Category: Advocacy

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NHL brings in sign language interpreter for commissioner

DENVER — Brice Christianson went to sporting events as a child and realized how inaccessible that world was for his deaf father.

On Wednesday night, he stood 10 feet from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman translating English into American Sign Language for the annual state of the league address at the Stanley Cup Final. Christianson was shown picture-in-picture on NHL Network interpreting Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly’s remarks.

Sign language interpreters have been present for national anthems, but this represented the NHL’s biggest step yet to make the stories around hockey available to the deaf and hard of hearing community.

“We’re just scratching the surface,” said Christianson, who is the CEO for P-X-P, which specializes in making sports and entertainment more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. “Before, we always felt like we were lucky. Like I felt like we were lucky to be here, they’re giving us an opportunity, and I don’t mean this arrogantly, but now I feel like we belong.”

Read on at https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/nhl-brings-sign-language-interpreter-commissioner-85455513.

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Mother of deaf daughter purchases $4,000 worth of Mattel dolls with cochlear implants for children with similar issues

NEW YORK — A mom in Westchester County is going the extra mile for her daughter, who was born with severe hearing loss.

CBS2’s Astrid Martinez shows us how a special gift allowed her daughter to feel seen and celebrate her uniqueness.

Many parents revel in the moment when their child talks for the first time.

“Our audiologist in New York City told us she was a hearing child and she would be great and go enjoy your baby,” Dana Savitsky said.

But shortly after Lila Savitsky’s first birthday, her mother realized her daughter’s communication was not progressing. She followed her mother’s intuition and took Lila to a new doctor.

“She did a neurological hearing test that should have taken 20 minutes and they took an hour and a half with her, and when they came out they told me that she was profoundly deaf. She was born deaf,” Dana Savitsky said.

The family hit the ground running. Lila got cochlear implants at 20 months old. So as far as Lila can remember, she has always been able to hear. She has grown so fond of her implants, she even calls them her super power that she can turn on and off.

“I don’t have to hear thunder and lightning and maybe like scary stuff, a scary movie, or when some big scary sound happens. I’m like, nope, not happening,” Lila Savitsky said.

But she did start to question why others didn’t have her ears.

Read on at https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/mother-of-deaf-daughter-purchases-4000-worth-of-mattel-dolls-with-cochlear-implants-for-children-with-similar-issues.

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