information – or in this case, misconceptions – to millions of viewers. With episodes like last Thursday’s, ER promotes dangerous stereotypes about how easy it is supposedly to communicate without an interpreter for serious situations. And this is wrong.

David Pierce, CEO of Davideo Productions, moderates an e-mail discussion group devoted to deaf people and filmmaking. He writes in an April 2 message, “Films can be used to effect social change. In the case of Deaf films, portraying the Deaf community in a negative light can continue to propagate negative stereotypes and stigma in society, thus setting us backward in time after all the hard work we’ve done to promote our community in a positive way.”

Pierce’s nailed it on the head. ER has a responsibility to air accurate information, regardless of whether it’s a television show or reality show, along with removing inaccurate perceptions about deaf signers’ needs for clear communication.

I’ve heard so many horror stories about a lack of communication in emergency rooms. In fact, I’ve had a few of these experiences myself, and I can say this: there is no scarier feeling than going into a procedure not really knowing what’s being said or done, even though you’ve asked for an interpreter. Why in the world would ER want to promote these types of risky situations? Why would they create mistaken ideas that eventually result in legal nightmares and even loss of life?

I’m not sure, but one thing’s for sure: ER has lost one of its most loyal viewers.

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This article originally appeared at deafprofessional.net

Maybe you’re on the road for your job, at a hotel that looks just like the last seven hotels you stayed at. Or maybe you have two young children and a full-time job. You want to earn a degree, but simply don’t have the time or energy to go to classes, having to watch an interpreter for three hours, and then take care of your family and/or job. You sigh as you see your education slipping away.

Online education may just be the answer. Taking courses over the Internet has been making its way to the forefront of education, and is proving popular with nontraditional students. A March 5 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that more than 2.3 million people took at least one online college course in 2004. The article also notes that Congress recently passed an act that no longer requires colleges to provide at least half of their classes at a physical campus to qualify for federal student financial aid, which comes as a relief to many working people who may also be paying for their children’s educations.

“The online students of today consist primarily of working people who are trying to better their opportunities,” writes Illinois Online Network. “The traditional school will never go away, but the virtual classroom is a significant player in today’s educational community.” Take, for example, Gallaudet University. “We offer an average of 13 online courses per semester,” says Earl Parks, e-Learning Manager, “but with an increasing number of courses that begin on campus for one week during the summer and then completed online in subsequent time periods.” Most of Gallaudet’s online courses focus on deaf-related topics such as Deaf Literature, or interpreting topics, although there are other courses such as certification courses.

“Just recently at a board of trustees meeting, the board approved the creation of a new graduate field, a master’s program in international development,” Parks said. “What is so remarkable is that the first year of this program has all of its courses online, which is a major step forward in online education.” Gallaudet’s online students vary from undergraduate students on campus in Washington, D.C. to professional students from everywhere in the world.

The biggest benefit to taking courses online is the convenience. National Association of the Deaf and Gallaudet University Alumni Association president Andy Lange earned his master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in 1995. An accredited university with 300,000 students, University of Phoenix offers courses both online and at local campuses throughout the nation. “When I worked at AT&T, they suggested that I take a course, and I took several online. I was traveling approximately 85% of the time, so this was a terrific solution to my needs. Having to earn a master’s degree at a nearby college would have been impossible.”

Convenience was also a plus for Kat Brockway-Aiple of Bowie, Md., although she was initially skeptical. After finding that the University of Phoenix was an accredited university and that her vocational rehabilitation services would cover the costs, she earned a bachelor’s degree in business management in February. “I wanted to finish up my long-time goal of earning a degree at my own pace, and I thought this was a good way to do it while working full-time and caring for my two daughters. That way I wouldn’t be stressed out by having to drive to classes, working with interpreters, and going at a faster pace.”

Another reason cited for taking online classes is barrier-free communication access. “Online classes give me a level of equality that I wouldn’t probably experience in a hearing class because of the interpreters and lag in communication,” says Jesse Bailey, athletic director at the New Mexico School for the Deaf in Santa Fe who is pursuing his license in administration. “You see, we don’t and never will receive full communication access even when we use interpreters. Oftentimes, interpreters may miss some words or details while hearing classmates receive direct communication from the teacher. But online, I’m directly communicating with them in one language. So it puts me on a far more equal, if not whole, level with them.”

Lange agrees. “I did not tell anyone that I had a hearing loss. It was great, because I wasn’t treated any differently and it was amazing to see how level the playing field was because of this. The information shared was the same for all of us with no third party like an interpreter to deal with. But if I were in a classroom setting, the sight of an interpreter instantly would change the dynamics, with people reacting differently to the idea of a deaf person in their midst.”

He laughs as he remembers showing up for graduation with an interpreter. “My classmates were shocked! I had nine classmates from all over the world, with six showing up at graduation in San Francisco. They were stunned that I was deaf. I wanted to keep it that way because I wanted to show that I was just like them.” Lange intends to pursue his doctorate through an online program as well.

With such positive benefits, online education seems to be the best educational solution for deaf professionals. Not so, cautions Lange. “Although there are a lot of benefits, one does need to be very disciplined to pursue an online degree. I had to ‘attend’ online five days out of seven, and I had to work around that. And there’s a lot of homework and coursework in between. The discipline is the biggest factor, and one must be committed to seeing this through.”

“Another con to this is that there are no American Sign Language (ASL) versions for most online courses,” adds Brockway-Aiple, who agrees that discipline is key. “It’s all done online, which means everything is done in written communication.” This may prove problematic for people whose first language isn’t English. Aiple sought the use of a tutor, and other students also often work with writing centers or professional writing services.

Gallaudet tries to alleviate this language barrier by providing lectures in ASL. “Our grant writing course was the first to utilize video technology during the entire course. The instructor teaches from a log cabin in Minnesota, where the students view her pre-taped lectures in ASL each week,” Parks says. “It’s a technology we’re using with our other courses, which will bring ASL-accessible lectures to students around the world.”

In addition to ASL-accessible lectures, Gallaudet works with an online tutoring service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Parks points out, “Our students’ writing skills are enhanced by a variety of services and resources. One could also argue that with an emphasis on writing in distance or online education, writing skills should, in theory, improve.”

Yet another struggle is the lack of face-to-face interaction, something that is essential for deaf professionals. “However, this is being remedied at Gallaudet by the use of videoconferencing technologies, and some teachers choose to have weekly interaction through online class chats and/or videophone chats with each student,” Parks explains.

Still, the advantages seem to outweigh the drawbacks. Katie Hoheusle is earning a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. “I’d recommend online classes for people not just for the equal footing, but also for the scheduled convenience and not having to deal with the stress of interpreters, having to show up in class, and having to worry about communication. It’s just so much easier.”

“Online education is excellent for professionals who have no time to go to class and need to work full-time,” said Brockway-Aiple. “It turned out to be an enjoyable experience for me, and I’d do it again in an instant.”

Trudy Suggs is the instructor for several online courses, including grant writing and nonfiction writing.

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This article originally appeared at i711.com.

When I read of Sammy Thompson’s shooting in Arkansas (http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-shooting-deaf-man,0,2892033,print.story), I thought, “Not another one!” I think that every time I learn of another deaf person being shot by police.

10 years ago, I was a graduate student sitting at my computer when I turned my head to watch the 10:00 news. The captions said, “Smith, who was deaf, was shot….” I sat forward, trying to figure out which Smith they were referring to. After a few minutes, I learned it was Eric Smith from Joliet.

Eric and I grew up together, although we went to different schools, and spent summers together at camp. Although I won’t go into too much about the circumstances of his death – which was found to be justified – he was shot at least five times by volunteer police officers after an argument with his mother along I-55 in the Chicago area.

Less than a month later, another deaf man in downstate Illinois, Stephen Helmig, was killed by state police in a case of mistaken identity. This time, the shooting was not justified. The shootings, of course, set off a fury in the Deaf community. The state police took steps to remedy the tarnished community relations by establishing a committee and developing a communication book that is used in state police vehicles. They also started providing a course at the Illinois State Police Academy.

The sad thing is that deaf people being shot by police isn’t rare. Remember Errol Shaw in Detroit, Mich.? In the summer of 2000, police came to Shaw’s parents’ home to respond to a report that Shaw was chasing someone with a butcher knife. Upon arrival, they found Shaw calmly holding a garden rake. When he didn’t put down the rake at police’s orders, Officer David Krupinski shot and killed him, even though relatives at the scene screamed that Shaw couldn’t hear the officers’ instructions. The case, sensationalized by Court TV, ended with the officer being found innocent.

And then there’s Maine’s James Levier, shot by police in April 2001. Devastated by childhood sexual abuse at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and despondent, Levier paced with a rifle outside of a grocery store with 200 shoppers at the back of the store. The police claimed Levier shot first, but witnesses continue to dispute this fact. Either way, police shot at Levier five times, killing him. An interpreter was there; however, Levier’s niece said that the interpreter was so far away that she could not understand what Levier was signing, even through binoculars.

With Sammy Thompson, he was apparently also shot during a standoff where he was given “hand signals” to lower his rifle. He aimed his gun at the deputy, which is when he was shot. It’s not clear from news reports if a qualified interpreter was present.

In each of these cases, and every other case involving police shooting deaf people, there’s a common thread: communication barriers. In Smith and Shaw’s situations, no interpreters were provided, and none of the police officers heeded relatives’ screams that the man was deaf. With Helmig, the police officer, responding to a claim of attempted robbery, claimed Helming verbally spoke, “I’m gonna kill you.” My stepfather, who knew Helmig personally, laughed at this; he said Helmig couldn’t speak at all even if he tried. In Levier’s situation, the interpreter was too far away to clearly communicate with him.

I’ve learned, from working with police, that for them, safety is always a priority over communication. They also say that people should always succumb to police, especially uniformed officers, in emergencies. They are trained to save lives, and we should never toy with this. Communication can always be resolved later, as long as safety is in place. As a Deaf person, that is a bit difficult for me to swallow, because in order to be safe, I have to know what’s happening – which comes with communication. But that is how police prioritize, and I respect that.

Whether they’re hearing or deaf, sometimes people go to extreme measures to draw attention to their problems. I’m not saying this is okay; it’s absolutely unacceptable to bring guns into a situation. Levier and Thompson shouldn’t have done what they did, of course. Still, I wonder how many police shootings of deaf people could have been avoided had qualified interpreters been accessible immediately. I don’t know if an interpreter’s presence would have resolved each of these situations, but it would certainly have helped.

The worst part is that this is going to happen time after time. Police and deaf people are always going to have communication problems no matter how much training and awareness we provide. I only pray that I’m never in a situation where police kill me because I didn’t hear their instructions.

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This article originally appeared at i711.com.

Almost every newspaper and magazine article about Deaf people nowadays mention the “beauty” of Deaf applause. Deaf applause, of course, is waving hands in the air instead of clapping so that Deaf people can “appreciate the cheers in their silent world” (written with sarcasm, of course). While I’m sure it’s all quite poetic and inspiring to outsiders of the community, waving hands is something that perplexes me.

At a meeting a few weeks ago, Deaf people were either clapping or waving their hands in the air. As I clapped, I looked around and saw two hearing non-signers looking around and awkwardly putting their hands up in the air. It was painfully obvious that they felt silly, but wanted to go along instead of offending anyone. I wanted to run over and say, “It’s perfectly okay to not wave your hands and to clap instead.” Rather, I watched them shake their hands in a jerky manner.

I stopped waving my hands in the air a while ago for one reason: every single time I did it, I felt absolutely absurd. Gallaudet Today ran a story about Deaf Way II,; one of the pictures showed a guy who was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt waving his hands in the air. The sight was not pretty.

Looking back at my childhood, I don’t remember ever having waved my hands to applaud. In fact, I don’t think I ever saw that until maybe the Deaf President Now protest in 1988. At least, that’s the earliest I can recall seeing it. I asked my parents, husband and several ‘old-timers’ in the community if they had ever seen it before then. None had, and all said they didn’t really like doing that form of applause, either. When I asked some of them why they did that form of applause, they said, “Well, I don’t know. Everyone else does it. I’m not crazy about it, though.” That was me, too, a few years ago. I clap otherwise now.

One Deaf leader has been said to hate this form of clapping, because it looks as if everyone is signing “Finish! Finish!” in the air. Besides, Deaf people can see hands clapping the normal way, can’t we? Another Deaf leader has said that we can just clap our hands in the air if we really want to emphasize the visual aspect of it. When I mentioned my discomfort with the waving hands method to a friend recently, he argued, “But hearing people have two advantages: they can see and hear it, while with hands in the air, we both can only see and therefore are equal.”

Hmm, good point, but is clapping really something we want to use to campaign for equality? I think that’s a bit of a stretch. Don’t get me wrong; I’m a champion for equal rights and all, but I don’t quite think making a statement through hands waving is the way to go.

Maybe I’m just an old fogey at the age of 31, but I’ll stick to clapping my hands the traditional way.

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When my husband and I began shopping for photographers for our wedding day last November, we went to two of the most well reputed photography studios in town. This is a small town; everyone basically goes to one of these studios or the other.

The first studio we went in, we indicated that we were Deaf and wanted to communicate by writing. Keep in mind that Faribault is a very Deaf-friendly town; it’s got the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, plus a large Deaf population. Deaf people here are used to friendly nods and quick understanding of how to communicate; there’s usually one person who signs at almost every business in town. Back to the studio; the woman gave us a tiny piece of paper, and we asked for a bigger piece of paper because we knew it’d be a long conversation. She sighed, cracked her gum and made a face as she wandered off looking for paper. We left immediately; her attitude said enough.

We walked down the street to the second studio, which was friendlier but didn’t seem eager to work with us. We left not quite satisfied. When we shared our frustrations with some of the other Deaf people in town, they had similar experiences and shared more information about which businesses in town “liked” Deaf people and which ones were “cold to Deaf people.” Fortunately we ended up finding a husband-and-wife photography team who was absolutely fantastic to work with.

After this experience, I got to thinking: why isn’t there such a thing like Angie’s List for businesses that may not be accommodating of deaf people’s needs?

The Angie’s List web site (at www.angieslist.com) says, Angie’s List is a word-of-mouth network for consumers. It’s a growing collection of homeowners’ real-life experiences with local service companies. The people who join Angie’s List are like you — looking for a way to find trustworthy companies that perform high-quality work. Rather than digging through the phone book, they check Angie’s List to find out what people in their area are saying about the companies they’ve hired.

Wouldn’t it be great if someone could set such a list up for certain areas with large deaf populations, like Faribault, with specific customer experiences listed?

I don’t mean for this list to become a bashing site, nor do I mean for it to become an opportunity to hurt a business. There would, ideally, be safeguards in place to prevent false reports and/or accusations from being listed. But it’d be a great opportunity for us to share real-life experiences, positive and negative, with businesses in our locality. That way, maybe we could get businesses to consider how they work with Deaf people’s varying communication needs. My business teacher said that the average customer tells at least nine other people if s/he has had a bad experience with a store, probably more. That’s a lot of lost business if the word-of-mouth reputation isn’t very good.

Granted, for every bad customer experience, there are several good customer experiences (or vice versa), but at least we’d be able to know about these incidents. It would also help us work out solutions with certain businesses that may have stereotypes about Deaf people. For instance, I once called my local food store to try and order some potato salad for a housewarming party I was hosting. I called two times via Internet relay but was hung up on both times. I ended up driving eight miles to the store and talking with the very understanding manager; it turned out the worker who answered the phone thought I was a Nigerian prank caller and had no idea that there were so many Deaf people in town. After the manager reprimanded her, I got about $50 worth of potato salad at no cost. While this was a good compensation, I didn’t appreciate the hassle. A list like Angie’s List would resolve this common occurrence. It could also help provide solutions for how to avoid these hassles, for both the customer and the business.

As Angie’s List says on its web site:
Power in numbers: Through Angie’s List, you have the ability to quickly and easily tell thousands of other Angie’s List members about your experience with a company. That’s really great news for the companies that do quality work — and not so great news for the companies that don’t. So when contractors know that you’re an Angie’s List member, we’ve found that you’re more likely to get a quick call back.

Besides, solutions are what we’re after, aren’t we?

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Last Saturday, as I sat on the stairs of Thompson Hall talking with a friend, I glanced over at the scene before me. People, both Deaf and hearing, were laughing as they chatted and sipped their drinks. Whenever a light flashed, everyone would stop and quickly look to the club manager and sign, “PHONE!” For that briefest of time, I felt as if I was suddenly reliving my childhood.

I grew up attending both the Springfield Club for the Deaf (Illinois) and Chicago Club for the Deaf. I loved those weekend nights, because it meant I could watch people tell stories – both ordinary and extraordinary. They talked about their jobs, families, and events. As a youngster, I absorbed these people’s words (especially when they cussed, which I giggled at). I even once argued with a murderer once when I was 10, over a quarter. I had placed the quarter on the side of a foosball game to indicate that I was next in line. An unruly guy in his 20s snatched my quarter and said that it was his. After he said some things to me, I ran off to tell the club president, who then threw the guy out. Two weeks later, I opened up the Chicago Tribune and gasped when I saw his picture. He and another Deaf friend had killed someone about a week after our encounter.

I also watched club members (usually with the assistance of a good beer or two) exchange gossip and testimonies. It wasn’t until much later in life that I realized I actually mingled with many Deaf leaders who, to me, were just a bunch of old people who would always smile gently at me as I walked by. These very leaders helped shape our lives today.

I haven’t been to a lively Deaf club gathering in years, until last Saturday. I was at Thompson Hall, a historical landmark in St. Paul, for the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens’ second annual pig roast. There were at least 150 people crowding the clubhouse.

Thompson Hall was designed by Olof Hanson, a renowned Deaf architect from Minnesota who also designed many other buildings and houses. The building is named after Charles Thompson, a Deaf man from a wealthy family. Upon Thompson’s death, his wife gave money to build Thompson Hall in 1916, which boasts several floors, a bar area, a pool/reception room, a small, Deaf-friendly auditorium, and several offices. The building also has an apartment for its caretaker, and is located near St. Paul’s upscale streets of Grand and Summit Avenues. The building was designed specifically with Deaf people in mind, including larger-than-usual windows so that people could have as much natural light as possible for communication. Mrs. Thompson also insisted that people never be required to pay to enter the building, which ensured great numbers of attendees over the years.

I had been to Thompson Hall many times, but never really knew its origins. When Doug Bahl, an avid historian who also happens to be one of the most brilliant men I know, offered to give a new Minnesotan a tour of the building, I quickly jumped at the chance to join the group. Bahl is a walking encyclopedia on Minnesota Deaf history, and is the best person to give a tour of Thompson Hall, hands down.

As he shared the history and ghost stories of Thompson Hall, I thought about all the spirits and struggles that Deaf people before me endured. I imagined myself among them, being part of a vibrant gathering of people who had not yet identified formal terms like American Sign Language or Deaf culture. They didn’t have laws like we do today, and must have dealt with incredible obstacles.

I also felt a twinge of sadness, because as we all know, Deaf clubs are near extinction in many places, or have already shut down like the Chicago Club for the Deaf. Other clubs have instead converted into gatherings at bars or coffee shops, and while Deaf people still have a strong need to gather, there’s nothing like having a clubhouse all to ourselves. That moment on the stairs, when I felt as if I was a little girl at a Deaf club again, was priceless.

When Bahl said that Thompson Hall was founded on November 5, 1916, I perked up and said, “Hey, today’s November 5!” Our group became quiet as we looked at each other in wonderment. 89 years of history being relived on this night – what better birthday gift could we have given Charles Thompson other than a gathering of comparable standards to one in 1916?

Happy birthday, Thompson Hall.

For a photo of Thompson Hall, please visit www.preservationdirectory.com/photodatabase_stpaul.html and scroll down.

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This article originally appeared at deafprofessional.net.

Across the nation, small businesses are sprouting up left and right. This is especially true within the deaf community, which has seen an explosion of Internet-based companies. With this evolution, deaf small business owners are starting to find themselves needing better resources and a stronger network. Hearing business owners are fortunate enough to have several options for sharing business resources: local chambers of commerce, networking groups such as Business Network International, and easy access to local communities. Deaf business owners, however, have unique obstacles in addition to the typical start-up challenges: communication issues, networking, and being part of the Deaf community without sacrificing friendships or business.

“When I first started up, I had no idea what a business plan was, where to go for merchant credit card services or how to find the best rate, how to get the best rate on book printers and a whole host of other decisions that I needed to make,” says Salem, Ore. resident Damara Paris, who owns Paris Publications (formerly AGO Publications). “Two years into the business, I finally met another publisher who gave me good tips on book brokers.”

Paris eventually found a local group consisting of retired business owners in the state who donate time to assist start-up businesses. “I had communication with one man who gave good business tips but didn’t understand my unique needs as a Deaf business owner,” she says. “For instance, when meeting with a book broker who is hearing, who pays for interpreter access? How do I educate people, and fast, on relay, interpreting and other deaf-related issues? Who do I trust to handle my finances? Things like that were paramount, yet I had difficulty finding deaf business owners who I could share with at the beginning.”

Maintaining Relationships
Another issue that many deaf business owners struggle with is maintaining relationships within the deaf community while operating a business. Paul Koster, of St. Peter, Minn., owns S and M Windows, Doors & Remodeling, Inc. He feels that deaf small business owners have issues that are unique to the community. “One of the biggest struggles is dealing with loyalty and trust. Deaf people often expect me to give them major discounts or will ask for added-on services after I’ve given them the final price bid. When I explain that I can’t let them have the extras for free, or give them such a discount, they complain that I should give them that because we’re both friends and deaf,” he says. “And if I don’t do that, then they’ll go back into the community and say bad thing about me or my company. It’s a real challenge balancing these things.”

Elise Whitworth of HTMLaddict.com in Austin, Texas, agrees. “Although the majority of our clients aren’t deaf or in the community, we have noticed general trends and issues in working with deaf clients,” she says. “We usually try to give a fellow deaf business owner a boost by giving a reduced rate or some other favor, which often goes unappreciated. Also, there is a bit of a lack of respect for our time as professionals. For example when we quote for a $300 job, throwing in some extras for free, more often than not we find the client expecting a certain level of attention, lots of ongoing additions for their website, and more, to the tune of something like 75 man hours. For a $300 job that’s four dollars per hour! There’s no way our business can succeed like that. There have been quite a few quotes that were very inexpensive but the potential client declined the bid because it was ‘too expensive.’ It’s these kinds of unrealistic expectations that we think are holding back deaf business owners from thriving in the community.”

“I think it’s very important for deaf people to support deaf owners,” says Joel Barish of DeafNation, based in Frederick, Md. “I call it ‘Deaf Economics’ – with more people supporting deaf businesses, there will be more job opportunities for deaf people because deaf business owners are more likely to hire deaf people more than anyone else. As a result, they can empower each other by working together or supporting each other. At the same time, with this support, visibility and networking will grow beyond the deaf community into the hearing community. It’s unfortunate that many people can’t see the bigger picture and will only chase the cheapest rates or prices instead of supporting deaf-owned businesses.”

“Now with my saying that, some people might find it odd that the hearing-owned Sorenson Communications, which provides Sorenson VRS, is a major corporate sponsor of DeafNation Expos, but here’s how I see it,” Barish explains. “They have created job opportunities for so many deaf people, and with their sponsorship, DeafNation is able to offer opportunities to deaf businesses who then can market their services and products at our shows, have deaf people volunteer at our shows, and have gatherings with performances, seminars and activities for deaf people. And with their sponsorship, other relay providers are becoming more and more marketable in their services. So, in the bigger picture, because of healthy competition, we’re able to empower deaf businesses.”

Taking Advantage of Available Resources
These trade shows are a major boost to many deaf-owned businesses such as Harris Communications, a national shopping source for assistive devices for deaf and hard of hearing people in Eden Prairie, Minn. Owner Bob Harris says, “It is not possible for many businesses, including mine, to set up a local store in each city in the country. In doing so would be prohibitively expensive. The best alternative is to go to deaf trade shows so that deaf people can attend these shows and have the first-hand experiences to see our products. Unfortunately, it is expensive to attend these deaf trade shows, especially when you factor in staff, transportation, booth fees, shipping costs for your products, and lodging. Still, it’s a good resource to take advantage of.”

Harris started his company more than 20 years ago, and remembers how he learned the ropes. “I went to local trade shows to observe how booths were set up, how booth workers presented themselves, how products were shown, and the like. Also, I attended local government-sponsored workshops/seminars for small business owners and requested interpreting services in advance. Plus I read business magazines and articles. I took sort of a self-help, self-instructional strategy to learn the nuts and bolts of owning my company.”

The Internet is a new resource that Harris has seen emerge as an influential asset for deaf people owning companies. “Deaf small business owners are in much better shape than where I was more than 20 years ago,” says Harris. “They can access a lot of business resources via online sites. They can register for courses in a wide variety of business fields at local community colleges, universities, etc. with the assistance of an interpreter.”

Harris believes patience and careful planning are key resources for a successful business. “As long as you can market your skills, whatever they are, there is no reason why you cannot set up a business,” Harris says. “The way I set my business up was through lots of small steps and lots of patience over the years. This way allowed me to modify my business strategies with ease and let my sales grow in a proper fashion.”

Another resource founded in 2001 is the National Deaf Business Institute, which was founded for deaf people to develop skills they can use to start, manage, and grow a successful business or organization. Even though the organization contains an all-male board, board director Louis Schwarz of Schwarz Financial Services in Bethesda, Md., considers NDBI a good starting point. “NDBI officers have been traveling to DeafNation Expo shows and inviting deaf business owners in these areas to come to a dinner. Many of them have admitted that the networking dinner was the best they ever had, because when it was over, they had built relationships and shared resources,” he says. “We will continue to do these dinners around the nation with the hopes of reviving and maintaining networking among deaf business owners.” He adds that although the NDBI website has been somewhat inactive lately due to technological problems, the board is actively working to revitalize it.

Schwarz cites the Gallaudet Leadership Institute (GLI) at Gallaudet University as a good resource. GLI, in partnership with Merrill Lynch and collaboration with NDBI, initiated a yearlong entrepreneur leadership training program last summer. Courses include financial accounting and management, business law, and entrepreneurship. “This program was very successful, and will be continued,” says Schwarz.

Whitworth believes that in addition to a website like NDBI, a national organization with a structure similar to those found at chambers of commerce and the Better Business Bureau would be beneficial. “There are a lot of deaf-related scams out there that need to be exposed, as well as support in bringing customers, financing opportunities, and so on,” she says. “A national conference providing seminars dedicated to running businesses, tax reporting, facing unique challenges, and writing and grammar in business would be awesome, too. However, this will succeed only if true network opportunities and activities are firmly in place. An attendee to a recent major conference told me how disappointed she was by the event because everyone grouped up with those they already knew. She said, ‘Why call this a networking event if there is no networking?’ Even the hospitality chairperson gave her only five seconds of her time to answer a question curtly before turning away to chat chummily with an old friend. So such a central resource is badly needed.”

Words of Wisdom
With all these challenges in addition to typical business start-up struggles, experienced deaf business owners have some advice for potential business owners. Barish says, “First of all, you have to have money to start a business. Period.”

Schwarz also recommends developing a long-term business plan and having sufficient funds for the first few months. “Really, you have to spend money to make money,” Barish says. “Without money, you can’t market, and without marketing, you can’t make money. So to start up, you really need to be prepared.”

Another key component is to know as much as possible about your market and competition. “Research, research, research your business options. Then research some more,” Paris advises. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help! It took me two years to swallow my pride and ask for help or guidance. Had I done this at the beginning, I could have saved money and frustration.”

“Be brave. Don’t worry what other people think, just do it and if it doesn’t work out, that’s fine; it’s a learning experience that you can apply in the future,” says Whitworth. “But more importantly, know your stuff. It will show. If a client wants you to do something you’ve never done before, tell them that you haven’t done it before but will be able to, with some time, charge the very minimum and use it as a learning challenge that expands your skill set while getting paid for it.”

“Be honest,” she adds. “If you’ve made a mistake, tell your client, apologize and do whatever you can to rectify it, at no charge, of course, or give a refund. That, more than anything, will earn respect and a good reputation for you.”

“I think the best we can do is that we can mentor others so they can avoid the pitfalls we’ve experienced, and pass on the information we’ve cultivated to help our fellow deaf business owners thrive,” says Paris. “After all, they are the future of our community.”

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This article originally appeared at i711.com.

As a Deaf person with Deaf parents, I’ve always felt a special kinship with children of deaf adults (CODAs). Maybe it’s because CODAs are bilingual and bicultural like I am, or because they share my experiences more than anyone, other than Deaf people who have Deaf parents. They have an intricate understanding of both worlds that I can really relate to.

My earliest friend was Joey, who was another Deaf of Deaf (DOD). Then the next earliest friends that I remember were Lori and Bobby. Lori, Bobby and I all played together every Friday night at the bowling alley, where our Deaf mothers bowled together. We would try to get quarters for video games, chase each other around the locker room in the back, and play all night long. I had a crush on Bobby, who would write me cute scrawled notes that said, “I LIKE YOU. DO YOU LIKE ME? YES NO (circle one).” Lori came from a poor family and was very bossy. Still, I was always in awe of Lori because she seemed to always know everything.

There were also John and Amy, who were moody siblings. I went to KinderCare, and I was very excited when their parents also enrolled them there, because that meant I’d have someone else to sign to. The first day Amy came into my daycare room, I ran up and started signing. She looked at me funny and pretended she didn’t know sign language. When she walked off, that was the first lesson I had about how CODAs struggled between two worlds as they grew up.

To this day, CODAs continue to be some of the most important people in my life. I always admire how they proudly wear “CODA” on their sleeves (or shirts or bags or necklaces, for that matter). This shows how CODAs have, rightfully so, gained acceptance as a group, and are perceived with great respect by members from all communities – hearing, hard of hearing and Deaf.

DODs are also an integral part of the Deaf community; in fact, DODs are at the core of the Deaf community, as research and cultural norms signify. Yet if we formed an organization for ourselves, we probably wouldn’t have as much respect as CODA International; in fact, we’d probably be looked upon with scorn by many.

Let’s say DODs decide to form an organization with conferences and chapters celebrating our roles and experiences growing up in the Deaf community. And then let’s say that I decide to wear a shirt that says “DOD” on it. Would I be looked on with contempt by those who aren’t culturally Deaf or aren’t from Deaf families? Would I be inadvertently and unintentionally putting them down by sending the message that, “Yeah, we’re better than you!” even if that isn’t how I feel or think?

You betcha.

DODs already face backlash from so many people who either accuse us of favoritism (because we naturally gravitate towards each other, just like CODAs and ethnic groups do), that we act as if we’re the ‘best of best,’ and countless other comments. Never mind there are definitely many hidden drawbacks that come with being from Deaf families, and that we’re only a small percentage of the Deaf community. We seem to elicit strong response from non-DODs. In fact, it’s almost become an “us against them” mentality, although this is not by our choice.

I’ve also gotten comments from people who say with longing, “Deaf parents? YOU’RE SO LUCKY!” I always nod and then change the subject because yes, I was lucky. I never had to struggle with communication with my parents or hearing relatives because they all were already familiar with how to talk with Deaf people. All of my arguments with my parents stemmed from normal child-parent issues, not from communication issues. So because of that, I try not to rub it in with people who tell me how they struggle even to this day with their families.

There have been times when I mention my boyfriend is third-generation Deaf and that I’m second-generation Deaf. I sometimes will get rolling eyes in response, accompanied by, “Of course! You would NEVER date a hearing or deaf guy who didn’t have Deaf parents!” when the opposite is actually true. This seems to be an experience that many other DODs who are partnered with DODs have had – this “oh, you’re so elite” perception of DODs. Yet if a CODA marries another CODA, it’s thought of as, “How sweet! How perfect!”

There are a thousand reasons why a DOD organization would be greatly beneficial to DODs like me, and a thousand reasons why it would catch such flak from people. Even so, I dream of having such an organization for DODs, much like the wonderful CODA International organization. Maybe someday I’ll be able to help organize one instead of talking about it. Until then, I’ll continue to live proudly as a DOD person, and learn from the remarkable emergence and growth of CODA International.

After all, MOTHER FATHER DEAF, SAME.

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This article originally appeared at i711.com.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep until about 2:30 a.m. because of an earlier nap. So I was flipping through channels, and found a show I could watch mindlessly. It was an episode of Family Feud on the Game Show Network channel – and the best thing was that it was captioned. When I was younger, my mother tried to lipread the questions and signed for my dad and me when she could. I remember always laughing at how Dawson would kiss the women every chance he could get, but my family and I never really understood the questions or purpose of the game until we bought the board game version.

Over the summer, my boyfriend, who is a teacher, became addicted to Leave It to Beaver. My stepfather loves old Twilight Zone shows with its campy science fiction stories. That’s because these shows are all in syndication, and they’re all captioned.

There were so many uncaptioned shows I watched as I grew up. I was five years old when captioning began to hit the major networks, although it wasn’t until several years later that there really was a significant amount of captioned shows. I often spent spring and summer breaks at my grandmother’s house, and she would write what was being said on The Price is Right! or Press Your Luck. I would watch, making up my own dialogue and analyzing how the contestants spoke, moved or played.

Last night – rather, this morning – as I was trying to find a decent show, I realized that I had forgotten how it was to watch an entire show from start to finish without understanding the dialogue. It wasn’t hard to do when I was younger, because I was so accustomed to it. But today, it takes me less than five minutes to switch the channel if there are no captions. I have no patience for watching uncaptioned shows anymore.

Even as I write this, I’m flipping through channels at 9:40 a.m., and nearly every show is captioned, including old movies starring Audrey Hepburn. This might not seem like a big deal to people who may think these shows are cheesy or lame. But there have been so many times when I saw references to pop culture – for instance, Hawaii Five-O – that I could understand, but not really relate to. Now, thanks to captions, I can finally relate to who Mrs. June Cleaver is, Jack Nicholson’s “Heeeere’s Johnny!” and what Bob Barker always says at the end of his shows, and so many other cultural references. I’ve been reliving my parents’ childhoods watching reruns of Bewitched, The Mary Tyler Moore Show and other television shows that have brought laughter to so many generations.

Still, there are so many syndicated shows that still aren’t captioned- even if they were captioned the first time around. Love Boat comes to mind. So I think I’ll start finding out information about where to send letters to thank these stations for captioning their shows, and to ask them to consider captioning these shows once again. Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to enjoy these shows in 10 to 20 years with my own children, regardless of if they’re deaf or hearing.

Now I need to get going. Little House on the Prairie is on.

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