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live lo c a l p ro fi l e
deaf
focus
by joy holden d eaf people can do anything except hear. this is the truth that
deaf
focus
and everyone who works there wants you to know.
deaf
focus
is a nonprofit organization that exists to fill gaps in the community for
deaf
,
deaf
-blind, and hard of hearing individuals.
deaf
focus
provides counseling services, communication support in the form of american sign
language
(asl) classes and interpreters, and community resources for the
deaf
, but the group also works hard to establish bridges between the
deaf
and the hearing communities. in 2009, paula rodriguez, lcsw, noticed a void while a counselor at the louisiana school for the
deaf
(lsd): ?while i was at school, i noticed that the
deaf
students had so much support, but statewide, they didn?t have a lot of support for
deaf
ness in general.? she formed
deaf
focus
with the vision for ?universal access to community resources, publications, and equal access to that information to be able to participate in their own community.? part of her passion is advocating for
deaf
to have equal access to communication in alignment with the americans with disabilities act.
deaf
focus
fundraisers help pay for such advocacy causes. the signature annual events of
deaf
focus
are: eat drink sign, run walk sign, kidz kamp, and
deaf
education alliance. they all work to expose the hearing community to
deaf
culture and to unite the
deaf
community.
deaf
focus
finds ways for people to come together and offer more social options for
deaf
young people and adults. ari latino has been working with
deaf
focus
for three years, and he shares his point of view, ?
deaf
people can feel isolated in a hearing world. but we want to make people feel that they can come around and realize that
deaf
people can do everything.? rodriguez has even created and developed a mascot named d. love, a large turquoise foam hand in the shape of the i love you sign in asl. all of
deaf
focus
? events connect to signing in some way. although
deaf
focus
enjoys their events, their main emphasis right now is with education. they are working with the legislature to get a bill passed called lead-k,
language
equality and acquisition for
deaf
kids. rodriguez explains her interest in this campaign, ?working with kids and behavior issues, i?m noticing a lot of children who are
language
deprived. this bill can help us monitor kids who are 0-5 and measure their
language
as they move through those milestones, and make sure they?re kindergarten ready. we?ve got to get parents to understand that
deaf
children can develop cognitively at the same rate as a hearing child, but they have to have a foundation of
language
before kindergarten.?
deaf
focus
hosted the
deaf
education summit to support early
language
development and brought in actor, model, and activist nyle dimarco, an advocate for lead-k.
deaf
focus
believes that sign
language
is a huge tool in developing communication skills for children. ?signing has been put on the backburner with the technologies that have been brought in. we don?t want to eliminate the technology, but we want to supplement it with other options. i do think that when a child is born
deaf
, a part of them will always be
deaf
. we shouldn?t take that identity away from kids. that?s a proud thing to be. whether you choose an implant or not, learning sign
language
can always supplement. asl is a
language
just like english is a
language
. you don?t need to hear to live, but you have to have
language
to live,? rodriguez shares passionately. one remarkable way
deaf
focus
achieves the goal of connecting
deaf
individuals to
language
and one another is with their kidz kamp. the annual summer camp takes place at camp istrouma and is open to
deaf
children, children of
deaf
adults (codas), friends and family of
deaf
children, and anyone who wants to learn sign
language
. these children have a blast because they can just be kids and enjoy summer camp activities with
deaf
counselors and signing games. rodriguez changed
deaf
focus
to a non-profit in 2015 so it could live on and continue to empower others. she shares, ?what we are talking about today will be passed on to others. the more people we can connect with might mean the one child we help or the one family we enlighten.? ? *interpretation provided by darlene austin for interview. *
deaf
(with a capital ?d?) refers to embracing the cultural norms, beliefs, and values of the
deaf
community. ce l e b r i t y n y l es d i m a r c o joi ns d. l ove a n d pa u l a a t d e a f e d uc a t io n a l l i a n c e 3 6 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | m a r c h 2 0 1 8
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