Deaf – Blind Inmates: Are They Being Served Appropriately in Jail?

By Jean F. Andrews

http://www.behearddc.org/

According to a recent newsletter by HEARD, as of March 31, 2013, there are 407 deaf and deaf-blind prisoners in 38 states, Washington, D.C. and in the Federal Bureau of Prisoners. Within these numbers, we do not know exactly how many are deaf-blind or deaf and visually-impaired inmates there are in prison.

Interpreting and Working with the Deaf-Blind

Deaf-blind and deaf-visually impaired inmates are most vulnerable to human rights abuses and often do not receive adequate accommodations in jails and prison. Take for example, the case of Ms. Jones, an African-American deaf-visually impaired woman who has been incarcerated numerous times, mostly for misdemeanors. Ms. Jones is profoundly deaf , has limited vision in both eyes, uses American Sign Language (ASL) as her primary language, and reads at the second grade level. To effectively use a sign language interpreter, the interpreter must sign very close to Ms. Jones’ face. She can use a videophone but she must be situated very close to the screen to see the signs of the other person.

Carolina Photojournalism

At each of her arrests, Ms. Jones was not provided with an interpreter. In her last arrest, she was charged with possessing drugs but none were ever recovered and she did not have an interpreter during the arrest to tell her side of the story. While in jail, she was not provided an interpreter during the booking or during the medical intake. She was not able to explain that she was diabetic and took insulin, and spent three days in jail without her insulin. While in jail she was given a copy of the inmate handbook and a number of forms to sign but she could not read them given her low reading level of second grade. No interpreter was provided to translate these documents. Consequently, she did not learn about the rules she was required to follow while in jail but instead had to depend on another inmate who had rudimentary fingerspelling skills. Upon release, she frequently violated her probation because she did not understand the fees and regulations she had to follow. Because she did not understand the rules of her probation, she violated them and was subsequently jailed.

How Stuff Works

Ms. Jones’ story points to the inequities of the criminal justice system particularly for those inmates who have more than one disability. Ms. Jones’ deafness, visual impairment, and diabetic condition combine to make special accommodations necessary in order for her to have her rights as designated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Policy  in jails and prisoners need to reflect awareness of these unique needs of deaf, deaf-blind, and deaf and medically fragile inmates,  and include training for jail officials in order to ensure deaf blind inmates are given their Constitutional Rights.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Texting, Chat Rooms and the Deaf Sex Offender

By Jean F. Andrews

Growth of Texting – Steve Anderson

Even though many deaf adults read below the third grade level, there are cases where they regularly use texting and enter chat rooms to engage in conversations with people they have not met. There have been cases where deaf adults have engaged in conversations with hearing minors for purposes of sexual encounters.

Some deaf adults are often not aware of the legal consequences of soliciting sex from minors. Some deaf adults have been victims of sting operations. These situations pose challenges for the courts because on one hand these deaf adults may be linguistically incompetent to answer questions from the arresting officer or detective, to understand the Miranda Warning, as to work effectively with an attorney and to stand trial.

Freelance Lady: Sexting Etiquette

When charged with the sex offense they may not understand the consequences of pleading guilty and having to register as a sex offender. They do not understand the repercussions being a registered sex offender has on their living arrangements and job prospects. To complicate matters, there are psycho-social as well as linguistic factors that must be considered if they are to receive a fair hearing or trial. Most attorneys and judges are not familiar with these complex factors. Instead, they often assume if the deaf person can use a texting device and can enter a chat room, then they are literate in the English language.

Klean Treatment Center

Texting and chat room conversations do not require high levels of literacy and this type of discourse is radically different than the discourse in the jail, prison and courtroom. The picture gets even more complex if the deaf person is sent to a treatment program. There are few facilities in the country that specialize in the deaf sexual offender. Most facilities are designed for the hearing offender with staff that have no knowledge of deaf culture, ways of visual teaching and learning, and do not provide accessible information through a qualified interpreter.

UKnowKids.com

At issue here, is not whether the deaf person is guilty or not of the offense. The critical issue is that a deaf offender must be provided the same access to communication and information as the hearing offender from arrest, to incarceration, to trial, to probation and parole. English is typically not the most effective mode of communication for the deaf offender even though they use texting devices and enter chat rooms regularly for social reasons, both legally and illegally.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Book Review of Outcasts and Angels: The New Anthologogy of Deaf Characters in Literature by Edna Edith Sayers, Galluadet University Press (2012).

By Jean F. Andrews

CHOICE is a publication which reviews books for academic settings. This book appeared in the April 2013 issue of CHOICE.

Outcasts and angels: the new anthology of deaf characters in literature, ed. by Edna Edith Sayers. Gallaudet, 2012. 361p bibl afp ISBN 9781563685392 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9781563685408 e-book, $35.00

 

Explaining Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects for deaf and hearing impaired children through an interpreter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fiction helps readers know and understand cultures other than their own in more empathetic and compassionate ways than informational nonfiction can’t accomplish. This anthology does just that. Edna Sayers (Professor of English at Gallaudet Univ.) gathered 32 short stories published from 1729 to 2009 that feature deaf characters. Through clever plotting and character creation, the authors of these stories reveal attitudes of hearing people toward sign language, the challenges and limitations of lip-reading, the difficulty of understanding deaf speech, and the infantilization of deaf people.

Edith Edna Sayers

Sayers notes that the only story in this anthology that advocates for signing is Joanne Greenberg‘s And Sarah Laughed. Sayers also offers writers a useful formula for what she calls a “nonexploitative treatment” of deaf characters in literature: there are at least two deaf characters in a story, these deaf characters converse with each other, and their topic of conversation is about something other than being deaf or the deaf community. This stimulating compilation of short stories with deaf characters will endear, enlighten, provoke, and amuse all readers. This book is highly recommended for undergraduates and graduate students; professionals; general readers.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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BICS and CALP

By Jean F. Andrews

National Summit at the University of Maryland Speaks to Vital U.S. Language Needs (Photo credit: University of Maryland Press Releases)

Jim Cummins the bilingual scholar and writer makes a distinction between Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). The reality for most deaf children (except those from deaf parents) is that they are learning BICS in sign and English. At the same time they are learning CALP in sign and English, that is how to sign complex, abstract information as well as how to read and write English. This just begins their frustration and struggle in finding environments both at home and at school where they have enough language exposure to fully acquire their languages in both BICS and CALP.

The Gazette.com

One tragic consequence of this derailed language learning journey  is that they stumble into adulthood with impoverished language proficiencies in both signing and in English which closes employment and higher education doors for them. And if deaf youth and adults  have interactions with police, jails and the courts, they are at high risk of not obtaining their Constitutional Rights because they do not have the ability nor the language abilities to understand what is going on around them. They do not understand the BICS or the CALP of the police or jail officers.

Contested Convictions – Police Interrogations

Oftentimes they will have enough BICS (social communication) to get by especially in routine, repetitive activities such as giving their name, address and birthday.  With their compliant head nods, and meager speech skills and writing skills they may give the appearance to police and jail officials they are understanding everything around them. What they have is BICS in spoken language, but they do not have the CALP language skills to cope with booking, classification, the medical interview or even understand the inmates’ handbook without the aid of a qualified sign language interpreter. Jail officials and police often overlook this fact because they are focused in only on the social speech and note writing the deaf person is capable of, in other words, the deaf person’s BICS or social communication.

Here is yet another example of the the increasing documented scenarios, that demonstrate how the police and jail officials do not understand the complex language and communication situation of deaf inmates.

See
Feds Probe Denver for Violating Deaf Prisoner Rights – from the Colorado Independent

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Should We Care Beyond The School Yard?

By Jean F. Andrews

Is there a connection between early child abuse and adult criminal behavior among deaf and hard of hearing persons?

Among more than 1,400 adult females, childhood sexual abuse was associated with increased likelihood of drug dependence, alcohol dependence, and psychiatric disorders. The associations are expressed as odds ratios: for example, women who experienced nongenital sexual abuse in childhood were 2.93 times more likely to suffer drug dependence as adults than were women who were not abused. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While exact statistics on this question are hard to find, from 10 cases of deaf youths in juvenile facilities around the country, it was found that 6 out of the 10 were abused by a parent, a relative or a by a neighbor. The deaf youths in turn physically or sexually abused a younger child then found themselves in a juvenile corrections facility. Thus, at one end of the spectrum we have deaf children who were physically, emotionally, communicatively and sexually abused. When they became youth and adults they act out by aggressively and physically bullying or assaulting or sexually molesting younger children.

English: Conceptual diagram showing relationship between adult sexual interest in children, pedophilia, and child sexual abuse. These distinct concepts overlap, but academics and clinicians consider them separate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

At the core are two key issues according to Dr. Harold Johnson, professor of special education at Michigan State University. In his research he has found that deaf children often do not have the ability to report the abuse because they do not have the language skills. In addition, caring adults, particularly teachers around them lack of awareness to pick up on the cues of the abused child.

According to Dr. Johnson, awareness and building a knowledge base about childhood abuse is critical for teachers and teacher-educators. Dr. Johnson, a professor of special education in Michigan State University’s Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education has focused his research, training and writing on how web-based technologies and resources can be used to reduce isolation, facilitate collaboration, recognize excellence, and enhance teaching/learning within K–20 deaf education. He also has investigated the maltreatment of children with disabilities, particularly those with hearing losses.

The grave of Lisa Launders. On November 1, 1987, Joel Steinberg delivered several blows to Lisa’s head and then he and Hedda Nussbaum waited over 12 hours to call for help. Lisa did not die that day, she died three days later from severe brain injuries. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Dr. Johnson has provided outstanding resources for schools, administrators, parents and families to address the heinous crime of the abuses of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Such work can lead to preventive measures that have the potential of curtailing the growth of deaf adults in jails and prisons who after being victims as children, become the victimizers as adults.

***

Dr. Johnson’s resources are:

http://deafed-childabuse-neglect-col.wiki.educ.msu.edu/Presentations

Protecting the Most Vulnerable From Abuse

http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2012/121120/Protecting-the-Most-Vulnerable-From-Abuse.htm

The Risk & Prevention of Maltreatment of Children w/Disabilities

https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/prevenres/focus/pdf

http://www.handsandvoices.org/resources/OUR/Index.htm

http://deafed-childabuse-neglect-col.wiki.edu.msu.edu/Bright+Spot+-+Home+Page.

***

http://www.123rf.com/photo_2836478_illustration-of-hands-that-are-handcuffed-in-a-jail-cell.html

At the other end of the spectrum are the deaf children and youth who do not receive proper treatment and end up as adults in the criminal justice system. If not appropriately rehabilitated, they become repeat offenders and as adults, they are incarcerated in Federal or state prisons where interpreters and accessible rehabilitative services may not be provided. Most of these deaf adults have low reading levels and low signing levels which further compounds their difficulties in prison and getting their Constitutional Rights in court.

http://englishirond.wikispaces.com/file/detail/schoolyard.jpg/337501576

If teachers, interpreters, social workers, counselors and psychologists-in-training could see both ends of the spectrum—Dr. Johnson’s work on child abuse preventive measures and www.deafinprison.com’s work on deaf adults who fall through the cracks and become adult offenders, then professors in teacher-education and other professional programs could make a significant contribution in educating the next generation of professionals in prevention, and when prevention fails, to care for the victims and victimizers beyond the school yard.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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English: A Major Obstacle For the Deaf Suspect and Deaf Inmate

By Jean F. Andrews

ASL_Painting.jpg (Photo credit: robert.barney)

Police and jail officers are often confused by the many forms of English that come from the mouths and lips, and off the fingers and hands of deaf suspects. Just because the deaf person can speak some words, and lipread the question, “what is your name,” or even sign some words in English with voice, it is often assumed the deaf suspect knows enough English to get by without a qualified sign language interpreter. In one case a neighbor of a deaf suspect knew some Fingerspelling and a police officer assumed she was signing and could interpret his questioning. Often police officers will take out a pad and paper, and begin questioning expecting the deaf suspect to be able to read and write. Even when only fragmented phrases are the result, the officers will believe communication is going along just fine as they add charades, gestures and facial expressions. This comedy of errors continues to the jail, where the suspect is booked, fingerprinted, photographed. Then the Jail officers will speak louder and slower, gesture, and come out with a flurry of forms for the deaf suspect to place his signature on. The expectation is that the deaf person can understand slower speech as well as having a high enough reading level to understand these forms. Further, deaf inmates are expected to read the inmate handbook. Who would want to be in jail and not know the rules and regulations?

2 sign language interpreters working together as a team for a student association meeting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because mainstreaming has often led to the dumbing-down of deaf education within public education, and the conventional policy of delaying the access of American Sign Language for deaf babies, we are seeing generations of semi-lingual deaf youth and adults who have impoverished skills in both English and ASL. It is the poor language environments that are holding them back in language acquisition. Instead of allowing deaf babies to grow and flourish cognitively, socially, emotionally and linguistically in bilingual ASL/English rich language environments, they flounder and flail in impoverished language environments where they get bits of speech and bits of sign thereby stifling their development of a whole visual language grammar upon which to build emergent English literacy as well as opportunities to acquire auditory/spoken language built on signed concepts. Many emerge from such poor language environments with a jumbled signing of English mixed with visual spatial elements of ASL signing. Most cannot read beyond the 3rd grade level. The result is devastating for them particularly in a jail or prison setting where English is the language used by police and jail officers.

One solution is to make it a police department and jail policy to provide qualified sign language interpreters for signing deaf suspects and inmates. Qualified sign language interpreters have the training and the skill to move their signing interpretation across the continuum from English-like signing, contact signing, and ASL for those suspects and inmates with varied signing skills. For deaf suspects and inmates with more severe language delays a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) may be needed.

A Video Relay Service session. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Providing the qualified sign language interpreter accommodation 24/7 may be impractical. But providing qualified sign language interpreters whenever warranted as in all communicative interactions that have serious consequence (i.e. parole hearings) or when the deaf person’s Constitutional Rights are in jeopardy (i.e. Miranda Warning) is critical. For instance, a police officer will want to get the deaf person’s side of the story during a domestic dispute or a suspected drug deal or during the booking stage, or when jail staff need to ask medical and psychological questions or during the classification process and so forth.

Understanding the obstacles deaf suspects and inmates face using English on the hands, on the lips, out of the mouth and in print is complex. More training is needed to disentangle the misconception that a little bit of English will get the deaf suspect and inmate by, in the jail setting. It simply won’t.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Booking, Medical/Psychological intake, and Classification: Why a Live Interpreter is Critical

By Jean F. Andrews

http://jeffco.us/sheriff/sheriff_T62_R121.htm

While it is commonly accepted to provide interpreters in court, deaf suspects and offenders still struggle to get sign interpreters for arrest, booking, medical/psychological intakes, classification, grievance committee meetings and for translation of the inmate handbook. Most vulnerable are hard of hearing persons who use sign language, and profoundly deaf persons with minimal social speech skills.

A dangerous trend seen in some police departments and jails is the use of video productions that are used in place of live interpreters. These videos are useful for review purposes but because they are not interactive, the video product does not allow the deaf person to ask questions to clarify misunderstandings. The videos give police and jail officials the false impression they are meeting ADA requirements. They are not. ADA is clear. The law mandates the Deaf person must have access to information in the same manner as a hearing person. So slick videos, charades and gestures with jail and police officers speaking slowly do not meet the letter of the law.

Yeah, I don’t think this’ll do ‘er. (BitcoDavid)
http://lordbassingtonbassington.blogspot.com/2012/02/satanic-influence-of-television.html

Granted, jails cannot provide sign interpreters 24/7, but they should be providing live sign language interpreters during times where interactive communication is critical – situations such as the booking, medical/psychological intake, classification and translation of the inmate handbook.

Police and jail officials can avoid costly lawsuits if they put in place policies that require live interpreters in these situations.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Wrongfully Accused; Wrongly Judged; Wrongfully Imprisoned

By Jean F. Andrews

http://www.123rf.com/photo_9522883_gavel-and-sound-block.html

The media has increasing spotlighted suspects who have been wrongfully accused by the police, wrongfully judged by the prosecutor and judge and wrongfully imprisoned for decades. Tony Freemantle in Sunday’s Houston’s Chronicle (Jan 20, 2013) lists a number of reasons for false convictions: 1) prosecutors hide evidence, 2) judges refuse to accept credible witnesses who say the suspect was elsewhere during the crime in question; 3) no DNA evidence is collected or its tampered with and 4) misleading forensic evidence points to the wrong person and 5) inadequate legal representation for the suspect and 6) confessions are ignored from real offender

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20017910-504083.html

For deaf suspects, I add — 7) false confessions are taken from a tired, scared and overly compliant suspect and 8) a sign language interpreter is not provided during all the police interrogations. This happened to Stephen Brodie, a deaf man from Dallas, Texas who served 20 years in a Dallas prison for a crime he did not commit. Falsely accused of raping a five year old girl, Brodie reported he was forced to confess to this crime during interrogations with the police officers, of which only during half of interrogations did he have a sign language interpreter. It was reported that Brodie case did not involve DNA, but it was the Texas county’s first exoneration involving a false confession

http://www.prospectneworleans.org/blog/?currentPage=5

See journalist Tony Freemantle’s vivid and gripping story, Exonerees: The numbers are small, but the toll is immense—and growing (Sunday, Jan 20, 2013, Houston Chronicle).

[Editor's Note: I did all I could do to find a link to this actual article, but the Houston Chronicle apparently chose not to make it available online. The link below is to the photo-essay, which they did make availble.

--BitcoDavid]

In this special section in the Houston Chronicle, photographer, Billy Smith II provides photographs of the 20 exonerees who were convicted of crimes they did not commit and served time in prison. Some were compensated, some were not, some died in prison. See chron.com/exonerees for more video and photos.
See also (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20017910-504083.html) about Stephen Brodie’s case in Dallas, Texas.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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For Police Officers: VRS, VRI or Live Interpreter?

By Jean F. Andrews

A deaf person calls 911. Through a relay interpreter, she signs that her husband is beating her and she is afraid because he has pulled a knife. Now, she has locked herself in the back bedroom. Please send the police, she signs. Emotionally distraught, she sobs and hangs up.

http://www.springfieldmo.gov/911/jobs.html

The relay interpreter interprets this scenario to the police department’s dispatcher who takes down the name and address of the deaf individual. The dispatcher then contacts the police officers. At this point, she informs the police that the person who called is deaf and uses sign language.

When the police officers arrive at the home and meet the deaf person, invariably, they take out a paper and pencil and start to write notes. They assume that the deaf person is literate and will have no problem reading their paper notes or reading their lips. Even under a stress-filled, anxious and emotional situation as domestic violence, they assume that note writing works fine. However, a Deaf individual with a low reading level can’t read the notes. Neither can she lipread the officers. Whether you are deaf or hearing, few of us could write a coherent sentence under emotional duress. Communication typically breaks down.

What are the police officers’ to do?

Sign language interpreter (Photo credit: markvall)

In an ideal, ADA-compliant world, the dispatcher would have called a qualified sign language interpreter and have the interpreter meet the police officers at the home. This rarely happens. While many police departments now have contracts with 24/7 sign language interpreting agencies, typically police officers don’t call interpreters unless communication with the deaf person fails or worse, they assume that communication is happening when its not because deaf persons will nod as “if” they understand what is going on around them.

A qualified live interpreter should be present at the onset of any questioning involving a deaf person. Of course, an interpreter would not be necessary for a fender bender or a minor traffic violation, but they should be present in situations where the police officers question the deaf person regarding a serious event such as domestic violence or a burglary. Having a live interpreter present works best for the police officers too. They are better able to get reliable and complete statements from both the accuser and the victim more efficiently and more accurately than using charades, gestures, and facial expressions and written notes, which is much more time consuming.

A police officer may be familiar with relay operators on videophones on cell phones and ask the deaf person to call a relay interpreter to use. It is important to note that VRS (video relay service) is not appropriate in this situation. Indeed, the U.S. FCC (Federal Communication Commissions) mandates that VRS be only used in a situation where a deaf person would have to make a typical call through the telephone. VRS may not be used as a replacement for a live interpreter. And, according to the U.S. FCC regulations, deaf and hearing people in the same room are not permitted to use VRS to communicate, because the service is designated only for telephone calls and receives funding from Telecommunications Relay Service taxes. Furthermore, the FCC requires that if a VRS interpreter determines the callers are in the same location, they must advise both parties that the interpreter must terminate the call.

Here’s a handy Q & A fact sheet for police officers.

What is VRS (Video Relay Services)?

Image credit: Wikipedia

For deaf people whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL), Video Relay Services (VRS) provide a tool for communicating with hearing people. VRS is a form of Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) that allows deaf people to access the telephone system. It allows them to use ASL instead of English (a text telephone or TTY) to call a hearing person over a conventional telephone line. VRS provides a faster, and more effective communication than does use of the TTY. It allows for the use of a high-speed Internet connection plus a web cam or videoconferencing equipment to access an interpreter or a Communications Assistant (CA) in a call center. It relies on the interpreter to relay information to and from a hearing person on their telephone. It also permits hearing person to initiate a call to a deaf person.
There is another auxiliary aid, service, or accommodation that has been used in certain circumstances, e.g., hospitals and prisons, called VRI (Video Relay Interpreting) that is different than VRS.

What is VRI (Video Relay Interpreting)?

http://www.atarizona.com/showtell/13videophone.php

VRI (Video Relay Interpreting) is another accommodation where the deaf person and the hearing person are in the same room with a videophone or web camera and a television or a computer screen. The video interpreter works from another site and also uses a videophone or a web camera and television or computer screen to facilitate communication between a hearing person and a deaf person who uses ASL. With the VRI, the interpreter hears the voice of the hearing person, then he or she translates the message into ASL into the camera for the deaf person who is watching this translation on the computer screen. Then the deaf person replies by signing to the camera whereas the interpreter speaks the aural interpretation into a microphone so that the hearing person hears the translation. Schools, universities, business, hospitals, medical offices, law offices, and prisons have utilized VRI services. It involves an agency setting up a contract with a VRI agency to pay for these services.

What are the Differences Between VRS & VRI?

VRI and VRS both use interpreters and videophones with webcams. However there are critical differences between VRI and VRS services related to location of the users and the fees for using the services.

For instance, with the VRS, the deaf person and hearing person are in different locations and are connected through the interpreter at a VRS call center. As mentioned above according to U.S. FCC regulations, deaf and hearing people in the same room are not permitted to use VRS to communicate, because the service is designed only for telephone calls.
In contrast to VRS, with VRI, both the deaf and the hearing person are located in the same room and the sign language interpreter is located in an offsite office. There are also differences on who pays for these services.

On the one hand, the VRS services are free. In fact, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) covers the costs of VRS calls through an Interstate TRS Fund. Calls are free to both parties and are relayed by the interpreter who is skilled and qualified in both receptive and expressive American Sign Language (ASL). However, the fees for VRI are paid by the agency requesting their use. For instance, if a police department purchases these services, they foot this bill.

What Does the Dept of Justice Say about the use of auxiliary aids and services?

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/08/terrill_terry_meisinger_fraud.php

In the 2010 revised Title II regulations, in the definition section, (28 C.F.R. 35. 104), “Auxiliary aids and services includes—1) qualified interpreters on-site or through video remote interpreting (VRI) services.”

“Video remote interpreting (VRI) service means an interpreting service that uses video conference technology over dedicated lines or wireless technology offering high-speed, wide-bandwidth video connection that delivers high-quality video images as provided in 35.160(d).

What Are the Deaf Community Views on VRI?

Member of the deaf community use ASL as their primary form of communication and have deaf friends with whom they communicates using ASL in person and through the videophone. They find VRS to be enormously beneficial not only to their deaf friends but through a relay operator they can communicate with hearing people such as in ordering a pizza, making a doctor’s appointment, and so on.
On the other hand, using VRI for medical, legal, and mental health settings is viewed controversial by some members of the deaf community because it does not provide communication access such as live interpreters can provide. VRI is particularly troublesome in medical settings because it is sometimes difficult for the patient to sign clearly into the camera or to see the interpreter. Also, the VRI contact has to be set up in advance and in a location with consistent, reliable, high-speed Internet. Many homes and businesses cannot meet these requirements.

I have observed that police departments, detention centers, jails and prisons have staff who lack training in the use of auxiliary aids including interpreters, VRS and VRI technology, from the dispatcher to the detective to the sergeant to the chief of police.

Deaf individuals are entitled to the same communication access as hearing people have and this typically means the contacting of a live qualified sign language interpreter as well as the judicious use of auxiliary aids such as VRS and VRI.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Nowhere Man In Nowhere Land

By Jean F. Andrews

http://drc.arizona.edu/content/unspeakable-story-junius-wilson

John Lennon’s sad lyrics in “Nowhere Man In Nowhere Land,” resonate in the life of Junius Wilson (1908-2001). Wilson was a Black Deaf man who was incarcerated for a rape he did not commit. His first six years at the State Hospital for the Colored Insane developed into a total of 76 years. During this time, he was surgically castrated . Back then, deaf and disabled people in jails and mental hospitals were considered “undesirables.” Even when Wilson was found to be mentally competent in the 1960’s, he was still held in the mental hospital because hospital staff did not know where to send him.

As a “nowhere man” invisibility surrounded Wilson for his whole life with hearing people. Born deaf in 1908 to a hearing family, his parents did not know how to communicate with him. They struggled with their deaf son’s anger and frustration.

But Wilson’s “nowhere man” status changed in 1916. At this time, at the age of 8, he entered the North Carolina School for the Colored Deaf and Blind in Raleigh, the first school for Blacks in the U.S. Here he learned a language—the Black deaf sign language or “Raleigh Black signs.” Through storytelling, folklore, humor passed down from deaf peers and adults in the Black deaf community, he acquired language. Here he learned and used “black signs” that are different than “white signs,” as Black deaf persons were segregated from White Deaf persons.

At the Black Deaf school, Wilson was “Somewhere.” He found his Black Deaf identity as he was immersed in a community of people like him. He found his “home” at the deaf school. Now he was “visible” to his peers and the adults around him. He could express his wants, desires and feelings.

But all this abruptly changed in 1924. As a student, he went to the fair in town and did not come back when he was supposed to, disobeying his supervisors. He was a teenager, expressing his independence and rebelling against the tight rules of the school. For this infraction, the school’s response was harsh. Wilson was expelled.

North Carolina State Hospital for the Negro Insane
http://ifp.nyu.edu/category/history/page/3/

His “nowhere man” status returned as he was back home with his family. Being an independent teenager, he frequently rebelled. He exploded in anger and frustration because none of his family knew sign language or understood him.
In 1925 he was accused of attempting to rape his cousin and found to be insane at a lunacy hearing. There was no interpreter present to get his side of the story. No one was there to assess his mental competence. He entered “nowhere land,” again when he was committed to the North Carolina’s State Hospital for the colored insane in 1925. The hearing hospital culture and community did not recognize Wilson’s language or Black deaf culture.

Indeed, Wilson’s deafness and disability made him the “nowhere man in nowhere land,” his status for much of his life. He was forced to work on the farm at the State hospital doing for decades doing what others wanted him to do. His education, his potential, everything he had to create his own life with his own aspirations and dreams were taken from him. While incarcerated, he could not hear what the others were ordering him to do. He could not communicate with the other inmates. His deaf cultural behaviors of touching and tapping people may have been misunderstood.

Chart showing number of sterilizations in North Carolina From 1928 to 1983.
http://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/NC/NC.html

In 1932, he was surgically castrated as many other inmates who were considered criminally insane, mentally deficient, sexually perverted and deaf and dumb. Institutions were practicing eugenics. Thus the stereotypes of people with disabilities as being “oversexed,” or “animalistic,” were prevalent, as explained by Susan Burch and Hannah Joyner, in their book, “Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson.”

In 1960, the staff at the hospital realized that Wilson was not insane but they did not know how to bring him back into society. His lifetime at the hospital had made him dependent and vulnerable without language or an education. Finally, in the 1990’s, the social worker John Wasson found out that he was not insane and lawsuits resulted.

The lawsuits resulted in a house, a driver and a pension for Wilson. According to Wilson’s biographer’s Burch and Joyner, he lived out his life still at the hospital but in his own private cottage with his own private chauffer to take him shopping and to town.

Given an education, opportunity, language and immersion in the Deaf community, Wilson may have made a very different life than the one he lived out at the mental hospital. He may have been a “somewhere man” is a “somewhere land.” He could have learned a trade, got married, had children, and developed hobbies. He could have “had a point of view,” and his world could have been “under his command.” He would have reaped the benefits all of us do such as having an education, interests, opportunity, and support networks of family, friends and community to realize our potential.

Even though Wilson lived during a different historical time faced with such issues as Jim Crow segregation, eugenics and institutionalization, injustices for deaf inmates are still prevalent today. Indeed, there are many deaf inmates who are “nowhere man”, deprived of their Deaf culture, community and language during their arrests, bookings and incarcerations. They are in “the “nowhere land” of police stations, jails and prisons without have the same access to information and services that hearing inmates have.

Source: Susan Burch & Hannah Joyner (2007). Unspeakable: The Story of Junius Wilson. Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

Further Reading:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Unspeakable%3A+The+Story+of+Junius+Wilson

 

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In retrospect: On the state of seeking Deaf Smith

By Jean F. Andrews

[Author’s Note: If you live in Texas, you know about Deaf Smith, a popular hero among deaf and hearing Texans alike. Dr. Steve Baldwin a prolific writer, presenter and trained historian, shares his Deaf culture research with deafinprison readers. Dr. Baldwin gives us a fresh perspective on Deaf Smith’s role in Texas history. (Jean Andrews)]

***

In Retrospect: On the State of Seeking Deaf Smith by Dr. Steve Baldwin

Deaf Smith County Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Since the inaugural 17-part exhibit of Erastus “Deaf” Smith’s 225th birthday celebration on the ground floor of the Texas State Capitol rotunda from April 18 to 20, 2012 and subsequent tours across the state, which ended on October 25 in Dallas, I decided to sum up my experience as the primary exhibitor, researcher, and writer since I first seriously studied about Deaf Smith (1787-1817), the famous “Texian” spy, scout, ranger and pioneer about 32 years ago.

Of course, the method of studying, researching and theorizing evolved over time with the advent of technology, Internet, new information, accessible papers, better archives and libraries. To go from a thin folder of information about Deaf Smith in the Baker Library for American History that was renamed Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin to two standard file boxes of my personal collection testifies for hard work, dedication, focus and a passion that has not abated over time. One word of advice to sincere future researchers and writers: do not bother to locate Smith’s missing and unmarked gravesite in Richmond, Texas since early 1830s burial sites are difficult to pinpoint due to customs, pine coffins, unclear town maps and complicated legal issues.

From the Deaf Smith Museum in Childress, TX. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

However, my alarming concern now is the lack of quality research because of the onslaught of vlogs and blogs that appear to epitomize inaccurate historical information about Smith’s life and feats. The worst case of plagiarism from the book (1973) by the definitive biographer of Deaf Smith named Cleburne Huston (1894-1989) came from a national deaf magazine. None of the magazine writers, albeit no respective bylines, actually took the time to research and verify their material, visit archives, and even worst, give their citations the necessary documented credit. Consequently, my role went from historian to vigilant against blatant plagiarism and online piracy of published work and the lack of historical accuracy.

Deaf Smith Elementary School. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Let’s move on from the wanton disregard for honest publishing and researching to the three most common questions that came from school-aged students during the fall exhibit tour. First query: “Was Deaf Smith really deaf.” Based on contemporary 2nd and third-party witnesses and other documented information, Smith was deafened and his hearing became progressively worst, as he got older. His speech shape was fraught with high-pitched sounds, but intellectual enough to be understood. Research shows that he was quite the loner, hunted alone with his hearing dog, and abhorred group discussions or social life on the frontier.

http://fookembug.wordpress.com/2007/03/27/deaf-smiths-picture-in-a-real-texas-5-dollar-bill-before-lincoln/

The second most common question was: “Why do we have very few written documents from Deaf Smith himself?” First of all, he was quite a busy backwoodsman, always hunting, surveying, exploring or defending a Central Texas town from marauding bandits and warring Comanches. Although he had a good command of English, spoken or written, he was not a consistent literary man. There are relatively very few first-person accounts on record. However, thanks to his historic legacy and many legends in Texas, his fame was well documented in periodicals, diaries, journals, newspapers, family history, historical paintings and biographies of his contemporaries.

http://www.lsjunction.com/people/smith.htm

The third common question was: “How was Deaf Smith able to achieve so many incredible military feats in a span of seven months?” Keep in mind that he was chosen personally by General Sam Houston because of Smith’s reputation as a proven scout in early 19th century Texas. Such an assignment speaks volumes about Smith’s reputation as being the “eyes of the Texian army.” Based on his visual acuity, Smith knew the land, rivers and critters of Texas by heart, mind and soul, albeit smelling and feeling. He proved his leadership by commanding a spy and scout company, which made pivotal decisions that tipped the war in favor of the Texas independence in April of 1836. That band of soldiers saved Houston’s troops more than once, numbering about five documented activities, including the destruction of a strategic bridge.

“Surrender of Santa Anna” by William Huddle (1847–92), 1886 The painting “Surrender of Santa Anna” by William Huddle, shows the Mexican strong-man surrendering to a wounded Sam Houston. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If one would goggle the painting called “The Surrender of Santa Anna,” there is the evidence that Smith played a prominent and crucial role in the Battle of San Jacinto. In fact, the painter, William H. Huddle (1847-1892) literally interviewed the veterans who substantiated Smith’s role as the true hero of the victorious battle. In a nutshell, Smith was a seasoned soldier, determined person, proven survivor, courageous warrior and attitudinal barrier fighter.

In closing my special article for this website, I wish to announce that I intend to donate my Deaf Smith collection of documents, artifacts, research notes, photos, my filmed play, a monograph, and historic prints to the University of Texas at Austin. Such a collection in one of their libraries, be it the Briscoe Center or the Brockett Center, will allow future researchers to continue my passionate research and publish more new and accurate information about Texas’ most amazing military hero who was not “afraid of whizzing bullets” or “felt the bite before the bark of the dog.”

Steve Baldwin and “Deaf Smith.” Courtesy Jean F. Andrews

Contact Dr. Steve Baldwin for his publications on Deaf Smith.

dfsmithtx@aol.com

Steve Baldwin Image courtesy of Jean F. Andrews

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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Third Grade Reading Level: What Does It Mean for An Adult Deaf Suspect?

By Jean F. Andrews

“American Sign Language” in SignWriting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In reviewing confessions and interviews conducted in spoken and written English between the deaf suspect and the detective, judges and prosecutors have difficulty in understanding a deaf person’s linguistic competence. They just don’t get it.
Even when the videotape recording is replayed, the judge and prosecutor will listen to the talking of the detectives and use that auditory information to fill in information gaps of the interviews. They don’t focus on nor do they understand the actual psychological, cultural and communicative responses of the deaf suspect. And if the deaf suspect orders coffee with cream using intelligible speech, and smiles and nods during the interrogation to show compliance and obedience not necessarily comprehension, this even makes it more difficult for the prosecutor and judge to really understand how communication during the interrogation is just not happening.
A second hindrance to understanding this complex situation is when the deaf suspect tests out at the 3rd grade reading level on a standardized test. The reply of the prosecutor is, well… the suspect is married, has children, pays taxes, pays a mortgage, can even navigate drug deals and bank robberies, can cash hot checks etc. Therefore, he claims, this deaf suspect is very competent. Surely the deaf person is faking it on the test and really reads at a much higher level. Ah ha! He exclaims to the judge in Perry Mason fashion. This deaf suspect is a fake, a liar, and a malingerer.

Playing the Deaf Card (Photo credit: Truda Glatz)

What the prosecutor is confusing is a mental and functional competency issue with the linguistic issue. He does not understand the implications of what an English third grade reading level really means for a deaf adult suspect whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL). It does not mean the deaf person cannot conduct adult types of behaviors such as marriage, parenthood, relationships, paying bills, rent, etc. He can with the help of his friends and using ASL. Indeed, the deaf suspect can function at a much higher level than an eight year old hearing child in the third grade who spends her time with paper dolls, and playing hop-scotch and dodge ball in the school yard and who is largely dependent on her parents for her needs. What the deaf adult and the hearing child share is having the same English-language reading and writing levels, not the same cognitive and behavioral functioning.

http://saltsidedownchocolates.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/chocolate-delivery-or-drug-deal/

What a third grade reading level means for a deaf adult is that he cannot depend on the English language to conduct an important interaction such as a detective investigation about a crime. It also means that if the detectives insist that he continue in English, then the confession can be thrown out in court. It means the deaf suspect cannot read the Miranda Warning or other documents that he is asked to put his signature on. Simply put, he needs a sign language interpreter for detective interactions just as he needs an interpreter for court proceedings.
While judges and attorneys understand the need for sign language interpreters in the court room, they often do not understand the critical importance of having a certified sign language interpreter during police interrogations, during the jail bookings, psychological and medical intakes, during jail and prison orientations, during grievance meetings, as well as during other important situations in during arrests and incarceration.
It’s the law.
Judges and lawyers need to listen. Linguistic competence is a cat of a different stripe than mental competence and everyday functional competence.

“Cat of a Different Stripe.”
http://www.freeoboi.ru/eng/wallpaper/8997.html

Vernon, M. & Andrews, J. (2012, July). Individuals With Disabilities and the Issue of False Confessions. The Champion, Vol. XXXVI. No. 6, 34-42.

 

View this document on Scribd

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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The Role of Early ASL Learning and Linguistic Competence of Deaf Individuals

By Jean F. Andrews

Map of the USA in ASL (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

American Sign Language (ASL) is seldom learned early by parents of deaf children when the diagnoses of hearing loss occurs. As a result, few deaf children have strong ASL role models in the home. This has important educational implications. But it also has criticaL repercussions when the deaf child grows into a deaf adult and gets caught in the criminal justice system.
In almost all (with the exception of one), cases where I interviewed deaf suspects or inmates, I have found that they had learned ASL after the age of five. Some even learned it later in junior high or high school. Most all had English reading levels of 4th grade or below.
ASL plays a critical role in a deaf individual’s overall linguistic competence in both ASL and in English. When they learn ASL late, this often delays their ability to learn English. Research has shown strong links between later ASL proficiency and English Literacy.

http://onebookoneweekoneyear.blogspot.com/

Lack of ASL proficiency also affects their abilities to effectively work with a sign language interpreter in a police, legal or correctional setting.
Part of the problem is that we have few strong ASL/English bilingual Early Childhood Programs so deaf children are delayed in access to ASL. Another part of the problem is that hearing parents are too busy to learn ASL. They work long hours in jobs where they cannot fit in a sign language class. As a result, their deaf child becomes their sign language teacher and this further delays the deaf child’s acquisition of concepts and language structures because they do not have strong ASL linguistic role models.
One solution to helping parents learn ASL is through online ASL classes. With today’s technology, the video quality is quite good and recent research by Dr. Curt Radford, Professor of Deaf Education at Utah State University has shown that online ASL learning is possible. His recent dissertation completed at Lamar University found that university students in the ASL online class did just as well as ASL students in face to face class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_PC_compatible

One creative outcome of Dr. Radford’s research is that he has recently developed an online ASL program for parents. It is reasonably priced and available 24/7 for today’s working parent. www.deafed.org
It may seem like a long stretch to connect early ASL acquisition and signing abilities of deaf adults in the criminal justice system who have difficulty understanding sign language interpreters. But the relationship is there. When audiologists, physicians, and educators deny the deaf children and his parents with information on the benefits of ASL as a language, they are not seeing the big picture. Deaf children need English and ASL as early as possible to achieve linguistic competence in both languages. And Dr. Radford’s parent ASL online course as well as other available online resources that achieve this same goal are good places to start.

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

 

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Lipreading: What It Is, What It Isn’t

By Jean F. Andrews

I read a children’s story about a deaf boy who purportedly was able to lipread a warning through a heavy snow and wind storm from the back of a ferry boat as he and his classmates were traveling to school on the mainland. The deaf boy was able to lipread the man at the dock who was saying, “Go back! Go back!” Of course, they did and he was declared a hero. There is also a story about a Texas hero, Deaf Smith who helped to win the Texas Independence War in a series of battles against the Mexicans in 1836. As the story goes, Deaf Smith was a spy for the Texans and amazingly lipread the Mexican soldiers’ battle plans while perched in a tree overlooking the Mexican’s camp. Deaf Smith’s heroic deeds lead to the capture of Santa Ana, the Mexican general. And recently, there was an article about Mexico hiring deaf policemen who, according to the hyperbole in the article, were hired as they were using their lipreading skills to catch drug dealers.

Image Courtesy of Shanna Groves, the LipreadingMom.

Such tales, though entertaining, are misleading. They create a public perception of the general public toward lipreading. They cause the public to think that lipreading or speech reading is an effective mode of communication for deaf persons and that it is almost as effecting as hearing.
The deaf boy on the boat used visual clues such as the man’s body language to tell the boat captain to turn back the boat. And of course there were the weather clues! As for Deaf Smith, he was an experienced spy who understood the movements of the Mexican army. According to the historian, Dr. Steve Baldwin who has studied and written extensively about Deaf Smith from oil paintings, letters and archival literature, the hero Deaf Smith was postlingually deaf, married a woman from Mexico so he spoke fluent Spanish, and often disguised himself as a drunk and went undetected into the Mexican’s camps to study their movements. While there are folk legends that he lipread the enemy, his expertise as spy overrode the so-called lipreading skills. Now as for the deaf Mexican police, I would assume that they were using more than lipreading but they understood the behaviors, movements and culture of the drug dealers. Thus, it is not lipreading abilities per se, but the surrounding body language and other areas of expertise the deaf persons’ bring to the communication event.
What is lipreading?

Erastus “Deaf” Smith was a scout for the Texas Army in the Texas Revolution (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lipreading is the ability to understand conversational speech visually and without sound as it appears on the lips in order to comprehend a message and carry on a conversation.
Why is it difficult?
Lipreading is difficult because 42 sounds (phonemes) that make up English are either invisible or look like other sounds on the lips. The vowels are the most difficult to lipread because they are formed in the mouth out of view. The other one-third of the 42 sounds must to grasped quickly as they soon disappear from the lips.
What are obstacles to lipreading?
For one, sounds appearing on the lips are ambiguous. In addition, people may move their heads while talking, they may have a beard or moustache, be chewing gum, have protruding teeth, or may be eating. The lighting may be poor in the room. Further the deaf person may be tired. Deaf students in our program tell us many times, that late in the afternoons or during evening classes, their eyes are very tired of looking at signing as well as trying to lipread.
Who are the successful lipreaders?
The deaf boy in the boat, Deaf Smith, and the deaf Mexican policemen would not win awards for their lipreading! Indeed, research has shown that it is not deaf people who have studied and relied on lipreading for 12 to 16 years who are the good lipreaders, but that it is hearing college sophomores who are the best lipreaders. Why is this so? It is because lipreading depends a lot on guesswork and filling in the gaps or missing words to make sense of the sentences. College hearing sophomores have a command of the English language so they can easily lipread. For deaf people who do not have a command of English, lipreading is most difficult.
Lipreading is not related to intelligence. Persons will vary on their aptitude to lipread. Lipreading is more useful for those who have residual hearing or are hard of hearing. It is not useful for persons with profound and severe hearing losses, particularly those whose losses are congenital. If a person can add lipreading to amplification then lipreading abilities will increase.
In sum, lipreading is an inadequate form of communication for deaf persons and for many hard of hearing persons. It can be of some use if the words are familiar and are used in a routine context such as, “coffee?” “cream and sugar?” However, when the communication exchange becomes more complex as when a deaf suspect is given the Miranda Warning, then lipreading is inadequate.

And of course it’s even harder to read lips with your face pushed into a car hood.
http://www.northcountycriminallawyers.com/ResistingArrest.html

Why do judges and prosecuting attorneys have difficulty with this concept? One reason is that when they view a videotape of a deaf person being interviewed by a detective or policeman, they hear the police and detective’s spoken language, see the questions in written form, look at the deaf suspects attempts and writing, and they assume that the deaf person with lipreading and written communication is understanding the interaction of being informed of their Constitutional Rights through Miranda. To further complicate the situation, when the deaf suspects nod and say yes, this further misleads the hearing officers and judges into thinking the deaf person is comprehending.
Such is not the case. Lipreading is not effective as a mode of communication by itself or even with writing, especially in cases involving Miranda and deaf persons.
Sources:
Simms, D. (2009). NTID Speechreading: CID Everyday Sentences Test. RIT: Rochester, NY.
Vernon, M. & Andrews, J. (1990). The Psychology of Deafness: Understanding Deaf and Hard of Hearing People. New York: Longman. (pp. 100-103).

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

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What does placing your signature on the Miranda Waiver Really Mean?

By Jean F. Andrews

Jean F. Andrews is a Reading Specialist and Professor of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar University.

Deaf suspects are asked routinely to sign the Miranda Warning Waiver affirming they waive their rights. What does this mean? For the police and detectives this means that the deaf person understands the six statements of the Miranda and read it with comprehension. When they sign their name on the waiver, this means they waive their rights to remain silent, seek an attorney before questioning and so on.

http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/08/local_attorneys_police_weigh_i.html

However, the deaf person may sign their name and have a different view. A deaf defendant who may read at the third grade or below may not be able to read the Miranda. They may put their signature on the document simply to appear cooperative.

How can the detective determine if the deaf person understands the Miranda Warning? One way is to have a sign language interpreter present.

This rarely happens. Typically, police and detectives rely on written communication and lipreading which are rarely effective for deaf defendants whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL).

http://agoraphilia.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-to-save-miranda.html

Two viewpoints–one from the detective or police and one from the deaf defendants.

The police and detectives run the risk of having their interrogation and confessions of the defendant thrown out of court or suppressed if they fail to provide for a sign language interpreter. This is not only Federal law but is found in many state statutes as well.
What is the answer?
More education for detectives and police about the difficulties deaf adults have in comprehending the Miranda and the ensuring of providing deaf defendants with sign language interpreters.

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[Editor's note: Recent changes by the Supreme Court involving the Miranda warning are worth noting. On June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision to alter the familiar Miranda warning, adding a stipulation that requires suspects to outright state to investigators their desire to remain silent, in the same way they must specifically ask for an attorney. For more on this critical change to your legal rights, go here: http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2010/08/local_attorneys_police_weigh_i.html or here: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-1470.pdf]

NAD Advocates for Deaf Youth in Foster Care

Length of stay in U.S. foster care. Picture credit: Wikipedia

In a recently published position paper, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has issued a position paper that targets the special care Deaf children require in foster care. According to the NAD paper, Deaf children require foster care that is both linguistically and culturally accessible, including appropriate medical, psychological, educational and mental health services. This position paper was intended to provide a road map for all professionals and agents who work within the foster care system to ensure the appropriate provision of referral and care services to Deaf children.

US Navy 070421N Sailors hand out chocolate at the conclusion of a visit to the foster care facility, Koyoryo Children’s Home. Photo: Wikipedia

The NAD, a powerful advocacy organization by and for Deaf people has historically championed the rights of Deaf adults and youth. This recent position paper is evidence of their continued tradition of advocacy, social justice and equity. The NAD’s paper on Foster Care should be required reading for all social service, juvenile justice, early childhood, education, and parent agencies serving Deaf children and youth.

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A Disturbing Trend: Deaf Youth and the School to Prison Pipeline

Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, TX
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“The School to Prison Pipeline” is a disturbing trend found in Deaf Education today. A metaphor coined by the Harvard Civil Rights Project, the “School to Prison Pipeline,” refers to two parallel concepts. For one, youths are being removed from school environments and are sent off campus to alternative schools or incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities. The second part of the “prison track” or “pipeline” metaphor refers to public attitudes and policies regarding juvenile offenders. Since 1992, approximately 45 states have passed laws that make it easier to try juveniles as adults and have increased penalties for juvenile offenders. In 2000, Black students represented 17% of student population but 34% of those suspended.

Juvenile Girl in Prison PBSNewsHour/YouTube Photo by Richard Ross

In 1998, Black youth with no prior criminal record were 6 times, and Latino youth 3 times, more likely to be incarcerated than White youth for the same offense.
Between 1983 and 1997, four out of five new juveniles detained were minorities.

While we have no hard statistics, because deafness is a low incidence disability, our numbers of deliquent deaf youths are lower. However, we are seeing an increasing numbers of deaf youths who are on probation or who are incarcerated in correctional facilities with little services. Even with the sharp teeth of the ADA, many slip through the cracks especially if they are from poverty backgrounds, have no family support and have not understood or refused to comply with their probation requirements. The two deaf youths that I have interviewed are in state correctional facilities with only interpreters during the school day, not during their treatment or during their leisure hours or in the dormitories or cafeterias. These youths are categorized as violent offenders. The state cannot find a placement for them so they are incarcerated with hearing youths.

United States criminal justice system flowchart. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This challenge is one that the state and national associations for the deaf as well as the Convention of Educators and Administrators for the Deaf (CEASD) have avoided like the plague for obvious reasons. For one, these youth are embarrassing! But these deaf and education organizations have power. They are the logical place to advocate for Deaf youths caught in the criminal justice system. They have the knowledge and expertise on what constitutes effective communication and how to deliver it with the appropriate mental health treatment for Deaf youths. But instead schools choose expulsion. It is an easy answer and makes our schools “look good and legally compliant.” It also gives the community the appearances of keeping the campuses safe for the other students, faculty and staff. But it is a short-sighted response at best. It does not take into consideration our responsibility as educators to Deaf youths to get them into safe, appropriate and accessible treatment facilities. All Deaf children and youths —the “good, bad and the ugly”—are our responsibility. Too bad we give all the attention to only the good ones, the ones that look like us and act like us.

Boy In Prison Window PBSNewsHour/YouTube Photo by Richard Ross

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Probation: A Cycle of Despair

“Probation” by Alessandro Scali and Robin Goode (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Probation for the deaf offender can be a cycle of despair. It is a tangle of complex and confusing rules with heavy consequences if the rules are not followed.  This is ever so certain particularly if the deaf individual has poor sign skills, a low reading level, a poor educational history.  Interpreters are often provided for some of the meetings with the case managers but not all of them so the deaf individuals have knowledge gaps on how to comply with probation.  More often than not they have had  no previous significant job training nor skills in time management, budgeting and the “how tos” of keeping a job. And if we add poverty to this sad picture, we see that many cannot afford the fees associated with probation, nor find affordable housing, and dependable transportation to the job. What if

Havant Probation Services (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

buses don’t run on Sunday but the deaf person must make it to work?  In addition, they have difficulties finding accessible drug and alcohol treatment if that is part of the probation package. Having an insensitive, busy and overloaded, and deaf culture-deficient case manager won’t help matters much either. Deaf probationees need advocates. Someone qualified, compassionate and williing to help them not fall through the cracks and end up in prison again and again.

The Probation Officer (Photo credit: micadew)

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I Didn’t Hear the Guard

Through the back door he came dressed in a gray prison jumpsuit. His ankles were shackled in chains as were his wrists at his waist. Escorted by two armed guards the men made their way down a narrow corridor and entered the audiologist‘s office. After exchanging polite greetings, the doctor motioned the three men into a testing room.

A 51 year old woman presented with progressive hearing loss. An axial MRI of the brain After gadolinium administration demonstrated a left cerebellopontine angle acoustic neuroma. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Tell me about your hearing loss, Mr. Rios,” began the doctor. The guards leaned against the wall and listened.
“I was outside. I didn’t hear the guard when he called me.”
He spoke with a southern drawl in perfect English with no evidence of a monotone hard of hearing voice.
As the doctor took notes, Mr. Rios went on to describe how he was born with one ear, profoundly deaf. In his better ear he had only a mild hearing loss but he never had to wear a hearing aid. As a young man while working on a construction site as a civil engineer with the state highways, he was caught in an industrial explosion. This started a high frequency hearing loss in his better ear that became progressively worse as he grew older. Now, he was 59 years old and severely hard of hearing and was serving a 20 year sentence in a Federal prison for computer child pornography. He was married and had two grown children.
After the incident in the prison yard, Mr. Rios turned in a “kite,” a request for a hearing test. All of this brought him in, 30 miles from the prison to the audiologist’s office.

http://www.ktvb.com/community/blogs/maggie-omara/Zachary-Neagle-sentenced-what-do-you-think–93680949.html

Author’s note:
This is a true story. While in prison, Mr. Rios received audiology services. However, there are many more hard of hearing inmates in prison who have severe hearing and language impairments who are not getting services.
Interesting statistics on hearing loss in the prison population are provided by Andrea Castrogiovanni of the American Speech and Hearing Association. (http://www.asha.org/Research/reports/prison_populations.)
Castrogiovanni states that the majority of studies report the incidence of hearing loss in prisoners to be approximately 30%. But she claims that there is a wide variability in reported incidence ranges and this may be attributed to the limited nature of screening measures. She reports also that one possible explanation for the high incidence of hearing loss among inmates is that early loss can cause poor language skills, frustration, academic problems, and inadequate social skills. These in turn may lead to school drop-out, juvenile delinquency, and eventual criminal behavior.

http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/prisoner,shackles/Interesting

Language impairments of juvenile and adult offenders were investigated by Michele LaVigne, professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School. LaVigne, and her colleague Gregory Van Ryboek published a monograph called Breakdown in the Language Zone: Language Impairments Among Juvenile and Adult Offenders and Why It Matters in the UC Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy, Vol. 15, 2001, Number 1. Clearly, there is a need for future research about hearing and language disorders in offender population especially juveniles and females as suggested by Castrogiovanni and LaVigne.

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So, What Do You Need to Know About ASL Name Signs? Workshop by Professor Andrew Byrne

Hunter Spanjer signing his name. Image courtesy of Huffington Post.

This workshop presented by Professor Andrew Byrne during Deaf Awareness week at Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, featured a fascinating description about the linguistic structure, origin and history of the process of “naming” in the Deaf community. Professor Byrne stated that there are many errors made by hearing people who assign name signs to deaf children that are not linguistically accurate. He emphasized that name signs should always be given to hearing persons by a member of the Deaf community. Using the history of his own Deaf family, the families of his Deaf colleagues and the work of the Deaf linguist, Dr. Sam Supalla of the University of Arizona, in the “The Book of Names Signs: Naming in the Deaf Community,” (published by Dawn Sign Press. 1992), Professor Byrne described the two broad categories and the nine different rules that should be followed in assigning name signs.

Lamar University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In his workshop, Professor Byrne stressed the notion that name signs have high value and are used for identification purposes within the Deaf community. The name signs mark the person’s membership in the Deaf community for a lifetime. Name signs signal respect for Deaf heritage. Those interested in more information about name signs can read Dr. Sam Supalla’s book or contact Professor Byrne in the Dept of Deaf Studies/Deaf Education at Lamar.

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