Feb 2014 - State of New Jersey

Monthly Communicator
NJ Department of Human Services
Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
February 2014 Vol. 35 No. 2 Chris Christie, Governor
Kim Guadagno, Lt. Governor
Jennifer Velez, Commissioner
David C. Alexander, Director
www.nj.gov/humanservices/ddhh/home/index.html NJAD Holds 23rd Biennial Conference
Submitted by Carrie Pogue and Michelle Cline The New Jersey Association of the Deaf would like to thank the
Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing so much for being the major
sponsor of communication accessibility for our 23rd biennial conference in
Toms River in November. We had more than 144 participants and had a great
conference along with our evening gala, which served as a major fundraiser
for NJAD.
Our day was filled with lots of fun and activities. It started off
with a forum to plan out NJAD priorities for the next two years. The focus
will be on 1) interpreting and the dilemmas that are presented, 2) post
high school graduation and lack of services for recent graduates, 3) visual
communication in transportation and 4) leadership training for youth and
organizations.
Workshops included "Introduction to Deafhood", by Laurene Simms,
"Self-Advocacy: How to Obtain Effective Communication" by Catie
Purrazzella, "Using Social Media to Help Your Organization Grow," by Neil
McDevitt and PJ Mattiacci, and "Issues Within Deaf Senior Housing" by Lila
Taylor and Erich Schwenker. Our keynote was given by Chris Wagner from the
National Association of the Deaf and his topic was on NAD: Collaboration
and Accountability.
Awards were given to the following people: Certificate of
Appreciation: Joseph Pawlowicz, Jr., Frank Donato, Michael Houston, Gay
Jones, Daniel Svir, and Martin Wilt. Certificate of Special Recognition:
Neil McDevitt, Julie Warshaw, and Senator Diane B. Allen. NJAD President
Award was given to Khanh Lao. Unsung Hero Award was given to Laura Schultz.
Humanitarian Award was given to Mayra Castro. The Albert Barnabei Memorial
Award was given to Michelle Cline.
General meeting and elections were also held. New officers are:
Michelle Cline, President; Paolina Ramirez, Vice-President; Eli Pogue, Jr.
Treasurer; Elias Papazis, Secretary. Member at Large 2011-2015 is Kathleen
Hajdamacha and Darlene Sarnouski. Member at Large 2013-2017 is Thomas
Sparks and Carl Anderson.
We had an evening gala with Live Art Auction, Gift Basket auction,
and a comedy show. Everyone enjoyed good food, lots of laugh, and enjoyed
winning different prizes. Our next conference will be held in North Jersey
for 2015. Be on the lookout for more information in the coming year.
Director's Corner
By David Alexander, Ph. D., Director, Division of the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing (DDHH)
Last month my column announced "The NJ Hearing Aid Project" to provide
hearing aid assistance to low income eligible seniors. This innovative
program is the result of a partnership among the NJ Department of Human
Services, Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Sertoma Inc.,/Hearing
Charities of America and Montclair State University. The above
announcement generated much interest and inquiries. As a result, DDHH
developed a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ's) fact sheet. The FAQ's
are listed within this issue. Application forms are available by
contacting the DDHH office. A reminder to please donate any used hearing
aids to the project so that they may be reconditioned and used by another
individual with hearing loss.
DDHH is working with the Northeastern University Regional Interpreter
Education Center and the New Jersey Association of the Deaf to sponsor a
Deaf Self Advocacy, train the trainer's workshop on March 14 and 15. The
purpose of this workshop is to train individuals who are deaf and hard of
hearing to conduct peer to peer training workshops in self-advocacy for
communication access. The training is limited to 20 individuals. There
are still a few slots left. If you are interested in becoming a trainer
to provide workshops on self-advocacy, please contact either Jason
Weiland at Jason.Weiland@dhs.state.nj.us or Michelle Cline at
cmcmichellecline@gmail.com. David C. Alexander, Ph.D., Director
New Jersey Division of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
We Welcome Your Articles and Ads The Monthly Communicator is published 11 times per year. Deadline for
submissions for the March issue is February 1 and should be e-mailed to:
monthlycommunicator@dhs.state.nj.us. The deadline for the Monthly Communicator is the first of the month
for the next month. Kindly follow these guidelines for submissions: . Should be less than two pages . Plain font, such as NY Times #11 or similar . Type flush left, no tabs . No art imbedded within . Send as Word attachment or an e-mail itself, no PDF . Art, logos, photos may be sent as attached JPG . Submissions are not normally repeated . Content should be of interest to readers, events should be accessible
to people with hearing loss, no direct selling products, but educational
info about new technology acceptable . Editor has discretion regarding editing, without final approval of
submitter Monthly Communicator State of New Jersey
Department of Human Services
Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
PO Box 074
Trenton, NJ 08625-0074 Phone: (609) 588-2648 / (800) 792-8339
Videophone: (609) 503-4862
Fax: (609) 588-2528
http://www.state.nj.us/human services/ddhh/ Director: David C. Alexander Editor: Ira Hock The Monthly Communicator is published by the New Jersey Department of Human
Services' Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH), a state agency.
DDHH provides information, referral, and advocacy to service recipients.
Information or articles provided by others does not imply endorsement by
DDHH or the State of New Jersey. There currently are 8,800 copies of the MC
distributed monthly.
Letter to the Editor I'm writing to thank the JCC (Jewish Community Center MetroWest) for
installing a hearing loop in the spinning room. Since this loop has been
installed, it's been an amazing experience to hear the instructor in a
darkened room with loud music. The Hearing Loop is a special type of sound system for use by people
with hearing aids or cochlear implants. It provides a magnetic, wireless
signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to "T"
(telecoil). I use two cochlear implants and am totally deaf without these behind-
the-ear speech processors. When I am in a spinning class, all I need to do
is change the programs of my speech processors to "T" and I can hear 100
percent of what's being said. If someone wears two hearing aids that have the "T" switch on them
(most behind-the-ear hearing aids have them, not all of the in-the-ear
hearing aids do), the hearing aids will work as receivers. If someone has
hearing loss but does not wear hearing aids (or has hearing aids without a
t-coil), there is a portable loop receiver that the spinning instructor can
give out with headphones. All one has to do is ask for this accommodation. Sandy Spekman, sspekman@gmail.com South Orange, NJ Dear NJ Relay
Dear NJ CapTel I am the grandmother to six grandchildren, and I had a stroke
several years ago. As a result, my family members often struggle to
understand my speech over the phone even though I can understand them just
fine. Does NJ Relay provide services for people who have speech
disabilities like mine? I'd like to be as independent as possible without
always having to ask someone else to help make calls. It would make life so
much easier for me. A
Loving Grandmother Dear Loving Grandmother, It can be frustrating to rely on others instead of independently
making phone calls, especially when trying to hold personal conversations.
The great news is that NJ Relay and CapTel offers Speech-to-Speech (STS)
services at no charge to consumers. A special phone is not required to use STS. A speech-disabled person
can call 7-1-1 on any phone and ask for STS, or call (866) 658-7712 to
directly connect to a trained STS operator. The operator will then place
the call, and repeating your words for clarity to the other person. The
other party, however, will speak directly to you. It is helpful if you can
provide the operator with background information prior to the actual call;
you can also instruct the operator to repeat everything you speak, or only
parts of your speech that may not be understand. You have full control of
the call. Persons with speech disabilities may also receive STS calls from
anyone. The calling party only needs to dial 7-1-1 and ask for STS,
providing your telephone number. The STS operator will then place the call.
STS also offers features, such as: . My Email Set-up: Email special instructions and other important
information prior to your call; this makes it easier to set up your call. . My Saved Messages: Upon request, the STS relay operator can copy any
message onto your saved profile; this is convenient for dictating a message
to an answering machine. . My Phone Book: Store up to 30 speed-dial numbers in your phone book. . My Name & Place: Callers can contact you directly by name instead of
having to provide STS relay operators with your number(s). . My Style: Store your preferred conversation style in your customer
profile, such as whether you prefer to have your words re-voiced or
repeated upon request. . My Wireless: Dial *787 (*STS) from any Sprint wireless phone to
connect with a Sprint STS relay operator. Learn more about STS and download a brochure by visiting
www.newjerseySTS.com, a Web site dedicated to STS services. NJ Relay also
pro