Korean-American Deaf Adoptee Shares Her Story Kami tells her story as a Korean-American Deaf adoptee, recounting the touching moment her mother identified her out of a group of newly arrived babies. She also covers a few other adoption-related issues. Each Adoption Experience is Different Hi, my name is Kami and I’m a Korean-American Deaf adoptee. I was asked to share …
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Advice for Prospective Adoptive Deaf Parents Maureen shares her Deaf Indian adoption experience and offers two important pieces of advice for prospective adoptive parents. Communication Access and Medical-Related Issues Hi, I’m Maureen Behrens. I’d like to share my adoption story, focusing on communication access and medical-related issues. I adopted my daughter about 10 ½ years ago, through the Holt International …
Read MoreFeeling nostalgic after reviewing our archives. Here’s a throwback video by our (much younger!) Sharon, sharing thoughts about a new sign for “counseling”, 13 years ago in 2006. We are happy to see that use of this new sign that we suggested has slowly spread over the years, and more people have opted to use this sign over the traditional …
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Position Statement on Mental Health Interpreting Services with People who are Deaf The purpose of this position statement is to acknowledge and emphasize the importance and need for specialized sign language interpreting services in the delivery of mental health services to deaf individuals. While direct mental health services are optimal and always preferred, such services are not always available. When …
Read MoreAs the 17th Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) annual national meeting opens in Denver, Colorado, this weekend, Deaf Counseling Center’s licensed therapist, Sheli Barber, reminds everyone attending of the importance of paying attention to the Deaf child’s healthy identity. When language and culture are made accessible to Deaf children, the years of therapy needed to unpack the trauma associated …
Read MoreSeeking Help for Addiction: In this beautiful and powerful ASL poem, the well-known Deaf actor and comedian John Maucere illustrates his journey of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. John’s courage in sharing his personal story is inspiring – and a reminder to all of us that the dangers of addiction are very real and the consequences more serious than …
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A recently published letter to the Washington Post from Meredith Sugar, Esq., the president of the A.G. Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, does a grave disservice to Deaf children and their families. The letter attempts to undermine growing media attention on the success of Nyle DiMarco, a charismatic and intelligent young Deaf man who rose to …
Read MoreSuing for Equity in Services: Early last month in Florida, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., together with the National Association of the Deaf, filed a lawsuit seeking accessible medical services for Deaf citizens in the state. The lawsuit charges Humana Insurance and the Florida Department of Financial Services with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the …
Read MoreASL = English: ASC is pleased to see the trend of more Deaf professionals taking advantage of the internet and technology to formally present their ideas and research in ASL. Traditionally, even in environments proclaiming bilingualism, there has been a longstanding, often unspoken, message that English still reigns superior to ASL. Compare how readily academic articles published in English receive …
Read MoreVlog Summary: The holidays often mean families, and the words we use to describe our family relationships say a lot. Some families make a point of distinguishing between their biological children and their adopted children or their foster children. Even sisters and brothers may emphasize that so-and-so is a full sibling, while another family member is a half sibling. Sharon …
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