Special thanks to our Mayfest`s sponsors

Spring 2011
Special points of
interest:
Deaf Canada Conference July 2012
Promoting Deaf Children’s Emergent Literacy in ASL by
Dr. Kristin Snoddon
DOP Update
Mayfest 2011
Special thanks to our
Mayfest’s sponsors
Page 2
Deaf Ontario News
Editor’s note
Hello Loyal Members:
We are hard at work preparing for Mayfest on Friday May
13th! Looking forward to
seeing you there in the
Queen Elizabeth building at
Exhibition Place from 9-4!
Come on and see our smiles.
We are looking for anyone
editor for our future newsletters. OAD will pay an honorarium fee.
Please mail us your resume.
We hope that you will be
more than glad to volunteer
for OAD and DOP.
Mayfest on May 13, 2011
OAD Knickers Golf on Aug
4th 2011
OAD 125th Anniversary –
Belleville in November 11 and
12 2011. More information on
OAD’s website.
A friendly reminder of OAD’s
events:
interested in volunteering as
We are hard at work
planning our big event…
OAD’s 125th Anniversary!
We are excited to host the
125th with Belleville
Association of the Deaf in
Belleville on November 11
& 12, 2011.
The opinions expressed do
not necessarily reflect the
policy of Ontario
Association of the Deaf.
Articles from OAD NEWS
may be reprinted with
permission from the editor
and authors. Submissions
may be edited for length
and clarity. We reserve
this right.
© 2011 Ontario Association
of the Deaf
Inside
Board of Directors
Directors at Large
Staff
President
Jackie Plant
Georgetown
Robert Eller
Mississauga
Executive Director
Dean Walker
Vice President/Treasurer
(acting)
John Mans
Mississauga
Shelley Ryall
Oshawa
Educator/Planner
Kevin Canning
Communications Coordinator
Lori Archer
Secretary NA
Gilbert Guerin
Sudbury
Past President
Christine Ehrlich-Brady
Belleville
Michael Zagozdzon
Milton
HIV Health Promotion Director
Jeff Panasuik
News for today
Contact us
Co-Editor and Layout/
Design:
Dean Walker
Co– Editor and Copy
Editor
Lori Archer
Office:
2395 Bayview Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M2L 1A2
office@deafontario.ca
“Let OAD grow
Ontario Association of the Deaf
www.deafontario.ca
tty 416.513.1893
fax 416.413.4822
voice 416.413.9191
Deaf Outreach Program
www.deafontario.ca/dop
tty 416.413.1093
fax 416.413.4822
keep working
Contributors:
Dean Walker
Lori Archer
Jackie Plant
Kevin Canning
John Mans
Jeff Panasuik
strong as we all
hard and grow
stronger! “
Page 3
President’s note
Dear OAD members,
Time sure flies fast doesn’t it?
Vanita Dama has resigned from
the board, however we want to
work for OAD projects. We
need your help in order to
The spring is here now and we
all enjoy the warmer climate.
say thank you for your time
being on the board for the past
2 years. Good luck Vanita.
hire 1 or 2 staff just to work
for OAD as OAD staff. This
will benefit OAD and the
I wanted to share with you that
we are working closely with
We do have a new board
Deaf communities out there,
emergency funds for example
John Hemmingway, he is the
president of Ontario Deaf
member. Robert Eller just
joined the board as a director
helping in the needs of the
Deaf community. With your
Foundation. O.D.F. is truly an
organization and it is not a
fraud. I was told that some peo-
at large. Welcome Robert!!
As you know we will be having
help, it will succeed!! You will
get the newsletter 4 times a
year.
ple think it was fraudulent or
were upset when they present
Mayfest next week on Friday,
May 13, 2011. Remember it’s
We are also working to-
a booth. I want to let you
know it is safe and they are
located at Exhibition Place, see
you there. I'll be at the booth
gether with Belleville Association of the Deaf for their
honest people. ODF supports
organizations and we support
with OAD, come and stop by
at the booth to say hello.
25th year anniversary with
our 125th year anniversary.
them. The people on theirboard are all deaf. Good people. Please be careful with hack-
As for the membership fee, we
NEED your support with mem-
The anniversaries are combined together to celebrate
our history of OAD and
ers on face book. They were
using Dean Walker’s name say-
bership. This will help us to
use for emergency funds and
BAD. The BAD committee
are wonderful people that we
ing that you won $100,000.
That is a scam. We have had a
hiring OAD staff to run OAD
itself. As you know OAD has 4
are fortunate to work together with.
few incidents, and however do
NOT accept it. The scammer
was using OAD to lure inno-
staff working at the office, their
funding comes from Ministry of
Health. They focus on DOP as
We will have Sign Language
Rights here in BRCD on Sept
cent people. Keep your eyes
peeled!
in Deaf Outreach Program. With limited member-
23, 2011. We will be contacting other agencies to join
ship fees, we are limited to
with us to celebrate this spe-
Jackie Plant
OAD President
cial day!
At last, on Friday May 13, 2011
at Mayfest at 1:30pm, we will
have a live TV in honouring Gary
Malkowski while he is in Gallaudet getting his honourary doctoral degree. Let us congratulate him for all the hard work he
he has done for the Deaf communitiy and for his timeless enegry. He has provided a great
amount of support to our organzation of OAD. We want to say
thank you Gary, and congratulations on your award.!
Wave hands!!!
OADly yours,
Jackie Plant
Deaf Canada Conference 2012 by John Mans
I want to share the news with you and all Deaf Ontarians that OAD will proudly be hosting the Deaf
Canada Conference 2012. Again I want to tell you
that more volunteers are still needed for DCC
2012! There will be mini workshops and luncheon
awards over a three day period. I am sure that you
know that Marc Noble is Co-chairperson, Christine
Nelson is Treasurer. I am still looking for volunteers
for the entertainment committee, hospitality committee, book program committee, call for papers
committee, and grant committee. Feel free to contact me or Marc Noble. Come to our booth in Mayfest and sign up for the team! .
(dcctoronto2012@gmail.com) The Website will
coming soon.
Page 4
Deaf Ontario News
Executive Director’s note
Dean Walker
Executive Director
Greetings my fellow members and citizens,
I hope that you have had a good spring.
There was a lot more rain in Toronto.
This year is even more exciting than last
year with so much happening! It is over for
the Federal election. It is finally a majority
so we will not worry about another election for awhile, but make sure that we
must work with people in Canada. We will
also have the election for the Ontario government this coming fall. Check your
home riding and make sure that your favorite candidate supports what you want,
and then vote for him/her.
I would like to tell you more news of what
we having been working on. Of course it is
up and down. I received some letters
from different areas from Queens Park.
Last March I received an overwhelming
negative reaction to the news that the
Ontario government is providing $5.9 million to cut in half the waiting list for people
to get cochlear implants. We are very disappointed to learn that substantial funding
is being focused on cochlear implants especially for children. The long term effects of
this will be a nightmare! With overwhelming phone calls from all over Ontario, the
people’s reaction is they are disappointed
in Dalton’s government. Why are hearing
people trying to make us hear? You know
that we received many sad stories about
this, not success stories. It is not a good
health investment in the long term. Deb
Matthews Minister of Health and LongTerm Care stated ―Cochlear implants
greatly improve the quality of life for peo-
ple with severe hearing loss. Our government is taking action so that children and
particular first languages is a valuable
building block for thinking, problem-
adults can receive these life-changing implants sooner." Does she mean that Deaf
children and Deaf Adults have no quality of
solving, and assisting to form relationships with others.
Ministry of Education – all schools in
life? Deaf professionals who have PhDs
have no quality of life? The former first
Ontario must provide ASL immersion.
All students would benefit from learning to sign.
Deaf MPP has no quality of life? I have no
quality of life? The Ontario government
Ministry of Training, Colleges and
stated ―about 10% of Ontarians with severe hearing loss are able to benefit from
the cochlear implant procedure‖. We have
Universities – All Colleges and Universities must provide the students
with ASL the same as other languages
like Danish, Finnish, Polish, Spanish,
no proof about the benefits. I raise a simple question. What about the other 90% of
Ontarians with severe hearing loss? Are
they happy? Or, are they becoming vic-
Chinese, Russian etc.
Learning ASL would be a priceless
tims? Will the Ontario government be
responsible to them? We fear for Deaf
benefit for everyone. For example:
People can work or chat with the
Children. We always know that Non-Deaf
communities and doctors are advising politicians who have no knowledge of the Deaf
Deaf without interpreters. They can
use the signs in any sports, big factories, big events, any noisy environment, and in issues of National De-
community while they benefit from the
profits of unnecessary surgical procedures.
fense when it is hard to hear, Seniors
can use signs when their hearing loss
This is not for the Deaf child’s benefit. We
try to tell the Deaf community not to
progresses with age, and they can’t
afford to buy hearing aids. Taxpayers
should be willing to encourage chil-
blame the government. With understanding, we want the government to consult
with the experts - Deaf adults who grew
dren to learn to sign early as a valuable investment!
up as Deaf children. We must require that
the government pay attention to us now,
and truly help provide a better future for
Deaf Children. Here is our recommendation which I wrote in a letter to Ontario
Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Our recommendations are as follows:
Ministry of Children and Youth Services – all Day care programs in Ontario must provide ASL to all children.
Research has shown that acquisition
of a strong foundation in a language
during pre-school years is a requirement for future literacy development
in English. ASL like any language and in
Read Kristin’s comment on page 17.
I mailed a letter to the Ministry of Children
and Youth Services in regard to the Ministry’s Infant Hearing Program that restricts
Deaf children’s learning of signed language.
We did try our best to explain about many
issues and concerns relating to Deaf infants
and children. We will have a meeting with
the Ministry of Children and Youth Services soon. OAD will try to set up a new
program under the Early Years Program
Unit for Deaf infants. OAD will take the
lead
on
this.
continued to page 5
continued from page 4
Page 5
Wait and see what they can do for us. We
need your support. We also wrote a let-
I received draft documents from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correc-
best for you all. It looks good for our Mayfest. It is a much bigger and better space
ter regarding the hiring of a new Consultant for the Speech Language Pathology,
Audiology for the Ministry’s Early Years
tional Services. I reviewed and changed
the words The purpose of the Accessibility Roundtable was for participants to
with a lot of available inexpensive parking.
It will also be good for school field trips.
We will be creative and hold mini work-
Programs Unit. Unfortunately they already
hired a person who is not related to, or
advise the Deputy Minister and senior
management on the barriers and chal-
shops, art and culture displays and more.
Other good news, Bell will also be a spon-
has background knowledge of the Deaf
community. I am not satisfied with this.
lenges that persons with disabilities face
when interacting with the Corrections
sor, in particular as they would like to
promote their new IP Relay system. Our
Keep you posted.
system. They stated that they learned a lot
about the Deaf community from my presentation. They will mail us the final docu-
board and our staff and I would like to
thank the many exhibitors who will come
to our important event. We have more
ments soon. They may contact us for visiting the office and warden.
exhibitors than last year! We hope you
will meet the exhibitors, staff, board and
Also my staff Lori and I had a good meeting with Adam Nowina, Special Assistant
in Policy from the Minister of Community
and Social Services. He will try to assist us
friends. We would like you to give us the
important feedback for next year.
with regards to accessing additional funding for new programs. He will keep in
The tireless staff at OAD and I are still
busy completing our spring work. You
touch with me, and I will update you when
I have news to report.
know that we hired Kim Wasser last January; however she got another job offer so
I just finished the Human Resource policy
and by-laws (updated) and the board ap-
she left here. We hired another candidate
for HIV Health Promotion Director in the
Deaf Outreach Program last March. His
proved it. I will work on the financial policy later. You can come and look at them.
We did not receive feedback from you to
name is Jeff Panasuik. We are glad that he
is knowledgeable of HIV and AIDS issues.
choose one choice for either printed or
electronic newsletter. Let us know soon.
He looks forward to the opportunity to
promote health awareness and public rela-
If no response, then we will mail you the
printed newsletter. We continue to work
tions in the HIV field. Come here and
meet him anytime. Let us welcome Jeff to
our team! I am always busy with OAD/
on whom to approach for core funding for
OAD’s operations and much needed new
programs.
Finally, the VRS Feasibility Study Advisory
Committee is progressing. John Mans and I
went to Bell’s boardroom with other representatives from CHS, CAD and Centre
québécois de la déficience auditive with
Bell Canada and Mission Consulting staff.
We all focus on the phases. I think it is
very positive, and I must make sure that
we follow the timeline. We expect that
we will need to attend several more meetings till late summer. We received news
from Bell Canada and the Canadian Radiotelevision Telecommunications Commission. They approved the first phase of
Bell’s deferral account proposal to improve the accessibility of mobile devices
and services. So, I will attend the meeting
DOP staff and with DOP volunteers, buddies and clients. DOP has not been quiet
these past couple of months either, especially while Lori, Jeff and Kevin were busy
preparing for the big plan for workshops
this year. In other issues, we continue to
work on DOP’s strategic plan. Kevincent
had meetings with Lori and the committee
members. The volunteer steering committee helped us a lot, and we are excited to
continue to work with them. Jeff will start
to work on DOP’s website soon including
an ASL video. Let him know if you feel
that something is important for people to
You know that we have booked August
4th, 2011 for our second annual Knickers
golf tournament. Come on out and join us
for the fun! Look at OAD’s website for
more information. I am glad that I updated
if for you!
John and I volunteered for doing our ASL
news on OAD’s website. It looks great
and we received many positive comments.
We will continue with it for you. Some
people are interested to be involved as
anchor, editor, filming and other. Looking
forward to it.
know.
That is all for now. Please visit us in our
Lori and I still have a pretty difficult situa-
office anytime.
here.
later this summer. That is all for now, and
we will advise you when we have more
tion with the Queen Elizabeth Building at
Exhibition Place for Mayfest 2011. How-
news from Bell or CRTC.
ever, we must move on. We will try our
Thank you for reading
Deaf Ontario News
Page 6
Lori Archer - Communications Coordinator
Hello OAD Members and Friends
I know Dean’s report has informed you
of all the latest news and happenings
here at OAD since the winter. What
can I tell you that is new and exciting?
Well let’s see now, how about the fact
that I believe our 37th Annual Mayfest at
Exhibition Place’s Queen Elizabeth building will be bigger, better, and more entertaining and enjoyable than ever!
If all goes as we have relentlessly
planned, you will see:
Our main sponsor – TD’s generous contributions especially
to the children’s activities
More exhibitors than last year
office@deafontario.ca
New exhibitors
5,000 square feet more area
than last year
Better accessibility with wider
aisles
More rest areas
Great entertainment and presentations planned for on stage
Ample and less expensive parking
When Mayfest is over, we would really
welcome your feedback and input.
TD’s live ASL interpreted presentation on RDSP’s
Please email us and tell us what you
liked, what you didn’t like and any ideas/
suggestions
Our sponsor – Bell with the
latest video demo on IP Relay
and handouts
for improvement. You can send all complaints to Dean….just joking….you can
email either me, Dean, or
We value your input and we would also
like volunteers for next year to join a
Mayfest committee to help in planning
Mayfest 2012.
Looking forward to seeing you on ―Friday
the 13th‖
and hoping
it will be a
―good
luck‖ day!
OAD’ly
Darren Holst and Lori Archer
Kevin Canning - DOP Educator / Planner
Howdy!
After my 10 years working with the Deaf Outreach Program, do I ever have some new information for you? YES,
I do ;-) I have seen so much work internally and externally and our DPHA (Deaf Persons Living with HIV/AIDS)
facing issues on a daily basis, and I must tell you that it's
never easy..
dom, and this trained staff is able to get free condoms
every year or anytime. We usually provide Female condoms at our booth throughout the year at different
events. DOP is always grateful for those who shared
A new colleague was hired last March - at last!
We are thrilled to hire a new colleague working with
DOP specifically. The position is HIV Promotion Director and the person's name who was hired is Jeff
Panasuik. He had been on the Board in the past, and had
helped with DOP's vlogs on the website, which was very
helpful. We are pleased of having Jeff working with DOP
now.
Female Condoms
Female Condoms are provided F R E E at DOP. There is
only one current staff who had trained on Female Con-
their feedback, experiences, opinions regarding Female
condoms. I'd like to add that I had attended the 7th Annual Gay Men Sexual Health. They mentioned that it is
also called Interible Concontinued to page 7
continued from page 6
dom. There are always challenges talking about HIV or
Female Condoms, even simple condoms! So Please
don't feel intimidated when you stop by our office. DOP
ensures that all staff have full respect for you as an individual for taking condoms or simply talking about HIV
issues. The box consisting of condoms and female condoms are in the open area and in the hidden room where
you can feel comfortable taking as many as you want.
In any case, in the possibility that some of you don't like
condoms, what can you do about preventing yourself
from getting HIV or a sexually transmitted infection
(STI) ? Well, there is new information that might be
helpful for you to consider and prevent you from getting
HIV or STI. Please believe me, it's not worth getting or
having HIV. Not worthwhile at all. I have faced personally and professionally about HIV stuff so much and that's
a burden for sure. if you happen to be living with
HIV, please feel comfortable and be aware that DOP
keeps confidential.
Gay Men's Sexual Health Summit 2011
What I have learned a great deal is...so many
things. There is one thing that I think is very important
for you to know. I didn't know before then. I'm more
than happy to share with you. (The new kind of Lube
(lubricant) that prevents HIV by 35% from transmitting
HIV to others. Many doctors and nurses were very
happy when they found out the proven outcomes. It's
worthwhile to look into this subject, as I understand that
some, if not too many of you are still resistant about using condoms, or don't think that you need condoms, anyway. Here's a tip - to think about.
What are Rectal Microbicicdes?
Currently in development, a rectal microbicide is a product that could be available as a lubricant gel, douche, or
an enema and used rectally to reduce a person's risk of
HIV infection. R.M. could offer both primary protection
in the absensce of condoms and back-up protection if a
condom breaks or slips off during anal intercourse. Men, Women and Transgender individuals demand R.M. You can make a difference. Look at the website for more detailed information.
Visit IRMA - International Rectal Microbicide Advocates at www.rectalmicrobicides.org
Page 7
LGBT's first-ever "Volunteer Fair"
Jeff, HIV Health Promotion Director, and I as an Educator were at the booth displaying DOP, as well as
OAD. We had a good turn out; getting people's attention and they came to our booth asking some questions. We had sign-up for volunteers, and that will be at
the same time more challenges and excitment ;-)
We are always pleased and grateful to our past volunteers. Come back, and do your best volunteering with
DOP. You are our "Keys" to help spreading out to the
deaf communities across Ontario about DOP. You
never know what will happen in the future.
ViiV funding
Anyone is interested in doing some vlogs that DOP has
some ideas already, but need new beautiful faces. Be
proud of yourself if you are doing a worthwhile cause for
DOP and your community. Right? So, then feel free to
contact me or Lori Archer who is a leading on this project. We are here to support this project. Come on,
contact us and we will set up a schedule videotaping your
signing on which subjects you would feel comfortable
with, sharing with the world! It sounds easy?, yes, that's
right. well. in some ways.
It's unacceptable that more deaf people worldwide are
victims of HIV and AIDS. Help us ENSURE infinite possibilities for all deaf people, by speaking out or signing out
against HIV infection. For your experiment and supporting DOP and its DPHA (Deaf People Living with
HIV/AIDS) to changing that
statistics.
Together we can change
lives"
Kevin Canning - DOP
Educator / Planner
Page 8
Deaf Ontario News
Dear Friends;
Ottawa Mayfest is an annual cultural event in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. This celebration has taken place in Ottawa
since 1991. We are a non-profit organization. This event draws attendees from across Ontario. Family, friends and supporters in
the community come together to recognize their culture, provide community awareness and raise funds to support program initiatives.
The Ottawa Mayfest Planning Committee is a group of representative stakeholders. These people are from various agencies and
clubs that work with Deaf, Deafened and the Hard of Hearing. Our traditional day event consists of games for the children and
information booths from the different organizations,
Your presence at our event will help raise awareness in the community about your services. We hope that you will purchase a
demonstration booth for our day activities. The event will be at Ron Kolbus Lakeside Center at 102 Greenview (Britannia Park
Area, West Ottawa) from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday May 28 th, 2011.
Proceeds are donated to the community such as Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children’s camp and other local projects. We are hoping that we will be able to work together and support this wonderful event. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any questions you may have.
Kind Regards,
Kari English Ottawa Mayfest 2011 ottawamayfest@yahoo.ca
Where:
The Ron Kolbus Lake(102 Greenview, Ottawa)
For who: Any age!!
Day Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm
Price:
$5.00 (age 18 & up)
$3.00 (age 13 – 17)
13 & under free
Where:
side Centre
Centre Jules
(281 Lanark Avenue, Ottawa)
Léger
For who: Any age!!
Night Time: 7:00pm to 11:00pm
(Movie starts 8:00pm)
Price: $15 (Age 1 and under - Free)
Black Sand (ASL Film)
Page 9
2197 Riverside Drive Suite 600, Ottawa ONT K1H 7X3
BOOTH REGISTRATION FORM
Please complete this form with a cheque payable to ―Ottawa Mayfest‖ and mail it to the following address:
Kari English
For more information, email:
Ottawa Mayfest Committee 2011
ottawamayfest@yahoo.ca
2197 Riverside Dr.
Suite 600
Ottawa, ONT K1H 7X3
Name of Organization:
________________________________________________
Contact Person:
________________________________________________
Address:
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
Telephone:
________________________________________________
Email address:
________________________________________________
Fee for Ottawa Mayfest 2011 Display Booths
Please circle:
Business, for profit organization or institution…………………………………....$ 125.00
Non-profit organizations……………………………...…………………………..$ 75.00
Individuals…………………………………………………………………..……..$ 50.00
Prices are based on one individual 2.75 x 6 floor table
Please indicate the total amount enclosed ______________________________________
*Please advise us if you need access to an electrical outlet*
Note: The venue will be available at 8:30am on Saturday, May 28th, 2011 at the Ron Kolbus Lakeside Centre
at 102 Greenview (Britannia Park Area, West Ottawa) to set up your display booth. We will not provide
tablecloths, dividers, extension cords or duct tape. The locations of the booth in the hall will be set up well
in advance. If you have any preferences, let us know.
Deadline for applications is May 13th 2011
Page 10
Deaf Ontario News
New Staff Onboard!
Today is the era of the Information Age
and that is when people depend on technology to
get more variety of information with less work.
In the past, people got information in a few ways
which was usually reading the newspaper, watching television, being involved with conversation
with friends, co-workers, and families; or even
writing and mailing letters. As of today, we now
have different ways that we did not have in the
past using technology to get information, but,
faster. For example, e-mails, Google database, ejournals, and much more and most information is
available by the internet. We already know that
the internet is very powerful and many people
depend on it.
The DOP knows that it is important that
we should take advantage of the power of the
internet. For the last 25 years, our program’s
goal is to give resources to deaf communities, interpreters, medical service providers, professionals, family and friends, businesses, schools, organizations, and much more. But with internet—it is
wonderful and also a ―new stage‖ to share information about HIV to everybody as much as we
can.
In old times – it was difficult to make information and materials in ASL, because of limited
technology, but today, the internet allows us to
distribute resources, offer educational and information materials (presentations, DVDs, any video
clips). It is our goal to have all of our information
accessible as much as possible, in our own natural
language. DOP’s goal is to use our website as our
central point for any information that is related to
DOP and issues
on HIV.
We
are excited that
this will allow
DOP to use the
website as part
of on-going educational tools to
reach as many
people as we can. This spring we are working on
making plans to set up a system on our website
for all video clips for our library (i.e. DVDs and
videos) and to create presentations and information in ASL . We look forward to a new stage in
promoting important information on how to prevent the transmission of HIV. With materials
available in ASL AND on the internet—it is a
great tool to spread out information and support
each other. Stay tuned!
Hi folks! As DOP and OAD has mentioned in this newsletter and on the
website that a new staff has been
hired to fill the vacancy of HIV Health
Promotion Director. That’s me! My
name is Jeff Panasuik. I have been
living in Toronto for last 6 years and
probably some of you recognize my
face as I used to serve as a board
member during the year of 2006. So, now I am hired to
work for this great organization.
What does that position mean, you probably will
wonder? Yep, folks—it means that any media or informational material such as website, brochures, posters,
and any material for people to spread throughout the
community about our program and our educational work
on how to prevent HIV transmission and all of the issues
around HIV.
My goal for this year is to prepare resources and information to be available in ASL and turn our website into an
online video library that would be accessible to anybody
globally. This is a big project however, we will start with
the first phase: planning.
From my hard lessons in past: To make this goal successful, it is important to plan and set schedules for the
rolling out of this project. Please do feel free to share
your feedback or input by emailing me at
jeff@deafontario.ca.
DOPly yours!
Page 11
Deaf Ontario News
Page 12
Page 13
Mayfest 2011- FAQ
Why did OAD Mayfest move to the Queen Elizabeth building at Exhibition Place this year?
Two reasons. First – the St Lawrence Market had planned
renovations. We were not allowed to book it in advance
for 2011. We needed to find an alternate location. We
had to book in advance at Exhibition Place. Second, the
St Lawrence would not allow OAD to use the building on
the Friday night because the farmers market needed to
set up for next day. (Originally we were hoping to book it
for the evening also).
Will Mayfest be back at the St Lawrence Market
next year?
It depends on the St Lawrence’s plans. We don’t know at
this time. The Exhibition Place manager hopes that we
will continue there for the long term. If they make a good
deal for us, we may use there for day and night in the fu-
ture.
Are we aware it is more expensive than the
St .Lawrence?
We expected that there would be changes for our business
one day. We have to prepare for this situation. Yes we know,
and we are working with this as best we can. We must learn
to live with it while doing our best especially for non profit
organizations like ours.
Must the exhibitor pay the electrical and internet?
We know that it is very expensive but it is up to you. If you
can manage without electrical you can save your money. Exhibition Place is now offering a 10% discount on electrical service costs to non profits that provide their charitable registration number. If you bring a laptop, you need three extra
batteries for the laptop, For internet, you could try to check
your service provider (Bell, Rogers,
TELUS etc) to buy the wireless
continued to page 24
Page 14
Deaf Ontario News
125th Anniversary 1886 to 2011
We are excited to share the news.
Belleville Association of the Deaf are very motivated
to host the big event for their organization and our
organization.
They work so hard for their organization’s 25th anniversary. BAD is also glad to work with us for hosting
the OAD125th .
The committee have many ideas for the events and
hope that you will enjoy everything, and that it will be
one of the best memories in your life.
Unofficial Schedule
(May be changed without notice)
Friday, November 11 - BAD’s 25th Anniversary Celebration at Ramada Inn
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Registration
7:00 pm – 11:00 pm: Wine and Cheese
Saturday, November 12 – OAD-BAD at SJW Main
Building
7:30 am – 3:00 pm: Registration
8:30 am – 11:00 am: OAD General Meeting
We will seek funding and sponsorship for our event,
For example, I asked someone from the Ministry to
support Senior citizen’s transportation and hotels.
9:00 am – 4:00 pm: Exhibitions
We will have a general meeting as usual, but it will be
brief and we will need you to approval the financial
statement and minutes. Also we will release our report. We want you to have more time to meet your
old and new friends and go to see the exhibitions.
Celebration (Gala)
11:00 am – 4:30 pm: Workshops and panel discussion
Evening at Ramada Inn - OAD 125th Anniversary
Door opens at 5:00 pm (Ramada Inn)
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm: Cocktail
6:30 pm: Dinner
ASL Performance
9:00 pm – 1:00 am: Dance
Early Bird Combo
(includes registration, wine &cheese, workshops & banquet)
$80.00 (before June 30) for Senior Citizens
Reservation: (Special Rate)
$100.00 (before June 30) for Adults
Cost: $92.00 + HST
$95.00 (after June 30) for Senior Citizens
$115.00 (after June 30) for Adults
Ramada Inn
11 Bay Bridge Road
Belleville, Ontario K8P 3P6 (613) 968-3411
Fax (613) 968-5036
www.bellevilleramada.com
Please issue a cheque payable to BAD/OAD 2011 and mail
to :
Tim Kelly, Treasurer
98 McFarland Drive,
Belleville, Ontario K8N 2X5
For more information, check on OAD’s website.
Page 15
Page 16
Deaf Ontario News
Promoting Deaf Children's Emergent Literacy in American Sign Language
Canada and supervised by assistant
professor Kathryn Underwood, involves a program for teaching hearing parents of young deaf children
how to read books using ASL. Snoddon cites enhanced language and
literacy development in ASL and
English, improved parent-child communication, and strengthened community involvement as preliminary
findings of the project.
By Dr. Kristin Snoddon,
Postdoctoral Fellow,
ECE
March 2, 2011
According to a Ryerson researcher,
young deaf and hard of hearing children and their families have much to
gain when early intervention and education services promote a bilingual
approach that includes American Sign
Language (ASL).
Dr. Kristin Snoddon, the first-ever
postdoctoral fellow to study with the
School of Early Childhood Education,
focuses on initiatives for supporting
ASL and emergent literacy in deaf children and their families. Her postdoctoral work, funded by the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of
Snoddon's previous research has
identified gaps in early intervention
programming for young deaf children and their families in terms of
promoting bilingualism in ASL and
English. Her forthcoming book,
American Sign Language and Early
Literacy, is based on her Ph.D. study
of parents and children participating
in the ASL Parent-Child Mother
Goose Program. Like her postdoctoral work, this book features an
ASL literacy program for young children and their parents--in this case,
a program for teaching parents AS
rhymes and stories that enhance
parents and children's communications and literacy interactions.
Clinical professionals in Ontario frequently fail to support young deaf
children's learning of ASL. As Snoddon argues, this opposition is rooted
in the perception that ASL will restrict deaf children's ability to acquire spoken and written English--a
position that is refuted by research
studies from around the world. In
addition, Snoddon says, her own
research shows that access to ASL
literacy experiences is linked to the
development of metalinguistic and
phonological awareness, vocabulary,
and language skills that are precursors to print literacy.
Her current 10-month study involves a series of workshops for
parents and preschool-age children
that are taught by bilingual deaf adult
instructors. The instructors read a
broad range of children's picture
books and support parents' learning
of strategies for shared reading.
These strategies include tactics for
retaining children’s visual attention,
asking questions and eliciting children's contributions to the reading
process, and discussing illustrations
and background information in order to promote children's vocabulary and world knowledge. Most importantly, the workshops aim to
show parents how English texts can
be conveyed through ASL in a way
that supports the development of
literacy in both languages.
According to Snoddon, programs for
supporting shared reading with ASL
have seldom been offered in a Canadian context. In order to support
the goals of young deaf children's
emergent literacy and hearing parents' learning of ASL as a second
language, it is crucial to involve ASLfluent deaf adult professionals
throughout the early intervention
process. Deaf adults can work in
tandem with parents from early
childhood and beyond to facilitate
children and parents' access to firstlanguage models of ASL and to the
deaf community as a rich culture.
Copy from http://www.ryerson.ca/ece/news/news/General_Public/snoddon_kristin.html
© 2011 Ryerson University
|
350 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2K3
Page 17
Published On Fri Mar 11 2011
Ear implant decision raises questions
Re: Wait time halved for hearing implant -March 8
2011
Health Minister Deb Matthews’ recent announcement that an additional $5.9 million is being provided for cochlear implants should lead to increased
scrutiny of Ontario government policy regarding
deaf children’s access to sign language.
The Ontario Infant Hearing Program will not fund
American Sign Language (ASL) services to deaf children who receive cochlear implants and auditoryverbal therapy, and children’s hospitals in Ontario
explicitly forbid cochlear implant recipients from
learning ASL.
There is no research basis for not allowing deaf
children access to ASL. In fact, a strong case can be
made for the overall cognitive, affective, and educational benefits of bilingualism in a signed and a spoken/written language and of deaf children’s access to
the ASL community. This is particularly true in light
of the fact that results of cochlear implant surgery in
congenitally deaf children remain uneven and unpredictable.
Furthermore, Dr. Blake Papsin’s comment that a
Flashback...
cochlear implant ―increases the ability of its recipients to become educated and employed‖ is offensive
to educated, employed deaf members of the ASL
community such as myself. The deaf ASL community
of Ontario includes medical doctors, lawyers, university professors, CEOs and various other professionals who contribute to our economy.
The fact that parents of deaf children are not routinely informed of the ASL community’s accomplishments speaks not only to the unbalanced information provided by medical professionals but also to
our society’s failure to celebrate diversity and promote true inclusion for deaf people.
Kristin Snoddon, PhD, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow,
School of Early Childhood Education, Ryerson University
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/
article/952943--ear-implant-decision-raises-questions
OAD wants to thank Kristin for doing this for
us.
Page 18
Deaf Ontario News
OAD proudly sells our products here.
OAD must fundraise for our important operations. We try to provide products for everyone to buy. We will
be thrilled if you show your support by buying one or more. The order form is on the next page.
In the Store for sale
DOP T- Shirts - Sign Hands
“D” “O” “P”
Book - SAMUEL GREENE
By Clifton Carbin
On sale - $20.00 each.
On sale - $29.95 each.
DVD - Classic Ontario ASL
Name Signs
By John Hemingway
On sale - $40.00 each.
Golf Divot
On sale - $25.00 each.
2011
Calendar
Deaf Ontario Now
On sale - $25.00 each.
On sale - $14.00 each.
Check on http://www.deafontario.ca/products.html for more information and details
Page 19
Deaf Ontario News
Media Information
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Deaf Ontario News
WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!
OAD has a new website layout.
Please take some time to check out our
new format.
Do you feel it is an improvement?
Is there better communication?
Do you find it easy to order products?
We want your opinions!
Please email us at office@deafontario.ca
and tell us what you think.
All suggestions welcome.
Thank you!
At the AGM, the motion was made that members will have two choices for subscribing to Deaf Ontario News.
The choices are email or regular mail. Please let us know which you prefer. Next issue, we will send an enewsletter either to your email account, or mail a newsletter to your home address based on your choice.
Please advise us by Email to news@deafontario.ca Thank you.
Page 23
Ontario Association
of the Deaf
OAD Knickers
Tournament
Royal Ontario Golf Club
6378 Trafalgar Road
Milton, ON, Canada
The board and staff are excited to host
our 2nd Annual Golf Event on August 4,
2011. We hope you will join us for a fun
day at our OAD Knickers Tournament!
We think you will enjoy golfing and wearing the unique knickers yourself. We are
encouraging everyone to wear the Knickers clothing. There will be awards for low
score, longest drive etc. and BEST
CLOTHES!
To assist outfitting you with the knickers
clothing we have arranged some good
discounts and special deals for your team.
Contact our representative Allan Hume
from Golfknickers.ca at golfknickers@nor
-del.com
Thursday, August 4, 2011
1:30 - Shotgun Start
7:00 p.m. Dinner and Awards
The guys wear the Knickers clothes
The 2010 OAD Knickers
continued from page 13
Where can the exhibitor find motels?
stick plus data plan.
There are several hotels and motels about 5 km to the west
on Lake Shore Blvd.
Will people pay for the parking pass?
No, parking passes are only for exhibitors who will unload and
What about transit?
load their stuff. Other people can pay for parking anywhere in
Yes there is the Go Train,
TTC (street car and bus) See
the CNE.
Will there be better accessibility and lots of
parking in CNE?
detailed information with the
Absolutely! It is a lot better than the St Lawrence. Wheelchairs
will be glad for the extra space. There will be more space for
www.deafontario.ca/
map on our website.
mayfest.html
everyone to chat. Also the school bus drivers will enjoy the
parking lot.
Will someone provide/sell the refreshments
inside?
We must use the on site services of Exhibition Place. They are
working out a menu for us. We will post more information
when we have it.
SPONSORED BY