Rob Myers - DOOR

01/01/2025

It’s January 1, 2025 for many of us! But not for all… there are a number of calendars being used around the world. Check out this graphic that shows the year of various calendars from around the world.

12/24/2023

Looking for Christmas signs in American Sign Language? Check out this video from ASL Nook! Remember to learn ASL signs from Deaf people, as it’s their language and culture; they know it best!

First it was Halloween...then along came Thanksgiving. Now, Christmas is just around the corner! Learn some Christmas and holiday words in American sign lang...

10/04/2023

Did you know there are still places in the world where it's illegal for Deaf people to drive? You might be surprised by some of the places.

In the United States in the 1920s, the number of cars on the road increased significantly. In response, state legislatures began to enact motor vehicle laws, and at least four states refused to grant driver's licenses to deaf people. The National Association for the Deaf formed an automobile bureau to advocate for deaf rights. From the 1920s to the early 1950s, the rights of deaf people to drive was continually under threat, with many legislators citing old studies about the safety of deaf drivers. (We'll address this in a future post.)

Even with these laws, many Deaf people in the US have encountered barriers to being allowed to drive. For example, it wasn't until 2013 that the US Department of Transportation changed its rules preventing Deaf drivers from obtaining commercial driver's licenses.

Globally most countries now permit deaf people to drive (following the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), but some of these countries were fairly recent (India in 2011, for example).

There are over 30 countries that still do not allow deaf people to drive. Some examples of these include:
* China (there is no consistent law to allow deaf people to drive yet - it varies by state)
* Mexico
* Ukraine (this has led to a lot of additional challenges for deaf people during the war between Ukraine and Russia)
* Egypt

See this site for a map of various countries where deaf people can or cannot drive: https://vividmaps.com/where-deaf-people-can-drive/

How safe are deaf drivers? Find out in our post later this week!

10/02/2023

"Can Deaf people drive?"

If you don't know the answer, you're not alone... there are government officials and law enforcement officers today who also don't know the answer! (So share these posts and spread the word!)

The question of whether Deaf people can drive is really three questions in one:

1. Can Deaf people acquire the skill to physically drive a car?
2. Where is it legal for Deaf people to drive?
3. Are Deaf people more dangerous on the road than hearing people?

The answer to the first question is a resounding yes, with 48 million Deaf or hard-of-hearing drivers on the road today. Admittedly, many of these individuals lost their hearing later in life, so maybe it's best to point to a specific example here of someone born deaf:

Kris Martin is the first Deaf person to join NASCAR as a professional race car driver. He rose to NASCAR racing at the age of 26, but he has been racing since he was 10 years old, beginning on go karts. His grandfather was a professional racer and served as a strong mentor to Martin, and now Martin spends some of his time traveling around to schools to encourage Deaf and hard-of-hearing kids that, in the words of I. King Jordan (former President of Gallaudet University), "Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do except hear."

Kia recently put out a commercial featuring Martin... find the link to that commercial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CsM5DtHy_k

Stay tuned for the answers to the second and third questions this week!

08/14/2023

Did you know that some medical professionals still recommend that hearing parents withhold sign language from their deaf children?

Strange as this may sound, people used to believe that if deaf children gain access to sign language, then they will be hindered in their acquisition of their family's spoken/written language.

This turns out not to be true. This article in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research shows that there is no hindrance in English acquisition when a deaf child is exposed to sign language. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36972338/ #:~:text=Children%20with%20large%20ASL%20vocabularies,not%20harm%20spoken%20vocabulary%20acquisition.

In fact, the opposite appears to be true: The size of a deaf child's ASL vocabulary is positively correlated to the size of their English vocabulary, based on this article published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-22-00505

Many hearing parents introduce "baby signs" to their very young hearing children. This is incredibly effective, as a child's gross motor skills (like the use of their hands) develop much sooner than their fine motor skills (like vocal chords). That means that the sign for "milk" is easier than voicing the word "milk" for a 9-month-old. Having a way to express need reduces frustration and builds a bond of communication.

It's ironic that hearing children are encouraged to learn sign early, but it is withheld from deaf children.

Let's change the narrative on this. Let's make sure parents of deaf children have good information to refer to as they try to do what is best for those children. Share this post and spread the word so other parents and professionals have access to the latest information.

If you are a parent of a deaf child and looking for ways to learn ASL, check out the resources available at this link: https://ischoolsjsu.libguides.com/c.php?g=934212&p=6739331

07/24/2023

Imagine growing up not knowing that you have a name. That is the reality for many Deaf kids around the world.

90% of Deaf children are born into homes where both parents are hearing. And in a vast majority of those cases, the parents will never learn to sign with their children. (There are all kinds of reasons for this... some of my other posts cover those.) That situation leaves deaf children cut off from the language of their families, which also cuts them off from information and connection.

Deaf schools are typically the first place where Deaf children encounter sign language. It's also the place where many of them learn for the first time that they have a name. They are given a unique sign called a name sign by others in the Deaf community.

When I visit Deaf schools in Kenya, one of many countries where DOOR International has ministry work, one of the first things that Deaf children want to do is tell me their name sign. Then they want to see me repeat it back to them. Other people using their name sign shows them that they are seen and known. Their faces light up so much when you call their name.

It's also an awesome opportunity to let Deaf kids know that God sees them, that he knows their name, and that he loves each of them individually. I love that part of DOOR's ministry work is evangelism and discipleship by Deaf leaders in Deaf schools. It opens up opportunities for the next generation in the Deaf community to know, follow, and serve God, opportunities the previous generation often didn't have.

Check out more stories of what God is doing in Deaf communities by going to DOOR's website: https://doorinternational.org/news-updates. And remember that God sees you. He knows your name. He knows the challenges you face, and his love is beyond what you can imagine.

07/21/2023

Did you know that only about 1/3 of countries around the world recognize their country's sign language as an official language, and of those, 20% happened within the last 5 years?

Here is an infographic put out by the World Federation for the Deaf that shows which countries have official recognition, and when and how that came about.

Official recognition opens so many doors for Deaf people: access to information, Deaf education, interpreters, job opportunities, and more.

It also helps correct some misunderstandings in the community regarding sign language. Sometimes Deaf people are told that sign language is inferior, or "missing information," or even "monkey language." But that is not true; sign languages are full, rich languages capable of communicating any concept that written languages can. (In fact, when that concept is visual, sign languages can often convey information much more clearly than written or spoken languages.)

Most recently, South African Sign Language was officially recognized in an amendment to the country's constitution, making it the 12th official language of the country. Check out a video about that in the comments.

Let's spread the word and see more and more countries recognize sign languages!

07/12/2023

Braille is for blind people, and sign language is for Deaf people. But sometimes people get these mixed up, and the results can be hilarious.

Check out this true story - told by Mark Sorenson, DOOR International's International Translation Director - of one Deaf man's experience when a flight attendant gets a bit confused. If you're hearing, be sure to turn on the sound!

To learn more about DOOR's work in sign language (not braille), go to https://doorinternational.org/why-deaf

(Note: If you're curious about deaf blind people, stay tuned!)

07/11/2023

❤️👏🏻

God is changing the lives of Deaf people across the globe! Deaf churches have been gathering in people's homes, outdoors on the sides of mountains, under trees, and more. Deaf leaders are using their spiritual gifts in their home churches. Deaf people are receiving the Word of God in their languages and it is transforming their hearts. Here's one story from the field.

Maxwell, a Deaf translator working to translate the Bible into Kenyan Sign Language, invited his friend Dennis to help out with the community feedback sessions. Dennis lived about seven and a half hours away from the center, so he came and stayed with Maxwell for a week.

One day, the team showed the translated passage of Peter at Cornelius’s house from Acts 10. Dennis became curious after watching Peter preach about who Jesus was and how people needed to believe in Him to receive forgiveness.

That evening, Dennis shared his thoughts with Maxwell and asked some questions. After his curiosity was satisfied, he said he was ready to receive Jesus as his Savior. The joy in his eyes was evident to Maxwell, and the next day he shared the good news with other people who came to the community feedback sessions.

Praise God for the power of His Word to change lives, especially when it is translated into the heart languages of Deaf people!

07/10/2023

What would you do if you had to lead a church, but you had to use a Bible that everyone in the church (including you) struggled to understand?

This is exactly the situation that the leaders of a Deaf church in Kenya found themselves in. They approached DOOR's Deaf 2-by-2 (evangelism, discipleship, and church planting) leaders to seek help help.

This church had never seen God’s Word in Kenyan Sign Language, and they had been using written English Scriptures in their weekly services. (Many hearing people assume that Deaf people can read because they can see, but we forget that we learned language by hearing and speaking it from a very young age. We then learned to read by sounding out letters to make words connected to a language we know. That is not the experience for many Deaf people globally; reading written language means trying to decipher meaning that doesn't come naturally.)

Every Sunday, the church leaders brought out a Bible in the simplest English version they could find. Someone would try to read God’s Word in English, and then different people would go up to the front and try to help decipher what the text meant. It was a group effort and an arduous process, often ending with everyone in the church unsure if they understood the meaning of the passage.

At the next service, one of the DOOR 2-by-2 leaders was invited up to the front. He told the story of creation in Kenyan Sign Language, based on the Bible translation work of a Kenyan Sign Language team. After sharing the passage, he took the congregation through an interactive dialogue, and everyone participated. After the dialogue, Kennedy shared a few key lessons from the passage about the nature of God and of this world.

After the service ended, many people shared with the 2-by-2 leaders that they had felt connected to this passage on a new level. They didn’t know that the Bible could be this clear and understandable. The 2-by-2 leaders gave out SD cards with the Kenyan Sign Language Bible translation on them, and encouraged them to engage directly with God's Word in their heart language, both on their own and on Sundays.

This situation happens in many, many Deaf contexts around the world. It takes both a clear, accurate Bible translation in the local sign language, as well as trained Deaf leaders to model good discipleship, to see true transformation happen in these communities.

Help DOOR International continue to support both sign language Bible translation and training of Deaf leaders, two of the key ingredients to seeing gospel transformation in Deaf communities. Go to our website, https://doorinternational.org/give-a-gift to find out more information about how financial support can impact Deaf lives for eternity and for generations to come.

07/05/2023

Did you know that Deaf people can become sign language interpreters?

Sign language is the first language (heart language) of Deaf people, so their signing and expressions are the most natural for other Deaf people to watch and understand. Hearing people can learn sign language, but they cannot become fluent to the same depth as a native signer. Thus, Deaf people would prefer information coming to them directly from another Deaf person. (If you are hearing, think of your comfort level listening to a native-born speaker of your language - like English - versus someone who learned it later in life.)

In a hearing and Deaf environment, a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) works in teamwork with a hearing interpreter. For a hearing presentation (like a government briefing), a hearing interpreter (out of sight... typically sitting in the front row of the audience) will listen to the spoken language presentation, then interpret the message into the local sign language. The CDI (usually on stage with the presenter) will watch the hearing interpreter, then interpret the message into a much more natural and visual Deaf way to express the concept. The Deaf audience members then watch the CDI. And all of this is happening real-time!

CDIs are best to use particularly in situations that have a profound impact on the Deaf person (like in medical, legal, or law enforcement environments), or there is a wide and varied audience of Deaf people that a broadcast is trying to reach.

Another place where CDIs can work especially well is interpreting between two sign languages. The CDI must know both sign languages fluently, and usually the interpreting here is not simultaneous, but instead there are pauses in the presenting and interpreting.

For more information on CDIs, check out this website (among many out there): https://interpretek.com/the-case-for-using-a-certified-deaf-interpreter/

As I. King Jordan (the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University) once said, "Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do except hear."

07/03/2023

Sign language interpreters aren't there for Deaf people.

Think about it... if everyone in the room knew sign language fluently, then no sign language interpreter would be needed. We see this every day in Deaf churches, where Deaf leaders can lead using their heart language, and Deaf people can gather and worship using that same heart language. We also see it in leadership meetings at DOOR International with Deaf and hearing holding all-signed meetings together.

So why do we have sign language interpreters? It's actually mostly for those among us who are sign language impaired... who don't know sign language fluently.

Another thing to keep in mind is that sign language interpreters are not just there for one-way communication. Oftentimes, hearing organizations provide a sign language interpreter just so that the Deaf person will receive all the information. But there's so much more that can happen. Deaf people have amazing wisdom and perspective to contribute to conversations, and sign language interpreters allow that two-way communication to happen well.

So the next time your organization hires a sign language interpreter, remember that it's not "for the Deaf person." It's really for everyone, but particularly for those who are sign language impaired.

Interested in improving your sign language knowledge? Check out DOOR International's resource page here: https://doorinternational.org/resources

(Note: Because there are around 375 sign languages around the world, it's possible for a sign language interpreter to still be needed among a group of Deaf people, if those Deaf people use different sign languages to communicate and do not have a common sign language - especially if very specific information needs to be shared and discussed. The sign language interpreter will interpret from one sign language into the other sign language and vice versa.)