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Thank you to everyone who donated to NVRC during our #GivingTuesday campaign!

We did not reach our goal, but you helped us raise $960 towards keeping NVRC connected so we can continue to serve our Communities!

#GivingTuesday is a once a year, global day of generosity, but NVRC needs your support year-round!

As we head into the Season of Giving, please keep NVRC on your list for Holiday Giving!

#ThankYouWednesday

Bootcamp is a partnership between NTID and RIT Global Cybersecurity Institute

GCI Cybersecurity Bootcamp: Meet Your Instructor

Read more on Cybersecurity Bootcamp webpage

NTID is offering scholarships to accepted deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to cover part or all of the $10,000 fee for this April bootcamp only. The deadline to apply for this bootcamp is Friday, April 2, 2021 by 11:50 p.m. EDT. To learn more about the RIT GCI Cybersecurity Bootcamp, visit the GCI Cybersecurity Bootcamp website.

For questions, email Linda.Bryant@rit.edu.

Question-Answer

December Question

Many people have taken up cooking and baking during the COVID restrictions.

Q. - Do you have a new favorite recipe you have been making?

Answer the December Question Here

SEE ANSWERS TO DECEMBER QUESTION


November Question

Thanksgiving Gatherings:  
With the COVID numbers climbing again, are you planning a family gathering for Thanksgiving?


October Question

On July 28th the Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and the Fairfax Area Commission on Aging was tasked to develop a COVID-19 Response Plan for Older Adults to develop a COVID-19 Response Plan for Older Adults. 

NVRC wants to know what you think about this and how it applies to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Q1 - Do you feel there is a need for more targeted training for caregivers, mental health providers, and other professionals to support deaf and hard of hearing persons?

Q2 - If yes, what area(s) do you think are most important?

click on image to see PDF document


September Question

When you go visit your healthcare provider (doctor, dentist, eye doctor), what form of communication access does your healthcare provider use? 


July Question

If you are a parent or educator of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, or if you are a student who is deaf or hard of hearing, what are the challenges and solutions you have experienced receiving appropriate educational services during the Covid-19 pandemic? 

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June Question

What positive things have you or your family experienced during the COVID-19 stay at home lock down?


May Question

Which areas of communication have presented challenges for you during this stay-at-home period?

Click image to see PDF document

April Question

What informational sources have you found to be the most helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic?


March Question

Are you aware that a "Real ID" driver's license will be  required for domestic flights as of October 1, 2020?

NOTE: Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the requirement to have a "Real ID" driver's License has been extended to Oct. 1, 2021.


More information on the "Real ID" can be found here: https://www.dhs.gov/real-id
For Virginia DMV information : https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/drivers/#real_id.asp

20 "YES" 4 "NO"

March Q: "Yes" and "No" - Comments

  • The entire concept of "real id" is terrible. The U.S. has never had a national id-card and this is just the first bad step towards that. "Real ID" is a disastrous thing.
  • Have known this for a while.
  • My wife and I already went through the process at DMV and received our new Real ID driver's licenses.
  • A passport is also accepted
  • Not easy to comply. Terrible long lines and wait time at dmv
  • Already have it
  • But haven't gotten one yet.
  • You can use your passport as an alternative.

February Question

Have you had communication problems at any point in the voting process?

4 "YES" 10 "NO" 1"Sometimes"

Answers to question as of 2/27/2020

February Q: "Yes" , "No" & "Sometimes" - Comments

  • I was given 2 paper ballots (MD) and went to the machine to vote. I put the wrong one in the machine and the whole machine had to be taken apart to fix the problem. I didn’t know which one to use and both were of a size that fit the machine
  • Hard to understand the instructions when checking in.
  • I explain that I am hard of hearing and ask them to repeat, and they do so.
  • They keep asking me to say my name.
  • Process in VA is very simple from check in and confirming identity, voting and scanning the ballot.

January Question

What are your greatest communication challenges in the workplace?

  • Meetings 12
  • Co-Workers 2
  • Manager/Supervisor 1
  • All of the above 2
Graph showing answers:
Meetings - 8 
Co-Workers - 2
Manager/Supervisor - 

1/16/2020
Answers to question as of 1/29/2020

DUE TO RECENT UPDATES WITH THE CORONAVIRUS SITUATION, THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THIS SATURDAY. 3/11/2020 5:00PM

WAS SCHEDULED FOR - Saturday - March 14, 2020
WE (NVRC) WILL TRY AND RESCHEDULE AT A FUTURE DATE & TIME.

You have the option to attend in person or by Live Stream Webcast

NVRC will provide pizza! For those that come to our meeting room.

LIVE Stream Webcast
   Link will be sent to your email address by Friday March 13th.

Accommodations: Open captioning and sign language interpreting services will be provided for NVRC events. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests for such accommodations should be submitted via e‐mail to info@nvrc.org  Please allow reasonable time to arrange for accommodations.


Join us for a presentation by an EEOC Federal Investigator to learn what the EEOC does and how it can help you in the workplace.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency with a mission to prevent and remedy unlawful employment discrimination and advance equal opportunity for all in the workplace.

This agency is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.

What do you do if you feel you have been discriminated against on the job, or during the interview process, because of your deafness or hearing loss? What information do you need to gather? How do you file a complaint? What happens after the complaint is filed?

WHEN: This Saturday - October 5, 2019 
TIME: 10 AM to 12 Noon

WHERE: Altizer Meeting Room
Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons
3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130 , Fairfax, VA 22030

Sign Language interpreters and CART will be provided. Induction Loop listening system is installed in the venue. If you need other accommodations, please contact Debbie Jones at djones@nvrc.org.

Please DOWNLOAD and SHARE our flyer

 

Relay services allows for easier communication access for deaf and hard of hearing individuals who use relay technology with conduct daily conversations with business offices, friends and family. The relay service is available in both English and Spanish language and is free but long distance charges may apply. To learn more about Virginia relay service go to VArelay.org.

Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing benefit from using a telephone Relay Service by being able to type to a TTY or a use ASL sign using a video phone (VP) to convey their message/conversation to a Relay Communications Assistant (CA) operator. The (CA) operator then relays the information by spoken words to the business or individual on any telephone. Special equipment is not needed to use this route of technology to converse with a deaf or hard of hearing person.

If you receive a call that starts like this:
“Hello This is relay operator 3600 have you received a relay call before?”

DONT HANG UP! This is the time to ask questions on the process of how a relay call works. The operator will explain how to you how to proceed and respond.Then the CA will then proceed with the call by speaking everything that the deaf or hard of hearing caller is communicating.

Tips for successful communication exchange on the phone with a deaf or heard of hearing individual:
⁃ Speak slowly
⁃ Speak directly to the caller (not to the Communications Assistant)
⁃ Be patient.
The call might take longer with pauses due to the typing their side of the conversation.
⁃ Confirm the callers phone number. (Caller ID might display a different number)
⁃ To call the caller back, dial 711 and give the caller phone number to the Communications Assistant (CA) they will connect you.

 

 

7 Tips for communicating with a person who has a hearing loss

1)  Face the person
2)  Make sure you aren't chewing gum or food
3)  Don't stand in front of bright light
4)  Speak clearly and at a comfortable pace
5)  Rephrase or Repeat if they don't understand you
6)  If there is background noise try moving to a quieter location
7) Smile and be patient

 


Did you know that Fairfax County Fire and Rescue has a program to provide visual smoke detector equipment?  They do!

That program is for deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind people who live in Fairfax County, own their own home, and don't have visual smoke detector equipment.

There is an application form that you can send in to apply.

How?  Contact NVRC for a copy of the form.  You fill out the top part, and NVRC fills out the bottom part.  Then we send it to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

When it is approved, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue will contact you directly to set up an appointment time to bring the equipment to your home and install it for you.

If you have questions, or need more information, contact NVRC.

“ADA Business BRIEF:  Communicating with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Hospital Settings,”

People who are deaf or hard of hearing use a variety of ways to communicate. Some rely on sign language interpreters or assistive listening devices; some rely primarily on written messages. Many can speak even though they cannot hear. The method of communication and the services or aids the hospital must provide will vary depending upon the abilities of the person who is deaf or hard of hearing and on the complexity and nature of the communications that are required.
Effective communication is particularly critical in health care settings where miscommunication may lead to misdiagnosis and improper or delayed medical treatment.

Link to publication

 

 

THE BETTER HEARING CONSUMER
By Gael Hannan

In the hearing loss world that I live in, there are HoHs and there are Pros:

HoH: Refers to a person who has hearing loss and who may also identify as hard of hearing, hearing-impaired, or hearing aid/cochlear implant user. (This term does not refer to all those affected by a person’s hearing loss, such as the moms and dads, life partners, children, and friends.)

Pro:  Refers to someone who works in a hearing healthcare field, such as an audiologist or hearing instrument specialist, but this category also can include an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor, hearing aid manufacturer, and/or an assistive technology sales rep.

…now that we’ve got that out of the way…

If you’re a HoH, you have most likely—hopefully—met a Pro by now. You made an appointment, walked through that door and sat down to discuss your hearing with this Pro.

Read more  . . . . HOH-PRO

 

 

Outreach Services, VSDB Wednesday Webinar
Sept. 28, 2016, 4:00- 5:00 PM EDT

Working Memory, Part II: Strategies for Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Presenter:Johnett Scogin, M.Ed. 

Please register for Working Memory, Part II: Strategies for Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing webinar at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6728744357838753538

Presenter:  Johnett Scogin has worked in the field of Deaf Education for many years as a teacher and reading specialist.   She is currently working at the Texas School for the Deaf as Supervisor of Curriculum.

No prerequisites for this webinar: This webinar follows the Spring, 2016 webinar in which Dr. Daniel Koo of Gallaudet University presented his research on working memory of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.  Attendance at Dr. Koo’s webinar is not a prerequisite for this webinar.

Webinar Description:  Evidence suggests that challenged working memory skills create a high risk factor for educational underachievement, and that working memory impacts all areas of learning and thinking.  Ms. Scogin will briefly review the function of working memory in daily life and academics, and discuss how one might identify children with challenges in this area.  She will then share ideas for setting up the learning environment to support working memory, and strategies to help facilitate and accommodate working memory performance.

Target Audience: Teachers and related service providers working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing; family members.

This Webinar is sponsored by Outreach Services, Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind in Staunton, through grant funding from the Virginia Department of Education.  Questions should be directed to Dr. Debbie Pfeiffer at : Debbie.pfeiffer@vsdb.k12.va.us

After registering, you will receive an email confirmation with connection information for joining the webinar.

 

by Inside Edition
August 24, 2016

The recent fatal shooting of a deaf driver by a police officer in North Carolina has raised questions about safety for hearing impaired motorists.

Jennifer Labriola, the principal of the New York School for the Deaf who drives to work each day, told Inside Edition through a sign language interpreter that if a hearing impaired driver is pulled over, "you tell the police officer you're deaf and 'I need to write this down.' You point to your ear.”

She added: “It's important to wait for your instructions and not do anything. Just wait and see. When they ask for my license and registration, at that point, I would take out the items asked for.”

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Related Information to Keep you Safe
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Virginia Visor Card
 Visor Card Information
The NVRC Office has these cards available

 

 

Furenexo’s SoundSense is a simple, open-source gadget that helps deaf people stay aware of their surroundings

Tech Crunch
Posted 
by Devin Coldewey, Contributor

People with deafness have plenty of ways to navigate everyday situations as if they had no disability at all, but there are still situations that present dangers unique to them — not being able to hear a smoke alarm or gunshot, for instance. SoundSense is a small wearable device that listens for noises that might require immediate attention and alerts the user when it detects one.

“There’s really been an absence of innovation in technology for disabilities over the last decade or even decades,” said Brian Goral, co-founder and CEO of Furenexo, the company behind SoundSense. We talked a few weeks before today’s launch. “What we’re looking to do is bring technology that’s taken for granted, things like cell phones and driverless cars, and apply that to the disability space.”

This first device is small and simple for a reason — the company is bootstrapped and has to rely on Kickstarter for the funds to make the SoundSense. They’re also looking for grants from non-profit entities and perhaps government funds.

Read More  . . . . SoundSense

Related Links:

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