Advocacy – Page 52 – Delaware Association of the Deaf (DAD)

December 10, 2022

KISD denies it fired deaf students’ interpreters; documents show otherwise

A deaf Harker Heights High School student had a health emergency on campus Tuesday when her blood sugar reached 400, something her mother warned might happen after her sign language interpreter was abruptly fired.

“This is totally unacceptable,” Jennifer Evangelista, mother of the Heights High sophomore, said by phone Wednesday. “She has a number of health issues, including epilepsy, so when my daughter feels stressed, with a lot of anxiety — that starts to mess around with her sugar levels.”

The stress of being unable to communicate at school, she said, causes her daughter physical health problems.

Read on at https://kdhnews.com/news/education/kisd-denies-it-fired-deaf-students-interpreters-documents-show-otherwise/article_d7624c2c-736d-11ed-9d59-0be007246e07.html.

November 29, 2022

Deaf Dog Learns Sign Language in Just Eight Weeks

Picture Credit: Israel Ruiz - Rafa, golden retriever shaking paw with trainer Jo who is kneeling.

The old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks might not be true, but one young dog has learned sign language in just eight weeks.

When dog mom Jo Le Page, 41, found that her seven-month-old Spanish Water Dog Rafa couldn’t hear, she began to teach him sign language.

Nine Signs in Eight Weeks

And in just eight weeks, the clever pup has learned nine different signs. The signs he’s learned include sit, stand, stay, and paw, as well as watch me, spin, lie down, come, and even safe. With safe, he’ll walk under his mom’s legs, turn around, and remain there.

However, Rafa isn’t finished yet, as he’s still busy learning more hand signals. Jo says that his disability won’t limit his life. She hopes that people won’t be as quick to euthanize disabled dogs – or leave them in shelters.

Read on at https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/deaf-dog-learns-sign-language-110224446.html?guccounter=1.

November 24, 2022

Senator Markey, Rep. Eshoo Introduce Legislation to Improve Video Accessibility

U.S. Capitol building

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18) have introduced the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act (CVTA).

Markey is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and author of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and Eshoo is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The CVTA updates and amends the CVAA to keep pace with the proliferation of emerging technologies that have come online since Senator Markey’s 2010 bill was passed with bipartisan support.

Read on at https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/senator-markey-rep-eshoo-introduce-legislation-to-improve-video-accessibility.

Bill Draft – https://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/communications_video_and_technology_accessibility_act_-_117th_introduction.pdf.

DAD Note: The CVAA basically requires anything made for TV and such with captions to be equally the same online. The rules also applied to other things like online movies, video gaming, internet TV/News, etc. The new CVTA will help close loopholes/gaps to require more captioning as newer forms of technology grow. The laws also apply to other accessibility requirements needed for the blind or low vision, not just the deaf community.