Saturday, March 30, 2013

AFA's letter to Senator Richter demanding apology

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Letter Audism Free America sent to Florida Senator Richter and CCed Chairman Arron Bean demanding an apology for offensive, false, and unjust remarks he shared during the open Health Policy Committee meeting.  The letter was also sent to the Democrat minority leader, Senator Sach, and the Tallahassee newspaper.

March 30, 2013

Dear Senator Richter

The remarks you read and made in your closing statement to the Health Policy Committee on May March 20, 2013 in favor of SB 1240 are offensive, highly prejudicial and unjust.  [See below]  We call upon you to issue a public apology.  You clearly judge people based on their ability to hear and speak and not on the content of their character.  Your reading of an unjust and inaccurate email and your added commentary portraying Deaf people who do not speak as limited, helpless, isolated and impotent is wrong and has no place on the Senate floor or records.  This blatant mischaracterization of Deaf ASL people is not acceptable, especially by an elected official.

Deaf ASL people are not LIMITED, sir.  In fact it is you who exhibits a significant limitation in your thinking and awareness.  Deaf ASL people are multilingual and multicultural - they can and do save people from drowning, tell their parents "I love you," ask for directions and GIVE directions, and not only order and deliver pizza but they actually own restaurants and MAKE dough.

So if you are truly worried about the ability for Deaf people to function in a Hearing world - you will work to remove bias, ignorance, and prejudice such as the type you just submitted for legislative consideration.

Speech and audition are already a part of services offered to Deaf infants and children.  Oral / Aural programs deny Deaf children the right to a fully natural and accessible language.  Systematic Oralism has been condemned by the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) 2010 New Era agreement and accord for the future as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of Person's with Disabilities, the World Federation of the Deaf Education Rights for Deaf Children, the World Report on Disability by the World Bank & the World Health Organization, the Babbidge congressional report, the Commission on the Education of the Deaf (COED) congressional report and a recent GAO report on Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children.

We request that you issue a public apology for your disrespectful, unjust, and inaccurate statements immediately.  We also invite you to read and endorse this letter at the next Senate hearing on this subject.

Let Freedom Roll,


Ruthie Jordan, Patti Durr, and Karen Christie on behalf of Audism Free America
cc: Arron Bean, Chairman
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Senator Richter’s closing statement to the Health Policy Committee on May 20, 2013:



“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. You notice
when people waived and support, they said, ‘We need this information.’

Members, that’s purely what this bill does. It gets information to them. It doesn’t
direct, it doesn’t force, it puts the information in the parent’s hands.

And, relative, I think there is a challenge in front of the bill, with the funding.
And, I’m open, will be very open to understanding that because I want to see that
these parents get it.

Today, the parents have to “opt in” to get that information, otherwise they don’t get
it.

And in my quick close, I’m just going to read an email that came in, its brief and it got my attention. 

Richter reading from email:
‘Parents always tell me that they wanted their child to hear or say, I love you,
benefit from the wisdom and love of grandparents, ask for directions if lost or in
need of a restroom, order a pizza and be able to simply shout out for help when
needed. Imagine how hard it would be to find someone who understood sign
language when you were frantic because a sibling is drowning. When someone can
only communicate with less than 1 in 5000 people.’

Richter adding commentary “like those that are talented, like these wonderful people here. They’re fluent in sign.”

Richter returns to reading the email ‘The world becomes a much smaller place.  It’s understandably hard to find a job, so you might end up lonely and marginalized.
Bucking a trend,

Richter’s commentary “as Senator Joiner pointed out,”

Richter returns to reading the email ‘is difficult under any circumstance,
and in this instance, it is terribly hard.

If a deaf person never had a choice, his or her best chance for happiness might
be…restricted to the signing deaf culture. But a choice is possible today, and over
time, it will be less expensive.’

Richter’s commentary “And I ask for your support of this bill that we’ll keep
moving through and working on.”




Thursday, March 28, 2013

AFA's Letters re: Child Protective Services

                                                                                   
Below are two letters AFA mailed re: Child Protective Services and Deaf parents and children. 
Feel free to circulate and/or write your own letters to the Admin for Children and Families at the US Dept of HHS and the National Resource Center for Child Protective Services.  
To see Deaf people's personal stories with the CPS system -
Keri Traver's Family ordeal (three vlogs)at Alternative Solutions Center http://www.ascdeaf.com/blog/?p=1202

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Audism Free America's Letters about Child Protective Services (CPS) 

Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
                                                                                     
28 March 2013

Greetings Acting Assistant Secretary Sheldon:

It has come to our attention that many Deaf parents are experiencing discrimination via Child Protective Services due to a lack of language and cultural competency by case workers.  Several Deaf parents have reported that their children were taken from them or they faced the threat of having their children taken from them simply because they were Deaf.

Deaf people have been able to raise children since the beginning of time.  Neither speech nor hearing is needed to raise children.  Federal law and the United Nations prohibit discrimination against Deaf people.  In addition to the traumatic experience of having children removed from their homes unnecessarily and unwarrantably, many Deaf people report that Child Protective Services have denied them the right to an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and that CPS at times even tried to have family members and/or the children themselves act as interpreters.  Deaf parents are also reporting that they have been pressured to implant their Deaf children with cochlear implants or that they have been pressured to get cochlear implants for themselves in order to “function” in the Hearing world.  This is unacceptable and prejudicial. 

On behalf of our community we call upon your administration to ensure that case workers are culturally competent to work with Deaf clients and their families by being trained in Deaf culture, American Sign Language and Deaf rights.  All children deserve and need safe and loving homes.  Removing children from Deaf parents or threatening to under false and unjust pretense is discriminatory and prejudicial. 

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Let Freedom Roll,

Patti Durr, Karen Christie, and Ruthie Jordan on Behalf of Audism Free America
 -----------------------


National Resource Center for Child Protective Services
925 #4 Sixth Street NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
Phone: 505-345-2444
Fax: 505-345-2626
28 March 2013

To Whom it May Concern:

It has come to our attention that many Deaf parents are experiencing discrimination via Child Protective Services due to a lack of language and cultural competency by case workers.  Several Deaf parents have reported that their children were taken from them or they faced the threat of having their children taken from them simply because they were Deaf.

Deaf people have been able to raise children since the beginning of time.  Neither speech nor hearing is needed to raise children.  Federal law and the United Nations prohibit discrimination against Deaf people.  In addition to the traumatic experience of having children removed from their homes unnecessarily and unwarrantably, many Deaf people report that Child Protective Services have denied them the right to an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter and that CPS at times even tried to have family members and/or the children themselves act as interpreters.  Deaf parents are also reporting that they have been pressured to implant their Deaf children with cochlear implants or that they have been pressured to get cochlear implants for themselves in order to “function” in the Hearing world.  This is unacceptable and prejudicial. 

On behalf of our community we call upon your administration to ensure that case workers are culturally competent to work with Deaf clients and their families by being trained in Deaf culture, American Sign Language and Deaf rights.  All children deserve and need safe and loving homes.  Removing children from Deaf parents or threatening to under false and unjust pretense is discriminatory and prejudicial. 

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Let Freedom Roll,

Patti Durr, Karen Christie, and Ruthie Jordan on Behalf of Audism Free America

Thursday, March 21, 2013

AFA's letter to NIDCD to stop CI cats cruelty

AFA's letter to the director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at NIH in regards to federally funded Univ of Wisconsin's cruelty to cats using cochlear implants.  see PETA video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTaS7Z3z4e0 - captioned.  Warning VERY graphic

If you agree with this letter below, you can simply send a note with a link to AFA's letter saying you stand with AFA in opposing federal funds go to animal torture in the name of "saving the Deaf" or write your own and/or call and leave a message.

email batteyj@mail.nih.gov
call 301 402 0900

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AFA's letter to NIDCD at NIH 

Greetings Dr. James F. Battey, Jr.:

It has come to our attention that the University of Wisconsin has been in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act  and the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed PETA’s charges of abuse and cruelty against animals using taxpayers funds.

The cats used in these experiments have been tortured (mutilated, deafened, starved, and killed) in the name of progress – improving cochlear implants.

Back in 2012 the University of Wisc. defended its practices stating “The surgery depicted in the images mirrors the procedures done in human patients receiving cochlear implants, and is done according to the same standards of care and minimizing discomfort that occurs when humans undergo the surgery.”

Not only is that statement misinformation and false, it also casts concerns on the ethical treatment of human subjects who undergo cochlear implants – many of which have died or suffered adverse effects.

Federal funds should not be utilized to commit federal violations.  On behalf of Audism Free America, we call upon the the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to cease and desist in aiding and abating torture and unethical treatment of animals in the name of “curing” and/or “treating” Deaf people.

Let Freedom Roll,

Karen Christie, Ruthie Jordan and Patti Durr on behalf of Audism Free America

Friday, March 1, 2013

AFA Calls for Divestment & Action for EHDI 2013

Summary under the video box



http://youtu.be/zFwuo9V06II

Audism Free America (AFA) vlog explaining how the Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) system does not put ASL & English front and center and is biased in favor of a medical home and a medical "solution." We are reminded of the Deaf President Now (DPN) protest, which took place 25 years ago and had clear demands for a Deaf President and 51 % board and thus was successful. For many years now Deaf leaders and allies have been engaging with EHDI without any clear demands or progress. AFA presented five demands to EHDI representatives last year to no avail. (See 5 demands in ASL and English at http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/2011/12/afas-5-demands-of-ehdi.html). Since the EHDI system has not worked to improve its oppressive practices AFA calls upon the Deaf community to DIVEST from EHDI 2013 Conference (do not pay for registration, flight, hotels etc). If people attend then EHDI will say look we have Deaf people present, Deaf stakeholder are here, even though their presence holds no power nor does it bring about any substantial progress or change. If Deaf leaders and allies feel they can not engage in divestment, they are called upon to be loud and clear about their objections at the unjust practices and inequalities of the EHDI system. Silence is not good. Community AccountABILITY is in order.