A college professor in California recently sparked a national controversy by shouting at a hard of hearing student in their class when the student failed to respond in what the professor believed was an appropriate amount of time.
Many people found it outrageous that a college professor would not account for the time it takes for a question to be conveyed to the student through a communication access service. But, for deaf students, this interaction was not nearly so shocking.
Successful community engagement is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Creating a positive impact in deaf communities — especially for deaf youth transitioning from high school to adulthood — requires knowledge and skills to facilitate conversations, earn and strengthen relationships, and develop action plans that prioritize deaf people’s needs.
Learn how in Engaging Deaf Communities for Systems Change, a new self-paced professional development course now available in the free online learning library of the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC).
The Engage for Change | state (EFC) team from Idaho is known for being a model for others. Now, thanks to a partnership that includes funding from one of the nation’s biggest food companies, they are taking that to the next level as they prepare deaf youth for success after high school.
The lived experience and knowledge of deaf community members must guide policy changes, strategic planning, and programs that are designed to reduce barriers and increase opportunities for deaf people in the United States. In reality, however, this is seldom the case. Decisions are made for, and behalf of, deaf people without involving them every day. This upcoming live event panel on Dec 8 is an opportunity for panelists to gain an understanding of the importance of including deaf people in decision making and key elements of deaf-led community projects.
Leaders in education and vocational rehabilitation (VR) met throughout the summer and fall in Engage for Change | state (EFC) online regional meetings organized by NDC — determined to advance their short-term pandemic response and proactively create long-term strategies to improve services, support, and outreach to deaf youth.
Vocational rehabilitation (VR) services are necessary for thousands of deaf Americans to successfully join the workforce, make career plans, and reach their employment goals. But U.S. VR agencies can do a better job of serving deaf people, according to a new nationwide report by NDC.
There has been a significant increase in the use of captioning services for online learning due to COVID-19 pandemic. To keep up with the demand, many educational entities have turned to Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology to provide equitable and timely accessibility for students. While ASR has seen rapid developments in recent years, the gaps in the technology compromises equity access for deaf students. This presentation is designed to give answers to commonly asked questions from professionals in education settings.
With the rapid shift to online learning due to the pandemic, many colleges and schools are relying upon automatic captions as a quick and cheap way to convert spoken words into text for deaf students in classrooms, events, and extracurricular activities. While this type of automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology may be effective for Alexa — to ask your home device to make a grocery list or set a reminder — it is a sub-standard option in educational settings and can have costly repercussions for institutions.
For deaf students attending high school and preparing to enter college or careers, COVID-19 is adding uncertainty to a time that, while exciting, is already challenging. That’s why NDC hosted two live online panels for families of deaf youth nationwide, to help them connect and learn from each other.
Vocational rehabilitation (VR) support and services can be an important factor for deaf people in reaching employment goals, pursuing further education, and achieving success after high school. But understanding what’s available and getting through the doors of VR offices can sometimes be challenging and confusing.
