Interesting reading from Communication Access Now regarding a deaf woman’s terrible experience with the law in Brazoria County, Texas. As a born and bred Texan, I can happily say I haven’t had any experiences like these.
Thanks to of DeafNetwork for the link.
Is it a Crime to be Deaf?
Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP)
The Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), formerly known as The Captioned Media Program, has a new home. The change makes sense since it covers or adds the following:
* Video-described media for persons who are blind and visually impaired.
* Educational video description guidelines.
* Searchable information portal, including links to information from educational and consumer groups.
* Expanded media search options.
* “DCMP for Kids” section with separate student accounts, so students can directly access DCMP under the monitoring of teachers and parents who will determine which subject areas are accessible.
* Delivery methods including downloading media and access to streaming via both Real Player and Windows Media Player.
Expectant Deaf Dolphin
‘Chat line’ to aid calf of deaf dolphin is a fascinating story of a deaf dolphin expecting a calf and how she will learn to communicate with her baby. Dolphins have poor eyesight, so their hearing is critical for survival. I wonder how the Service figured out she was deaf.
Captioning Local Community Television
Someone wrote asking me the following. I don’t have an answer for her without doing a lot of research. Maybe one of you knows a resource. Just post a comment and I’ll make sure she gets your notes.
I’m looking for information on captioning provided to local communtiy television station. This is a community of 12K, university town with good number of deaf/hoh students. Deaf/hoh in town numbers around 15-20. City attorney says they are not required to provide captioning for their city council meetings and such. We understand that there is a cost issue. Is there any technology out there that will alliviate the cost to caption the local tv station?
University students are involved for internships. I was hoping there is something out there that is not cost prohibitive that I can share with them. They use a video camera and manage their output thru a computer that sends live/taped sessions of municipal court/city council meetings/and other city related issues such as interviews with park adminstrators etc. Let me know if there are tools out there that I can present to them so they can caption some of the local events.
Ear Cleaning Product
The appropriately named article Eew Tube tells of a product where we’d be able to see inside our own ears so we can clean them safely instead of use Q-tips (oh, excuse me… “cotton swabs”). I quit using cotton swabs years ago when I learned the cotton swab caused an ear infection I had. It took a lot of will to stop using them, but it worked. Only time I use them is when I have a bad itch.
I like the thought of this technology to clean the ears safely. I remember years ago when I had problems with my ears, the doctor cleaned it out well. It felt good and clean. I’ve tried those drops, but they take too long and don’t produce much results.
OK, I’ll stop with this Eew entry.
Flash CS3 Makes Captioning Easy
Accessibility: Captioning in Flash CS3 reports Flash CS3 comes with a new component called FLVPlaybackCaptioning that works with FLVPlayback component to make it easy to add captions to Flash.
Another blog entry from Adobe on the Flash component and here is the link to the Adobe Accessibility caption category where you can view examples. More info:
* Adobe Flash CS3 Accessibility design guidelines.
* Flash video learning guide.
* Using the FLVPlaybackCaptioning Component
* Flash and ActionScripts Components learning guide
Let’s hope Flash developers take advantage of this new feature and make their work accessible to a larger audience!
Wicked without Open Captions
I had been looking forward to seeing Wicked for over two years as we bought our tickets for last night’s show in December of 2005! On a lark, I stopped by the theater’s Web site to see a list of the upcoming season’s shows. I saw the “OC” symbol and eagerly read up on open captions. According to the site, the theater uses a laptop to display the script.
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TV Weather and News Interruptions
Many of us were eager to watch Law and Order: Criminal Intent recently because the cast consisted of deaf actors. Those of us in the Dallas/Fort Worth area experienced interruptions due to the storms we had on Tuesday evening.
The local NBC affiliate heard plenty of complaints and re-aired the episode a couple of days later… at 2:00am. It was the best the station could do because of contracts and all that legal stuff. I thought it was a nice compromise. Most of us have recorders, but for those who don’t — there’s always summer re-runs.
Deaf Artist
Deaf, illiterate and self-trained, and with a perspective all his own is a nice story about an artist who has many of his works at museums in San Francisco and Boise.
Castle learned how to draw by looking at pictures much like musicians who learned by listening. As a result of not having a formal art education, Castle created his own art materials and used envelopes, matchboxes, and chimney soot. Fascinating story.
Law & Order: CI "Silencer" Comments
Law & Order: CI (though it stands for “Criminal Intent,” it was the appropriate L&O series since episode was about cochlear implants) “Silencer” revolved around the death of an ear surgeon who testified against another surgeon for doing cochlear implant on a baby that should not have received one. Candidates for cochlear implants undergo testing and evaluation to determine whether they qualify. Unfortunately, some doctors will implant anyone.
A deaf girl discovered the body and called 911. Though she couldn’t hear, she waited just enough time that an operator answer and repeated that she needed help. I’ve done that before when I got stuck somewhere without my hearing aid. Like when I went swimming at the community center, I called my mom and just kept repeating what I needed long enough that she’d get the message.