Sign language performer Justina Miles goes viral during Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance

Rihanna took the field for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, but another performer standing nearby gained widespread attention as well — Deaf performer Justina Miles. Fans were wowed by Miles' energetic performance of Rihanna's lyrics into American Sign Language, and she quickly went viral online.

Miles, who is hard of hearing, has gone viral on TikTok for performing other popular songs into ASL. Originally from Philadelphia, she was valedictorian at Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington D.C. and now studies nursing at Bowie State University, a HBCU in Maryland, according to the National Association of the Deaf.

Read original CBS article here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sign-language-interpreter-justina-miles-asl-rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-performance-goes-viral/

National NewsHuman ResourcesFebruary 26, 2023asl, deaf, super bowl, nfl, interpreter, viral, codaComment

Chase opens first bank for deaf and hard of hearing in D.C.

Washington, D.C. (ABC7) — JPMorgan Chase has officially opened the first retail branch designed to serve the deaf and hard of hearing community.

The branch, located in Washington, DC’s H Street corridor, offers state of the art technology and design elements incorporated to best serve people with hearing loss.

The firm is also announcing a new, $250,000 philanthropic commitment to Gallaudet University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute to strengthen career pathways for deaf and hard of hearing students.

“As a bank, we want to make financial services available to all customers, including people with disabilities and their families,” said Jim Sinocchi, Head of Office of Disability Inclusion, JPMorgan Chase. “The technology and design of our new branch will allow the deaf and hard of hearing customers a chance to easily access our services if and when it’s convenient for them.”

The new H Street location will feature Chase’s newest branch design as well as state-of-the-art technology, including:

On-demand video remote interpreting service
T-loop Bluetooth technology that allows employees to speak directly with customers
Remote control camera technology that allows employees to communicate with customers on screens where they are seated in the branch
Digital screens with captions enabled

Read original article here.

National NewsHuman ResourcesFebruary 4, 2020DEAF, bank, design, tech, branch, access, inclusive, employee, asl, customers, bluetooth, financial, servicesComment

How to learn sign language: 9 apps and resources to teach yourself ASL

Learning to sign is easier than ever, thanks to the internet.

The visual language, designed to aid the deaf or hard of hearing, is a set of gesticulations and hand movements that correspond to the spoken word.

There are numerous ways to learn American Sign Language (ASL) outside the old classroom method. From free online lessons to video tutorials, a world of possibilities is open for those aspiring to teach themselves this hands-on language

Blog/NotesHuman ResourcesMarch 11, 2019asl, deaf, deafblind, teaching, learning, tutorials, videos, sign languageComment

The strange reason deaf children aren't taught sign language

“For most of these families, their children’s birth is the first time they’ve met anybody deaf. So they go to the early intervention system, which focuses on what they call ‘communication’ — meaning, being able to speak,” Wyatte Hall, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute, said through an interpreter. “But ‘communication’ is usually secondary to having language, and language is what is necessary for true cognitive development.”

National NewsHuman ResourcesJanuary 10, 2018asl, language, deprivation, sign, parents, children, suffer, emotional, change, priority, learningComment

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