Volume 23 Issue 1

- Advertisers in this Issue:
First Premium Placement: Harris Communications
Second Premium Placement: National Association of the Deaf
Third Premium Placement: Hearing Loss Web
Classified Section: One equipment vendor and four employment opportunities

- Contact Information and Disclaimers

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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- Article 1: Schools for the Deaf Embrace Cochlear Implants - One of a Series of Articles on the Awakening Oral Hearing Loss Community
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Cochlear implants (CIs) are one of the recent "miracles" that assist people with hearing loss. The original single-channel implants offered extremely limited functionality compared to today's devices; yet they were coveted by some members of the Oral Hearing Loss (OHL) community, because they provided environmental sounds and assisted with speechreading.

Today's implants are technologically and functionally far superior. While not everyone who receives a modern implant is able to talk on the phone and understand speech without speechreading, many are; especially successful are people have relied on (aided or unaided) oral communication for much of their lives, and receive a CI while auditory memories are still fresh.

It may turn out that the true CI miracles are the kids who have been implanted as young as 12 months. We have known for years that language processing begins in the early months of life, and that early exposure to language is crucial to normal development. TA few years ago the FDA approved implantation at 12 months of age, and the first of these early implantees are just becoming of school age. Some are showing remarkable hearing abilities, which can surpass the facility developed by adults. The ability to carry a tune and play a musical instrument is one exciting example.

A recent Wall Street Journal article describes a typical interaction between 4-year-old Kordell Waldner and his teacher. It was an oral interaction in a classroom at the South Dakota School for the Deaf, which is double remarkable. The fact that the Kordell was able (using his CI) to understand oral instructions in a classroom environment is amazing; the fact that it happened in a School for the Deaf is startling.

Those who have followed the CI story for several years are aware of a changing attitude towards the CI by members of the Deaf community. Originally most Deaf folks were strongly opposed to ANY use of the CI. They felt it was something to be discouraged, because it threatened their culture and language.

But after witnessing thousands of success stories among implantees, many members of the community grudgingly acknowledged that CIs did seem to work for people who lost their hearing after becoming fluent in spoken language. But they also correctly pointed out that people who were born deaf or became deaf before learning oral language rarely, if ever, became able to understand spoken language without speechreading. Even so the community eventually came to accept the idea that getting a CI is an individual decision, and many Deaf community members chose to do so.

That still leaves the question of implanting children. For years the Deaf community argued that children should NOT be implanted, that the decision should be delayed until they are adults, when they are able to decide for themselves. I don't think this argument ever carried much weight among the parents of kids with hearing loss, especially in light of the growing medical evidence that speech ability develops sooner and more fully when children are implanted earlier. The Deaf community's argument that people who never developed oral language don't achieve maximum benefit from a CI is the best argument AGAINST waiting to have a child implanted.

Most Deaf organizations today "officially" concede that a child's parents have the right to determine whether or not a child receives a CI. But I continue to see a lot of "unofficial" resistance to the practice of implanting children at younger ages.

This brings us back to Kordell Waldner's story. How is it that a bastion of Deaf culture like the South Dakota School for the Deaf accepts kids with CIs? In the case of that particular school former Superintendent Jon Green decided several years ago to develop a program for kids with cochlear implants. He was met with protests from the some parents of kids then enrolled, and Dr. Green eventually left the school. It's unclear to what extent his unpopular decision contributed to his departure.

Progressive thinking is not the only factor driving this kind of transformation at the Schools for the Deaf. An even larger factor may be economics! The growth of local programs for kids with hearing loss and the technological revolution in hearing loss treatment (including CIs) have led to enrollment declines at many Schools for the Deaf. The declining number of families that choose a "traditional" Deaf education for their children has even led to the closure of deaf schools in Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wyoming.

As enrollment in traditional deaf programs continues to decline, politically astute Deaf community members are becoming more tolerant of oral programs at the Deaf schools. They may not like the trend, but they understand that they really have no alternative. Schools that fail to embrace greater diversity within the hearing loss community will soon follow those in Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wyoming.

Is there a lesson here for hearing loss agencies that serve adults? Does the declining population of kids who are raised within the traditional Deaf community threaten the survival of agencies that fail to provide services for the OHL community?

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- Article 2: Speechreading Suggestions - Part 1
by Steve Silverman, M.A. (Communicative Disorders)
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Editor: Speechreading! We all do it (even folks with perfect hearing), but it seems that some are much better at it than others. Whatever your speechreading skill level, you can get better by following some guidelines, and the person speaking to you can help by following guidelines for them. Here's Steve Silverman with the whole story! He is a late deaf teacher of the deaf, and current president of ALDA-LA.

This is Part 1 of 3 parts.

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The camera pans to a young woman sitting alone in a convertible as her traveling companions leave her at the pump while they run into the mini-mart. A man, one she has presumably never seen before, goes into a phone booth, picks up the receiver, and engages in a prolonged conversation. While his profile or less is all she can see, the young woman watches intently, and becomes increasingly agitated, only to fairly gush in sign language when her companions return. She had speechread that stranger, and seen him discussing the most heinous plans, which she delineates in animated, accurate detail, having understood every nuance.

TV reality. Real life: speechreading a stranger fifty feet away and not even facing you? No way. HOH-LD-News recently reported that a Scottish woman lipreader, "can lip read what is being said even when her subject is not facing her, is speaking in an accent and has a beard....

"Her skill has caught two IRA bomb plotters and snared a gang behind a £2.9million heist at Heathrow. She has watched people talking about how to chop up corpses before."

That statement immediately follows the assertion that "the media often portrays people with hearing loss who can understand a complete conversation from across the room. But hearing loss experts assure us that those depictions are very unrealistic."

It IS unrealistic. No qualifiers. Can that woman do it? An everyday maxim says, "Don't let those who say it cannot be done get in the way of those doing it." I have seen entirely too many validations of that expression to discount it entirely. At it's very best, however, those kinds of speechreading skills have to be no more than extraordinarily rare, noteworthy for their vast distance from mainstream lipreading abilities. The simple facts are that lipreading strangers, mustachioed men, people with accents, fast talkers, three-year olds, and mumblers ranks perilously near impossible.

In terms of physical realities, speechreading at all should be impossible. The human eye simply cannot process visual information at the speed of normal speech. Nevertheless, I do it, and have seen others do it as well or better than I.

Speechreading English is not easy to do. Estimates of the amount of English visible to the speechreader tend to hover around thirty percent. The speechreader's task is to work with that visible amount to ascertain meaning. The suggestions below for speechreader and speaker are mostly from personal experience and unattributed materials acquired over nearly twenty years of hearing loss.

Much of the available information on speechreading focuses only on language reception. This information overlooks both the speechreader as a party to communication and his or her expressive obligations in the conversation. Those omissions mean communicative flow is not discussed as fully or helpfully as it could be, so I will include those aspects as well as language reception.

I will use the words "speechreading" and "lipreading" interchangeably. Forgive me, please, if some of these observations are insultingly obvious.

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Looking for an amplified phone? How about a hearing aid?
Whether you just want some information or are looking for the
right place to buy products or services, take a minute to visit
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a comprehensive listing of national and local resources of
interest to people with hearing loss. Please check it out at
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- Article 3: Indiana University Researchers Closer to Helping Hearing-Impaired Using Stem Cells
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Editor: Here's an article with more good news about efforts to reverse hearing loss. This one involves the regeneration of inner ear hair cells with the assistance of stem cells. The article does not include an estimate of when this technology might be commercially available, but I believe that some of these recent breakthroughs will result in viable commercial procedures within the next decade.

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INDIANAPOLIS, March 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine are several steps closer to the day when a profoundly deaf patient's own bone marrow cells could be used to let him or her hear the world.

The IU group, led by Eri Hashino, Ph.D., was able to transform, in the laboratory, stem cells taken from adult bone marrow into cells with many of the characteristics of sensory nerve cells -- neurons -- found in the ear. The results suggest that these adult stem cells could be used to treat deaf patients in the future, said Dr. Hashino, an associate professor and Ruth C. Holton Scholar in the Department of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.

The cells used in the research are called marrow stromal cells -- a type of stem cell from which fat, bone and cartilage normally develop.

"We were interested in marrow stromal cells because of their potential for use in autologous cell-based therapy," said Dr. Hashino, referring to cell transplantation in which a patient's own cells are used in treatment. The cells can be collected easily and kept alive in the laboratory until needed, she said.

Other researchers had previously shown that the marrow stromal cells could be induced to transform into neuronal cells, but it wasn't clear whether, or how, the cells could be further transformed into useful specialized neurons.

In a two-step process, Dr. Hashino and her colleagues first cultivated mouse marrow stromal cells with chemicals known to encourage stems cells to change into primitive neurons. The bone marrow cells took the shape and other characteristics of neurons. Next, they exposed the cells to two molecules that are secreted from nearby tissues of the ear during embryonic development. The two molecules -- known as Sonic hedgehog and retinoic acid -- together caused the marrow stromal cells to further develop into cells with many of the characteristics of auditory neurons, such as the presence of specific genes and proteins.

Dr. Hashino said she and her colleagues are beginning new experiments to test the feasibility of marrow stromal cell transplantation to stimulate the growth of the nerve cells that are often missing from the inner ears of patients with profound hearing loss.

"Sonic hedgehog and retinoic acid are molecules found in embryonic tissues, but not in adult tissues," said Dr. Hashino. "This suggests that treating marrow-derived stem cells with these molecules before transplantation might greatly enhance the possibility that the process would result in development of specific sensory neurons."

The research was published March 18 in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and is scheduled to appear in the print edition of the journal March 29.

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- Article 4: Sound Amplification System Improves Student Success
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Editor: A person with hearing loss may think that hearing people can hear pretty much everything. In particular she may think that a typical student in a typical classroom can hear (assuming he's paying attention) everything the teacher says. If so, she'd be very wrong. It turns out that much of what a teacher says is inaccessible to many students with normal hearing; imagine how much worse the situation is for the kid with undiagnosed hearing loss, or the kid whose family can't afford hearing aids!

This situation is especially troublesome, because a relatively inexpensive sound amplification system can easily eliminate the problem. Here's a press release that details the experience of a school district in British Columbia, Canada.

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Would it be a surprise to learn that many, if not most, primary students with perfectly normal hearing abilities sometimes have difficulty comprehending what their teachers are saying in the classroom, and, as a result, are not as successful academically as they could be.

That is what the research suggested, said Howe Sound School District Superintendent Dr. Rick Erickson. "Improving student achievement is the district's number one goal, and we wanted to know if something as simple and inexpensive as putting a sound system in a primary classroom could help us achieve that goal."

The District undertook a research project during the 2003-2004 school year involving seven primary classrooms, and the results are in: student comprehension of what their teachers said increased by 20% when their teachers voices were amplified by a sound system.

"A child's auditory development is not complete until somewhere between the ages of 13 and 15," Student Services District Principal Pius Ryan said. "Therefore he or she requires a quieter environment and a louder signal than an adult does to process information accurately and efficiently." Children under 15 require a signal-to-noise ratio of six or more decibels to hear effectively. A signal-to-noise ratio is the difference between the ambient room noise and the teacher's voice.

The pilot project began with testing the background noise in seven primary classrooms. "What we found is that not one of the unamplified classrooms could meet the minimal signal-to-noise ratio," Ryan said. "In the unamplified classes, the background noise was louder than the teachers' voices. In all of the amplified classrooms, the teachers' voices were significantly enhanced by the sound system."

The classroom teachers who participated in the project reported marked improvement is several areas, including academic achievement and student behaviour. One teacher commented: "Soundfield system is a definite asset for a primary classroom. I noticed a marked improvement in listening skills and academic tasks related to listening and speaking." Another teacher remarked: "I've loved having this system in my classroom. It has made a big difference in explaining instructions. I now, usually, only have to say the directions once! I have not had a sore throat all year."

The district has installed sound systems in 11 additional classrooms this school year. Each system costs between $1200 and $1500.

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- Classifieds
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One Equipment Vendor and four Employment Opportunities appear in this issue. (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

New Alarm Monitor & Weather Alert System from Compu-TTY, Inc.
http://www.computty.com

Employment Opportunity 1
University Head Librarian
Gallaudet University
Washington, D.C.

Employment Opportunity 2
Client Support Specialist
Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency
San Jose, CA

Employment Opportunity 3
Kindergarten Teacher - Auditory Oral
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB)
Boise, ID

Employment Opportunity 4
First Grade Teacher - Auditory Oral
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB)
Boise, ID

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New Alarm Monitor & Weather Alert System from Compu-TTY, Inc.
http://www.computty.com
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The Alarm Monitor KA300 System is the first flexible alarm system ever on the market. It is designed to fit a small, medium or large building. It connects all existing alarm devices via the 433 Mhz wireless link system and displays up to three alarm channels. The Alarm Monitor KA300 System has a built-in strobe light, a loudspeaker, a transmitter and a bed shaker.

The KA300 is ideal for property compliance with the ADA and can save lives in emergency situations. It also has the optional weather alert radio with attached transmitter, which will transmit incoming emergency messages to the alarm monitor.

For more information, go to: http://www.computty.com/com/product/signdevice/ka300_kit.html

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Employment Opportunity 1
University Head Librarian
Gallaudet University
Washington, D.C.
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Gallaudet University serves deaf and hard of hearing students from many different backgrounds and seeks to develop a workforce that reflects the diversity of its student body. Gallaudet is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer and actively encourages deaf, hard of hearing, members of traditionally underrepresented groups, people with disabilities, women, and veterans to apply for open positions.

Summary of Responsibilities: Provides overall leadership and management of University Library services. Promotes and fosters the Library's unique mission to collect, preserve, and provide access to its rich Deaf Collection, Archives, and original catalog of deafness-related materials. Leads efforts to promote the use of Library services with an emphasis on promoting information literacy among students. Proactively integrates library technological innovations, markets library services, and implements fundraising efforts, facilities management, and fiscal and strategic plans. A complete job description can be found at: http://academicaffairs.gallaudet.edu/jobs

Requirements: Master's degree in library science from an institution accredited by the American Library Association. Minimum five years of experience in library administration. Experience as an academic librarian with non-administrative duties and oversight of library web sites a plus. Substantial experience required with program development, strategic planning, personnel supervision, fiscal planning and management, fundraising, facilities management, library technological innovations, and collaboration with faculty in promoting information literacy. Demonstrated commitment to the education of students from diverse backgrounds and cultures required. Excellent writing, communication, and interpersonal skills required. Strong commitment to promoting accessibility, including demonstrated sign language communication skills or willingness to learn.

DEADLINE DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: April 8, 2005
Salary commensurate with education and experience. Excellent benefits package.

Send Application (resume and letter of interest) to:
University Head Librarian Screening Committee
Office of the Provost
GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Electronic Applications Encouraged: mailto:Judith.Berglund@gallaudet.edu

For more information about Gallaudet University,
visit our Web site at: http://www.gallaudet.edu

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Employment Opportunity 2
Client Support Specialist
Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency
San Jose, CA
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DCARA has an opening for the position of Client Support Specialist with a primary focus on the hard of hearing and late deafened community. This full-time position will report to the Director of Client Support Services and work with deaf, hard of hearing or deafened youth, adults, and senior citizens. The Client Support Specialist will provide services including, but not limited to, community education, information & referral and peer counseling in addition to meeting the specific needs of the hard of hearing and late deafened community.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

· Host workshops and classes focusing on health related issues, SSI, SSDI, health issues, transportation, use of an interpreter in a medical setting, fiscal management, housing and other daily living issues
· Work with the Director of Client Support Services to develop linkages and working relationships with governmental and community-based organizations/agencies in the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County as well as other agencies primarily serving the deaf community
· Represent DCARA and/or the deaf community at meetings and community events
· Provide the following services: peer counseling, advocacy, independent living skills, information & referral and community education
· Coordinate special projects as delegated by the Director of Client Support Services

REQUIRED SKILLS:

· BA degree in Deaf studies, social services or related fields, OR 3 years of documented experience in service provision in a human services setting
· Knowledge about the needs of the hard of hearing and deafened community
· Ability to use computer and word processing software; knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, Power Point, and Outlook) preferred
· A valid driver's license and vehicle with current automobile insurance as required by law; able to travel to appointments within the workweek (California driver's license required within four weeks of hire)

DESIRED SKILLS:

· Fluency in American Sign Language and strong background in the field of deafness and Deaf culture
· Experience in giving presentations, excellent project management and public relations skills, and a good team player
· Ability to relate with diverse groups of deaf and hard of hearing persons including, but not limited to, deaf senior citizens, deaf-blind persons, foreign-born deaf persons, and others

SALARY: Salary is negotiable dependent on education and experience. DCARA offers extremely competitive benefits such as a 4-day work week schedule, 12 days of holiday leave plus a paid winter holiday, and full medical, dental, vision and life insurance benefits.

DEADLINE: Open until filled.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Send an application (available at www.dcara.org under "Jobs"), cover letter, three letters of reference and resume to:

Donna Benedictos
DCARA Headquarters
14895 E. 14th St., Suite 200
San Leandro, CA 94578

DCARA is an At-Will and equal opportunity employer.

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Employment Opportunity 3
Kindergarten Teacher - Auditory Oral
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB)
Boise, ID
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Serving Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind and Visually Impaired Students of Idaho Since 1906

TEACHER OF THE DEAF/HH - BOISE

STARTING DATE: August 10, 2005

SALARY RANGE:
Commensurate with education and experience levels, based on 185 day contract.

BENEFITS:
Comprehensive fringe benefit package included.
Employees and spouses receive reduced tuition at state universities ($5 per credit hour).

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
* Eligible for Idaho Teacher Certification for Hearing Impaired.
* Certification in Early Childhood preferred.
* Master's degree preferred.
* Excellent skills in developing use of spoken language and audition.
* Experience teaching deaf children in an oral/aural setting preferred

DUTIES:
* Provide educational services to kindergarten deaf and hard of hearing students.
* Provide oral/aural skills instruction to parents and family members.
* Provide information to parents related to their deaf child.

LOCATION:
Boise, ID with occasional trips to the ISDB main campus in Gooding, ID.
Boise is the capitol of Idaho and a major city featuring several universities, cultural, recreational and nightlife opportunities. For more information check our website at: www.isdb.state.id.us

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Submit:
1. Letter of application
2. Copies of certification
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Official transcripts
5. Resume

SUBMIT TO:
Human Resource Office, ISDB
1450 Main Street, Gooding, Idaho 83330

DEADLINE: Open until filled.

FOR MORE INFO OR DETAILED JOB DESCRIPTION CONTACT:
Ms. Sherry Hann, Human Resource Director, at 208-934-4457 (V/TTY)
or send email to: sherry.hann@isdb.idaho.gov

Successful candidate will be required to furnish a background check within three months of employment per Idaho Code 33-130. Hiring is done without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age or disability. In addition, preference may be given to veterans who qualify under state and federal laws and regulations. If you need special accommodations to satisfy testing requirements, please contact the HR Department.

1450 Main Street
Gooding, ID 83330-1899
(208) 934-4457 TTY/V
(208) 934-8352 FAX

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin or disability.

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Employment Opportunity 4
First Grade Teacher - Auditory Oral
Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind (ISDB)
Boise, ID
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Serving Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Blind and Visually Impaired Students of Idaho Since 1906

TEACHER OF THE DEAF/HH - BOISE

STARTING DATE: August 10, 2005

SALARY RANGE:
Commensurate with education and experience levels, based on 185 day contract.

BENEFITS:
Comprehensive fringe benefit package included.
Employees and spouses receive reduced tuition at state universities ($5 per credit hour).

DUTIES:
* Provide educational services to 1st grade deaf and hard of hearing students.
* Provide oral/aural skills instruction to parents and family members.
* Provide information to parents related to their deaf child.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:
Submit:
1. Letter of application
2. Copies of certification
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Official transcripts
5. Resume

SUBMIT TO:
Human Resource Office, ISDB
1450 Main Street, Gooding, Idaho 83330

DEADLINE: Open until filled.

FOR MORE INFO OR DETAILED JOB DESCRIPTION CONTACT:
Ms. Sherry Hann, Human Resource Director, at 208-934-4457 (V/TTY)
or send email to: sherry.hann@isdb.idaho.gov

1450 Main Street
Gooding, ID 83330-1899
(208) 934-4457 TTY/V
(208) 934-8352 FAX

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, gender, age, national origin or disability.

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- Contact Information and Disclaimers
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