Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Can Do Careers for

Deaf People“Deaf people can do anything,

except hear.”I. King Jordan

President Gallaudet University

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Introduction

Deaf people are often told they are unable to do certain careers.

This PowerPoint presentation will counter this idea by giving examples of a number of careers that Deaf people are currently employed in.

It will include links to programs for these careers as well as real-life stories about people who have succeeded.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Lawyers

DeafLawyers.org – A resource for deaf/hard-of-hearing attorneys and law students New About Us: includes articles written about deaf/ hard-

of-hearing lawyers Resources: gives information about different

communication systems deaf/hard-of-hearing law students and attorneys have used throughout law school and their professional career

Articles by Us: a list of books, articles, reports, etc. written by deaf/hard-of-hearing attorneys and law students

Other Links: links to websites about individual deaf lawyers

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Lawyers

Deafga.org – A community for deaf and hard of hearing attorneys and law students. You must be a member to access most of the information on this website, but this would be a great resource for students once they enter law school. One of the main features is the forums held through this website.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Lawyers Teri L. Mosier is a Deaf

lawyer who was also an At-Large Delegate for Vice President, Al Gore. She is not the first national deaf delegate for the U.S., although she is the first democratic delegate for Kentucky.

There are also many other deaf lawyers who are making their name in the news. Below are a few: John Stanton Claudia Gordon Carla Mathers Kelby Brick

Bonnie Tucker, wrote a book, “The Feel of Silence” about her experience of growing-up deaf and then becoming a lawyer.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Doctors, Veterinarians, Dentists, Nurses, etc.

Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses (AMPHL) A non-profit organization formed in 2000 to “provide

information promote advocacy and mentorship, and create a network for individuals with hearing loss interested in or working in health care fields”.

Lists academic/professional guidelines for specific careers including schools that currently or in the past had deaf individuals graduate through their program

Resources include: a list of books and articles written about deaf individuals in the health care fields, forums; chat rooms; and other websites.

Information about stethoscopes that have been modified for deaf/hard-of-hearing individuals

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Doctors and Other Medical Professionals

There are many articles that relate to doctors and other medical professionals who are Deaf. Here are just a few: 6 Deaf doctors (4 physicians, 1

veterinarian, and 1 dentist) who all live in Rochester, NY, grew up deaf, and know sign language. They share some of their everyday experiences about being in the medical profession.

Another more detailed article, about one of the above doctors, Angela Earhart, who uses a sign language interpreter.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Doctors and Other Medical Professionals

The book, “When the Phone Rings, My Bed Shakes: Memoirs of a Deaf Doctor” written by Philip Zazove, explains his life growing up deaf and the struggles he faced on his path to becoming a doctor.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Scientists

In the present and past there have been a number of scientists who are deaf. Gallaudet University has a website that includes information about deaf scientists in history as well as current professors of science or people within the field of science. A list of a few of these follow.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

ScientistsDr. Harry Lang, has been a professor at NTID for 30 years and teaches physics and mathematics. He has written two books that deal with deaf people in the field of science. The first book, “Silence of the Spheres: The Deaf Experience in the History of Science”, explains the contributions that deaf men and women have made to science. The second book, “Deaf Persons in the Arts and Sciences: A Biographical Dictionary” has ‘150 biographies of deaf scientists, artists, engineers, actors, writers, poets, and other professionals’.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Scientists

Christian Vogler is a research scientist at the Gallaudet Research Institute. He is currently working on using computers to recognize ASL by wearing a Cyberglove to track hand movements and using video to track facial expressions.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Miss AmericaHeather Whitestone was the first deaf person to be crowned Miss America in 1995. She has promoted awareness of Deaf/hard-of-hearing issues all around the country. She has written books including “Listening With My Heart” and “Believing the Promise” which both share her life-changing wisdom. One of her biggest achievements has been her five-point STARS program which was made to show others how to achieve “Success Through Action and Realization of your dreamS”. The five points in this system are: a positive attitude, a goal, a willingness to work hard, a realistic look at your problem, and a support team. She has served the community in many ways and been honored with many achievements and awards. In 2002, she was appointed as a member of the board for the Advisory Council for the National Institute of Health on Deafness and Other and Other Communication Disorder.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

PilotsThe Summer in the Skies program is put on by the Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD). During this 4-week long summer class, students get to fly between 4-6 hours with a certified instructor as well as do flight simulations. They do such activities as “read and navigate with a compass, plot courses, and read navigational charts and maps for cross-country flights. They obtain and interpret weather briefings, plot courses, and calculate wind correction angles, time en route, and amount of fuel needed for cross-country flights. They also learn how to navigate with satellites and GPS technology.” They also build paper airplanes and hold competitions, write reports about famous pilots, write a daily journal about their experience, and take field trips to museums as well as airshows.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Astronauts

U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama and the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) have joined forces to provide a Space Camp experience for Deaf and Hard of hearing children from all over the world. In this 5-day program, students train much as how real pilots would for a mission into space. They do activities such as “simulated Space Shuttle missions, IMAX® movies, training simulators, rocket building and launches, scientific experiments, and lectures on the past, present, and future of space exploration.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Priests/Ministers There are only 7 or 8 deaf Catholic priests

in the United States. Father Thomas Coughlin was the first deaf

priest ordained in the United States. In the past, he has traveled 11 months of the year around the United States and abroad. He ministers to deaf people by using American Sign Language (ASL). One of his main goals is to expand the ministry to deaf people within the Catholic Church. In 1979, he met privately with Pope John Paul II. He is currently a pastor of San Francisco’s St. Benedict Parish at St. Francis Xavier Church, which is known for its deaf congregation.

In the San Francisco area, there are three deaf seminarians studying at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park as well as two other deaf priests within the state of California.

Some other deaf priests are Father Michael Depcik and Father Joseph Mulcrone.

There are a number of other deaf ministers throughout the United States.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Firefighters and Emergency

Medical Technicians (EMTs) EMT’s have different techniques to communicate more

efficiently at the work place such as: memorizing the sequence of radio procedures, then giving

reports when partner gives the signal Partners can repeat medical orders or questions that come up

by radio, and they can lip read sometimes via the rearview mirror then confirms the orders verbally over the radio

EMT’s have found other ways when checking a patient Using a electronic stethoscope instead of listening for

breathing sounds in chest Feeling for heart palpitations

Firefighters have found alternatives ways to receive information and communicate in the firehouse and during a fire Instead of yelling to get attention or to watch out for a specific

area, Fire Chief will pull the hose to get everyone attention Use of a pager for a fire alarm and to show where the fire is

at.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Firefighters and Emergency

Medical Technicians (EMTs)The book, “Silent Alarm: On the Edge with a Deaf EMT” is written by Steven Schrader who was a firefighter and EMT for 15 years. This books describes his success and the obstacles he faced being deaf in this profession.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

FBI Agents Sue Thomas lost her hearing

at the age of 18 months and grew up learned to speak and lip read at Youngstown Hearing and Speech Center. She received a degree in political science from Springfield College and starting working for the FBI after graduation. Thomas used her lip reading abilities to decipher conversations in videotape for which there was no sound. In 1990, she wrote an autobiography, “Silent Night” which tells about her experience working in the FBI. From her book came the television series “Sue Thomas: F.B Eye” discussing stories from the book and showing experiences from her life.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/ActressesMichelle Banks became deaf at the age of one and attended Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and then the Model Secondary School for the Deaf. She went on to college at Gallaudet University and then transferred to the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase where she entered the school of drama. In 1990, she founded the Onyx Theatre, the first deaf theatre company in the U.S. for people of color. She made her break when she got cast as a deaf character on the Showtime television programs, Soul Food. She has also been seen on TV in Strong Medicine and the UPN series Girlfriends. She has been in two movies, Malcolm X and Compensation, a silent film in which she starred. She has been in a number of plays including Big River. She has did her own traveling one-woman show, Reflections of a Black Deaf Woman.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Linda Bove was born deaf

on November 30, 1945. She is most well known for her character on Sesame Street as Linda. She was a founding member of the National Theatre of the Deaf in 1963. She played Sarah Norman a number of times in the famous play Children of a Lesser God. She also once made an appearance on the TV show Happy Days.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/ActressesDeanne Bray grew up in California and became deaf at the age of 3. She was a teacher for deaf high school students and did some acting on the side. She has been in a number of plays with Deaf West Theatre, made guest appearances in TV shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Ellen, and Diagnosis Murder, and appeared in some independent films and TV movies. In 2002, she became the lead actress in Sue Thomas: F. B. Eye. She plays the part of the real Sue Thomas, the FBI’s first female special investigative assistant who was deaf.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses

Amy Ecklund became deaf at the age of 6 and became interested in acting when she was young. She is able to speak and read lips and also knows American Sign Language. She has appeared in a number of different theatre productions. She played the role of Abigail Blume starting in 1995. She has received honors due to her role in Guiding Light, including in 1998 a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Series. In 1999, she had a cochlear implant as did her character on the soap opera.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses

Lou Ferrigno lost his hearing at the age of 3 due to an ear infection. He started training for bodybuilding at the age of 13 and won major bodybuilding titles, including Mr. America and Mr. Universe, when he was in his early 20’s. He later became a professional football player for the Toronto Argonauts. He has appeared in a number of movies and TV programs and played the “Hulk” in the television show “The Incredible Hulk.” Currently, Ferrigno works on bodybuilding education.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Phyllis Frelich was born in

Devil's Lake, North Dakota. She was a Tony Award-winning Actress. She was raised in a deaf family. She really loves performing on stages and front of cameras for audiences everywhere.  She graduated from Gallaudet in 1967, and has won many awards for drama. She participated with the National Theatre of the Deaf. Her most popular movie performance is from a movie called "Bridge to Silence." 

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses C.J Jones was born hearing to deaf

parents, but became deaf at the age of 7 from spinal meningitis. In 1972, he graduated from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, but started working in theater and film afterwards. Jones worked with the National Theater of the Deaf (which won him a Tony award), and appeared on shows such as Sesame Street, A Different World, and in Living Color. He created his own comedy routine “The Living Cartoon”, and hosted a video series for deaf children called “Happy Hands Kids Club”. Finally, Jones has directed and appeared in a stage production of “Children of a Lesser God” and appeared in different programs that aired on the old Silent Network Deaf cable.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses

Marlee Matlin is one of the most famous deaf actresses in the United States. She became well known for her role in “Children of a Lesser God”, in 1986, and received both a Golden Globe and Academy Award both for Best Actress in this movie. This was then turned into a play which she also starred in. She has also been in a number of movies and TV shows since.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Anthony Natale first decided

that he wanted to act during high school and has followed his dream ever since. Natale is mainly known for his role as the deaf son in Mr. Holland’s Opus as well as the man in the elevator signing “You complete me” in Jerry Maguire. He has performed in other movies such as Sorority Boys and City of Angels as well as televisions appearances in 7th Heaven, Any Day Now, Once and Again, and Pacific Blues. He is currently teaching small ASL classes.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Howie Seago was born deaf and

grew up and learned ASL during college at California State University from other deaf friends. He began producing and acting in plays around the world, touring with the National Theater of the Deaf and staring in many of their productions. One of his most exciting television rolls was an appearance as "Riva" in Star Trek; The Next Generation, Episode; Loud as a Whisper. A few of the other television shows he has performed in includes "The Equalizer," "Hunter," and “Rainbow's End.” He is also very well known for his performance in the foreign film “Beyond Silence”. Currently Howie teaches ASL and is the director of a special deaf youth drama program at Seattle Children's Theatre. Howie and his brother have created a series of entertaining video stories for children called Visual Tales.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Shoshannah Stern started

her acting career in her high school plays at California School for the Deaf. She attended Gallaudet University, and while still attending classes she got the role in WB’s “Off Centre”. Shoshannah has appeared on Threat Matrix on ABC, had a well-publicized guest shot on ER, Boston Public and Providence. Shoshannah is 4th generation deaf in her family.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Actors/Actresses Terrylene's resume includes

television and stage, but she has also acted in feature films such as Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers." Before her starring role in the play "Sweet Nothing in My Ear," she was best known for her role on television's Beauty and the Beast. She was one of the deaf actors on an episode of "Pacific Blue." Terrylene also starred in the film "AfterImage“ playing a psychic deaf woman. She has made her own appearance on the cover of Deaf Life (July 1992). Terrylene is also perhaps the most famous graduate of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, and was invited back in 1998 to be their graduation speaker.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

ComedianKathy Buckley was thought to be retarded when she entered 2nd grade and was moved to a separate school. It took almost a year for professionals to figure out that her severe hearing loss was actually the reason for her speech and language delay. She is known as “America’s First Hearing-Impaired Comedienne.” In 1988, she entered a comedy contest “Stand-Up Comics Take a Stand,” where she competed against comics who had been in the business for years. She easily won fourth place and then began touring the country doing comedy shows. She wrote an autobiographical theatre play, “Don’t Buck With Me!” as well an autobiographical book entitled If I Could Hear What I See. She works with camps and other organizations where she can work with children because she believes that all children should grow-up with good role models. She has been on a number of entertainment and news shows on television as well as a few movies on TV.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Comedian

Professor Glick has created a comedy routine called DEAFology which pokes fun of different situations in hearing and deaf culture. This show is appropriate for both the deaf and hearing and is a great way to make people aware of Deaf culture in a fun way. He travels all around the country performing his routine with the saying “The place where sound stops and the fun begins”.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Juggler/Unicyclist Pinky Aiello was born deaf and has

grown up loving the theater. While working at the National Theater of the Deaf Professional Summer School, a director from Ohio hired in “The Double Pierrot” with the Fairmount Theatre of the Deaf in Cleveland. For this particular role, she was required to learn how to juggle and use a unicycle. This soon turned into a passion, and she began performing on the streets of Cleveland for fun. Aiello is a member of the International Jugglers Association and is currently performing at Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain. She also perform with "Girls On Stilts" and "The Juggling Fools". She works at private parties, carnivals and other events given by hearing people, but now branching out to perform at Deaf Festival, Schools, clubs, camps where I also give workshops on juggling, unicycle riding and stilt walking.  

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Stunt Person Kitty O'Neil, the world's fastest

woman, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. She was a stuntwoman and racer who became deaf when she was four years old. She got her credentials in teaching at the University of Texas. She studied the methods of teaching deaf children, and is a founder of "School Listening Eyes" in Witchita Falls. She taught deaf children using oral methods. She won many diving championship awards and craves new challenges, such as dangerous sports. She rode a speed boat at the velocity of 285.23 miles per hour, and has been on water skis at 104.85 miles per hour in 1970. She has driven in many vehicle races. She also did stunts for the movie called "Bionic Woman" and "Wonder Woman". She was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, because she traveled at a speed of 512.710 miles per hour. She did many different stunts.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Body Building Shelly Beattie was born in Santa

Ana Orange County, California. She is a champion bodybuilder who is best known as one of the "American Gladiators". She became deaf at three years old. Because of difficulty adjusting to her deafness, she was placed in a foster home when she was 14 and 17 years old. She loves to compete in sports and body building. She studied Child Psychology in Oregon for a while. She holds the 1988 and 1989 National and World record for fastest time with co-ed handcar team, and also hold high school track heptathlon records. She is also the world bench press record holder at 315 pounds. She won several bodybuilder competitions .

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Dummy Hoy was born hearing became

profoundly deaf at the age of 2 from spinal meningitis. He started playing as an amateur baseball player in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio and was quickly recruited to play for Oshkosh, Wisconsin. His skills in the field were unbelievable, especially in center field, but his batting average was very low. This was because he was forced to turn around and lip read the umpire to see the call after each pitch and pitchers soon learned to quick pitch him. Hoy asked his 3rd base coach to signal the call to him and his batting average skyrocketed! Umpires soon saw this as beneficial for everyone to see the call and the sign for strike was created. In 1951, Hoy was unanimously voted the first player to be enshrined in the American Athletic Association of the Deaf’s Hall of Fame. The AAAD (now called the USA Deaf Sports Federation) began lobbying to get Hoy inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Curtis Pride was born deaf from

rubella and played many sports while growing up. Pride began his career as a part-time New York Mets minor leaguer, and moved on to stints with the Montreal Expos (minors and majors), the Detroit Tigers (majors), the Boston Red Sox (minors/briefly in the majors), the Atlanta Braves (majors), the Kansas City Royals, the Salt Lake Stingers (minors), and the Nashua Pride (minors). In 2005, he is playing with the New York Yankees. While not playing baseball, Pride and his wife participate in the “Together with Pride” organization which works with children who are deaf or hard or hearing.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Jim Kyte was born deaf and grew

up playing hockey, drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1982. Starting with Pittsburgh, Kyte has played for many teams such as Winnipeg, Ottowa, Vancouver, and San Jose. He was the first legal deaf player in the NHL, as well as the only person to ever wear hearing aids during the game. He wore a special helmet with flaps over the ears to protect the hearing aids during games or practice. Kyte ran his own summer hockey school for deaf and hearing-impaired kids in Toronto. He eventually opened the Jim Kyte Hockey School for the Hearing Impaired in Ottawa, a business which he continued to run after his retirement.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Kimberly Brand is a 16 year old gymnastics who

competes on the state level for her high school. She specializes in the floor exercise, overcoming the challenge of synchronizing her routine to the music that accompanies it. Lights set up in the gymnasium signal her when the music has started and she has all the moves counted out in her head. The year before, Brand won four gold medals and a bronze in her first appearance at the Grand Canyon State Games

Amy Walker is a 17 year old gymnastic who is ranked as one of the best 15 gymnasts in the country. Amy is deaf and has vision from one eye. During her floor exercises, her teammates stand around the floor helping her keep to the beat by stomping.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Eugene Hairston was born in New York City

and became deaf at the age of 2 from spinal meningitis. At the age of 15 he started boxing and soon started fighting again amateurs. During his workouts, his trainers used "body English and speech," giving instructions between rounds with gestures, adding well-formed words that Hairston could lipread. It wasn’t long before his management team decided he was ready to enter the amateur boxing world. In 1947, he won two important Golden Gloves championships: one in New York and one in Chicago. After 61 amateur bouts, Hairston had a record of 60 wins and only one loss! His handlers decided he was ready to turn professional. He won his first 16 fights (with four knockouts), and people began to take notice. He got national exposure when his fights were televised 13 times. Being deaf, Hairston was unable to hear the time-keeper’s bell at the end of each round. The New York Boxing Commission installed flashing red lights on each of Madison Square Garden’s four ring posts so he would know when the round was over. The lights also helped hearing boxers when noisy crowds drowned out the bell. Other arenas soon picked up on the idea. Eugene "Silent" Hairston was one of the most talented deaf prizefighters in ring annals, the first to be deaf and black.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Terrence Parkins was born

deaf in South Africa and will be competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney for swimming. "I am going to the Olympics to represent South Africa, but it's so vitally important for me to go, to show that the deaf can do anything," Parkin says. "They can't hear, they can see everything. I would like to show the world that there's opportunities for the deaf." Parkins won the silver in the 200 m breaststroke

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Athletes Kenny Walker became deaf at

the age of two from meningitis, had a short, but interesting football career. First he was an All-American player on the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers, then was drafted by the Denver Broncos. After he retired from football, Walker became a football coach at the Iowa School for the Deaf. He wrote his autobiography titled Roar of Silence: The Kenny Walker Story and he is featured in Deaf Life Press Book Great Deaf Americans.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Lifeguard LeRoy Colombo was born deaf

and paralyzed with both legs from spinal meningitis. Because of a lot of work with his parents, he regained use of both of his legs and discovered a love for swimming. LeRoy saved his first life at the age of 12 by rescuing a drowning boy. He eventually became the first deaf lifeguard as well as the "World's Greatest Lifeguard," being credited with saving over 900 lives in a career that spanned 40 years. During that time, LeRoy put his own life in jeopardy and almost drowned 16 times. He was forced to retire in 1962 from a heart condition, but still continued to swim a mile a day up until the day he died in 1974. He was so respected that after his death parts of Texas lowered the flag to half-staff and had a moment of silence, even dedicating a plaque on the beach that he patrolled.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Musicians Evelyn Glennie was the first full

time solo percussionist in the world. She has recorded 18 albums/cds and won two Grammy Awards and received two further nominations. In a live performance Evelyn can use up to approximately 60 instruments. At the age of 5, Evelyn won a National Primary School Art competition, then at age 19 Evelyn graduated from the Royal Academy of Music. In 1991 Evelyn's autobiography 'Good Vibrations' was published and reprinted in 1995. She has appeared on 'Sesame Street' '60 Minutes', 'The Jim Lehrer News Hour' and 'The Late Show with David Letterman' among many others. Evelyn gives around 110 concerts per year.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Artists Louis Frisino was born deaf and

grew up with a love for art, attending the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Maryland. After graduation, he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. From there, he went on to work as a commercial artist at the News American, but made his reputation in the deaf community as a creative artist. Frisino specializes in realistic nature subjects, such as fish, dogs, and ducks, creating many lifelike paintings of different species. Additional Frisino accomplishments include: inclusion of his drawings in a book of decoys, use of his artwork for Christmas cards by the National Wildlife Federation (1976 & 1977). Frisino can also be found in the book Who’s Who in Waterfowl Art by Ray Chapman. He has also won the acclaimed Peabody Award.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Artists Morris Broderson was born deaf and

learned to express himself in sign language. When he was fourteen he attracted the attention of his aunt with a pencil sketch he did of her. She recognized his exceptional talent and encouraged him to further his studies in art. He studied at the University of Southern California and Jepson Art Institute to increase his skills. In 1960 he showed some of his pieces in a art museum in San Francisco and the response was so good that he started traveling to showcase his work. After staying in Japan for a short time, the Asian influences of The ballet, poetry, flowers and joys of childhood became a huge part of his paintings.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Artists Douglas Tilden was born

hearing, but lost his hearing to scarlet fever at the age of five. Tilden attended the California School for the Deaf (CSD), and after graduation he worked at CSD. While working there, he began sculpting. Then he moved to France for awhile, and met a deaf sculptor there who taught him more about sculpting. Some of his best known sculptures are located in San Francisco, such as Admission Day, California Volunteers, The Baseball Player, and Mechanics Monument. Tilden was vice president of the World Federation of the Deaf, and president of the California Association of the Deaf

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Artists Granville Redmond was stricken with

scarlet fever at the age of three, from which he lost his hearing. Redmond attended the Berkeley School for the Deaf from 1879-1890, where he was encouraged in his artistic interests. Following graduation, Redmond attended the San Francisco School of Design, from which he was awarded a scholarship for further study in Paris. Following his return to the U.S., Redmond lived in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, until work in Hollywood prompted him to settle permanently in Los Angeles. Redmond used his sign language skills in bit parts in silent movies, and during this time befriended Charlie Chaplin. In fact, he had a studio on the Chaplin lot, and appeared in a number of his films. Today Redmond is nationally known for his Impressionist landscapes featuring the California wildflowers, as well as his coastal, and Tonal moonlit scenes.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Authors Henry Kisor was not born

deaf but lost his hearing around the age of 2 ½. He is the current book editor at the Chicago Sun Times and other novels such as What’s That Pig Outdoors: a Memoir of Deafness, Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America, and Flight of the Gin Fizz: Midlife at 4,500 Feet. For phone interviews and other promotions that he must do for his books and his job, Kisor conducts them through faxes which takes a long time, but gets the job done.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Storytellers Trix Bruce has been profoundly

deaf since she was 6 months old. She has been involved in the performing arts since 1980. After completing her college program, she became involved with interpreter training, becoming an approved sponsor for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Certificate Maintenance Program. Trix's main area of study has been ASL Linguistics with a focus on ASL Performance. In her performance now, she has become an actress, a poet, a storyteller, and a one deaf woman show. Her work has been warmly received in local community centers, national RID chapters, Deaf Way II, interpreter conventions and more. Wildly popular as a teacher of ASL storytelling and ASL interpretation, Trix impresses audiences at all levels of ASL skill, from beginning to fluent signers.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Poets Laura Searing covered the

Civil War and wrote for "Reform Nation". She was a well-known journalist for America. In her writing, she used the surname "Howard Clyndon", because of the same reasons as Harriet Martineau. Laura became deaf at the age of 11. She strongly supported the Union, and was a ardent Republican. She wrote about many different subjects, including President Abraham Lincoln. 

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Founders of Companies/Businesses

Matthew Moore was born deaf and attended Indiana School for the Deaf, graduating as valedictorian of his class. He attended Rochester Institute of Technology for college and worked as a Personnel Clerk for Dept. of U.S. Army after graduation. Afterwards he worked at a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, until 1983 when he became President of MSM Productions. In 1994 he received the Gallaudet University Alumni Association’s Alice Cogswell Award “for valuable service on behalf of the Deaf Community.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Founders of Companies/Businesses

I. King Jordan was born hearing but became profoundly deaf at the age of 21 from a car accident. Dr. Jordan earned a B.A. in psychology from Gallaudet in 1970. The following year he earned an M.A., and in 1973 a Ph.D., both in psychology and both from the University of Tennessee. Upon receiving his doctorate, Dr. Jordan joined the faculty of Gallaudet's Department of Psychology.  In 1983 he became chair of the department; three years later he was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1988, during the Deaf President Now Movement at Gallaudet University, I. King Jordan became the first deaf president.

Transition Services Preparation & TrainingFall 2005

Founders of Companies/Businesses

Vinton Cerf first gained recognition for his contributions to the development of what came to be known as the internet. He is routinely referred to as "the father of the internet," having helped to found the Arpanet in the early 1970s, a forerunner of today's internet. As part of that development, he co-designed the TCP/IP protocol for internet communication. His frustration with communication with other researchers reportedly was one of the motivations for his work to develop internet communications protocols. He has also chaired the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), held high-level positions at MCI Worldcom, where he is a senior vice president responsible for internet technology, and received an award from President Clinton for his role in developing the internet.