Jobs and Stress

Do you find your job stressful?

Mine has gotten less stressful since my job description was changed to accommodate my hearing loss. Previously, a small part of my duties included answering patron requests at an information desk. The questions asked could be on any subject under the sun and were usually voiced by people I had never spoken with previously. To manage, I relied on lipreading (not an exact science, as you know) in addition to my hearing aids and supplemental assistive listening devices. Still, I struggled, needing to write things down and ask for repeats.

Some of the problem was the acoustics of the room. The location of the information desk at my library is in an open area. Sounds from nearby HVAC equipment and library photocopiers and printers get amplified by my hearing aids interfering with my speech comprehension. There was also the problem of human behavior. Patrons would speak to my back from three feet or more away and I would have no idea they were there waiting for me to respond. When they approached me from the front, and I would step away from the desk to accompany them to a computer workstation, they would walk ahead of me and continue the conversation unknowing that I was not hearing what they said. One of my greatest fears was that a patron was going to make a complaint against me. Because of all this, I found my desk shifts very stressful and would be so tense I often got a headache afterwards. The mental strain always wiped me out for the rest of the day.

When a new library director came on staff temporarily, she asked me directly about my job. When I told her honestly what my experience at the information desk was like, she sought out an accommodation on my behalf. This process included my writing an official accommodation request letter to her to have my job description rewritten so that these duties could be performed by text rather than voice communication. With the letter I submitted a statement from my audiologist. It took some time, but human resources eventually signed off on her approval of my accommodation, my job description was changed, and the information placed in my employee file. Now, I contribute to the library's operations, behind the scenes, by working on the website and digital archives and answering questions sent to the library through email. This is a much better fit for me.

What do you think are the least stressful jobs?

I love a good list, especially, a top ten list, don't you? Some of the fun comes from debating the choices selected. CNBC recently posted a list of the 10 Least Stressful Jobs. Would you believe that librarian came in at #9? The median salary they post for the career is one I've never reached despite years in the field. The other part I found laughable was the comment "Books don't talk back or criticize the job you're doing." Interestingly, audiologist was picked for #6. Do you think  librarians and audiologists have low-stress jobs? How do they compare with yours?

My Jury Duty Summons Experience

Last spring I received a notice in the mail for jury duty. On the form it said I was a standby juror. That meant I wouldn't know for sure if I would be needed until the day before. How that works is you call in to a recording which tells you if you are needed. The last time I had a standby juror notice, I didn't have to go. This time I noticed the form provided contact information to let them know if I would need an accommodation. I sent an email requesting CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) service. They responded by giving me an extension so they would have time to make the arrangements. That was fine with me.

My next notice that came in the mail was an actual jury duty summons - nothing standby about it at all. Again I was instructed to contact the Jury Administration Office concerning accommodations. Once more, I emailed them requesting CART.

On my summons date, I went to the courthouse. When I checked in, I mentioned that I had requested help because I don't hear well. The woman assisting me went to check about it. When she returned, she told me to go ahead and take a seat as I wouldn't need help in this room. She gave me a panel number and a name tag sticker identifying me as a juror. She said that if my panel number got called to go into a courtroom, I was to let the deputy in the courtroom know and he would handle it. I really appreciated that she faced me and spoke distinctly when she told me this.

I took my seat in this very large room that was similar to an airport gate waiting area. After a while, a video was played on large TV screens located around the room. I was very relieved to see that the video was captioned in large type. The video explained everything we needed to know about jury service. Then it was back to waiting. I had brought snacks, a water bottle, and reading material so I didn't mind. After a little longer, panel numbers began to be called. The numbers were announced on a microphone which I was able to hear. My number wasn't called.

An hour later, an announcement was made that we would be dismissed. No more jurors were needed that day. We lined up at a counter according to our last names and received checks for our jury service.

To be honest, I was kind of relieved that it turned out that way. I knew I did the right thing by showing up and by requesting accommodations, but I was still concerned about how I would be able to hear during jury deliberations. I hoped a CART provider would be allowed in the room with me, but I wasn't absolutely sure.

I recently read an article on the Limping Chicken website about a deaf woman in England who was rejected for jury duty because of her deafness. I am glad that here in America, I was given a chance to participate.

J88 Driver's License Designation

After I heard about J88 through this news broadcast, I had it put on my drivers license. In the process of getting my new license, I asked about having my Restriction F for hearing aids removed. I was told if I could pass a vision test, I could have it taken off as the restriction requires a motorist to have 2 outside mirrors and can also apply to drivers with visual problems. I had no problem passing the test. Best of all, my new license was given to me free of charge.
Here's more information on the “J88” — Deaf/Hard of Hearing Driver’s License courtesy of the Secretary of State's A Guide to Services: Serving Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities and Veterans.
“J88” is a notation on a driver’s license that alerts law enforcement officers before approaching a vehicle that a motorist is deaf or hard of hearing. Following is how the “J88” notation works:

• Request the “J88” notation be added to your driver’s license at any Secretary of State Driver Services facility. “J88” will appear on both the front and back of your driver’s license.
• Include your driver’s license number on your vehicle registration to link the two together.
• If you are stopped by a law enforcement officer, he/she will run your license plate or driver’s license number, and a “Deaf/Hard of Hearing: Uses Alternative Communication” message will appear. The officer will then know to use alternative communication.
• You must request the “J88” notation. No forms or Secretary of State personnel will ask you to include it on your driver’s license.

What do you think of this program?

Support for the Needs of Mainstreamed Deaf/Hard of Hearing Students

This is a guest post by school librarian Nadene Eisner. Reprinted with her permission, this article was originally posted on Deaf Politics.

It takes a village: teachers and librarians can help students achieve academic success

In 2009, twenty schools for the deaf were targeted for closings or budget cuts. Throughout 2011 the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) has fought to protect schools for the deaf from closing. The NAD’s position statement on schools for the deaf recognizes their value both educationally and culturally but when we look at enrollment numbers more deaf and hard of hearing students continue to attend their local public schools, private schools, or public schools with deaf and hard of hearing programs than schools for the deaf.

While the NAD is fighting for schools for the deaf to remain open, who is looking out for the educational welfare of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students in public schools? We know the current learning situation is not working successfully for all DHH students. Research continues to show the average DHH student graduates high school with a fourth grade reading level. To combat this decades-old struggle to improve literacy and learning, research out of RIT supported recognizing and teaching to the unique learning styles of DHH students. With appropriate support, DHH students made academic gains relative to their learning level. Recommendations from this research included educating DHH students in an environment with teachers experienced in working with DHH students and supporting independent learning by providing opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge of what they read and learned. Being encouraged to think independently helped students transfer knowledge from one area to another.

Who is responsible for teaching these independent thinking skills? Many articles about educating DHH students point to classroom teachers as the responsible parties in educating students. Those of us who subscribe to the theory of teachers as guides recognize “it takes a village” to educate our students. In a true collaborative team schools might look to the music, art, and physical education teachers to provide lessons that tie in to classroom learning. The special education staff supports specific learning needs while the school librarian ideally works with everyone to ensure students have the literacy and information skills to help them become life-long thinkers and learners.

School librarians can play a tremendous role in improving learning in students who are DHH. Teachers are under a lot of pressure in the classroom to help students pass tests due to the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. Within the library, school librarians may have the freedom to do original teaching that can only improve the critical thinking skills students need to pass these standardized tests.

As with all teachers, school librarians need to be alert to the individual learning differences in their students, especially those who are DHH. This can be challenging when a school librarian teaches over 600 students each week, but by recognizing specific learning differences in students, lessons can be tailored to meet many needs at once.

What are the learning styles that define DHH learners? While many of us may learn best with a combination of learning styles, DHH learners may rely more on learning visually. Visual learners learn best with pictures, written instructions, sign language, and visual demonstrations. By contrast, auditory learners process information more effectively by listening, and kinesthetic learners do best in environments that encourage movement and tactile activities.

It’s important to understand that our brains are often expecting us to learn in a certain way regardless of how we are taught in the classroom. For example: as a deaf person I’m a visual learner; however, I became deaf at the age of three in the years before computers and captioned television. My brain was probably wired to learn by hearing but I could no longer comprehend everything I struggled to hear with hearing aids. When I looked for visual supports—pictures to demonstrate routines, written instructions, gestures, sign language, anything to fill this immense gap I was experiencing—here was nothing because I was educated in environments that didn’t differentiate for different learning styles. This didn’t change the fact that I was still an auditory learner who was now forced to learn visually without visual supports. The result for me was learning became tedious and boring.

Some DHH students in mainstreamed and self-contained classrooms today are having challenges similar to when I was a student. They may be in mainstreamed classrooms without efficient visual support. They may have teachers who don’t understand completely their very unique culture and learning needs. Students are moving from music, to art, to physical education, to the library to be taught by teachers who may be unfamiliar with their specific needs.

DHH students are not the only visual learners. We are seeing more and more visual learners in hearing students, which is terrific news for our DHH students who are educated in mainstreamed programs. Some point to technology as one reason for more visual learners. From an early age, children are surrounded by visual stimulation through television, computers, video games, and texting. As a result students also have become accustomed to receiving short bursts of information rather than long lectures.

Regardless of the reason, we are more aware of learning differences now than in the past, and we are better equipped to teach to these unique learning styles. Teachers and school librarians need to collaborate with each other to meet these unique learning needs. Students in kindergarten through high school need our guidance as they learn and we need to support students by recognizing their unique needs as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.

As a teacher-librarian I’ve looked to my own needs as an auditory/visual learner to create and present lessons that incorporate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning while also encouraging the use of technology as it relates to specific learning goals. I was thrilled to see how successful these strategies were with my hearing students and because they incorporate so much visual learning they can be adapted in a DHH classroom, or a classroom with DHH mainstreamed students.

Evidence from RIT shows that many DHH students are not where they should be academically, not because they are unable to learn but because we are not teaching to their learning styles. The more we can differentiate to encourage our students to read and communicate the better they can strive for academic success.

To further meet the needs of DHH students and provide support they may not be receiving in the classroom, I have created a tutoring service, Signs of Success Tutoring, to work not only with DHH students but also with parents, teachers, and late-deafened adults to implement strategies tailored to the needs of DHH learners as illustrated in this article. My tutoring service includes support beyond homework help that encourages students to communicate with me through my website and engage in discussions. I provide links to websites that support student learning and instruct students in how to navigate the Internet. I collaborate with teachers virtually and face-to-face to create engaging curriculum-based lessons and exercises for DHH students.

While the NAD continues to focus on keeping schools for the deaf open my tutoring service provides educational support for DHH students at home who are learning in public schools and hearing colleges. With enough teachers and parents looking out for our students we can challenge the “fourth grade reading level” research and push our students to succeed.

Works cited:
Eisner, Nadene (2011). http://www.signsofsuccesstutoring.com

Gallaudet Research Institute (2011). Annual survey of deaf and hard of hearing children and youth, 2007-08 Regional and National Summary. Gallaudet Research Institute / Gallaudet University

Marschark, M., Spencer, P., Adams, J., & Sapere, P. (2011). Teaching to the strengths and needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing children. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 26(1), 17-23. doi:10.1080/08856257.2011.543542

ABOUT NADENE EISNER
Nadene Eisner earned her MS from Drexel University and her School Library Media Specialist certificate from the Universtiy of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She's worked in several libraries throughout the years, most recently serving as the school library director and teacher in a hearing elementary school. She is completing her Certificate of Advanced Studies at UIUC. She lives in Illinois with her four children—and lots of books.<

Complaining 101 for Advocates

Megan of the marvelous Hearing Sparks blog recently wrote on Positive Communications for Accommodations. She described a situation where a request for accommodation was expressed in a rather confusing manner. Her post concluded with this question: What are some strategies you have found for approaching people to get reasonable accommodations or explain a problem? Her words hit home for me because I had just finished reading The Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships, and Enhance Self-Esteem by Guy Winch. I've personally experienced the frustration of speaking up and feeling as though no one is listening and I think his book offers some great tips for advocates.

Dr. Winch begins his book by explaining why complaining is often ineffective. Basically, we complain to the wrong people. People who don't have the power to make the change we desire. Thus, our complaining ends up as venting, which may make us feel better temporarily and possibly garner some sympathy, but doesn't fix the problem.

If we're truly serious about speaking up for ourselves, and not simply whining, then we need to do some research and find out who has the authority and responsibility to make the change we want. But once we do that, how do we get them to listen to us? Dr. Winch describes a technique he calls "serving a complaint sandwich". The top slice of bread is an ear-opener, the meat is the complaint, and the bottom slice of bread is a digestive. The secret of his recipe is that the top and bottom of his sandwich are comprised of positive statements. By starting off positive, the recipient can listen to your complaint without having his defense mechanisms triggered. By ending on a positive note, the listener is motivated to help you. In his book Dr. Winch provides real life examples of complaint sandwiches which explain each step in detail.

His final chapter is titled Squeaking as Social Activism. I'd like to share a quote I found significant:

"We have one huge advantage living in a society of ineffective complainers. Those of us who wish to influence our communities have a better chance of succeeding than we may realize because of a phenomenon called overrepresentation, which guarantees those few of us who do speak up have a far stronger impact than we would have otherwise."

I recommend Dr. Winch's book to all those who would like to change their communities for the better and particularly to all who advocate for greater accessibility.

Getting Ready for ALA

Tomorrow I'll be attending my first American Library Association Conference. I'm pretty excited as I've been a librarian for a long time and never been selected to attend until now.

As regular readers of my blog know, I've gotten three other conferences under my belt in the last year and a half, so I should be able to navigate this event just fine. All the same I was pleased when an ALA conference ambassador contacted me by email. She provided a warm welcome and lots of helpful information.

I also received an email from the instructors of a 2 day training session I'm attending. As I didn't ask for any specific accomodations when I registered for the conference, I thought I'd ask them about the format of this training. Listening all day can be exhausting for me, especially when there's no visuals! Fortunately this event features Power Point slides which should help a lot. On top of that, when one of the instructors read in my email that I'm hard of hearing, he graciously offered to reserve a seat for me in the front. Perfect. From my previous conference experiences, I've learned that a seat in the front is the best accomodation for me.

Google Maps: Downtown Chicago

Today I reviewed the logistics of travelling to Chicago and finding my way to the conference locations. Thank goodness for Google Maps and online train schedules.

For my librarian readers: Are any of you going to be at ALA? Have you been to past ALA conferences? Any advice on accomodating a hearing loss in this situation?

Speaking Up...But Is Anyone Listening?

I took this photo in Chicago last week. Sometimes I feel like these figures. I'm trying to stand up for what I feel is right but no one's paying attention.

Last month I wrote a letter to a theatre that shows one or two captioned films a month asking for more showings. I got no response. I heard recently from another member of my hearing loss support group that she and the group president contacted the theatre manager in person and got a response along these lines: No, I can't explain why more movies can't be captioned. That's up to the movie companies. As for changing the days, I must keep the movies that are on contract on those days at the times that are set. Sigh.

Yesterday I filled out an online evaluation form for my conference experience last week. I reported on the interference difficulty I had with my hearing aids in the room where my track's sessions were held. Of course, I am probably the only one who had any difficulty so I don't know how much impact my response will make.

I also sent emails to my senators regarding Senate Bill 68 on hearing aid insurance. So far, I have only received form letter emails acknowledging receipt of my email.

Mog wrote an interesting post about expectations. In my comment I wrote the following: "I guess we can't expect others to read our minds and know what our needs are. I guess we can expect to have to speak out on our own behalf knowing that we won't always receive what we need. Expressing gratitude to those who "get it" seems reasonable to me. Understanding that most people we encounter won't "get it" seems wise. Working for change and accomodations for all who need them seems like a path to hope."

I want to ask you: Am I viewing the world through rose colored glasses? Am I hoping for too much?

Hard of Hearing Accessibility: 2020

Thanks to Jonathan I came across this link to "Accessibility Collaboration" by Sami Virtanen. This article which describes "the Dream 2.0" or what the world could be like for hard of hearing people in 2020 was written by a 34 year old man from Finland for the CHHA-IFHOH (Canadian Hard of Hearing Association/ International Federation of Hard of Hearing) Congress of 2008. He not only describes his dream of increased accessiblity but also outlines the steps for achieving it. He references universal design and the design for all concept (which I hope to write on soon).

In "Accessibility Collaboration", Virtanen states that "The vision of disability policy is a society for all. The mission is the advancement of disabled peoples’ human value, well being, and empowerment. The goal is to make it possible for disabled people to achieve, on an equal basis with other people: a) basic conditions for life, b) equal and full participation in society, and c) an independent and autonomous life." Amen.

I highly recommend this article for all who are concerned about accessibility. To view the article, you will need Microsoft Word. This document is published in Microsoft Word 97-2003 format. If you cannot access it, drop me an email at speakuplibrarian@yahoo.com and I will send you a copy as a rich text file (viewable with any word processing software). Thank you, Jonathan!

My Dream

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., here is my dream of what the world could be like for those with hearing loss.

Accessible

• workplaces
• universities & colleges
• community adult education
• K-12 schools & school events
• news websites
• places for worship
• theatres & cinemas
• home entertainment

What would you add to the list?

To create your own Obama Hope like picture visit Obamiconme.

Local Hearing Loss Support Group to Tackle Theatre Captioning

Timing is everything. And being in the right place at the right time.

Recently Eddie has been reporting on efforts in Kentucky to have theatres show captioned films. Then Kim spoke out about how she would like to have captioned films shown at her neighborhood cinema. At my request Kim posted the letter she wrote to the theatre manager. I vowed to do the same. But I also wanted to thank the theatre in my area (30 minute drive away) that offers captions and ask for more show times.

Then I got started writing my series on making online education accessible and the letters to the theatres slid to the back burner. Until today when I showed up at my local hearing loss support group meeting. It was an event that I had legitimate excuses for missing. I would have to arrive late because my son had a basketball game scheduled. I had been ill this week and missed 1 and 1/2 days of work. I had a migraine and felt awful. Despite all this I went.

Why? Because I need support. I need interaction with others in the same situation. But most of all, because today a terrific speaker was scheduled I couldn't wait to meet. Who was it? Sheri Caveda of Fifth Freedom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping disability support groups learn how to make a difference in their local areas.


Lori Lakes, [me], Betty Beck, and Sheri Caveda of Fifth Freedom

Sheri and her team worked with our group to develop a mission statement and find a small project to begin making our community more accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing. Amazingly, the group consensus was to contact the theatre that offers captioned films and request more showings. Our plan of action is to write individual letters which will emphasize our different requests (some group members want PG/PG-13 movies not just R rated films offered; I want to see the captioned films sooner; others want weekend showings.) We will submit our letters to Sheri and her team for their feedback, send a copy to our group leader, mail our revised letters, and report back to our group leader when they've been mailed. We have a timeline for the project and accountability to each other to follow through in what we've promised.

Next our group leader will contact the theatre manager to open up a negotiation for increased showings. If that meeting is unsuccessful, Sherri has additional steps we can take as a group.

As this project unfolds, I'll keep you updated on our progress. And post my own letter, cross my heart.

Making Online Education Accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - part 3

A third way that online education can be made accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing is through the use of speech recognition software by professors. Using this, lectures are automatically transcribed and displayed for all the students in the class to see. No more need for requesting a captioner. No more need for borrowing a classmate's notes.
The Liberated Learning consortium is a group of universities in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australasia incorporating this assistive technology into their courses. As defined on their website, the Liberated Learning concept is founded on two interrelated applications:

• using speech recognition technology to automatically transcribe spoken language and display it as readable text


• using speech recognition to produce accessible, multimedia notes

The project began 2 decades ago at the Atlantic Centre of Research, Access, and Support for Students with Disabilities at St. Mary's University of Halifax. Three professors worked with voice recognition software for a semester and then introduced it into their classrooms where their students for the first time could see a lecture as it was delivered. [To find out more of the history of the Liberated Learning Project click here.]

Today the 18 international partners of the Liberated Learning Consortium are working with the IBM ViaScribe through a Joint Study Agreement between St. Mary's and IBM.

That's great news for traditional students. But how can this work for distance learners?

The Neil Squire Society of Canada is working with the Liberated Learning Consortium to find a way to make this transcription tool compatible with Wimba. A nonprofit organization, the Neil Squire Society is dedicated to using technology, knowledge, and passion to help Canadians with physical disabilities. I learned about this approach to making online education accessible from Chad Leaman, a reader who left a comment about his work for them. Chad sent me a demo of his Wimba bridge - a connection between the transcription software and Wimba's closed captioning. I enjoyed listening to it and seeing what the transcription looked like. There were some funny results like Wimba being written as "when but" and liberal as "liver". Tee hee. It reminded me of my own hearing mistakes. But truly I was impressed that there are people with the necessary technical skills working on these accessiblity solutions.
I also really liked this motto I found on the Neil Squire Society website - "Social Justice : We facilitate major change by example and by modelling an effective approach."

Next time, I'll wrap up this series of posts with information on universal design of instruction.

Making Online Education Accessible to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - part 2

In my previous post, I wrote about what I've been working on at my library - transcribing podcasts of library workshops. Now I'd like to introduce a second approach to making online education accessible that is particularly helpful to those whose first language is ASL - using a webcam to show an ASL interpreter.

Early last year I participated in a webinar (click for definition from Merriam-Webster Online) on "Using Wimba to Provide Equal Access of Information to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in On-line Courses". This workshop was presented by Dr. Sam Slike and Pam Berman of Bloomburg University of Pennsylvania. They are affiliated with Bloomburg's Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Program.


For those unfamiliar with Wimba, this software provides a central white space for a professor to show his lecture slides or demonstrate a website. At the bottom of the screen there is a chat box for ongoing text based discussion between participants and the lecturer. Students can even send messages to each other. There is also an area on the screen for students to click if they want to ask a question.


At Bloomburg University, Dr. Slike uses a webcam of a sign language interpreter, a Sorensen videophone, and closed captioning via Colorado Captioning to make his lectures on Wimba as accessible as possible to both deaf and hard of hearing students.

The webinar on "Using Wimba to Provide Equal Access of Information to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in On-line Courses" was to be a demonstration of how this setup works. Unfortunately as so often happens in life, there were technical difficulties. In this case, the interpreter's signing was unclear due to pixelization effect (click for definition from Wikipedia). Instead of being able to see her hands all we saw were individual pixels. So frustrating. The problem was probably complicated by the fact that interest in the webinar was enormous with hundreds of people logging in from all over the world.

Nevertheless, it was extremely interesting to me to learn about Bloomburg University and what they are working on there. Let me be clear that their approach has been successful for their actual classes (which of course have a much smaller number of people logged in). If you would like to know more, you can view the PowerPoint slides used in the webinar, see a photo of the setup, and read feedback from three of their hard of hearing students at this webpage.

In April 2008, the United States Distance Learning Association awarded Dr. Slike and Professor Berman its Best Practices for Distance Learning Programming – Online Technology in Higher Education. You can read more about the award here.

Next time, I'll write about another approach I learned about from one of the readers of my blog.

Accepting Accomodations: Day Two

October 30
Day Two went much better! It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do! This time I knew right where to obtain my morning coffee and muffin. I understood the layout of the conference center and could navigate to the various room locations without wandering around in a daze like the day before. Off to a good start.

This time when I attended the general session in the large auditorium I arrived early enough to find my way to the assigned seating. When I got there another woman was sitting in the section. I struck up a conversation with her and found out she was an ASL interpreter. For this presentation two interpreters took turns signing what the speaker said. I was so pleased to get this opportunity to improve my ASL reading skills. Especially since the talk was very IT (information technology) heavy and much less interesting than the previous day's speech on brain research. Now I know the signs for "embedded computer" and "internet". How about that!

The next presentation was on "Confessions of a Digital Immigrant". That topic sounded fascinating to me. A digital immigrant is someone born before 1982 who has had to learn all the technology that digital natives (those born 1982 and later) take for granted. I found my assigned seat in the front row and was all excited to hear the speaker's wisdom. Unfortunately, this speaker took the liberty of changing his presentation to a talk on what it's like to be a CIO (chief information officer). I could not relate to that at all. Grrr. However, the speaker had been honored with an award at this conference so out of respect and politeness not to mention my conspicuous seat practically under his nose I stayed to hear his talk. But I didn't tire myself out listening too closely.

A much more interesting talk on social media was given by a young woman with a prominent pink streak in her hair. For this session, I ended up at the back of the room but I used my Pocket Talker and heard everything. I also used my assistive listening device for a talk on how one university has implemented mobile devices (ipods and iphones in this case) into their curriculum. That's something I've been asked to get involved in looking at for my own school.

In the afternoon I explored the vendors exhibit area. I heard a great presentation by Camtasia. I am very interested in their Camtasia6 product which would enable me to add captions to the podcasts I'm creating of my library's technology workshops. Their sales reps were really helpful in answering my questions about captioning and even gave a step-by-step demonstration of how it's done. A man from Duke University happened to sit next to me during the demo and while chatting with him, he gave me a great idea for assessing these podcasts. Brilliant! The Educause conference emphasizes the importance of networking with others in your field to share ideas and this is where that happened for me.


It wasn't all business. There were lots of free giveaways and drawings in the exhibit area. I got three t-shirts (one for me, one for hubby, and one for my son) from different vendors and loaded up with cool pens. I "won" a set of golf balls at one booth for taking a swing at a mini golf hole. I "raced" a toy car around a track. I picked up assorted gizmos and some nice cloth tote bags at other booths. Best of all was my enthusiastic greeting from the Wimba owl! I didn't even have to be at Disney World to get my picture taken with a friendly costumed character.


The fun continued that evening with a Halloween party at Universal Studios City Walk.
There was a generous buffet laid out and music and performers all around. I met a Chicago icon (John Belushi as one of the Blues Brothers) and had my photo taken once more. Of course, this outdoors party (designed for hearing people) was very loud so I didn't stay the whole evening. A pair of foam earplugs would have come in handy. I got back to the hotel and found out my husband and son had a wonderful day of their own exploring more of the Universal Studios theme park. Day Two was fun.

Accepting Accomodations: Day One

October 29
Hello from Orlando. I'm starting this post on a computer available at the conference center. At the airport my family got our first surprise when we had to pay $15 to check our bags. What? Since when did this fee come into effect? Thanks, American Airlines.

My first day here has been so overwhelming. Looking back, it probably wasn't a good idea to fly in late the evening before, get up early, and try to face a new and challenging situation... My second surprise of the trip is that the Orange County Convention Center is huge. It just goes on and on. Note to self: next time pack rollerskates! After I located some coffee, I was ready for the opening session. Following the email instructions I had received, I approached a staffer with a radio and asked for directions to seating for the hearing impaired. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people entering at the same time and we were all sort of herded along and I didn't find the assigned seating section. Fortunately, though, there was seating available in the front where the volume was good. Even better the speaker was displayed on enormous video screens making lipreading a breeze. So far so good.

For the second session in a much smaller room, I found the sign for my reserved seat located right in front of the speaker podium. Funnily though, the lady who made the introduction of the three panelists was short. All I could see of her face over the open laptop on the podium was her eyes. tee hee. Fortunately the male panelists were taller and I could see their faces with no problem. But...the second speaker had a very soft voice! I was just reaching for my Pocket Talker when another audience member asked him to please speak into the microphone. Ahh, much better.

Session three had my assigned seat not in the front row but about row four. Strangely it was located right next to the slide projector. Grrr, now I had to deal with that noise competing with the female speaker's voice. I used my Pocket Talker to boost her volume but I could still hear that projector. This session was one that I thought would best relate to my new job but it turned out to be completely unrelated. Drat.

After lunch, I went to a session held in a computer lab setting. I made a switch to attend this one so I knew there would be no reserved seat for me. When I entered the room, I asked the speaker where would be a good seat to sit to hear well. He told me he would be moving around the room, so I decided to sit on the aisle halfway back. As it turned out, he did not move but stayed in the front. Fortunately he had a good strong speaking voice and I was able to hear him alright. His female colleague, who said very little during the presentation, had a very soft voice so I just ignored her contributions. This session was also challenging because we were seated in front of laptops and expected to be logging in to websites and posting contributions to a group discussion all the while listening to the speaker. Yikes. I struggled with typing on an unfamiliar keyboard let alone thinking of something worthwhile to contribute. I did my best to multitask but I'm sure I missed some of this speaker's presentation.

Back at the hotel that evening, I rejoined my family and heard about their exciting day at Universal Studios. We went out to dinner at the hotel restaurant which featured Caribbean food. My salmon dinner came with a flower! How lovely. There was one funny moment at dinner when my son talked about "barrels flying in" through the open door when he and my husband ate breakfast there that morning. What? Oh my bad, not barrels but sparrows. Day One is over.

Asking for Accommodation

I've asked for an accomodation for the conference I'm attending next week. This is a new experience for me. When I attended my first ever library conference in Washington DC last April, I didn't make my needs known. I coped by sitting in the front or close by a loudspeaker. I managed but found it very tiring. My coworker, mentor, and friend Diane advised me that next week's conference would be a much larger affair with many more people in attendance. With that in mind, I marked the box on the registration form that indicated I am hearing impaired and may need an assistive listening device.

Soon afterwards, I received an email from the Director for Conferences and Educational Activities. She asked what type of device I needed. I wasn't sure how to answer that question so I explained that my hearing aids had T-coils and a device that was compatible with that would work for me. The Director also inquired if I needed an interpreter. No, I replied, I don't know sign language. Another question of hers was if I needed assistance with transportation to and from the conference. That puzzled me a bit. Did she think I would have trouble communicating with a taxi or shuttle bus driver? Fortunately my hotel is within walking distance from the convention center, so I confidently replied that transportation would be no problem for me.

My next communication from the director said that an onsite AV company could set up systems in the session rooms I'd be attending. They would provide me with a wireless beltpack with headphones. I was also offered the opportunity to reserve a seat for the sessions I'd be attending. All I needed to do was tell her which of the many workshops available I wanted to attend. I had already created a schedule for myself so it was no problem to forward her that information.

Then I got to wondering, was I creating too much of a problem? Were my needs really that great that someone should go to this trouble for me? My personality style is to keep a low profile and not draw attention to myself. Asking for accomodation felt slightly uncomfortable. Then I remembered how tired I was at the conference in April and thought of how using an assistive listening device could make my experience in Orlando much easier. I thought of how by voicing my needs, I was validating the fact that hard of hearing people can have professional lives and benefit from attending conferences that will help them in their careers just like their hearing colleagues. Okay, I was good on that part. Then worrywart that I am, I wondered if now that I was expecting accomodation, what if it failed to happen? I decided to bring my own personal assistive listening device along just in case.

This morning I received a very nice email stating that reserved seating would be available for me in as many sessions as possible. I was directed to where the seating would be available for the general session which everyone attends. For the featured sessions, I was told to look for seating in the front marked with a sign "Reserved Hearing/Sight Impaired". That sounded good to me.

I'll be sure to write afterwards about how my experience with accepting an accomodation turns out and how I was treated at the conference. Meanwhile if you have any helpful advice or a similar experience to share, I'd love to read your comment.

Sweet School Stories

Photo credit

I read yesterday on Jamie's blog about a kindergarten teacher in New York who reached out to a hard of hearing boy who would be in her class. The little boy who was born deaf now has a cochlear implant but even so still has trouble blocking out background noise . His teacher Joan Cruz wanted to help him have the most successful start in school she could provide him so she contacted the U.S. Tennis Association for used tennis balls and had them attached to all the chair legs and desk legs in her classroom. To me the touching part is that although the teacher is not hearing impaired herself, nevertheless, she understood that quieting her classroom this way would help her new student hear her better. You can see a photo of the boy in his classroom and read the whole story in the New York Daily News.

Here's another story of a teacher who cares. My neighbor Wendy works in a local public school as a teacher's aid in a special education classroom. One of the kids in her class this year has cerebral palsy and uses crutches to walk. Wendy's class was located on the second floor and she told me how the boy would struggle to climb the stairs. Of course my first thought was why isn't an elevator or one of those electronic seats that go up stairs available for him. Apparently for reasons I'm still not clear on, this wasn't available. Fortunately, the teacher Wendy assists is a compassionate soul like Ms. Cruz and she got the classroom moved downstairs. The kids in the class pitched in and helped carry things.

I'm sure we all remember how tough school could be. Imagine having a teacher who understood your needs and made every effort to help you succeed. What a difference compassion can make!