January: Speaker’s Meeting: "On January 11, Self for Hard of Hearing's Derbytown Chapter will conclude their series on cochlear implants with a presentation by audiologist Barbara Eisenmenger on adapting to the use of an implant. Dr Eisenmenger, on the faculty of the Audiology department at U of L, is also in private practice and programs the processors used by implant patients. This evening will be invaluable to anyone who wants to understand the process by which a person adapts to a new CI and how the brain learns to hear again. The session will be on the mezzanine level at the Louisville Public Library, 3rd and York, beginning at 6:30 PM. Everyone welcome."

Kentucky Center Captioned Theater

Does someone want to organize a Group outing? Be sure to mention that you need captioning when you order your tickets. Access Hot Line 502-562-0111; TTY 502-562-0140

Access KCard Program Kentucky Center Access Services

Last season the Ky. Center Access Services offered SHHH Derbytown the opportunity to participate in a new and exciting probationary program, a discount ticket program, the Access KCard. This year the card will be offered on an individual basis for $5 per performance. Please contact Stacy Ridgeway, Director of Access Services, The Ky. Center at 502-562-0711, TTY 502-562-0140; sridgeway@kentuckycenter.org or Ed Schickel, 502-349-6792, schickel@bardstown.com .

This offer is to introduce non arts patrons (with disabilities) to accessible art offerings. A maximum number of 2 tickets per showing. First come first served. Access needs must be conveyed at the time of ticket purchase.

The following performances are available for this program

Louisville Orchestra:

1/8 -- To Infinity and Beyond

1/13 & 2/7 -- Michael Davis

2/3 & 2/5 -- Caitiin Tully

2/5 -- Andrea Levine

2/24 & 2/25 -- Paul York

January 22, Informal Dinner at Piccadilly’s

We plan to have our monthly informal dinner at Piccadilly’s on Hurstbourne Lane at Shelbyville Rd. on the fourth Saturday, at 2:00 pm. Please let Ed know in advance if you want a table looped to facilitate conversation via your T-switch.

Lions Develop Hearing Aid for Low-Income People

Responding to a worldwide problem, the Lions Affordable Hearing Aid Project (AHAP) has developed a low cost, high quality hearing aid. Approximately 150 Million people have a serious hearing loss that interferes with basic communication, education and employment. The cost of quality hearing aids (frequently over $2,000 in US dollars) has made hearing improvement out of reach for low-income people in countries like the United States, but even more so in poorer, developing countries.

Lions Club International Fund (LCIF) teamed with Project Impact to develop and produce a low cost and high quality hearing aid. The aid, which costs about US$100, is assessed to perform at least as well as aids that sell for US$2000. The behind-the-ear, digitally programmable aid has successfully passed clinical trials and FDA approval as well as European certification.

The low cost hearing aid is only available through Lions Clubs in partnership with audiologists. As of October 2004, more than 600 people in Mexico, India, Michigan and Washington have been fitted with the AHAP hearing aid.

For more information contact your local Lions Club or see Lions Club International Fact Sheet: Lions Club

From the Desk of Brenda Battat, Director of Public Policy and States Development

The SHHH mission is to open the world of communication to people with hearing loss through information, advocacy, education and support. We invite you to join SHHH members to advocate at federal, state, and local levels for better communication access.

SHHH Advocacy Issues

§ Better access to affordable hearing aids, cochlear implants and other technology for all who can benefit

§ Telephones designed to work with hearing aids and cochlear implants

§ Assistive technology and programs complying with disability rights laws and providing accessibility in public and private facilities, workplaces, and state and local governments

§ More captioned movies in neighborhood theaters

§ Improve quality of captioned TV and meeting FCC captioning regulations timetable

§ Strengthen federal requirements for accessible air travel including appropriate screening procedures

§ Roll-out nationwide a captioned telephone service

§ Improve access to and the effectiveness of hearing health services

§ Increase grant funding for the training of more captioners

§ Enhance funding for infant hearing screening programs and follow-up care

§ Strengthen standards for visual and audible fire alarms

Go to: HearingLoss.org to learn more about what SHHH is doing for you.

1. Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. is THE voice for all people with hearing loss. (A large constituency gives them credibility and contacts.)
2. Information is brought to members through Hearing Loss: The Journal of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
3. The National Convention provides education and access to vendors and exhibitors.
4. Support through local chapters and online information.
5. Discounts on books, resource materials, convention fees and special promotions
6. Advocacy efforts
7. Surveys, courses and special events.
8. Fellowship and support.
9. Personal Networking. What SHHH is doing for you.

Do you want to learn sign language as a back-up to your hearing aids? Please tell Paula Esterle (502-339-8037 V. if you are interested in our sign practice group. We will not meet again until a sufficient number signs up. When meetings resume, we will meet on the first, third, and fourth Mondays of the month. (No meeting on the Monday before our Tuesday Speaker's Meeting.) Please note: This is not an ASL class. This is members helping members to informally learn basic sign and to practice skills. There is no text and no formal instructor. We meet at Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church, 311 Browns Lane (near Shelbyville Rd.) at 7 p.m. in Room 216 (on the northeast corner of the second floor).

Captioned Movies

Thanks:

Special thanks to Karen Lichtefeld for helping us set up our dinner at the River Road Country club. Additional thanks go out to the Hazel Tucker and the Social Committee for all of their work in arranging our Pot Luck Dinner.

Our Holiday Silent Auction, donations and raffle brought in $752. We thank all who donated and purchased items.

Derbytown Board

The Derbytown SHHH sent a letter to KCDHH with a list of ten requests. They have agreed to respond after the first of the year. See attached below.

Newcomers

We would like to stay in touch with all of our newcomers. If you have internet access and you are not receiving the newsletter and periodic e-mails, please consider contacting Melanie Magruder at melbob67@msn.com and Ed Schickel at schickel@bardstown.com (502)349-6792 Voice, to be placed on our e-mail list.

KCDHH CAP-TEL:

KCDHH is now accepting applications for Cap-Tel in KY. 1-800-372-2907 (V/TTY)

CapTel & Veterans Take note - something we didn't know. If you are eligible for VA benefits - or have a spouse who is - you can get a CapTel phone thru the VA. We were told this today at the KCDHH Board of Commissioners meeting. We had been talking about the great hold up on getting the CapTel into the Distribution Program, when someone said you can get one thru the VA.

Other Projects Indiana Captioned Telephones are available. Reva or Bob Stuckey can give you the address.

SHHH National Convention
June 30-July 3, 2005, Register online for the 2005 convention in D.C.

University of Louisville Research
The University of Louisville Program in Audiology is conducting research on audiologic rehabilitation in adults with hearing loss who wear hearing aids. Audiologic rehabilitation involves training in speechreading (lipreading, auditory listening, and communication strategies. Most people with hearing loss do not use all of the strategies available to them to improve their listening. As part of a research program, FREE group audiologic rehabilitation classes will be offered. The following characteristics are necessary for research subjects:

Ø Participants must be between the ages of 55 and 75
Ø Participants must wear two hearing aids with at least six months experience.
Ø Participants must have normal or corrected vision of at least 20/40.
Ø Participants must not currently have active ear disease (i.e. ear infection).
Ø A few other screenings will be performed at the first visit to determine if the prospective participant will qualify for the study.
If you have any questions, or if you are interested in participating, please contact Jen Leddy at 502-852-3990 or Jen Leddy.

Further Information: Cheryl Heppner cheppner@nvrc.org

National Report Says Emergency Communication for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People Gets Failing Grade WASHINGTON - December 10, 2004 A national report issued today calls attention to serious weaknesses in the nation’s emergency preparedness infrastructure that compromise the safety and security of 28 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. The report, “Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Communication Access: Lessons Learned Since 9/11 and Recommendations” is the work of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN), a coalition of 16 national organizations of, by, and for deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind individuals, and the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), a regional education and advocacy center with headquarters in Fairfax, VA.

One top priority identified by the report is the need for an effective system to receive emergency information that does not depend on the ability to hear. A second priority calls for active involvement of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind in emergency planning processes, equipment testing, disaster exercises, training of public safety and security personnel, and community volunteer activities such as the Citizen Corps.

Recommendations to address these and other priorities are intended to build a national network. This network would have a knowledge bank of individuals and organizations to offer technical assistance, research, education, training, planning, advice and consultation, and development of model programs and services to tackle a wide range of needs.

"The Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Communication Access report represents an extensive summary of personal experiences by individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing on the fateful day of September 11, 2001 and thereafter under different circumstances,” said Claude Stout, Chair of DHHCAN.

“We urge policymakers, technical innovators, and first responders to take heed of the recommendations in the report, and initiate action to fully involve all stakeholders in the processes of preparing for, coping with, and recovering from natural and man-made disasters,” he said. “We are deeply grateful to Cheryl Heppner for her exemplary contributions in leadership and authorship, and over 2,000 individuals around the country who offered their testimonies as material for this report".

Excerpts from the report’s Executive Summary:

- Hearing loss has a major impact on communication in emergencies because it is impossible to depend on auditory information. Sirens, shouted warnings, calls from rescue workers trying to locate people in rubble, knocks on doors to give urgent information, quick phone calls to give a heads-up about a developing situation, radios, public address systems – all can be useless. Captioning of television and Internet news and coverage for text messages is not a given. Without effective systems, deaf and hard of hearing individuals do not know that there is an emergency, cannot learn what steps must be taken to protect themselves and others, and have no access to critical resources in the aftermath of an emergency.

- Developing an effective emergency communication system for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing will help everyone. In an emergency, many people with no hearing loss have difficulty hearing. The combination of stress and noise such as high winds, explosions, screams, or the roaring of a fire can make it impossible to hear well.

- Other weaknesses identified in the nation’s emergency preparedness planning make it imperative for quick action to ensure that individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind are actively involved in community, regional, state, and federal emergency planning processes, equipment testing, disaster exercises, Community Emergency Response Team trainings, Citizen Corps activities, training of public safety and security personnel, and other activities. The involvement of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind will tap into their tremendous talents and quickly help to increase understanding of their needs in a wide variety of areas.

- Emergency planners are setting up systems across the U.S. that do not take into account the unique needs of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind. History has repeatedly shown that redesigning and adapting equipment, programs and services without taking these needs into account is almost always more expensive and rarely as effective.

www.nad.org/DHHCANer

Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons http://www.nvrc.org/MediaLibrary/DHHCANEmergencyReport.pdf Telecommunications for the Deaf Inc. http://www.tdi-online.org/tdi/emergencypreparedness/emergencypreparedness.htm

For a text version, contact cheppner@nvrc.org.

ABOUT DHHCAN

Established in 1993, DHHCAN serves as the national coalition of organizations representing the interests for deaf and/or hard of hearing citizens in public policy and legislative issues relating to rights, quality of life, equal access, and self-representation. DHHCAN also provides a forum for proactive discussion on issues of importance and movement toward universal, barrier-free access with emphasis on quality, certification and standards.

DHHCAN ORGANIZATIONS:

American Association of the Deaf-Blind: www.aadb.org
American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association www.adara.org
Association of Late-Deafened Adults: www.alda.org
American Society for Deaf Children: www.deafchildren.org
Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf: www.ceasd.org
Communication Service for the Deaf: www.c-s-d.org
Deaf Seniors of America: www.deafseniors.org
Gallaudet University: www.gallaudet.edu
Gallaudet University Alumni Association: http://alumni.gallaudet.edu/
National Association of the Deaf: www.nad.org
National Black Deaf Advocates: www.nbda.org
National Catholic Office of the Deaf: www.ncod.org
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf: www.rid.org
Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc.: www.tdi-online.org
USA Deaf Sports Federation: www.usadsf.org
The Caption Center/WGBH: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/pages/mag/

Founded in 1989, NVRC’s mission is to empower deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their families through education, advocacy and community involvement. Its primary service area is the metropolitan region of Northern Virginia. It has been a national leader in research on the experiences of deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and deaf-blind in emergencies.

Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons: www.nvrc.org

Bobbi Beth Scoggins, Executive Director KCDHH
Trish Freeman, KCDHH Chairperson
Pat Huddleston, KCDHH Commissioner
Betty Timon, KCDHH Commissioner
Jayne McRae, KCDHH Commissioner
Row Holloway
Anita Dowd

Derbytown SHHH Board of Directors
Ed Schickel, President
Judy Rogers, Vice-President
Paula Esterle, State Coordinator
Bob Stuckey, Treasurer
Melanie Magruder
Mary Lee Nelson
Reva Kruer
Hazel Tucker

RE: Formal Request of KCDHH

As members and representatives on KCDHH’s study group exploring ways to help HOH people become more aware of KCDHH, we are aware of the Commission’s ongoing interest in HOH people in Kentucky. With this interest in mind, Derbytown SHHH’s Board of Directors is formally making the following recommendations:

I. That KCDHH construct/assemble a permanent portable Hearing Assistive Technology Display. This display would be used by KCDHH and other organizations to educate deaf and HOH people throughout the state. The display would be presented at the State and county fairs, malls, and other public venues by either the Commission itself or by organizations providing a public service not for profit.

The display should be developed to accommodate the needs of both the Deaf Community and HOH people. However, it should be flexible in its presentation to accommodate the needs of particular audiences. (While there are common goals and needs of Deaf and HOH people, there are specific communication and PR needs that are intrinsically different. This display must be flexible enough to fulfill the individual needs.)

II. That KCDHH recognize that its handouts and displays can not be assumed to be universal. Information must be developed for the Deaf Community and HOH people separately with their individual needs in mind. e.g. Deaf people need TTY emphasis while HOH need amplification emphasis. HOH people in general tend to avoid handouts and displays which emphasize deafness even when the information is in their own best interest.

III. That KCDHH begin the legislative process to change the name of the TTY distribution program. In the mean time, we are requesting that the Commission change the handout format and presentation of the distribution program for HOH audiences/readers on newly printed handouts.

IV. That KCDHH recognize that not only do very few HOH people sign but also they are intimidated by communication that is primarily sign. Just as hearing people would avoid groups that are primarily speaking a foreign language, HOH people will, in general, avoid displays and presentations that are dominated by sign. This language barrier is one reason programs and displays need to be audience specific.

V. That KCDHH approach HOH people through the mainstream media rather than small groups. Thousands of HOH people in Kentucky have no contact with “groups” and will learn of the Commission’s special services only through TV, newspapers, malls, fairs and other mainstream activities.

VI. That KCDHH become more proactive in encouraging TV stations and theaters to support real-time captioning. TV stations are looking for ways to finance captioning. Many were unaware of the special grant program for captioning from the Department of Education. They need support in brainstorming means to pay for captioning and meeting FCC guidelines ASAP. Local theaters need to understand the potential audience that is available if they provide and advertise captioning. KCDHH can gather and present the facts to theaters.

That KCDHH support the Kentucky Center’s Access programs.

VII. That KCDHH secure a portable hearing testing booth to be used at fairs and malls to promote better hearing. That the Commission contact audiologists and create a list of volunteer audiologists willing to Donate time to work this booth. That the Commission develop a volunteer team to schedule and promote the booth throughout the state.

VIII. That the Commission seek legislation to permit the TTY Distribution program to include wireless electronic devices.

IX. That KCDHH staff undergo yearly update training on deaf and HOH issues by regularly attending local, state and national conferences on HOH/Deaf issues. Such trainings should be evenly distributed between staff and issues. (e.g. ALDs training in Illinois and the National SHHH Convention in Washington)

X. That KCDHH become more proactive on HOH issues.