emilyjn’s blog

This semester I am taking American Sign Language. My professor is deaf and cannot speak to us. Before taking this class I knew absolutely no sign language and nothing about those who are deaf and hard of hearing. I now love ASL and always can’t wait to go to the class. I have learned a lot of ASL and a lot of the deaf world just by taking this class and still have a lot more learning to do. I am writing this post because I researched more on the deaf world to become more knowledgeable and I wanted to make other people more knowledgeable about it as well.

Let me explain the title of the post first. Those who can hear live on the planet “Earth”, ear being the root word and most people on this planet can hear. Those who are deaf live on a planet that many refer to as “Eyeth” because they use their eyes instead of their ears.

To become more knowledgeable I found a lot of information on a website titled, Journey into Deaf-World, in which I provided a link below. Most of the information I will share with you will be from this website so you have a source to refer to if you would like to learn more.

28 million Americans have been reported with significant hearing loss. You might find that hard to believe but the number of people who are actually deaf and use American Sign Language (ASL) in the U.S. is only about 550, 000 to 1 million people. Actually deaf Americans is a much smaller group. There are probably more different types of sign language than you think there are. Most Americans and Canadians who are deaf use primarily ASL but there are others like Exact English, finger spelling, etc. Even ASL can be used differently in different parts of the country and if go to a different country they will also have their own country’s form of sign language.

Most people who are deaf do use sign language as their primary form of communication but in the older days reading lips was more popular, but more recent studies have shown that only about 30% of words in the American speaking language are readable on the lips. Because of this statistic most of those people who are deaf rely on sign language to communicate.

Some of you may be asking questions like can deaf people dance?, can they talk on the phone? can they live on their own? etc. Many of these questions are answered on this website and many other sources on the web. A TTY- teletypewriter and video phones are ways those who are deaf can communication via telephone. A TTY is a computer system that the deaf person types on and the message is sent over to another TTY where the person on the other end can read the message and send it back. Can you imagine having an hour long conversation with your best friend and having to wait a while for them to respond every time? In more recent years they have invented video phones where those who are deaf can call someone and have their picture show up while they can sign to them. Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) provides a service for those who are deaf. This service is for a deaf person to call into an operator by typing a message and the operator can call the person that the deaf person wants to communicate with and pass on the message. This is sort of a three way calling service. The operator in the middle trying to pass the messages from both ends.

Most all of those people who are deaf or hard of hearing can live by themselves. In our society there have been many inventions that help those with this disability so assisted living is not necessary. For example, whenever we rely on sounds and listening those who are deaf rely on visuals and seeing. For instance, when a person who is deaf has someone at their door and light will flash in their house instead of the doorbell ringing. There are also special alarms with vibration systems and flashing lights. Most everything a person who can hear does a person who is deaf can also do just in a different way. I think it is great that all of these inventions have been provided for those who are deaf because at least it makes it a little easier of a world to be in for those who cannot hear.

I have provided a link to the source I mainly used for the information I have provided below. I have a link to another site that can give you even more information.

Journey into Deaf-World
More information

I am writing this blog because I am very unfamiliar with cerebral palsy. I have heard a lot about cerebral palsy but I never know the facts because I have never met or seen anyone with this disability. Because of my lack of knowledge on this topic I am writing this blog to research for myself and share the knowledge I have learned with those of you who want to also become more familiar with it.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke refers to cerebral palsy as, “any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but don’t worsen over time.”
Cerebral Palsy usually always affects the muscle movements of an individual and it is caused by the abnormalities in the parts of the brain that control muscle movements and is almost always there at birth. Even though kids are usually born with this specific disorder the signs and symptoms are not always obvious at birth but are usually spotted before the child turns three. If a child is not born with cerebral palsy it will be caused by an accident or injury of some sort. Those with cerebral palsy will usually experience stiff or tight muscles or spasms of the muscles or other muscle abnormalities.
There is also a big range of cerebral palsy some with it might not be able to move at all and need assistance throughout their entire life others with this disorder might be on the other end and might be able to move and do tasks all on their own.
For individuals with cerebral palsy there is no cure but there are different types of treatment that will help certain aspects of the disability. Some suggest occupational and physical therapy to help manage the disability. Those who encounter the disability early on in life can learn to manage the cerebral palsy and learn new ways to accomplish specific tasks in new ways. Some individuals who have cerebral palsy have trouble communicating as well and there is speech therapy and other types of communication aids that can be offered. Drugs and surgery are also others treatments that are offered for severe cerebral palsy.
From this one website I have learned a lot about cerebral palsy. If you would like to learn more about this disability that many Americans face I have provided the website I mainly focused on for my information and a couple other sources you can look into.

National Institution of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Ask the Doctor
What is Cerebral Palsy?

It might be hard for people to admit but I think our world is not designed for people with disabilities. There are a lot of barriers that people with disabilities can encounter. For instance a building with no ramps or elevators, a speech that has no translator or signer, a sign with no braille, a school with no special education programs/departments, etc. With all these barriers that can be faced you would think that our country would be trying to make this an easier country for the people who have disabilities. In some cases yes, there has been a lot of help and advances done to help those who are disabled but on the other hand things keep getting harder for them.
For instance, employment might not be the easiest thing for a person who has a disability to conquer. Cornell’s Annual Disability Status Report found that out of 21.5 million people, with disabilities that are between the ages of 21-64, only 38% percent were employed in the year 2005. In this same year people without disabilities, 78% were employed. This report also stated that those people with disabilities that were employed were making on average $6,000 less than those without disabilities. (The New Standard Website).
Personally, I think this statistic seems rather biased. To me, as I am sure to many of you as well, this statistic seems discriminatory. I ask myself why people with disabilities are not being employed as much as those without disabilities? and why are those people with disabilities that are being employed, why are they making less?
Well Susan Lang, in a Cornell News article on Disabilities and poverty, states that, “today’s obsolete policies force many people with disabilities, whether they work or not, into a poverty trap” (Cornell News Website). This article also explains how when people with disabilities are employed they are cannot receive government given benefits but those benefits aren’t helping them stay out of poverty. On the other hand, they will not receive those benefits if they work and from what was explained above those with disabilities are earning less than people without disabilities, so this is the “poverty trap” that Lang discusses.
What can we do about this trap that those with disabilities are facing? Well I believe the future is looking brighter for those with disabilities. Companies in the Toledo and Bowling Green area like Lott Industries and Woodlane Industries are companies that offer many jobs to those with disabilities. I am from Toledo and that is why I only know of these two sites that are centered around the job opportunities for people with disabilities. I am sure there are many other opportunities that are out there. I have provided a website below that gives some information on job opportunities for those who are disabled.
I honestly believe that those who are different than us or who have disabilities need to have the same opportunities as those without disabilities. Because not all places will hire people with disabilities and pay them at the same rates, I think it is great to become somewhat familiar with places that are providing these opportunities for people with disabilities.

Cornell News Link
The New Standard Website
Information on Job Opportunities

Michael Savage is a conservative host of an AM radio talk show called Savage Nation. He has also written a number of books and among those some have been best sellers. Mr. Savage has earned a Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Nutritional Science from the University of California at Berkeley (“About Michael Savage.”) On Michael Savage’s website they describe Mr. Savage as, “someone with an opinion – who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is.”

My point in telling you a little bit about Michael Savage is not because this blog is a biography about him. I just wanted to let my audience know a little background information about him to lead into the point of this blog. In July 2008, Michael Savage was on the air and commented on autism. He actually said that almost every child with autism is “a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out,” (Steinberg – New York Times Article).

From seeing the comments Michael Savage has made about autism I feel as though he is very uneducated and inconsiderate. Savage has a degree in epidemiology and nutritional science but in this article there is no proof that he knows anything about autism or it’s diagnosis. I think Savage is among a lot of people who know very little about autism and other disabilities.

The executive director of Autism United, John Gilmore described the comments of Savage as the way autism used to be seen as like forty years ago (Steinberg – New York Times Article). Autism has become more and more common and more and more research has been done for it. Because of all the research coming out about autism more and more people can learn the correct facts about it.

People like Michael Savage can and should become more educated about autism and other disabilities that Americas face instead of staying ignorant and making false comments about them. I was not the only one offended by the comments Michael Savage had made about autism. In the New York Times article, there were many sources of people who also felt really upset after hearing the comments from Savage Nation that day.

I don’t know how others felt about this incident but it made me feel upset towards Michael Savage. To read the New York Times article I have provided a link below. I have also provided another link that will take you to a blog talking about the Michael Savage comments on autism. Also to learn more about Michael Savage himself, I have provided a link to his own website.

New York Times Article
Special Education Law Blog
Michael Savage’s Website

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