Sunday, May 19, 2013

How to Help the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Prepare For Natural Disasters

By Rey Vetangelo


There are those people in the world who have lost their hearing one way or another. These people are referred to as the Deaf.

Hoy attended high school in Columbus at the Ohio State School for the Deaf. Hoy had excellent grades and exceled academically, earning the title of valedictorian of his high school. After graduating, Hoy opened a simple shoe repair shop in his hometown, and spent his time playing baseball on the weekends. Hoy was contracted to play for a Wisconsin baseball team in 1886.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Baird was hired on as a set painter at the National Theatre of the Deaf. After finishing at the National Theatre, he moved to Texas and worked with Spectrum: Focus on Deaf Artists, a deaf artist colony.

Throughout this time, Baird was working on his art and becoming more established as a deaf painter. His art began to become widely recognized and appreciated through the Deaf community. Baird's first exhibition was in 1975 in Washington D.C. One of his most famous works is entitled "The Five Panels: Deaf Experiences."

Some people find the fact that Hoy was nicknamed "Dummy" to be rude and offensive; however, in Hoy's time, the word "dumb" was used for people who could not speak. Since Hoy could not speak, he was sometimes called "dumb" and therefore the nickname "Dummy" stuck. Hoy would even correct people when they called him "William" instead of "Dummy." Hoy is known to have been one of the smartest and most intelligent baseball players of his time.

The Deaf person may need to use their captioned phone in order to call 911. It is also important to put together an emergency kit so you and your loved ones can be prepared should an emergency occur. One important item that you should include in your emergency kit is a flashlight and batteries. These items will come in handy in case the Deaf person does not have light in order to lip read and read signs.

Another crucial item is pen and paper. These are very useful in case the Deaf person needs to communicate with someone who does not sign. The person who does not sign can communicate back and forth with the Deaf person using the pen and paper. It may take a long time, but at least they can both still communicate with each other.

Baird said that, "Deaf art expresses the beauty of deaf culture-the beauty of sign language and its painful oppression, the joys of deaf bonding, communication breakdowns between signers and non-signers, the discovery of language and community, and the history of deaf people." This quote exemplifies Baird's deep love and admiration for the deaf community as a whole.

Caption Call also helps hearing people communicate with Deaf people.




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