Update on DDW's Work in Costa Rica

Recently I had the privilege of talking with David Justice (DJ), co-founder of Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW) . Long-time readers of my blog may recall I took a trip to Costa Rica with DDW in 2011. DJ brought me up-to-date on what's new with DDW and Costa Rica. With his permission, I can share with you an excerpt of our online chat conversation reformatted as an interview.

Sarah: Did you ever imagine DDW would grow into what it is today when you and Christy started the organization in 2007?

DJ: When Christy and I first took that trip our goal was 'to make an entertaining video of stories in 10 different sign languages from 10 different countries' and now here we are working with governments, post-secondary institutions, and national associations of the deaf on organizational development and long term sustainability projects. [It's] all very exciting! Our long term goal as we expand is to incorporate international teams to provide capacity building in sign language-- so not just DDW people from USA, but a combo of people from USA and Philippines will begin this "train the trainer" organizational development cycle in the next country.

[I told DJ about my recent Train the Trainer experience with the Library of Congress.]

Sarah: The Train the Trainer program was exciting because I got exposure to experts in this field which I knew nothing about. And now with having to do the training myself, I have to learn the subject and be very engaged with it, to be able to do it.

DJ: That's great. It's something we try to do with our work in international development -- involve those we are working with in every step of the process. Even our discussions/trainings are always "co-facilitated" by one 1 DDW person and 1 person from PFD, or ANASCOR, or whichever organization we are working with. You definitely see a quicker sense of empowerment and self confidence that way.

Sarah: Speaking of ANASCOR (Asociación Nacional de Sordos de Costa Rica), what's new?

DJ: They are in the process of establishing another Deaf advocacy organization in Costa Rica called "Siglo 21" or "The 21st Century". They will be independent of ANASCOR but will work very closely together with ANASCOR. The goal of Siglo 21 is to focus on enforcing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD). Are you familiar with that law?

Sarah: No, I'm not.

DJ: CRPD is an international disability law that is very similar to the ADA we have here in the USA. The Costa Rican government passed this law 5 years ago and every two years, they are required to submit a report to the UN explaining how they are amending or developing policies that are accommodating for people with disabilities. In their first two reports, ANASCOR was not mentioned at all, and LESCO [Costa Rican sign language] was only mentioned once, so there is a "disconnect" between the government (who controls policy for education/employment/etc) and the Deaf community. That is the gap that Siglo 21 is going to focus on closing up. They plan to conduct some concrete research on the needs of the Deaf community to have evidence behind their complaints, then offer constructive advice to the government on how to improve language access, deaf education, job training, etc. It's a big project, and will take several years-- but they are moving along. Our [DDW's] role has been to provide "process consultation" on the development of Siglo 21 as an organization. For example, we worked with them on refining their mission, vision, values statements; conducted a SWOT analysis, established a timeline with committees to achieve their goals etc.

Sarah: That is a big project, I am glad DDW is supporting them.

DJ: I went to Costa Rica last summer with Dr. Scot Atkins who works with DDW (and as a professor at NTID) and we made some great progress together. We will likely return again this winter at some point and will likely visit Costa Rica once a year or every two years. Perhaps if we expand, we can run a similar exchange program like we have [recently] done with the Philippines.

Sarah: Thanks for the updates, DJ. Everything sounds great.

DJ: Pura Vida!

To learn more about Discovering Deaf Worlds, please visit their website www.discoveringdeafworlds.org.

No Longer Missing Out

Today I want to share a small bit of advocacy I did at my church in the hopes that it might help someone else.

I attend an Episcopal church which uses the Book of Common Prayer which contains almost every word of the service, excluding the sermon. My church also hands out weekly service bulletins which include a printed copy of the Scripture readings for the day. So for a late deafened person like myself, the service is fairly accessible. But, one thing I always missed out on was the church choir's music. For a time, I moved from my normal pew, located close by the pulpit, to sit near the choir. I could definitely hear the music much better there, but only at the expense of not hearing the sermon, so I ended up moving back.

Recently, two events occurred that motivated me to seek access to the choir's music. First, the church hired a new choir director. Also, about that time, there was a parish interest in improving accessibility, although it was focused on folks in wheelchairs. All the same, I decided to take a chance and speak to the new choir director and ask if he could get me a copy of the words the choir sang during the offertory and communion. I explained my situation - that I was unable to comprehend the words of their songs and was missing out on their ministry through music. He was very understanding and said he had done this before at other churches.

I never heard anything further on the matter and I didn't follow up on it as my church attendance fell off while I was concentrating on my grad school work. Coming back to church during the Christmas season, I was pleasantly surprised to read the following words in the service bulletin below the listing for the choir music: See anthem texts on insert. I found the words to the songs printed out on the back of the announcement sheet inside the bulletin. Excellent! I thanked the choir director after the service.

Last week, I showed the words on the insert sheet to a longtime member who also has trouble hearing. I was startled to realize she did not know the words were now part of the bulletin. I had assumed that an announcement had been made on one of the Sundays I had missed church.

Today, after the service, I showed the words to my good friend, Ann, who also attends the church. I found out she had not known about it either. Just at that moment, our minister walked by, and I reached out to tell her thank you. She had no idea that these words were helpful to us. She had thought they were printed there for the music lovers in the congregation. I explained that they were very helpful, I had inquired about it, and that printing them regularly made them accessible to anyone who needed them without their having to ask. In my heart, I think true accessibility requires no special requests.

Today the choir sang the song "Far away, what splendor comes this way?" With access to the words of the song, I felt my worship experience expressed in these four lines:

Now I hear the sound of music clear:
A page is singing with a voice of silver;
Now I hear the sound of music clear;
Such singing never heard I far or near.

Show Us the Captions - this November

During the month of November 2012, people with hearing loss and deafness, along with their friends and families, will be asking theaters to demonstrate accessibility, when they go to the movies as part of the “Show Us the Captions!” advocacy campaign.

Theaters can provide captioning either through showing open caption films where all seats in the theater have access or by distributing individual captioning devices with access limited to the number of devices available.

Sponsored by Collaborative for Communication Access via Captioning, this campaign is intended to

• Promote captioning to potential movie goers who don’t know their theater has it.
• Demonstrate the real need for captioning to theater owners.
• Raise awareness of inclusion and accessibility issues to the general public.
• Show appreciation to the cinemas that provide access via captioning.

The Association for Late Deafened Adults, Chicago chapter, is spearheading the campaign and hosting their own event on November 17, 2012. All organizations and interested people are invited to join them in planning their own events. Talk to your local cinema now, rally friends and neighbors, select a date, and begin to get the word out soon.

---

Regular readers may recall that I wrote about this idea last month. Since that time, I've been busy working to make it a reality. First I created the graphic above and posted the idea on the CCAC members' forum. I'm happy to say the reaction there was very positive. Lauren Storck, the founder of CCAC, decided to take the campaign on as a Captioning Advocacy Project (CAP) for the organization. With their backing, I have been able to spread the idea even further.

To help other groups participate, I created a Facebook site and posted the following tips for event coordinators:

1. Choose a theater near you that offers some form of captioning.
2. Choose a date in November for your event.
3. Ask friends, family, and coworkers NOW to save that date to join you and others with hearing loss at the movies.
4. Contact the theater’s manager
• to explain that your group will be coming on that day,
• find out how far in advance the movie show times for that day will be available,
• and if the theater uses a closed captioning system, check to make sure enough devices will be available.
5. Announce the event to your local hearing loss support group so they can invite their family and friends, and coworkers and help you spread the word.
6. Post the date and location of your event on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShowUsTheCaptions so we can promote it.
7. Follow up with your group once the movie schedule is available to finalize your plans.
8. Follow up with the theater manager when you have a good idea of how many will be coming and how many will be using the captioning.
9. Let us know on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ShowUsTheCaptions if you have any questions.

Then I got started setting up Chicago's event. I've been in contact with two Marcus Theaters so far. One location has 10 CaptiView devices and the other has 6 plus the offer to get more if they are needed. I still need volunteers. Two of mine were unable to help after all, but another person has stepped up, thankfully. I will keep you informed as this project progresses. If any of you want to join in and arrange a Show Us the Captions event in your area, that would be great.

What's It Like When Captioning Isn't Available

What's the Big Idea, Sarah?

I saw my blogging friend Karen Putz recently and she asked "Sarah, what's next for you?" The last time she asked me something similar, I ended up going to Costa Rica with Discovering Deaf Worlds. As one of my role models, Karen seems to have an effect on me - pushing me forward to try something new. At the time she and I talked, I did not know it then, but I was about to launch a Big Idea.

Before I tell you what it is, let me share some background information. Ever since I became involved with the hard of hearing/deaf community, I've been learning about the importance of movie theater captioning. We want full access to first run films and it's been a l-o-n-g time coming our way. There have been some legal successes and promises of future technological improvements, but I wonder how much longer will it be before our vision of full access is realized?

As social chair for ALDA Chicago, it's my responsibility to organize social events on a monthly basis. Last year one member suggested having a dinner and a movie night, possibly in several locations to make it more convenient for our membership which covers a large geographic area. I'm ready to go forward with the idea. I like the thought of having a group of people come to a theater and by their presence say in effect, "Here we are, show us your accessibility!"

But the logistics are going to be problematic, I admit. I've done some online research and have only found one theater in the city (so far) that offers both OC and CC films on the same night. I want my group to have a choice after all just like the other patrons do! There's also the question of devices. If caption devices are needed, how many does a theater have available? The one I checked has ten which is great if our group numbers less than ten. But what about the eleventh person in line? Or the twelfth, etc...? Is this an idea before it's time?

That's why I'm bringing the idea to you. What if this dinner and a movie night were bigger than the Chicago area? What if other individuals or organizations joined us by going to visiting their local theaters? What if those of us who need captioning set aside a weekend night to go to a theater and say, "Show us your accessibility!"

ALDA Chicago will host this event in November 2012. If you're interested in having a similar event or you have thoughts on how this might work (or might not), please leave me a comment or contact me by email. I especially want to hear from you if you've tried an event this before or have tried contacting your local theaters about captioning.

I can plan a one time event at one theater in Chicago, but I'd like to see if this idea can get bigger than that. Will you join me?

Update June 13
I've heard from an organization in Kansas City that's interested!

Tyler's Journey of Hope

I met Tyler Swob last year when I traveled to Costa Rica with Discovering Deaf Worlds. I am so proud to share with you Tyler's upcoming advocacy effort with Push America. Tyler's video (ASL only) and story are shared with his permission. Please join me in supporting Tyler on his journey!



Did you know that there are over 54 million Americans living with a disability today? People with disabilities face many challenges everyday that you and I cannot imagine. But one of the most tragic barriers is a lack of understanding by our society. A simple message of empathy and acceptance is all it takes to break down this barrier, and I have committed myself to spreading this message this summer.

I will be raising awareness on behalf of people with disabilities by cycling from San Francisco to Washington, DC on the Journey of Hope from June 4 to August 13. Journey of Hope is hosted by Push America, the philanthropic arm of my fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. We will also be reaching out to thousands of people with disabilities along the way, and striving to spread our message of acceptance and understanding to more than 40 million people! My expected goal is to raise $5,500 as a part of my team's goal of raising over $550,000. It is my hope that you will help me to make my journey possible by making a tax-deductible donation to Push America.

I am profoundly deaf and rely only on American Sign Language for communication. For this reason, I am in a unique position to support disabled Americans since I myself am considered "disabled." I can relate to Americans who have disabilities from my own experience as a deaf person. I want and can inspire them in a special way that no one else can. My goal is also to make a significant impact on how people view disabled people from my participation as a deaf person. Of the 54 million Americans with disability, 28 millions are deaf and I can be that voice for the 28 million deaf Americans. My experience as a deaf person fuels me with the passion to partake Journey of Hope.

What will make my participation even more unique is that two interpreting student volunteers will accompany me for the whole summer as my translation support - Noelle Corrado, a 3rd year interpreting student from Rochester Institute of Technology, and Emily Balzano, a 4th year American Sign Language student from University of Rochester. I am blessed to already have two interpreting volunteers who share my dreams for Journey of Hope. These interpreters will demonstrate the importance of providing interpretation support for the deaf like me.

I need financial support in order to embark on this journey of a lifetime. Your donation would mean so much to me in raising awareness for the disabled community. Please contact me at TylerSwob@gmail.com if you have any questions. Together we can make a difference!

CLICK THIS LINK TO DONATE.

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."

The Chicago Walk4Hearing in Photos

We had a sunny day with a bit of wind.

Temperatures were brisk in the high 50s-low 60s range.

Here I am at the starting line with my 

official walk hat and my team tshirt.

 My son Charlie walked with me.
Together we raised $600.

Before the walk began, there was balloon

 twisting and face painting for the kids.

Ronnie Adler, Walk Chair, announced that 1,000 people
came to walk. According to the Chicago Walk4Hearing website
just over $163,500 was raised. My team ALDA Chicago
topped our goal of $3,000 by a hundred dollars.

My son must have taken this sign to heart. 

He couldn't walk, he had to run. He covered
the distance 3 times lapping me twice.

This sign was a welcome sight!
We walked 5K (3.1 miles).

Water and snacks were provided for all of the walkers.

At the end, we were treated
to free pizza and ice cream.

Brenda Battat, Executive Director of the Hearing
Loss Association of America, and me

In the photos below, you will see some of the tshirts worn by
groups who walked as teams. Coming up with a creative
shirt design is part of the fun of the Walk4Hearing events.

This was the back of my group's tshirt.

I also saw versions of this tshirt as Ready or Not,

Hear We Come which I thought was quite clever.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

The little boy on this shirt has a hearing loss.

HLAA Lincoln Park chapter's T-shirt

I like this design's use of the letters D and u!

I'd like to say THANKS to everyone who

sponsored Charlie and me on this walk:

Mom, Dad, Aunt Louise, Uncle Gene,

Bill, Ann, Lydia, Carol, Pam, Martha and Linda.

Your support means everything to me.

Walk4Hearing: Raising Awareness and Funds to Assist People with Hearing Loss

I am so excited and thrilled to be participating in the Chicago Walk4Hearing event next weekend. Watching this video has truly inspired me and gotten me revved up to get walking. If you would like to support this cause, please visit my walk page.

I'm Stepping Up for Hearing Loss

In ten days, I will be participating for my very first time in a Hearing Loss Association of America Walk4Hearing fundraiser on October 15 in Chicago. My local support group, the Chicago chapter of the Association for Late Deafened Adults, has put together a team to raise money for both HLAA and ALDA Chicago. The twin goals of the walk are to raise awareness and help eradicate the stigma associated with hearing loss.

As it says on the Walk4Hearing website, "Most of us give little thought to our ears until we have a problem hearing. The sounds go into our ears and up to the brain and we hear. Unlike our eyes, our ears never close. Hearing is effortless. Many people don't know where to find the information and support they need to overcome the communication obstacles that hearing loss creates."

HLAA sponsors these walks because hearing loss is a public health issue in the United States. Their website offers these statistics which may surprise you:

• 36 million people have some form of hearing loss 
• 22 million have noise-induced hear loss that could be prevented 
• More than 59,000 military members have disability status for hearing loss from current wars.
• 30 school-aged children per 1,000 have a hearing loss

So how does HLAA help people with hearing loss? Here are a few of the many ways they make a difference in people's lives:

• Information, referral, education and coping resources through www.hearingloss.org, the Hearing Loss Magazine, the annual HLAA Convention, and the HLAA electronic newsletter.
• A nationwide network of 200 chapters providing personal support.
• Support for parents of children with hearing loss at www.kidsandhearingloss.org
• Outreach to veterans returning with hearing loss.
• Social networking site for young adults with hearing loss at www.hearinglossnation.org
• Captioning and hearing assistive technology at chapter meetings to make them accessible
• Scholarships for students with hearing loss towards college tuition.
• Funding for hearing aids and devices for people who cannot afford them.
• Installation of hearing assistive technology in public places
• Seminars on coping with hearing loss for families

If you'd like to support me on this walk, please visit my walk page.

My LA Story - Part 2

On Friday morning, we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel and then I had a video interview with Oticon. In front of a professional cameraman and sound person, I was asked questions about my blog. I was not given the questions in advance so I had to think quickly to express myself clearly. I was very pleased when my interviewer told me I was articulate. She told me that portions of the interview might be used as cutaways in the official Oticon video of the event. [I was sent a copy of the raw footage, so if any of you would like to see the interview, let me know and I will post it.]

There was some open time between the interviews and the awards luncheon, so my husband and I took a walk in the area of our hotel. We were on a mission to obtain a disposable camera. Can you believe that I forgot to  pack my camera? For our first day in LA, we got by using our cell phones to take photos, but I wanted to have a camera. We were directed by the hotel staff to go to a little grocery store in the area. Sure enough we found a camera there. I took this photo of an artsy LA building. Are you beginning to see a pattern in my impressions of LA?

When we got back to the hotel, it was time to meet the other award winners at the luncheon ballroom so we could find our seats at the reserved tables and practice walking up on stage. After mistakenly going to the Gold Ballroom, we found the right location for the banquet in the Diamond Ballroom. The room lived up to its name as the table setting, floral arrangement, and desserts at each place looked so elegant, I had to snap this photo. I was seated next to Stig Seitzberg, West Coast Regional Manager who gave my introduction at the podium. On the other side of my husband sat Don Sims, the winner for Hearing Care Practitioner. As fate would have it, he knew some of my fellow travelers on the Discovering Deaf Worlds trip to Costa Rica. Small world, isn't it?

The speeches started with the Adult winner and the Student winner. Then it was my turn. Here's my speech (captioned by me) from video provided by Oticon. There were 450 hearing care professionals in attendance at this luncheon. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to them and didn't feel nervous because I had prepared ahead of time. You can tell me how you think I did.

 

In the next installment, My LA Story - Part 3, I will share my photos from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and our tour of Universal Studios.

Oticon Focus on People Award Winners Announced

Don Sims, Hearing Care Practitioner winner

Jennifer Alberstadt, Adult winner

Peer Lauritsen, President of Oticon

Sarah Wegley, Advocacy winner

Dylan Dunlap, Student winner

This photo was taken last Friday afternoon following the Oticon Focus on People awards luncheon in Los Angeles, California.

I want to thank all of my readers who voted for me and took the time to read the inspiring stories of the nominees on the Oticon website. This was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity and will tell you all about my trip to LA in my next post.

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.

I'm an Oticon Focus on People Awards Finalist!

I'm very excited to announce that I have been chosen as an Oticon Focus on People Awards finalist in their Advocacy category. Oticon has selected three people in each of four categories -Student, Adult, Advocacy, and Practitioner - to be their finalists. The ultimate winner in each category will be chosen by online vote. Here's the official press release I received today:


Sarah Wegley Selected as Top Finalist in the 2011 Oticon Focus on People Awards

Vote Online for Sarah Now Through August 29!

Sarah Wegley has been named a finalist in the Advocacy category of the 2011 Oticon Focus on People Awards. People are encouraged to log onto oticonusa.com to cast their vote for Sarah and other top finalists in each of four categories – Student, Adult, Advocacy and Practitioner. Tabulations on the total number of votes received by each finalist will determine who will be the first, second and third place winners in each category. The 12 finalists represent the "best of the best" nominees for this year’s competition.

“Cast your vote for who inspires you! Our goal is to reach as many people as possible with the inspirational stories of our Focus on People Award finalists,” says Nancy Palmere, Sr. Marketing Manager at Oticon, Inc. “Log onto oticonusa.com and read about the accomplishments of some remarkable people with hearing loss and dedicated practitioners who are helping to show that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to achieve, contribute and inspire.”

First place winners in each category win $1,000 and a $1,000 donation from Oticon to the charity of their choice. First place winners in the Student, Adult and Advocacy also win a pair of Oticon advanced technology hearing instruments.

Voting is open now through August 29 at oticonusa.com. Winners will be announced in September.

About the Focus on People Awards

Oticon Focus on People Awards, a national awards program now in its 14th year, honors hearing impaired students, adults and advocacy volunteers who have demonstrated through their accomplishments that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to make a difference in their families, communities and the world. By spotlighting people with hearing loss and their contributions, Oticon aims to change outdated stereotypes that discourage people from seeking professional help for their hearing loss.

What Oticon Wrote About Me, My Blog, and My Advocacy

Sarah Wegley is a librarian who doesn't believe it is necessary – or a good idea – to keep your voice down, especially when it comes to addressing something as important as hearing loss.
In her award-winning blog, "Speak Up Librarian," Sarah chronicles her own experiences with late-onset hearing loss and invites others with hearing loss to speak out about their own challenges, adventures and achievements.
Sarah, who has a moderate hearing loss, has worn hearing devices since 2006. At that time, she knew no one in a similar situation and frankly admits that it was lonely. Writing her blog at first was an outlet, a way for her to talk about how hearing loss had affected her emotionally. She was shocked to find a group of individuals from all walks of life who were happy and grateful to read and share along with her.
At first, Sarah’s blogs invited followers to come with along on journey to "come to terms with my hearing loss and adjust to life with hearing aids." Over time, her blog became more than just her own story. Today, it is a source of information for not only people with hearing loss but also for people who are interested in learning more about hearing loss.
Not all of Sarah's contributions are virtual. Her advocacy interests include open captioned films, accessible online education and hearing aid insurance coverage and she was recently elected the Social Chair of the Association of Late Deafened Adults Chicago.
In her new role, Sarah has been instrumental in opening group members to new experiences and changing the perceptions of the people in everyday life that they meet along the way. She recounted an experience in a local restaurant where the wait staff had to make special accommodations for the group, such as being careful to face the people at the table as they spoke. In Sarah’s estimation it was a win-win for all including the wait staff.
"I try to raise awareness wherever I can," Sarah says. "Life does go on with hearing loss!" There is no doubt that it will go a bit more smoothly for people with hearing loss, thanks to Sarah's candid and honest commentary online and off.

Thank you, Oticon!

Discovering Deaf Worlds

I still have a follow up post from my trip that needs to be written about ANASCOR, the national deaf organization of Costa Rica. In the meantime, I hope you will take a few moments to watch this new video that explains the mission of Discovering Deaf Worlds. It's very well done and makes me proud to have an association with this organization. Perhaps you'll consider getting involved too.

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?