At the convention's opening session, race car drivers and cousins, Jaki and Tomas Scheckter were introduced. Jaki lives in South Africa. He has a hearing loss and has bilateral cochlear implants. His cousin Tomas arranged for him to get these implants at a hospital in Indianapolis. He even raised money for the operations. The Gift of Hearing Foundation also donated money. Today Tomas is a board member of the Gift of Hearing and Jaki is on the board of a similar organization in South Africa that raises money for children to receive cochlear implants. They told us these stories and then shared with us how exciting it is to be a race car driver. They explained how adrenaline rushes through their bodies during the race and afterwards leaves them feeling drained and empty. They love it and wouldn't choose any other occupation.
Jaki and Tomas Scheckter
Patti Spitler and interpreter
Then I attended two workshops in the afternoon. The first one was called "Living with Deafness: Positive Self Advocacy and Career Success". It was taught by college professor, Dr. David Baldridge, who is researching the workplace experiences of the deaf and hard of hearing. The second one was titled "The Resilient Self: Surviving and Thriving Through Your Deafness". This session was taught by Sally Skyer of NTID.
Here are a few photos from the Exhibit Hall:
The CapTel display. Many of the
booths featured assistive technology.
The Scheckter cousins graciously signed our program
books and posed for photos at the Gift of Hearing table.
Learn more about this nonprofit organization here.
books and posed for photos at the Gift of Hearing table.
Learn more about this nonprofit organization here.
Each sponsor was given a trophy.
Wasn't that a nice touch?!!!
Wasn't that a nice touch?!!!
1 comment:
I would have loved to have a chance experiencing one of these events. Looks alot to take in though. :)
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