Bilingual Aphasia

In 2012, a 22-year-old man arose from an automobile accident-induced coma in Melbourne, Australia to baffle doctors. Ben McMahon woke only to find that he could communicate only in Mandarin, the language he studied through secondary school. 

Although McMahon was able to regain his proficiency in English after weeks of careful speech therapy, he still cannot communicate the shock he faced with his newfound fluency. 

He admitted that he should not have been nearly as proficient as he found himself to be based on the extent of his performance in the classroom, but he later embraced the incident by enrolling in a higher level Mandarin course in University and joining several multicultural groups. 

McMahon's case was extreme, but it was not the first. Scientists often attribute this phenomenon to "bilingual aphasia," when different languages are retained in different parts of the brain. If one section is injured, a person's brain could transition over to another stored language, Discovery reports.

"Honestly, the brain is the most interesting place there is," Dr. Pankaj Shah told Australia's ABC News. 

A Review of "A 30-Year History of the Future"

Nicholas Negroponte is best known for his founding of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, in the age of internet searches, Negroponte has been recently identified as the "predictor of the future.” When he first spoke at TedTalks in the 1960s, he suggested that technology would evolve to be touch-sensitive. Professionals shrugged, and even heckled the idea. In 1976, he handcrafted the first computer imaging system atop a moving vehicle for the purpose of map documentations. Two decades later, Google Maps adopted the idea as their own. 

In Negroponte's most recent TedTalk, he announced the idea of learning an entire language by swallowing a pill. "We have been doing a lot of consuming of information through our eyes. That may be a very inefficient channel. My prediction is that we are going to ingest information," he says in the video. "You're going to swallow a pill and know English. You're going to swallow a pill and know Shakespeare."

While the technological visionary is short on specific details, responses from neuroscientists and biomechatronics experts say that Negroponte's claim is entirely possible. Unrelated research has already uncovered a drug that may be capable of perfecting vocal pitch. 

While technology of every sort has connected the continents, language barriers still exist beyond borders. Pharmacies may, in fact, stock the miracle pill within the next several decades. Meanwhile, there are several conventional ways to master a new tongue- whether it's Arabic, French, or Mandarin. 

Attached video is Nicholas Negroponte: A 30-Year History of the Future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b5BDoddOLA

Sponsored Event: "Disrupting Injustice" in Baton Rouge

We are sponsoring this event hosted by Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf (HEARD) in Baton Rouge, LA on November 15th. Join us for a collaborative workshop with Deaf returned citizens and two guest speakers! Come one, come all!

Disrupting Injustice: The Crisis of Deaf Access to Justice & Deaf in Prison

Join us for an amazing workshop with a panel of deaf returned citizens, and two profound guest speakers.

Returned Citizen Panelists: Lawrence Levy, Bill Habb, Mark Garton
Moderator: Walker Alan Estes

Keynote Speakers:
Talila A. Lewis, J.D., HEARD Founder & RIT/NTID Professor 
Amber Farrelly, J.D., B.A., Texas Advanced and Court Certified

Guest Speaker:
Katrina Rivers, President of Communications Consulting Group

The challenges Deaf prisoners face are unimaginable. We will take a journey with deaf men who will share their experiences with the Justice system and in jails and prisons. 

Guest speakers will educate and enlighten our communities about mass incarceration, discrimination and physical/sexual abuse in prison, deaf wrongful conviction, access to programs and services in prison, access to telecommunications in prison, equal access to the courts and counsel, the role of interpreters & reentry barriers facing deaf returned citizens. 

We also are proud to bring to you a showing of the long-awaited documentary on deaf prisoners & HEARD. This documentary premiered on Al Jazeera America last December. HEARD invested countless hours to this project over the past three years. This series features interviews from deaf prisoners from HEARD's one-of-a-kind Deaf & Deaf-Blind Prisoner Database. Please come and learn how you can support equal access to the justice system, including videophone implementation in jails and prisons.

YouTube trailer: goo.gl/hQ1lbo

English fact sheet: goo.gl/f8qm43 

ASL fact sheet goo.gl/G6u3Zx

TEXT DESCRIPTION:

(Flyer) 

Top portion: White background, (Top left corner) Blue text that says, "Please join us for a day of discussion and collaboration on"
underneath: "Disrupting Injustice:" (Next to) Two white hands signing help in the palm of a bigger two black hands (Finger tips upwards) with white handcuffs around the wrists.

(Middle of the flyer) In a rectangular box, background blue, white text that says, "The crisis of Deaf Access to Justice & Deaf in Prison." (Part 2 of the title)
Picture: black and gray background with a silhouette of jail cell bars and a man inside sitting, with his elbows on his knees, head planted into thumbs, (Looks like he is praying or thinking really hard). In white text across this picture:
SATURDAY NOV. 15, 2014 | BATON ROUGE, LA | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Everyone is welcome: law enforcement, attorneys, members of the deaf community, interpreters, and anyone interested in promoting equality.
Louisiana Deaf Returned Citizen Panel
MODERATOR: Walker Alan Estes
PANELISTS: Lawrence Levy, Bill Habb, & Mark Garton
Wrongful Conviction, Prison, and Reentry
GUEST PRESENTER: Talila A. Lewis, J.D.,
HEARD Founder & RIT/NTID Professor
Deaf Access to the Courts & Interpreter Issues
GUEST PRESENTER: Amber Farrelly, J.D., B.A.,
Texas Advanced and Court Certified
PLUS: Learn how to make access to communication simple through a discussion with Katrina Rivers,
President of Communications Consulting Group
CEU will be available for interpreters!
0.5 RID CEU in Professional Studies

(Bottom Portion of the flyer)
White background: In black text; includes a viewing of the ‪#‎DeafinPrison ‬documentary film
(Underneath) Blue text: East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library | Main Event Room
7711 Goodwood Blvd, Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(Bottom Left) SPONSORED BY: 
Communications Consulting Group, www.yourccgroup.com
(Middle of bottom) CC Group Logo and HEARD Logo.
(Bottom Right) PRESENTED BY:
Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf, www.behearddc.org

Professional Interpreter Discussion Group- August 18, 2014

Professional Interpreter Discussion Group

Hosted by CC Group on the third Monday of every month, join us for a discussion of perspectives and challenges faced in the interpreting industry! Beneficial for interpreters of all languages, spoken and sign, this group will meet for two hours. Bring your questions or industry-related news to share with the group including ethical discussions, general information, or any questions you may have about a scenario you have faced or will be facing.

When: Monday, August 18 2014 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm CT

We will be meeting via our conference line. CEU points will be available!

Cost: $10 per person

The call in number and access code will be provided upon registration

Register here: http://www.yourccgroup.com/index.php/discussion

Tips: HR Disability Management & ADA Compliance

According to the 2008 US Census, 50 million Americans have some kind of disability. It is in the best interest of society to enable these ones to be productive and supported in the work force.

The intersection of HR Disability Management and ADA compliance intersect is when identifying essential job functions. The individual with a disability must be qualified to perform the job functions of the position they hold and if not should seek out reasonable accommodations.
Having a clear and defined statement of Job functions is the basis of determining if any reasonable accommodations exist.

Some reasonable accommodations for Deaf or Hard of Hearing individuals would include:

Telephone access

• Video phone equipment to access Federally funded Video Relay Services-Internet Requirements would be at minimum 512 kbps download and 512 kbps upload continuous speed in order for the device to work properly.
• Caption phone-Instead of a visual presence for relay there is a text relay communication assistant providing verbatim relay and the individual can see what is being said on a screen.

Signaler systems

• Door Signalers 
• Phone signalling
• Fire and smoke Signalers equipped with flashers or visual alerts. 

Meetings or interview access

• Video Remote Interpreting 
• Onsite Interpreting,
• CART 
• Speech to text services

Oftentimes the media used in meetings or interviews are overlooked with regard to captioning. Online clips or videos should be at least captioned accurately not using automated captions as they are faulty and will convey misinformation.

Other options include videos with "Sign-Over" Accommodation where the information is provided in ASL. This is beneficial when the individual watching the video uses ASL as their primary language.

These are a few tips in working with an employee with a hearing loss; for more information email melissa@yourccgroup.com and I'll be happy to send you links for these resources. You can also view an example at www.yourccgroup.com/index.php/multimedia-access.

Events

Check back for Expos we'll be attending and sponsoring!

Live Drawing for $50 gift card!

 Click here for the first class:

Click here for the second class