Can sign language really help babies get along better?

While there are tons of debate about how to raise babies, it is generally agreed in the community that babies must have role models. Parents are considered the most powerful role models. So how do the parents do it with their babies??? They do it through communication whether its gestures, tactical, verbal, or whatever.

Which leads to the next question...........

"Does a particular language offer more benefits and advantages over another language in the children's development?"

Is Chinese better than English? Is Spanish better than French? Should we have stayed with Latin instead of evolved into English? Should we speak with better dialects instead of slangs?

Or about this one?? Sign Language is the best of all...

There is a new research that theorizes sign language does help the babies to get along better with other people. You see, there are already some scientific evidences that shows babies can learn and communicate effectively through sign language BEFORE they start speaking. So because the fact babies are able to express themselves at an earlier age, the bonds between the babies and the others are enhanced. There are less misunderstandings (Are you hungry? Need a nap?), frustrations, and tensions.

If you are interested more about this; this is a good place to start. http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/2009/01/can_sign_language_really_help.php

Visual Sound: Concept scroll phone for the Deaf

Once upon a time, there was something called, "wyndtell" pagers... Oh, it was the "IPhone" about 15 years ago. Everyone had to have one, but Deaf people were the first to get them through subsidies; thanks to Wynd Communications. What made it so awesome was the fact Deaf people could send messages to  another person on the other end of the phone. The messages were sent to relay centers where they had machines that would translate our messages into sounds. The hearing person would hear our messages with a robotic tone.

(courtesy of Research in Motion)

Eventually, the rest of the world caught up with it and replaced it with TEXTING.... Wyndtells pagers eventually faded away. However, they may be returning as a futuristic device. Check it out below.

Suhyun Kim came up with the  Visual Sound - a mobile phone concept for the Deaf. The Deaf person would type his/her message on a transparent screen and it'll be converted into sounds for the person on the other end of the phone (and vice versa). Not much details are offered, but it's a start!

Yee Haw to the first Deaf roper

"Georgia cowboy Clint Thomas is one of 15 tie-down ropers who qualified for the International Finals Rodeo."
http://newsok.com/deaf-roper-comfortable-in-the-world-of-rodeo/article/3432727

International Finals Rodeo brings some of the toughest ropers in the world to its rodeo. It is an initiation-only which means you have to earn your spot by competing in other competitions. Some get an automatic invitation by winning a competition. Some others get invited as wild cards. (Almost like NCAA and such).

Additionally, the rodeo offers several events:

• Bareback Bronc Riding => the rider gets on the saddle-free horse and holds onto the rope while the horse will try to throw the rider off. 
• Steer Wrestling => also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer (male calf), then wrestles the steer to the ground by twisting its horns.
• Saddle Bronc Riding => same as Bareback Bronc Riding, but the rider is sitting on a saddle. 
• Team Roping => also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer and two mounted cowboys or cowgirls. The first roper is referred to as the "header," the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around the horns; the second is the "heeler," who ropes the steer by its hind feet. Team roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally-sanctioned competition, in both single gender or mixed gender teams.
• Tie-down Roping => also known as calf roping that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount from the horse, run to the calf, and restrain it by tying three legs together, in as short a time as possible.
• Cowgirls Barrel Racing => a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time.
• Bull Riding => a rider gets on on a large bull and attempting to stay mounted for at least 8 seconds while the animal attempts to throw off the rider.

Clint Thomas is the 2009 IPRA Rookies of the Year in Tie-Down Roping. 

Congratulations, Clint Thomas. 

First CC Videos Search Engine

A Nielsen study suggests that there has been over a 300 percent increase in online video watching since 2003. Further, most watching is done during work hours. Workplace computers are often muted or have no speakers.

http://www.22frames.com/ 

"The web offers a world of quality videos for our enjoyment and enlightenment. However, for a large population of Internet users* who are unable to hear, understand, or enable the audio content of videos, finding ones to watch can be a pain**. Captioned and subtitled videos are an answer; however, they are generally scattered and/or mixed with all other videos across the Internet. Up until now, there was no central place to easily and reliably search for and discover such videos across multiple video hosts. 22frames was built, in part, to provide such a place. In turn, an additionally important goal is to drive significant traffic to caption/subtitle friendly video hosts and creators."

This is an interesting website. It seems this is the first search engine that will search for videos with CC or subtitles not just on Youtube, but across the Internet.

It looks actually neat. They put everything into categories from Animations to News to Music and more.

Publish Post

Check it out. :)

Can you hear with your skin?

Boy! I'll tell you one thing. It never amazes me what people can think of. So many ideas out there!!!!!!

Here's a new idea I found online.

How would you like to wear a gadget that will take sounds and convert it into vibrations. Sounds bizarre right?

Let me elaborate a bit more. Parivash Ranjbar, an engineering researcher at Örebro University in Sweden, is developing a "super" gadget that will translate sounds into vibrations.


"Deaf blind people are used to getting information about their surroundings from vibration. Some people say they can tell which of their children is approaching from vibrations on the floor or they know when water starts to boil in a pot by the vibration it makes."

However, the problem for Deaf-Blind people is "they are always surprised by events and cannot plan for them. They cannot hear somebody approaching until they are close enough to smell the person's perfume or to touch them and by that time it is too late to decide how to prepare."

In other words, the gadget will help Deaf-Blind individuals become more aware of their surroundings and be more respnsive to whatever situations. http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report_super-gadget-allows-deaf-blind-people-to-hear-with-skin_1336700

Now what is the next innovation?

More Interpreters NEEDED!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This just came in...

WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH INTERPRETERS IN USA!!!!!

It is already difficult to find interpreters who are nationally certified. That problem will worsen in 2012. (Not because of the movie....) It's because the new law that will require all candidates for national certification must hold a bachelor’s degree. In layman terms, every interpreter wannabes must go to college and get a degree in any subject before they can apply for their national certification.

“I think it’s essential. It is absolutely essential,” Moore, executive director of the Kentucky’s Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing said. “We are in a bit of a crisis now because there are just not enough interpreters.”

State and federal laws — including the American with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — require that people who are deaf or hard of hearing be provided with interpreters. Commission officials say they receive calls daily from doctors, lawyers, schools, employment services, hospitals and others seeking interpreters or information on how to find then.

In some regions of the state, Moore said, interpreters are few and far between and individuals who are deaf are forced to rely on people who may know some signs, but are not actually interpreters. In other cases, they must communicate in less desirable ways that do not allow them to get all the information they need, such as lip reading or having someone write down what is being said.

“Communication is a basic human right. Everyone is entitled to express their needs, give and receive information, form relationships with others and participate in every facet of life,” Moore said. “Without effective communication, there is a silent hole within each of us.”

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091223/NEWS01/912240301/1008/NEWS01/U%2Bof%2BL%2Bhopes%2Bto%2Blessen%2Bcritical%2Bneed%2Bfor%2Binterpreters%2Bfor%2Bdeaf

What can we do to resolve this problem?????

Gallaudet's Favorite Poem!

Poetry is a key component in the formation of ASL.

This video below is a good example.

For more, I'll suggest you to check out Clayton Valli's work.He is considered the "father" of ASL poetry.

Can just anyone or anything learn Sign Language?

I know this is a biased opinion, but you gotta admit it. This gotta be the cutest fox you ever seen! (see below). 


Anyhow, after reading this article, it made me think of .... Koko (gorilla). Then Washoe (chimpanzee). Then dogs and cats... Finally a friend in California who taught a parrot few signs (I think it's on Youtube). Now we have a fox who is learning sign language. Isn't there any limit in learning sign language. Will we be able to teach a mouse sign language someday? A fish? An ant? Red blood cell?
Perhaps, the bigger question is: 

"Is Sign Language so primitive that we can teach it to anything?" 

Fantastic Mrs Fox: Milly the deaf vixen learns sign languag

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1236608/Fantastic-Mrs-Fox-Milly-deaf-vixen-learns-sign-language--develops-taste-cheese-Coco-Pops.html#ixzz0d0pyosm1