- SAVE THE DATE -

SENIOR LIVING EXPO
Windham
Friday, June 27, 2008
9:30AM – 12:30 PM
East Brook Mall
95 Storrs Road
Willimantic, CT

Health Screenings
Art Show
Information
Raffles
-Seniors
-Caregivers
-Professionals
Plenty of FREE Parking
Handicap Access

Sponsored by Senior Resources

GIMME A BREAK

Excerpts From the article GIMME A BREAK, in the Senior Sentry, May 2008 issue

Caring for a person with dementia is a particularly emotional and tiring job. Even the most dedicated and loving caregiver can experience burnout and the desire to have a break. Respite care can help. It can last a few hours or a few days and can be restorative if it provides an opportunity for renewal.

Respite care is not just for caregivers. Individuals with dementia and other conditions may want the opportunity to meet other people, socialize and spend time in a safe and supportive environment.

WHAT KINDS OF CARE ARE AVAILABLE?
Care can be provided in the home, in an Adult Day Care Center, and by friends and family. Residential care is another option.

HOW DO I CHOOSE RESPITE CARE SERVICES?
In order for a caregiver to feel comfortable leaving a loved one in care, he or she needs to select the right service. Meet the person who will be providing the care. Make sure that person is experienced in Alzheimer care. Visit the facility if it is not your home. Ask for references and be sure to research terms and costs. You may want to make an unannounced visit to get a general sense of the facility.

PREPARING YOURSELF
Some caregivers are burdened with a sense of guilt and failure if they seek respite care. It is important to remember that respite care helps both the provider and the person receiving care.

PREPARING THE PROVIDER
You will want to share information about the individual with the care provider. Information about the individual's likes and dislikes, his/her level of communication, personal habits and favorite hobbies are helpful. Any routines or medication needs are vital to share.

PREPARING THE PERSON WITH DEMENTIA
Some individuals will welcome a new face while others may balk. Some can understand while some may be hesitant. Even if the person in your care resists, it's important to get the respite and relief from the stress of caregiving. Some people may wish to stay the first few times someone visits. Don't give up! The first visits may be difficult, but the long-term rewards are worth it.

Additional resources: www.alz.org

_______________
THE RESPITE CARE PROGRAM offers an opportunity to purchase respite services from an approved community services provider for the individual with Alzheimer’s, or the option of receiving an assessment of services needed and the development of a short-term care plan. The program offers funding for respite services that include, but are not limited to: Adult Day Care, Home Health Aide, Homemaker, Companion, Skilled Nursing Care or short term nursing home care. Funds may be used for daytime or overnight respite. The individual with Alzheimer's or dementia must meet eligibility requirements and 20% co-payment is required.

For more information or forms to apply: www.seniorresourcesec.org/caregivers or call (860) 887-3561

Deaf Volunteer Firefighter in Florida

Deaf volunteer firefighter proud to serve

BY KATHERINE MANCIL
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BANNER


Published: Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 6:30 a.m.
John Buccieri is a deaf support-level volunteer with Marion County Fire Rescue.
BY THE NUMBERS 2,000: number of deaf people living in Marion County
22,000-plus: number of hearing-impaired people living in the county
2.8 million: number of deaf and hearing-impaired people living in Florida
Sources: Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida; National Center for Health Statistics

BELLEVIEW - John Buccieri always wanted to serve the fire department. There was just one thing holding him back: He's deaf.

"I'm basically the same as everyone else. I just can't hear," Buccieri said Friday through his sign language interpreter, Deborah Flagg.

Buccieri, 39, is the father of two boys and is a full-time equipment operator at Georgia Pacific. He said his goal is to become a state-certified professional firefighter. For now, he said, he's excited to be a part of Marion County Fire Rescue as a support-level volunteer.

Michael McCracken, plant manager at Georgia Pacific, describes Buccieri as a "go-getter."

"John doesn't let his disability get in the way of anything he does," he said.

Bill Newman, Buccieri's supervisor at Georgia Pacific, added that Buccieri is a good communicator and works well with others.

"John is an individual you can count on to get the job done," said Newman.

Buccieri's attitude and determination are what convinced Division Chief Bart Walker to give him an opportunity to join the Marion County Fire Rescue team as a support-level volunteer just over a year ago. Now, Buccieri is proving himself to be a valuable asset to one of the county's busiest fire stations, Belleview Station 18.

Walker said Buccieri has completed 70 hours of training and is qualified to assist firefighters with duties at the periphery of fires. He stresses that the fire department would never allow Buccieri, crew members or citizens to be in danger because of a hearing impairment.

For instance, he said, Buccieri is not qualified to enter burning buildings. He can, however, serve in other vital capacities for the fire department, such as assisting with equipment at fires, providing support at vehicle crashes and completing tasks at the fire station.

During much of Buccieri's training, an interpreter was present to help overcome the communication obstacle, but on a day-to-day basis, he and the other crew members depend on real and made-up sign language to communicate with each other.

"Firefighting is a very visual skill, and we work as a team," Buccieri said.

Marion County Fire Rescue plans to utilize Buccieri's skills in reaching the county's hearing-impaired community. He will be helping to communicate important fire safety messages through sign language in the county's "Get Alarmed" smoke alarm program and will be on hand during installations of some alarms designed specifically for people who are deaf or hearing-impaired.

The alarms emit loud sounds and high frequency strobe lights during a fire emergency and are provided and installed free of charge for citizens who cannot afford them.

For more information on the program, call 291-8000 or visit marioncountyfl.org/firerescue.htm.

A DEAF PERSON IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FIELD

A DEAF PERSON IN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT FIELD
We have a few deaf students majoring in
Criminal Justice in college. Not every person
in the law enforcement field walks the beat
and carries a firearm.
DeafDigest knows of a deaf person in
Accounting Forensics field; his job is to
track down white collar criminals.
And the latest deaf person is Melissa
Potolsky of New Jersey. Her job is to sit
in front of a computer and to nab predators
that prey on young children. She just earned
her first "collar" - which in police lingo,
means arrest.

Program helps Deaf patients

Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the only health centers that has customized their services for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.
The deaf access program at Mount Sinai Hospital started 10 years ago. It is one of the largest comprehensive health care networks in the country for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Terri Heading is the program manager.
"We have approximately 1,300 patients in our system right now, and we have an average of 20.
Being able to communicate with deaf patients is one thing, understanding deaf culture is another, especially for physicians like Dr. Gary Kaufman.
'To make the diagnosis when communication is barriered because it's not clear, the patient doesn't understand the doctor, the doctor doesn't understand the patients. Then what happens is the doctor gets misinformation or wrong information which can lead to the wrong diagnosis," said Kaufman.
Understanding your doctor is very important.
"When I'm dealing with a patient who, for the first time after going to doctors for many years says, 'Wow, I really get this, now I understand why the other doctor is giving me medicines, why they told me to take these medicines every day," said Kaufman.
The deaf access program also has sign language interpreters on staff.
"We keep growing yearly, our expectations are that we will have more patients and we will continue to grow," said Heading.
Last year, Mount Sinai became one of the first health centers to install the video phone booth.
"We decided to set up the VRS booth because I see the need for our patients to make calls, especially if their family or friends or maybe they're sick or many they're in a car accident, how can they call their friends and family," said Heading.
Patients like Kikamona couldn't be happier.
'I had a friend told me that there was a doctor who signed here and his name was Dr. Kaufman. And I'm like, 'I never heard about it, a doctor who knows sign language?' Doctors just write back and forth between with me, and I never understand them," she said. "So I came over to Mt. Sinai, and he signed. I was flabbergasted, I'm like, 'Oh my God, he signs? Can I get appointment?"
Deaf Access Program has three physicians who are fluent in sign language. To learn more about Mount Sinai's Deaf Access Program visit http://sinai.org/services/deaf-access/deaf-access.asp or call 773.257.6289 - TTY or 773.257.5125 - voice.

DNEC Fundraiser

DID YOU KNOW? Every year over 300 million inkjet cartridges are thrown away. In terms of weight,
that is equivalent to over 30, 500 African Elephants!


Dear Disabilities Network of Eastern Connecticut Supporter,

It is our pleasure to partner with B.C.S. Recycling Specialists to implement the “Recycle for DNEC” program, in which our organization can earn money for recycling Inkjet Cartridges, Cell Phones, PDAs, iPods and Laptops.

B.C.S. Recycling Specialists is a reputable landfill-free recycling company that has been working with many large businesses and non-profits since 1988 to recycle hazardous electronic waste. By collecting inkjet cartridges, cell phones, iPods and PDAs in a ‘Recycle for DNEC ‘collection box, you can offer a free and convenient recycling service to your community and earn money for your affiliate at the same time! Please review the enclosed brief information sheet and get ready to earn some very useful funds for your affiliate!

Please feel free to contact Brynn Hickey at 860-823-1898 X21 or contact B.C.S. directly with questions or to order boxes at larry@scrapdr.com or toll free 1-888-656-4104. PLEASE remember to tell them that you are with Disabilities Network of Eastern Connecticut and your area code & phone number.

Hackers Send Thousands of Fake Calls to Deaf People

The Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which provides training and acts as a social hub, has several Sorenson video relay phones that people can use for free. For many deaf, these video relay devices are the main window to the outside world, which makes this prank even more upsetting.

A Utah company whose videoconferencing technology is used by tens of thousands of deaf people to communicate is trying to figure out who would be base enough to hack into their system and flood tens of thousands of deaf customers with fake conference calls.
Officials with Sorenson Communications say since October they have dealt with a plague of prank calls to its point-to-point video calling service. The company provides videoconferencing calls to the deaf free of charge to allow deaf people to communicate via sign language to others.

Sorenson public relations director Ann Bardsley said on one day, tens of thousands of false calls were sent to Sorenson videophones. On the user end, deaf customers think they have missed a call and that their unit is somehow malfunctioning.

The unknown hackers have affected some 30,000 videophones installed in the homes and workplaces of deaf customers across the United States, according to the company.

Ron Burdett, vice president of community relations for Sorenson Communications, said deaf customers who use sign language rely on his company's service for daily communications. Such interruptions he called "inconvenient and distressing."

Company officials say they do not know what is motivating the unknown group of hackers but they do figure it is a malicious reason.

Mitch Moyers is the technical program director for the Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville. He said the center, which provides training and acts as a social hub, has several Sorenson video relay phones that people can use for free.

"I'm disappointed. I feel like this is a great use for technology and to have people like that make life difficult for other people, that's disappointing," Moyers said.

Moyers said the system allows the deaf to use their "natural language" of signing without having to use a slow and sometimes inaccurate text relay service in which an operator converts voice into text which appears on a text relay phone.

For many deaf, Moyers said these video relay devices are their main window to the outside world, which makes this prank even more upsetting.

The flood of fake calls has gotten to the point that Sorenson has filed a federal lawsuit against a list of unknown "John Does" in hopes of getting a judge to allow them to subpoena information from a computer server their people have tracked the attacks to. The company claims the unknown group has violated the Federal Computer Abuse and Fraud Act and wants an injunction to put a stop to the fake calls and is also seeking damages.

Bardsley said the use of current video technology has revolutionized the way the deaf can communicate and her company wants to protect that. "Just as hearing people use phones to call a doctor, order dinner, check in with a family member, or conduct daily business at work, so do our deaf users of our video relay service," she said.

Deaf CEO, superintendent talks about life without sound - Campus

Deaf CEO, superintendent talks about life without sound - Campus

CEO and superintendent of the Indiana School for the Deaf David Geeslin talked Thursday night about growing up during a time when American Sign Language was almost unheard of by most people. Nathan Boruff/ Indiana Statesman
Life hasn't always been easy for David Geeslin, deaf CEO and superintendent of the Indiana School for the Deaf.
Geeslin presented a program titled "A Perspective of Being Deaf" at Westminster Village in Terre Haute about growing up deaf.
His visit was sponsored by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Blumberg Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Special Education.
From the time Geeslin was young, Geeslin's mother, an audiologist, knew he couldn't hear normally.
She took him in for a hearing test, and sure enough, he was deaf.
Geeslin had to wear two hearing aids for a while and received speech therapy every day.
His mother was a huge influence on his success in overcoming his deafness, Geeslin said.
"She used to keep a journal recording my progress and all my successes," he said. "I was frustrated because I couldn't speak a word to thank her for all her hard work."
Geeslin said that his communication abilities used to make him feel like a Windows computer with a virus. He then attended the Indiana School for the Deaf.
"By the time I had finished my training there, I had become a Mac," he said.
He took sign language classes at the school, and everyone in his life started signing. At this time, sign language was almost unheard of, Geeslin said.
Geeslin then gave the audience a background of the physiological reason behind deafness.
He also showed the audience a video of his 10-month-old daughter signing "mommy" and "daddy," and he explained why he and his wife taught her to sign.
"The motor skills used in signing are easier to control than the fine motor skills used in speech," he said.
He encourages other parents with deaf or hard-of-hearing children to teach them to sign, especially in the first seven years of life, when the brain is most supple.
"The brain doesn't care whether you speak or sign," he said. "It looks at the message being conveyed."
Geeslin also presented a video called "Vital Signs," which was produced by a deaf filmmaker.
Although the video was completely in sign language, anyone could understand the message being conveyed, even if he or she does not know American Sign Language because of the signer's nonverbal communication and images in the background.
Geeslin said he thinks art is a powerful medium, and he displayed several pieces of art by deaf artists.
One work contained images of ears and mouths, and he said it had a profound message.
"This piece says to the viewer 'I have a life which does not only focus on being able to speak'," he said.
He explained how deaf people are often labeled as "disabled."
"We're very normal people-we can do everything you can do except hear," he said.
After receiving his master's degree, Geeslin taught in the public school system as a supervising teacher and doing diagnostic work.
As the CEO of the Indiana School for the Deaf and a former student there, he said he thinks the school is of utmost importance for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
"The Indiana School for the Deaf is the center of deaf communication-it allows children to socialize," he said. "Parents often thank us for giving their children the leadership skills they need."

Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut

Dear Ms. Bunn,

We would like your help in publicizing a new nonprofit organization that highlights the achievements of women who utilize wheelchairs in Connecticut . A committee formed during the summer of 2007, anticipating a contest that would be held in late winter 2008. In the meantime, the group had to start establishing a new nonprofit from the ground up. While a national competition honoring the achievements of wheelchair-bound women was founded in 1972, this year will be first that Connecticut women will have the official opportunity to take part. Recognizing the need for a well-spoken advocate, Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut strives to hold an annual contest, selecting an accomplished woman to represent the state at the U.S. level. This is, under no pretext, a beauty contest. Regardless of whether Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut wins the national title, her duties are numerous. Responsibilities include traveling extensively, networking with other wheelchair-bound individuals and various organizations, striving to end misconceptions about the disabled and promote awareness of architectural and attitudinal barriers within society. We are now seeking women across the state who are interested in becoming contestants, as well as volunteers and donors. If you could share the word about Ms. Wheelchair Connecticut with anyone who might be interested, we would be most appreciative! If you wish, we can email or mail a poster to hang in your office. For more information, go to www.mswheelchairct.org . Sincerely,Joanna MechlinskiSecretary/PR liaison

Wasabi Fire Alarm for deaf in Japan

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Wake up and smell the wasabi.
Japan has developed a smoke detector for deaf people that is based on the pungent smell of Japan's spicy green horseradish, an eye-watering condiment more typically found tucked under fish in a piece of sushi.
If it detects smoke, the alarm sprays out a synthesized wasabi smell that wakes up people who might have slept through a conventional fire alarm.
Assistant professor Makoto Imai from the Shiga University of Medical Science, who built the alarm in collaboration with Seems, a company that makes perfume, says the smoke detector may save lives among the hard of hearing.
"The proportion of the elderly among fire victims was nearly 50 percent. So, the staff at Seems ... thought that the decline of hearing ability may be one of the causes for delay in noticing and getting away when a fire breaks out," he told Reuters in an e-mail.
He said the Wasabi smoke detector was tested on 14 people, including four deaf people. Except for one person with a blocked nose, all woke up within two minutes of the smell reaching them.
Imai said trial production of the Wasabi smoke detector would be completed in a year and the product would be sold in shops within two years.
(Reporting by Sophie Hardach; Editing by Rodney Joyce)