Its government programs for the hearing because its the people who do not know sign language that can use the help.
Some years ago the state of California created a small pamphlet of Medical Sign language. It is a small eight page pamphlet that covers basic medical sign language.
http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/Forms/English/pub391.pdf
Now many say things can just be written out. To a large part this is true but its not easy.
Thry these three sentances.
We wound the wound with gauze
The dove dove into the bush.
The farm will produce more produce with rain.
Some ordanry words that trip people up
hierarchical
exaggeration
refrigerator
entrepreneurial
Here is an interesting example of social media for deaf by the deaf
http://www.mydeaflife.com/mydeaflifetv.php?gclid=CNvYlYabv5kCFcWO5wodj28Ctg
Video dictionary for sign language
http://www.aslpro.com/
Thought for the day – the deaf walk silenty amoungs us.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Tricia,
Hi. Most welcome. The internet leveled the playing field for many. I hope social media will make it easier to harvest everyone’s input, skills and knowledge. Sadly I feel the deaf get left out, just my opinion.
Great comment. I know whenever I discuss accessibility, I bring in that accessibility isn’t just for those with low vision or who are blind. Most of the people are always amazed when I mention that there are many who are deaf and blind who also use the Internet. Thanks for the comment – it’s all about education!
Kris,
Hi. Thank you for the feed back. Deaf, blind, those who can not talk, etc enjoy how the internet levels the playing field. If a person speaks slowly, can not pronounce words well or has a thick accent it does not matter. This helps the web to be more social – though politeness and social context are still very important.
For fun here are some more hard to pronouce words and sentances. It helps drive home how adults sound out words. Yes there are more. Its amazing we can read at all sometimes 😉
SYZYGY – the astronomical alignment of three planets.
SYNAESTHETE – A person for whom sense impressions occur through stimulation of a different sense to that expected. They see light, taste sound or hear smells.
CLINQUANT – Glittering with gold or silver; a false and showy glitter.
FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION – The action or habit of judging something to be worthless. Yes this is the word from the TV commercial.
ICHTHYOPHAGOUS – Fish-eating.
LEIOTRICHOUS – Having straight hair. It comes from Greek ‘leios’, smooth, plus ‘trikhos’, hair.
As for more hard to read sentances
When I saw the tear in the fabric, I shed a tear.”
“He was too close to the door to close it”
“I read what the president will read tonight”
Enjoyed the post, thanks for sharing, I’ll pass it along to others who’ll appreciate knowing about this resource.
Also, a question I’ve been trying to find an answer for, does anyone know if NING is 508 compliant (accessible to screen readers for the visually impaired). Account creation seems to be a barrier as it requires entering a CAPTCHA and does not have an audio equivalent. Are there ways to support users with screen readers through this process (eg, can group admins facilitate account creation in any way). I ask because I’d like to think about creating a NING network to support my center’s work in disabilities and special education, but the accessibility issue could be a deal-breaker for a percentage of our users.
Stephen… you might check with the USDA Target Center for advice about compliance. http://www.usda.gov, select or search for Target Center link. Extraordinarily good service and quite knowlegeable about software accessibility. Tell Kevin Kathy at the Forest Service sent you. (Well, no, you don’t need to do that, strictly speaking. But he just did a super presentation on accessible software for the Forest Service Pathfinder’s organization, of which I am a Regional chair. (Our focus is on the abilities of people with disabilities in our workforce, but we do no limit membership to people with disabilities or to active employees. A current project we are working on is illustrating working and living with photographs. The idea is to have the adaptive aid be a secondary or even tertiary character in the photo story, and for the “non visible” disabilities to be interpreted. We have some extremely good images thanks to the diligence of some Forest Service folks.
PS… all that’s clinquant is not gold, eh? I love the word.
Poetry happens.
Kathy,
Love your joke and thank you for the answer for Stephen and me. I’m going to note it.
Federal, state, local, NGO, non profits and commercial all try to be as 508 compliant as possible – though I do not know of any that ask for volunteers to see if they like the website.
I hope you try the sentances out on others so they can learn as well.
Oops almost forgot:
Have a great weekend and do not forget tomorrow is Earh Hour. Lights, TV etc off from 8:30 to 9:30. Great time to test emergency preps like flash lights.
At work today notice which rooms have emergency lighting and which do not (like bath rooms) Would be bad to get caught in the dark. What flash light would you carry??
Stephen,
HI. Here is a posting about making NING 508 compliant http://cuwebd.ning.com/group/omniupdate/forum/topics/ou-tips-tidbits?page=1&commentId=1763934%3AComment%3A37705&x=1#1763934Comment37705
As a frame of reference remeber blind programmers and web serfers do not have monitors – just a keyboard and mouse. Just a keyboard, mouse and little box they stick one hand into to read the screen. Please put everything in text as if pictures could not beused. Yea Kinda freaks me out how you can program without a screen or monitor.
I like the article because it underscores “508 is the minimum, why not go the extra mile” It it not that difficult, just details. You can get volunteers to test your site. I also ask people “Why should these people be kept out when they have bought their own computer, internet connection and found your website??” 508 is not incase there are blind folks its to help open the world for all. (sorry, stepping off my soap box and away from the keyboard 😉 LoL
Thanks Kathy & Allen – very thoughtful and useful. No need to step off the soapbox, the message needs to be heard 🙂
In inquiring about accessibility of NING I mentioned the obvious barrier relating to account creation. There are certainly other considerations, and clearly, as you correctly mention, there are many ways we can go beyond 598 to inmprove accessibility and usability for all.
-Steve
I wanted to alert readers of this post to the “Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government National Training Conference.”
The Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government (DHHIG) will hold its 12th National Training Conference (NTC) on May 5-7, 2009, in Washington, D.C. This training conference is targeted towards Federal, State and Local government employees.
The DHHIG NTC will focus on the employment, advancement, retention, and culture of Government employees who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing as well as hearing employees. The theme for this year is “Climbing Ladders of Opportunity.”
This three-day training qualifies as training in compliance with 5 U.S.C. Chapter 41 and is intended for any Federal employee. This NTC will provide training and workshops covering leadership, information and communication technology, and career development.
Federal employees and managers are encouraged to review the conference information when deciding to participate. Course descriptions, costs, and schedules are available for review at the following website http://www.dhhig.org/ntc.
Agencies are reminded that reporting of training is governed by 5 C.F.R. 410. A copy of this regulation may be found at http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title05/5cfr410_main_02.tpl .
Annett,
Hi. Thank you for the DHHG conference and for finding this post. It is not on the main page so I am very glad you found it
I will pass along the dates and times. Here is the Website ” http://dhhig.info/ntc/2009/ ”
Annette:
Are there any training credits for the conference?
Are there any classes or hand outs to help get people up to speed on ASL or hard of hearing issues?
Will there be any live demonstrations? We used to put “mickey mouse ears” the flight deck ear protection on people and then ask them to walk around. Kinda gives the impression of how disconnected being deaf can feel. No conversation, no warnings and if done right you can not hear your heart beat or your own voice.
I hope you add a blog post for this.
Thank you.
Allen
Alen,
I don’t have the answers to your questions but will try to get them and respond.
Annette
Annette,
If you find the answers that may help promote the convention.
Do you have any thoughts on how the new social media may help or may hinder the deaf and hard of hearing?
Allen