Category: deafness

The accessibility problem of the deaf due to lecture recordings

One of the Free Software clubs in Israel (there are several such clubs, some of them organize Linux related lectures, others speak about Perl, and yet others do Python) wants to start making available from its Web site the audio recordings of lectures organized by it.

Of course, I am screaming murder about this. Before the new service is made available, my ability to access lecture contents after the fact was equivalent to that of hearing people. I could read presentations as well as they could. Now, that the lecture recordings would be available, they would be available only to hearing people. I would be left out in the cold.

This problem currently exists with Larry Wall’s lecture in Present Continous, Future Perfect, at least until all volunteers finish transcribing it (so far, 37:53 minutes out of 72:39 have been transcribed).

Now the search for technical, attitude and organizational problems is being conducted. One of my grave sorrows is that I am the only champion of the interests of the deaf in this discussion. Other Israeli deaf software developers (both oral and signing) are still hiding in the shadows.

At this moment, I feel very very very alienated

A TV program about the Israeli space program is now being broadcasted in TV channel 1.
Without captions.
I am very interested in the Israeli space program and would like to be able to follow this program.
But I cannot.
So I cannot relate to the Israeli achievements and the Israeli space program.
I feel very alienated.

Hello Eurocomm?

Few years ago I bought a Nokia 9110 cellular phone-FAX, after having developed Hebrew support for it. Eventually, I upgraded to Nokia 9210i. Now Eurocomm is advertising Nokia 9300, and I am considering buying one.

However, there are two problems:

  • Their ads advertise a Web site and toll free phone number. No FAX number even though the 9300 has also FAX capability and part of its target market are the deaf.
  • The Web site is not effective for selling Nokia 9300 because they do not answer people who fill the online form and inquire about the product (if to judge from my experience in going through the above twice).

It is a shame to require deaf people to go in person to Eurocomm to buy this cellular phone if the normally-hearing can arrange for this without leaving their homes.

I got fed up!

In my response to someone else’s response to my response in someone else’s blog, I wrote:

I got fed up!

I am Deaf, not hard of hearing!!

Due to some mysterious reason, I fall between the chairs among the hard of hearing and the Deaf.

In the Deaf Community, I am considered to be hard of hearing due to all kinds of reasons, such as educational level, which are not relevant to the communication ability per se.

Among the hard of hearing, I am considered as deaf. When Keshev (an Israeli organization of the hard of hearing and deafened adults, which went bankrupt at 1992) was active, I was not eligible to be a regular member in this organization, due to a prohibition in the organization’s constitution on letting deaf persons become members of Keshev. When Bekol (another organization of the hard of hearing and deafened adults, which replaced Keshev and is active today) started the “7th Ear” group (a social group of the hearing impaired, which was active in Tel Aviv area), I was not invited to participate in this group due to the same reason.

Functionally, I am deaf as far as my ability to use sound to help me understand speech is concerned. I can hear some sounds using a strong hearing aid, but not to use them to understand better speech.

And if anyone says again that I am “hard of hearing” rather than “deaf”, I’ll force him to sit down (and fall) between two chairs!!!

Lack of accessibility kills people (cont'd)

Tomorrow, Monday 9 January 2006, the organizations of and for the hearing impaired in Israel will hold a memorial event (combined with demonstration) in memory of Shmuel Katz Z”L, who was killed a month ago in a train accident, whose root cause is lack of accessibility of the train to people with hearing and sight impairments.

The memorial event will be held at 18:00 in the entrance to the Hagana train station, Tel Aviv.
Few weeks ago, I wrote about the accessibility problems of Israel Railways.

The Web site of Israel Railways is at http://www.israrail.org.il/english/index.html. They list the following E-mail address for suggestions/remarks/comments: [email protected].

Philosophical dilemma of very creative people with disabilities – my opinion

I wrote about the philosophical dilemma and left a dangling hint that my own answer is forthcoming.

Henry Kisor, a deaf journalist, was educated by Doris Irene Mirrielees, who used an obscure methodology of educating deaf children. Her methodology was the oral one (teach ’em to speak and lipread and do not expose them to Sign Language) but with the twist that she emphasized general knowledge over communication skills. Her methodology was different from the usual practice of educators following the oral methodology, which emphasized the utmost importance of communication skills.

Henry Kisor did all right and grew up to be a successful journalist. He had good communication skills, certainly when using the written word as a medium of communication.

So a good answer seems to be: when there is a working substitute to the lost ability, then do not bother with the lost ability but invest your time with those abilities which you have. Cannot hear? Read, write and use Sign Language. Cannot walk? Use a wheelchair. Spend your time perfecting that profound scientific discovery rather than overcoming your deafness, blindness and loss of your hands.

כותרת: דילמה פילוסופית של אנשים יצירתיים מאוד עם מוגבלויות – דעתי

כתבתי על הדילמה הפילוסופית והשארתי רמז שהתשובה שלי עוד תבוא.

הנרי קיסור, עיתונאי חרש, חונך על ידי דוריס אירינה מיריליס, שהשתמשה בשיטה לא נודעת לחינוך ילדים חרשים.  השיטה שלה היתה אורלית (למד אותם לדבר ולקרוא שפתיים ואל תחשוף אותם לשפת סימנים) אבל עם השינוי שהיא הדגישה ידע כללי (תוכן) על חשבון מיומנויות תקשורת. השיטה שלה היתה שונה מהנוהג המקובל של מחנכים שעובדים בשיטה האורלית, שהדגישה את החשיבות הרת הגורל של מיומנויות תקשורת.

הנרי קיסור יצא בסדר גמור וכשהיה גדול הפך להיות עיתונאי מצליח. היו לו מיומנויות תקשורת טובות, כמובן כולל שימוש במילה הכתובה כאמצעי תקשורת.

כך שתשובה טובה היא כנראה: כשיש חלופה שעובדת ליכולת שלא קיימת, אז אל תטרח לשקם את היכולת החסרה אלא השקע את זמנך באותן יכולות שיש לך. אינך יכול לשמוע? קרא, כתוב והשתמש בשפת סימנים. אינך יכול ללכת? השתמש בכסא גלגלים. השקע את זמנך בליטוש התגלית המדעית הגדולה ההיא במקום להתגבר על חרשותך, עוורונך ואובדן היכולת להשתמש בידיך.

Philosophical dilemma of very creative people with disabilities

Suppose you are wheelchair bound, but if you invest two hours a day for two years in physiotherapy, you will be able to walk with a cane. Or you are deaf and are offered a cochlear implant followed by two hours a day of auditory practice (time includes also transportation from your home to the center and back) for several months afterward.

On the other hand, you have a big idea which can benefit immensely the mankind but needs your undivided attention for the next few years. This could be a big invention such as an inexpensive means of reaching the space, a book exposing a profound and breakthrough philosophical theory, or political action to liberate a group of 30 million oppressed people.

Or simply study in an university until you earn a Ph.D.; or build a successful startup which makes millionaires of you and three of your associates, and solves the problem of financing housing for tens of other people.

What should you choose? Spend the time overcoming your disability, or achieve something big using your abilities?

My own answer – later.

כותרת:  דילמה פילוסופית של אנשים יצירתיים מאוד עם מוגבלויות

נניח שהינך מרותק לכסא גלגלים, אבל אם תשקיע שעתיים ביום במשך שנתיים בפיזיותרפיה, תוכל ללכת בעזרת מקל הליכה. או הינך חרש ומציעים לך שתל קוכליארי שידרוש ממך אימוני שמיעה במשך שעתיים כל יום (הזמן כולל גם תחבורה מביתך למרכז ובחזרה) במשך חודשים רבים לאחר ניתוח ההשתלה.

מצד שני, יש לך רעיון אדיר שיכול להביא תועלת אדירה לאנושות אבל דורש את תשומת ליבך הבלעדית במשך השנים הבאות. זו יכולה להיות המצאה גדולה כמו דרך זולה להגיע לחלל, ספר שחושף תיאוריה פילוסופית מעמיקה ופורצת דרך, או פעילות פוליטית כדי לשחרר קבוצה של 30 מיליון בני אדם מדוכאים.

או פשוט ללמוד באוניברסיטה עד קבלת תואר ד”ר; או הקמת חברת הזנק מצליחה שתהפוך אותך ושלושה משותפיך למיליונרים, ופותרת את בעית מימון הדיור של עשרות אנשים אחרים.

במה עליך לבחור? להשקיע את זמנך בהתגברות על מוגבלותך, או בהשגת הישג יוצא מגדר הרגיל תוך ניצול היכולות שלך?

התשובה האישית שלי – אחר כך.

Lack of accessibility kills people (or: why I am not using the Israeli train system now)

Few days ago, Shmuel Katz, an hearing-impaired and sight-impaired man, was killed by the train in Tel Aviv.
He boarded the wrong train, and when trying to leave it in haste, he was trapped at the train’s door and was killed.

The root cause for his death is insufficient accessibility of train related information to people with hearing and sight impairments. Information about the destination of the current train in a platform is not always displayed, and announcements over the public address system are, of course, not heard by hearing impaired people.

The problem of the announcements is the reason why I stopped using the train until further notice.

My parents live in Jerusalem, not far from the Malacha train station in southwest Jerusalem.
When the train line to Jerusalem was reopened, I made frequent use of it to travel from Petah Tikva to Jerusalem and back. Since the reason for trips was to visit family rather than business or work, I did not mind the schedule problems of the train.

However, one day I read in the newspaper that due to schedule problems, the management canceled the stops in Bnei Berak, Petah Tikva and Rosh Hayin in a train run passing through Petah Tikva. The cancellations were announced in the public address system. This incident was newsworthy, because the passengers, who expected to leave the train in the canceled stops, blocked the train’s doors open and prevented it from leaving the station it was in Tel Aviv. The train run was canceled.

If I were on that train, I’d not have a clue about the happening, and would have risked finding myself in Hod Hasharon instead of my destination – Petah Tikva – and since there are no convenient bus lines from the Kfar Sava-Hod Hasharon train station to “my” train station, I would have wasted several hours getting back to my car parked in the Petah Tikva train station.

Therefore I decided to go back to using my car to visit my parents in Jerusalem, until the train becomes 100% accessible to hearing impaired people, and the management demonstrates more scheduling responsibility.

What the bleep do we know!?

I was in Dizengoff Center because I went to see the Marlee Matlin starred movie. The movie was a cumpulsory movie for me, because was different from the usual mainstream movie. However I did not fully enjoy my experience viewing it. Compared, for example, to “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, the Hitchhiker’s wins in a big way.

I did not like the philosophizations which filled the movie. Philosophy and story line did not integrate well, in my opinion. Any philosophical discussion which confuses the exterior and the interior of humans is incomplete if it does not consider also:

  • Korzybski’s General Semantics
  • Love

About the subject of love, I noticed that Amanda, the movie’s protagonist, was essentially alone. While she interacted with other people, and some of her relationships were not exactly superficial, they were not deep either. Missing was treatment of the deep relationship which goes into love, in which both parties create a new joint world and bear children into it. Then the children grow out of the world created for them by their parents and build their own worlds, and then they merge their own worlds with their own lovers’ worlds and so the cycle goes on.

In the movie itself, love was not deeper than relationship with a cheating husband, some flirtatious dances, or eroticism from the point of view of cognitive psychologists.

Blogs of Israeli hearing impaired persons

Tsalaf, who moderated one of the Israeli deaf&HOH forums, now has his own blog (in Hebrew): http://www.tapuz.co.il/Blog/UserBlog.asp?FolderName=shabluli. So far he wrote about hearing aids and about finding out that a friend is losing his hearing.

This is a welcome addition to the emotional and moving blog by Shira, a deafened woman, who has always been active in civic life: http://israblog.nana.co.il/blogread.asp?blog=150892. She writes about her medical history, daily struggles and general political advocacy activities.