Mid term grades

October 23rd, 2007

I submitted a grade of B for everyone because I have so little to go on. You’ll all have plenty of opportunity to bring it up.

SpeechEasy

October 23rd, 2007

Wow! I thought class today was amazing. Share your responses here.

Deafness, Disability and Difference

October 16th, 2007

I want you to respond to the lectures, videos and our discussion by writing about some aspect of Deafness, disability and difference that is important to you. Your paper should be 8 to 12 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins) and should try to look at the issues we have discussed from both sides. You can find quotes and clips from the video as well as questions you might want to address at the Through Deaf Eyes web site .

I’m not asking for a summary of the video, nor am I asking you to simply answer the questions; I want you to deal with the issues in whatever way works best for you. Relating them to your experiences or differences, or those of a family member might work well for some of you. Others might be more comfortable addressing the ethical or philosophical issues. I’ll be pleased to talk with any of you outside of class to help you get started.

This assignment will be due in 2 stages. A draft must be emailed to me before noon on Friday 9 November . I’ll get feedback to you by Tuesday 13 November. Then your final draft must be emailed to me before noon on Tuesday 20 November . Your final draft will be graded. It must be free of spelling and grammatical errors and should address the issues in a thoughtful and sensitive way.

You may find the resources of the Writing Center very helpful. I encourage you to visit their web site and to seek their help.

Through Deaf Eyes

October 9th, 2007

THROUGH DEAF EYES is a two-hour HDTV documentary that explores 200 years of Deaf life in America. It will take us most of 2 classes to watch it. I hope it will further illuminate the discussion we began after Sound and Fury.

Autism related study at TEACCH

October 5th, 2007

I got this notice of an interesting sounding study over at the amazing TEACCH center. I hope to get someone from there to come talk to us later this semester. The study sounds interesting and pays $20 too. If anyone participates I’d love to hear about the experience.

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Books

October 4th, 2007
  • Everyone here spoke sign language: hereditary Deafness on Marthas Vineyard , Nora Ellen Groce, ISBN 067427041X
  • Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independence , John Hockenberry, ISBN 0786881623
  • Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness , John M. Hull, ISBN 067973547X
  • Journey Out of Silence , William Rush, ASIN 0939644215
  • Seeing Voices , Oliver Sacks, ISBN 0375704078
  • An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales , Oliver Sacks, ISBN 0679756973
  • Living in the State of Stuck , Marcia Scherer, ISBN 1571290796
  • Making Peace with Autism : One Family’s Story of Struggle, Discovery, and Unexpected Gifts , Susan Senator, ISBN 1590302443
  • Animals in Translation : Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior , Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson, ISBN 0743247698
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly : A Memoir of Life in Death , Jean-Dominique Bauby, ISBN : 0375701214

If you could make your deaf child hear, would you?

October 2nd, 2007

We’ll discuss the video on Thursday in class but we can begin the discussion here while it is fresh on our minds.

Also, look at this story over at MSNBC on “ Babies with made-to-order defects ”.

Wii Popular with Geriatric Gamers

October 2nd, 2007

From CNN .

Deafness and the meaning of disability.

September 27th, 2007

With Charley Finley’s lecture today we’re beginning a unit on deafness, Deaf culture, ethics, and the meaning of disability. I hope you will find the topic interesting and thought provoking. I encourage you to pay close attention to the discussion and explore resources elsewhere because your next assignment will be writing a paper on your reaction to the topic. You may find it useful to take some notes to remind you of the aspects you found most interesting.

Next class we’ll watch “Sound and Fury”. Wow.

Thinking about accessible Guitar Hero

September 21st, 2007

Also, let’s think about ways to make Guitar Hero accessible. Or something like Guitar Hero. Perhaps we could do Drum Hero on the DDR pad with a child sitting in the middle? Maybe we pick some tunes with obvious and repetitive drum parts to start. Then your goal is to hit the pad on the beat? Maybe with with two obvious drum instruments you have to hit both at the right time. I’m thinking of something with a back beat.