John Egbert's Opinions

Is Hands and Voices Really Unbiased and Neutral?

johnfegbert — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:05:28 +0000

Is Hands & Voices Really Unbiased and Neutral?

I have been approached and encouraged to join Hands & Voices, http://www.handsandvoices.org/, but some have warned me that Hands & Voices is not really unbiased and neutral despite of their mission statement:

Hands & Voices is dedicated to supporting families with children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing without a bias around communication modes or methodology. We’re a parent-driven, non-profit organization providing families with the resources, networks, and information they need to improve communication access and educational outcomes for their children. Our outreach activities, parent/professional collaboration, and advocacy efforts are focused on enabling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children to reach their highest potential.

Here is my question about Hands & Voices after reading the mission statement above: “Shouldn’t Hands & Voices’ chapters also be unbiased and neutral? Does the national board at Hands &Voices make sure that their state chapters follow the Hands & Voices’ mission statement?

Here is my concern about Hands & Voice chapters, especially Indiana Hands & Voice chapter,

Kelly DiBenedetto, Executive Director and Lisa Kovacs, both of Indiana Hands & Voices chapter are working directly with Hear Indiana and their lobbyists everyday and are involved in meetings with the author, Representative Noe, of the controversial HB 1367. They are actively lobbying in their role as Hands & Voices in support of this bill the House and Senate of Indiana.

Lisa Kovacs is a parent of an oral child and advocates for speaking and listening. She is the National Guide By Your Side Trainer and spokesperson (GBYS) for Hands & Voices and she is a paid staff by Hands & Voices. She is the first point of contact to parents in Indiana’s GBYS program working with Indiana’s EHDI program. She trains and assigns Parent Guides to families. There are hearing and Deaf parent guides but rarely is a Deaf Parent guide contacted by her.

Doesn’t this show that she is biased and NOT neutral.

Lisa now is ACTIVELY working aside Hear Indiana’s lobbyists and in the meetings with the author of HB 1367 and also have already testified in support of the bill, HB 1367.

Isn’t this obviously a BIG CONFLICT OF INTEREST!

What does this say about the National Hands & Voices and its mission statement.

John F. Egbert

Letter From the ASDC Board about HB 1367

johnfegbert — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:19:52 +0000

American Society for Deaf Children

800 Florida Avenue NE, #2047
Washington, DC 20002-2732
Date: 1/20/2012

The Honorable Robert Behning, Chair

House Education Committee
200 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Dear Representative Behning,

We are the American Society for Deaf Children, a proud national organization of parents of deaf and hard of hearing children along with professionals supporting them. The ASDC mission is to support and educate families of deaf and hard of hearing children and advocates for high quality programs and services. This includes a primary core value that these children are entitled to ‘full communication access in their home, school, and community’, including that this parent organization respects and values American Sign Language. In addition, ASDC believes in a supportive system that is seamless, transparent, inclusive, and cohesive.

Our Hoosier families have brought HB 1367 to the attention of the American Society for Deaf Children and after investigating the bill and the situation of its drafting, we have decided to support our Indiana membership by writing this letter in opposition to HB 1367. ASDC has viewed that this piece of legislation has been designed to dismantle the excellent existing source of professional outreach for Indiana parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. This bill would misguidedly re- invent the wheel by creating a new outreach system and placing its critical importance and service in the hands of unknown & potentially unproven players.

The current Outreach Services, which is housed at the Indiana School for the Deaf, is both up-to-date and top caliber when it comes to professional support for families of deaf and hard of hearing children. ISD has a long history of being one of the nation’s top schools in evidence-based deaf education, of which it is a privilege for ASDC to be a part of. It would be an asset to continue supporting and growing even further this Outreach Services at ISD.

ASDC shares this concern that the bill was drafted without comprehensive input from all of the stakeholders – from the Hoosier parents who were served by the current center, from the ISD School Board at large, from the Indiana Deaf Community, and from other Hoosier stakeholders. Transparency and inclusion of dialogues would have resulted in all parties supporting each other and be united with having a comprehensive center.

As the HB 1367 is currently written, it is vague and lacks fiscal safeguard, including lack of detail in how much it will cost and be funded. It does not protect, in a financial parameter, that the families would be provided resources and support, in addition and beyond what is already offered at the ISD’s Outreach Services.

Given the nature of our ASDC organization as inclusive to the families, and because of the current intent of the HB 1367, ASDC is uncomfortable supporting it. Perhaps an opportunity can arise for all stakeholders to share a table and dialogue further on the differences and work towards a common and united agreement.

Thank you for reading this letter and recognizing the concerns of the American Society for Deaf Children in this HB 1367 and our rationale for opposing it.

If I can be of any assistance to you please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Respectfully,

Cheri Dowling

Director of Advocacy with full support of the ASDC Board
CAD800@aol.com

Nine Year old Deaf Girl Dismembered in Indiana…Audism?

johnfegbert — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:49:58 +0000

See this news release: http://www.yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_19623018

and http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/27/9747130-scene-of-9-year-old-girls-killing-a-haven-for-sex-offenders

My comment:

I wondered why Plumadore did not kill Aliahna’s two other sisters?

Since Aliahna is Deaf, did she know how to talk speech normally or she uses American Sign Language?

Aliahna was a mainstreamed student at Holland Elementary School and wondered if the school uses bilingual method, American Sign Language and English?

My question should be this, was Plumadore frustrated with communicating with Aliahna which could have lead to this gross murder?

My friend asked me if this is an audism issue and if this should be investigated because, if this was a racism issue, media would surly want to know. But the sad fact is that Deaf people like Aliahna are not significant enough to be throughly investigated.

I think National Association of the Deaf (NAD) should demand a through investigation as much I think that NAACP would do the same.

JohnFEgbert.com

SPEECH is Not a Language, It is Just a Skill

johnfegbert — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:17:27 +0000

Yes, true that I was trained to have good skills with speech but I was actually trained to speak good speech…just for the hearing society, not the other way around.

And in fact that majority of the Deaf that were trained to learn how to use speech actually do not have normal speech. Yes, it’s true that AGBell and its associates demonstrate many of the young Deaf children’s “child”s” speech but reality, they only demonstrate a very few Deaf teenagers because majority refuse to use their speech after experiencing ridicule responds from the society.

Really, AGBell gave false hope to many oral Deaf children and they became part of the large solitary, isolated member of the hearing society. The few successful oral Deaf adult became part of AGBell’s advocate promoting speech and support the parent’s naive rights to make the misguided informed decision not to have their Deaf babies and children to learn American Sign Language and English bilingually.

Regardless how well I learned to have good speech, I will always be “handicap” or “disabled” because of the difficulty to receive “talking” data from the hearing people.

It is not how well your speech is, it is how well you are able to interact with other person, whether it is speaking/writing/reading with English Language or signing with American Sign Language bilingually.

AGBell’s slogan and advocation…. “Independence Through Speech and Listening” is the main reason why most Deaf people have 4th grade level reading and writing skills. 90% of the Deaf babies and children started with oralism philosophy.

Maryland School for the Deaf do not have 4th grade level reading and writing among High School Graduates and they have better reading and writing skills than the hearing high schools in the area.

See the Deaf DR. Joseph Valente’s captioned YouTube about Maryland School for the Deaf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqV_MjKliW0

Deaf Bilingualism is the Solution.

I Visualize Lip Reading and also ASL

johnfegbert — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:40:52 +0000

I gotta tell’ya

Visualizing Lip Reading is harder than Visualized ASL.

I have been visualizing lips for years and actually assumed that reading lips was normal until I finally brave enough to throughly learned to be fluency in American Sign Language.
I actually did learned sign language but not at the level to be a normal to have a communication modality skill as a normal person.
Knowing American Sign Language communication modality level is far different from just knowing sign language using English structure language.
i finally understood when someone told me that you need to know American Sign Language to understand American Sign Language.
So i kept on trying to learn more about ASL(American Sign Language) to be able to communicate like a normal person. Another words, I was never normal until I learned fully about American Sign Language to be able to have a normal communication modality skill having a normal interaction conversation with another normal human being.
Now I understand why we have two different deaf “community” using American Sign Language and using “English” sign language. It really takes one to know ASL to understand ASL and those that assume that they know but can’t achieve the level of ASL communication modality skill are really frustrated trying to live as a normal reality life.
Really, it took me patience to realize that the fact of what is being said, “you need to know ASL to understand ASL.
How true!
Now I am proud to say that I am truly a bilingual Deaf person.

A Truly Bilingual Deaf Person,
John F. Egbert
JohnFEgbert.com

PATIENT-DEAR…..GALLAUDET HEARING & SPEECH CENTER

johnfegbert — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 01:32:50 +0000

HEARING & SPEECH CENTER “Biased” Parking sign…

http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.com/2011/12/patient-dear.html

HEARING & SPEECH CENTER
PATIENT PARKING ONLY VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED
This sign is posted on Gallaudet University Campus
Do we have this sign on Gallaudet University Campus?
ASL & DEAF CULTURE CENTER
PATIENT PARKING ONLY VIOLATORS WILL BE TOWED…?
No, definitely not. Deaf people are not biased, but why Gallaudet administration posted this SIGN on campus?

IS GALLAUDET UNIVERSITY PROMOTING RADICAL ORALISTIC ADOVCATORS?

I suggest equalized biased signs on campus or just delete all biased signs together.

What you say?……Let’s be Fair and Balance?

OR SHOULD WE SAY……ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

THIS IS REALLY SICK!

John F. Egbert

JohnFEgbert.com

Why Hard of Hearing?… Biased Political Correctness?

johnfegbert — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:47:13 +0000

Should we stop these stupid terminologies of the Political Correctness Identity?

Should we be proud of ourselves as one identity?

If not, then we have a problem.

Instead of being identified Deaf,

Should be we identified politically corrected as hard of hearing or (d)eaf as being colonized?

Or instead of being identified Black,

Should be we identified politically corrected as hard of white or (b)lack as being colonized?

Oh, what about Gays and Lesbian? Hard of straight?

Is it about time we stop this stupidity of being hard of common senses?

What more we need to categorize ourselves into being itself to be politically correctly identified in the society?

I wonder if we need to stop this reality as part of the stupid political correctness-ization culture?

In my opinion, whom ever invented the terminology word “hard of hearing”(….AGBell?) did it to divide the Deaf community and wanted to promote speak and hear(monolingual) as being more superior than those that are bilingual: American Sign Language and English.

Yeah, I “hear” you…….., you say…., Enough is Enough.

I am Deaf and Proud,
John F. Egbert

“I may speak well but I am never hearing”

JohnfEgbert.com

MindField Book Reaction by ASL Student

johnfegbert — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:22:43 +0000

MindField was very eye-opening and inspirational. I learned many new things and acquired a new outlook on the Deaf world. The first thing I learned is that ASL is a complex language with a clear grammatical structure. This isn’t an entirely new concept that I am unfamiliar with, but I continue to learn more about it. Before learning ASL and reading MindField, I thought the language was conveyed through picturesque gestures that resembled different words and sayings. It is astounding that ASL uses syntax, parts of speech, and verbs with emotion, facial expressions, and body movement. The second thing I learned was how American Sign Language, Signing Exact English, and English are different to each other. I used to think that American Sign Language was a language made to interpret English. However, ASL is a separate language from English. Additionally, I never had heard of S.E.E. before and thought that it was the same as ASL. However, S.E.E. is used to interpret the English language, while ASL is its own language apart from English. The third thing I learned was the majority of information we acquire is processed through sight. People don’t need to hear in order to understand what another person is saying. Humans can interpret their words through their emotions and body language. A passage from MindField that perfectly explains this point is, “What I want to know about a person is what’s in their heart and, for me, that happens in the blink of an eye” (285).

I thought that MindField was very impressive and I think that anyone who is unfamiliar with Deaf culture should read the book. MindField helped me better understand the Deaf culture and ASL. I was able to take a completely different standpoint and walk in a deaf person’s shoes. The message that I took from the book is being deaf is not a handicap, misfortune, or a birth defect. Deaf people aren’t anything less than normal; in fact, they are unique and lucky in this world.

The unfortunate part is that being deaf has acquired a negative stigma. People think that it would be such a hindrance to be deaf. Doctors and parents of deaf children conform to the outlook of the world and try to fix the “defect”. Halley Weber’s plan of action was to “fix” the deaf people by giving them hearing aids and teaching them speech (222).

MindField had many examples of the negative labels that are put on those who are deaf. One example is the conversation that Nate Bannister had with Hop about becoming deaf from the virus. “I don’t have much time before I lose my hearing like the others, I’ll be deaf and dumb” (155). There were two additional quotes from the book that stunned me. During Gordon Bogg’s presentation of the Hearing Habitats, he said, “Of course, we are working on a cure to reverse the insidious effects of this disease…” (183). The most degrading quote was from Horatio Amburgy while planning a solution to make the people hear again. “It is our mission to make these people productive in society once again. If they can’t hear, they won’t be productive. And, if they can’t talk, they won’t assimilate back into society” (227). It is sad that people think the Deaf community is not capable of functioning in the world without hearing.

MindField also touched on the feelings that people have towards the use of ASL. ASL can be referred to as embarrassing with the use of “flailing” gestures that seems like gibberish to outsiders. Many people think that deaf people should have to learn how to communicate normally since the majority of people talk. People think those of the majority population shouldn’t have to learn a different language for the benefit of the minority.

MindField redefined my outlook on the Deaf community. I used to think that it would be horrible if I couldn’t hear. After reading the book, I feel embarrassed to say that I thought that way. I won’t deny that the world has wonderful sounds. However, what I hear the most is honking horns, curse words, gossip, slander, and ridicule. It doesn’t make sense to me that those who consider themselves privileged use their voices to hurt. At times, I notice that as I listen to someone, I am not really listening. I am always distracted and don’t fully engage myself with the other person. People need to understand that to hear is to see to really know what people are communicating. Life will become much more meaningful when we begin to see.

MindField – http://johnfegbert.com/mindfield/

Will Qaddafi meet AGBell in Hell?

johnfegbert — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:34:51 +0000

And congratulate each other of their achievement…?

This is the question I got from a Deaf friend of mine.

This question really got me thinking more deeper about the ramification of how Qaddafi from Libya and AGBell from USA of their mission.

This friend of mine which I will not identify but will say that this person is Deaf. I asked this person why AGBell would be in hell with Qaddafi while AGBell never killed anyone as Qaddafi has in the last 42 years.

This Deaf person really got me to think more deeply about the difference between a death of a person and a person suffering too many years of oppression. This Deaf person said that death is better off than suffering over the years of oppression because once you die, you no longer suffer.

Oh man, that really got me thinking deeper and how true that anyone suffering badly would rather die than having the pain getting everyday.

Gosh, I hate to think about it but really…And then I went back to thoughts of about Qaddafi torturing many people with death seems far better than how AGBell’s ideology of not having Deaf babies and children to know and learn American Sign Language, a torturing of everyday living of the limitation to be a fulfilled human being of being able to communicate like a normal person.

The normal life of a Deaf person is the need to be bilingual: American Sign Language and English. The bilingual Deaf person will be able to learn speech having far more ability than a monolingual deaf person.

That really got me to realize that in comparison with Qaddafi and AGBell, Qaddafi’s ideology tortured its people in the last 42 years with its oppression and it will end with death while AGBell’s ideology of “banning” bilingualism with the still continuing of the on going of starting back over 100 years…and everyday till this Deaf person dies of old age…the years of suffering of not being able to have a normal communication modality skill.

Yes, I know that I will be attacked by the minority (d)eaf dysfunctional group as much as the minority group supporting Qaddafi but that is how the world is with these tiny insignificant minority group that makes the loudest noise.

The point is this, Is it the well-being of Deaf babies or the ideology of where the money is?

I say, only misguided people will attack me, not the morality people.

What do you normal people have to say about this?

WORLD SERIES Baseball: MONOLINGUAL VS. BILINGUAL

johnfegbert — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:27:41 +0000

Yes, we got the World Series Baseball on now and it is Texas vs. St Louis.

Texas is famous for Bilingualism

and

St. Louis, Missouri is famous for Mono-lingualism

and

who are you rooting for?

I am going to support for Texas because of its bilingual ideology…two language for the people whether it is for deaf or hearing babies.

It is well known that St. Louis, Missouri is all about auditory monolingualism for all deaf babies whether they fail of not….its ideology will never change…monolingualism period…Oralism – forbids any visual sign language.

I am rooting for Texas to win the World Series.

Over 100 years of deprivation with Deaf children being auditory monolingual is abusive.

Support Texas Rangers to win the World Series.

If St Louis Monolingualism win the World Series then “St Louis” Oral Capitalism will continue on its self interest ways.

Money wins but truth shall prevail soon….

Deaf Bilingualism is the Solution to all the problems in the last 130 years with Deaf Education….It is time to change.

John F Egbert supports Texas Rangers baseball team.