AFA letter to New York Times Editors re: biased series

Tue, Aug 16, 20

Dear NY Times Editors:

Audism Free America (AFA) is a grassroots Deaf activist network in the US, which advocates for Deaf American rights, cultural resurgence, and seeks primarily to challenge the ideological foundations of audism in America. Audism is attitudes and practices based on the assumption that behaving in the ways of those who speak and hear is desired and best. It produces a system of privilege, thus resulting in stigma, bias, discrimination, and prejudice—in overt or covert ways—against Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf people of all walks of life.

We want to express our discontent over the series of op-ed pieces the NY Times ran concerning Deaf education. The “debate” is not boiled down to Deaf Schools = manualism (sign language) and Mainstreaming = oral / aural only. Nope, life is much more complex than that. Some Deaf schools are oral / aural only, some are signed English, some are simultaneous-communication (Speaking with some signing), and a few are bilingual-bicultural (ASL + English). Programs offer clinical services in audition and articulation as deemed appropriate via the child’s IEP etc.

The true debate, which your series did not even touch upon, is really about whether or not oral / aural only is alright– ie whether or not the banishing of a natural and fully accessible language and the denial of a Deaf child’s natural visual acuity is acceptable in the 21st century. Four major international organizations have said – it is NOT o.k. to deny Deaf children access to a fully natural and accessible signed language (See the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD), the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), and the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED) New Era and Accord for the Future 2010 Agreement).

The NY Times displayed blatant bias in their selection of writers for your five op-ed pieces. Of the five only one is Deaf. None of them appear to have had any experiences at Deaf schools – either as a student, teacher or administrator. All of them are well versed and experienced with the majority culture and highly and clearly value it.

The old “communication war” was set up to be a binary thing – Oralism Vs. Manualism but in actuality it was always Oralism vs. Bilingualism. Modality vs. multilingualism. To see the NY Times reinforce errors of the past while promoting some unhealthy and unacceptable myths about the “miracles” of future technology and the burden of “the Deaf” on taxpayers skates dangerously close to some of the rhetoric used to push for eugenics (positive and/or negative eugenics).

We request that in the future the NY Times commit to getting the full story and involve the actual byproducts of Deaf education and experts and scholars within the field of multilingualism-multiculturalism, Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf education, and Deaf rights.

As things presently stand though – instead of journalistic integrity examining Deaf Rights, the NY Times has on the record, many wrongs. We hope and trust you will correct such errors in the future.

Also, you should know that the op-ed piece by Perry Zirkel “What the Law Requires” you feature a photograph that is incorrectly captioned by the NYTimes to read “Members of the National Association of the Deaf demonstrated in Washington in July, calling for specific education for the deaf involving sign language and separate school facilities.” The fact is that the photo was taken at an Audism Free Rally in Washington, DC outside of the Omni Shoreham Hotel where the Alexander Graham Bell Association was hosting it’s Listening and Spoken Language Symposium. It was not an NAD event and we were not calling for separate school facilities at this rally.

If you would care to learn more about who we are and what we were protesting, rallying and hosting a vigil for, please feel free to contact us.

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

--
LET FREEDOM ROLL!!
AFA

Video of AFA @ AGBell Symposium Rally Day One (7/21/11)

AFA video of first day of AFA Rally at AG Bell (Listening and Spoken Language Symposium) in Washington DC (July 21 - 23)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-w5rXy3nkM

AFA Meeting with OSEP from Dept of Education (7/22/11)

Meeting of AFA Representatives with the Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (July 22, 2011)

Contacts and Participants:
Weeks prior to the rally in Washington DC (July 21-23, 2011), AFA representatives contacted a number of offices connected with the Department of Education (DoE) for an opportunity to meet during this time.

While the Civil Rights section of the DoE was not responsive (would only refer us to state DoE offices), we were successful in securing a meeting with Dr. Melody Musgrove. Dr. Musgrove is the Director of the Special Education section of the Department of Education and also was a keynote presenter during the AG Bell Conference.

In preparing for the meeting, AFA invited a representative from the National Association for the Deaf (NAD) to join us. The NAD sent Sean Gerlis, NAD Region 1 Representative to participate. Others attending were AFA Representatives Ruthie Jordan and Karen Christie as well as Patricia Raswant who had provided helpful documents prior our the meeting. Attending the meeting from the Department of Education was Dr. Musgrove, Ruth Ryder, Larry Wexler, Sue Swenson and Ernest Hairson.

Purposes of our meeting:
1. We had concerns related to how the federal government has consistently denied Deaf students access to a free appropriate public educational programming in alignment with research about the language/cognitive abilities of Deaf people and recent international proclamations (ie ICED New Era, UN Rights of the Child, UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UN statement on prevention and punishment of Genocide, and WFD’s Statement on Human rights).

2. We were concerned that the DoE has not provided appropriate regulatory guidance to state and local agencies in light of recent events at Deaf schools across the United States (Deaf schools being closed or infiltrated with oral only advocates/programs)

3. We felt a need to meet with Dr. Musgrove to explain why it wasn’t cool that she was giving a keynote address at the AG Bell Conference.


AFA’s call to DoE was read aloud by Dr. Musgrove to the group.

**AFA calls upon the Department of Education

to ensure that policies/procedures/programs are, at the very least, in alignment with UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2010 ICED New Era Document, World Federation of the Deaf recognition and right to use sign languages…(copies of these documents were provided at the meeting)

to provide the guidance to state and districts whereby:

*the HUMAN RIGHTS of the Deaf child be guaranteed in the educational system
*that the human linguistic rights of Deaf children be acknowledged as the right to be bilingual in ASL (a minority language) and English (as the “official language”)
*that Deaf children have an unconditional right to be educated through the medium of their minority language within a state-financed education system (this is a Linguistic human right)
*that Deaf children have a right to profit from their educational system in particular that they achieve high levels of bi-or multi-lingualism through education

and acknowledge:
parents/guardians who make choices about their child’s education placement/medium of instruction today do not often know enough about the probable long term consequences of their choices to deem it to be voluntary and not done under pressure from the majority (see Skutnabb-Kangas 2008) ; and

any state educational program---but early intervention programs in particular---that promote an oral only approach and promotes a disuse of ASL be not supported by the Department of Education.
___________________________________________
A review of some points made during the meeting:

AG Bell’s Listening and Spoken Language principles were reviewed and shown to also promote a disuse of sign language. Audism as a institutional practice was discussed plus AFA cards and the DBC pamphlet were handed out.

NAD representative handed out NAD position statements on American Sign Language, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, Schools for the Deaf, Inclusion, and Dual language development.

Past Congressional Reports on the Education of Deaf Students in 1964 (Babbidge report) and 1988 (Commission on Education of the Deaf report) were reviewed with DoE emphasizing the findings of the failure of the oral only approach and the need to use ASL in the education of Deaf students. This 1988 report also included testimony, which expressed concerns that DoE was interpreting LRE as mainstreaming for Deaf children---an interpretation which often leads to the most restriction in terms of language access and socio-emotional-educational development.

Mr. Wexler responded that, at present, they did not see another Congressional report on the state of the education of Deaf students coming within the next several years.

Relevant documents were provided to DoE including Kristin Snodden’s 2008 American Sign Language and Early Intervention article (from The Canadian Modern Language Review) which points to how the medical profession and Auditory Verbal Therapy practitioners have worked together to unduly influence governmental procedures and deny Deaf children access to ASL.

In response to Dr. Musgrove’s emphasis on options and parental choice
-it was emphasized that AG Bell Association does not offer options—the only option being oral only.
-we expressed concerns that parental choice being uninformed and valued over child rights.

The Results:
This was seen as a meeting where we could make initial contacts with individuals in the DoE.

The report of the “Achievement Gap for Deaf students” from the California State of Education Address (2007) by Superintendent O’Connell was shared and included in the documents provided to DoE.

This “achievement gap,” Dr. Musgrove agreed was NOT ACCEPTABLE and that statement was the strongest statement she made during the meeting.

AFA plans to follow up with this meeting and ask for a formal response to the calls we have made upon DoE.

NAD apologies to AFA

July 21-23, 2011 Audism Free America hosted rallies in front of the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC to protest the Alexander Graham Bell Association and their Listening and Spoken Language Symposium.

On July 22 Friday at 7 pm there was a Vigil at the AG Bell Association headquarters - The Volta Laboratory and Bureau. During this vigil a few pieces of blue painters trim tape were placed over some words on the Volta Bureau plaque so that the words Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing could read as Alexander Graham Bell Association for the ... Hearing

Later that evening Sean Gerlis - National Association of the Deaf (NAD) designated representative for the AFA rally and the AFA meeting with the Dept of Education posted on facebook and tweeted:
“On behalf of Bobbie Beth Scoggins, Prez of NAD & myself, we NAD do not condone this behavior from @endaudism to desecrate AGB's building.”

July 23 Saturday morning AFA sent an email to NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum and
CCed Sean Gerlis and Dr. Bobbie Beth Scoggins explaining the incorrectness and inappropriateness of the term "descrate" and that no defacing took place. We also requested a public apology.

On the Evening of July 27 Wed we received an apology from Dr. Scoggins, NAD president, and we asked if we could share this reply with the public. In the evening of July 29 Fri we received a reply from Dr. Scoggins that it was fine to do so. Here is the NAD's reply below.

We look forward to future activism and advocacy as we work collectively to combat audism and ensure equality and justice.

Let Freedom Roll,
Audism Free America
-------

On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 7:24 PM, Bobbie Beth Scoggins wrote:

Hi cherished AFA Members,



This is to let you know that the NAD was pleased to be present at the rally, and to support your cause in principle. It is imperative that all deaf children grow up with and benefit from American Sign Language in their education, as well as in their social and identity development. We look forward to continuing the mutual advocating on this issue with you.



I sincerely apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from the unintended use of "desecration." We respect your right to express your freedom of speech, and ask that you respect the NAD and its position that we do not engage or participate in any activities that will affect the property of others.



Our mission, vision and values are strong and consistent with what you are trying to do. We hope that both the AFA and the NAD can move forward with our collective work to advocate for all deaf children and their right to acquisition of American Sign Language.



Thank you,
Bobbie Beth Scoggins, NAD President

AFA Rally in Washington DC July 23 2011: DAY THREE Tweets

Evening of July 22nd...one more tweet in response to a tweet by NAD representatives accusing AFA of "desecration" of the Volta Bureau earlier that evening...

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
To clarify there was no "desecration" of the volta bureau. Afa was acting with advice of a lawyer who was present and cooperated w/police
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DAY THREE
Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
Final day of afa rally in dc. Starts 1030am. How hot can this rally get???

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
RaLly is heating up!!!! http://yfrog.com/gzgbenlj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Jehanne is bbbaacckk and standing young and strong!!!!! http://yfrog.com/hscu1gzj

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
Growing growing crowd fired up gally students champ!!!

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
The heat is on!! Rally hard http://yfrog.com/kfy5kyhj


Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
More heat in front of omni http://yfrog.com/h4303mkj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Fired up! http://yfrog.com/kl19qfxj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Know audism what mean?? See pic http://yfrog.com/kjyhrrj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
LoooOkkkkk!!!! http://yfrog.com/gylxndnj

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
Roar http://yfrog.com/kemk6kvj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
One shirt says it all http://yfrog.com/h25etilsj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
DOR for DBC standing strong in front of omni http://yfrog.com/gy1jqvdvj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
DCAD prez and david nelson in the house

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Rally on john e testifyin truthifyin.

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Oral only baloney http://yfrog.com/h0zxdmrj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
David nelson apologizing on behalf of dcsad. About the heat http://yfrog.com/klipdbsj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Charm --Prez MSAD--- Charming the crowd supporting deaf lang and human rights http://yfrog.com/h712jufj



Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
DOR of DBC joins afa call for ag bell to apologize for years od damage to deaf kids and families http://yfrog.com/h4ya2ynj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (crowd informed of sit in plans...Six choose to participate)
SIT IN at the AGBELL COnference: Afa six sit in at ag bell session on "cultural and linguistic" competence (go in one of the conference rooms and sit at the front)

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America(@ sit in )
AG Bell member repeatedly asks AFA reps to leave
http://yfrog.com/kki6xsej

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Afa six sit in chant let deaf children sign. stop dividing families oralism fails, interrupt session


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Session ending due to interruption by afa cheers (pic show "cart interrupted")
http://yfrog.com/h3d8gpgj


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Arrests being threatened
(Hotel security asks AFA to leave or will call DC police to arrest us for tresspassing)
(Shawn leaves to catch flight!)

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Inside before police arrive and get paranoid abt pictures etc (patti is taking pics of group as AGBell's Communication Director sits) http://yfrog.com/khc9cmij


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Afa lawyer comes in with many many police. If drag out physically, charge --criminal tresspassing.
(after two police move to forcibly lift Mark...they stop and move away)
Afa five left to negotiate with lawyer for some minutes...

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (@ sit in)
Afa leaves peacefully and hotel officials and police assure us they are "not taking sides"

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
The message to agbell: Wherever u go we will stand strong against u until u meet our demands


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America (as we leave in front)
Guess who came to the rally http://yfrog.com/h24vxbpj

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
Pass the hat. Money for lawyer ann wilcox who also attended last nights vigil http://yfrog.com/hs39151023j


Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
Gally folks showing up yeahhh http://yfrog.com/kjod1jhj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
INFO: AfA celebration tonight 8pm at marriott shoreham stone cutters lounge. Time to paArrttyyy Time to CELEBRATE!!!!!!


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Now! the deaf unit of mpd shows up. Our pals from 2009 volta protest. Time to ensure calm and chat!! http://yfrog.com/h3eq0vpj

Audism Free America
@endaudism Audism Free America
The friendly radicals fraterizing with police!!! http://yfrog.com/kh6qzejj
The Group with our signing police http://yfrog.com/h2k92eajj

Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
We love ur tweets. Great spirit boosters. Thanks to all tweeters/retweeters for ur support!!


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
Afa truly thanks those brave supporters who came out faced Record breaking heat to stand strong with us against denial of deaf childrens human rights of sign language


Audism Free America
endaudism Audism Free America
The message to agbell. Wherever u go we will stand strong against u until u meet our demands

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(note: a few tweets were edited for clarity and minor mistakes)