General Interest Articles
Recap of Deaf Awareness Week
Yesterday (Sunday, September 29) was International Day of the Deaf and the end of Deaf Awareness Week.
Deaf Awareness Week, also called International Week of the Deaf (IWD), is celebrated annually and ends with International Day of the Deaf. Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated by national and regional associations of the deaf, local communities, and individuals worldwide.
There are many ways to participate in Deaf Awareness Week. Here are some ways people around the U.S. recognized Deaf Awareness Week last week:
In Las ...
Project Runway Designer Justin LeBlanc influenced by his deafness
This season's Project Runway, includes Justin LeBlanc, a deaf designer and assistant professor at the College of Design at North Carolina State University.
Justin is a talented designer with a background in architecture. He interned for Alexander McQueen and Nick Cave and was awarded a Louis Vuitton Scholarship while studying his master's degree.
Justin was born deaf and says, "My deafness has always influenced my design aesthetic." Being deaf has made him a more visual person - he depends on sight in ...
Partnership with WonderGrove Kids on Animated Lessons supported by American Sign Language
Raising a young child in this day and age of fast paced life is difficult. It is hard to keep up with the excitement of animated video games and television shows, which often times are not displaying the behavior or teaching the lessons that we want our young children to learn and emulate. This is why we at Signing Savvy are very proud to have a partnership with an animation company, called WonderGrove Kids, that’s primary focus is to take the ...
Switched at Birth entirely in American Sign Language TONIGHT Monday, March 4
Tune into the television show Switched at Birth tonight (Monday, March 4th), to see the new episode "Uprising" told entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). It airs at 8/7 central time on ABC Family. It will be the first show on mainstream television to air in entirely ASL. The episode will have open captions for hearing viewers.
The storyline was inspired by protests that happened 25 years ago this March at Gallaudet University. The real-life "Deaf President Now" protests began on ...
The Use of an Assistance Dog for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Many people have heard of individuals using dogs to assist them with their visual difficulties, but the use of dogs for people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing is less understood by the general public. Hearing dogs for the deaf alert their owners to sounds, both inside and outside of the home. Some deaf people also choose to get hearing dogs for safety reasons.
The general public's lack of understanding about dogs for the deaf has been known to cause ...
The Many Faces of the Users of Sign Language
About a year and a half ago, I came across a young man having problems in one of my schools. He was about five years old and like any other five year old boy, he was a bit stubborn. But, unfortunately, he was also known to be a bit of a “flight risk” from the classroom. We will call him Alex.
Alex isn’t deaf. I don’t even think he is hard of hearing. Alex is a very bright young man….a bright ...
Vote or pass gas?
Seeing that we are in midst of the election season, I thought it would only be fitting to share a non-partisan sign language story that should give you a good chuckle as you enter your local voting precinct.
This story relates directly to how signs can have very similar hand shapes and very similar movements BUT can have very different meanings just because of a few subtle changes! For example, see the similarity between the signs for vote and fart.
This experience ...
This week is Deaf Awareness Week!
This week, September 24th to 30th, is Deaf Awareness Week. Deaf Awareness Week, also called International Week of the Deaf (IWD), is celebrated annually and ends with International Day of the Deaf on the last Sunday of the week. Deaf Awareness Week is celebrated by national and regional associations of the deaf, local communities, and individuals worldwide.
The purpose of Deaf Awareness Week is to increase public awareness of deaf issues, people, and culture. Activities and events throughout Deaf Awareness Week ...
Learning Many Languages to Master Just One
What do you do when you know deep in your gut that something is different about your child? How do you handle it when people tell you there's nothing to worry about? How do you give your little one the best start you possibly can when it feels like you're running against the wind?
These are just some of the thoughts that used to race around in my head when I realized that the little boy I had adopted was presenting ...
Kaos Signing Choir and Deaf Percussionist Evelyn Glennie are highlights from the Olympic Opening Ceremony
What was our favorite part of the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games? It had to be the Kaos Signing Choir for deaf and hearing children and Deaf Percussionist Evelyn Glennie.
Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children
If you saw the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games, you probably caught the children in pajamas singing and signing the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen." The children were from the Kaos Signing Choir for deaf and hearing ...