Queensland deaf educator Dimity Dornan has described deafness as a scourge that can be eradicated, like polio. Why do these sorts of comments continue to be made? Almost like the polio epidemic of some decades ago, Queensland business-woman Dr Dimity Dornan’s alleged comparison of deafness with polio has erupted around the country. She is reported to […]
The kindness of the cinema chains
They propose to put captions on 0.03 per cent of cinema screenings for two-and-a-half years. Do they realise what this means? In the late 1920s, sound came to the cinema, and the silent movie era came to an end. Incredible as it sounds today, deaf people in the United States protested. The silent movies’ version […]
Ever tried lipreading ‘Happy Feet’?
In captioning politics late in 2007, a deal between the Liberals and the Democrats to investigate television captioning showed some promise If the Federal Government likes to live dangerously, there is a good example in the deal stitched up last month between the Democrats’ Senator Natasha Stott Despoja and Communications Minister Helen Coonan. The deal came […]
When prime ministers meet deaf babies
Why does sign language compel otherwise intelligent men to make comments of such inane stupidity about deaf people? Perhaps the juiciest part of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s press conference late in June to announce universal screening of newborns for hearing impairment was the lone question asked by an unknown journalist at the very end. This […]
