Deaf Baby Hears His Mom For The First Time

Monday, December 22, 2014

Deaf Baby Hears His Mom For The First Time

VIDEO: Deaf toddler can’t stop giggling when he hears his mother's voice for the first time.



Toddler Ryan Aprea, two, was born at just 25 weeks and suffers from impaired sight and hearing. He had a cochlear implant fitted into his ear in November which is allowing him to hear sounds for the first time and the youngster couldn't stop laughing every time he heard his mother Jennifer speak.



As his mom Jennifer told Storyful, baby Ryan was born three months prematurely and spent his first seven months of life in hospital. Around the time he was due to come home, he was diagnosed as being profoundly Deaf. An ideal candidate for a cochlear implant, his parents didn’t delay in taking action to increase his chances of being able to communicate with them. His giggle upon hearing his mother’s voice for the first time.

The moment when a young boy with severe hearing difficulties heard his mother's voice for the very first time has been captured in a heartwarming video clip, which shows the youngster dissolving into a fit of giggles every time she speaks.



Entrepreneur Jennifer Colson Aprea, from Huntington Beach, California, posted the clip of her two-year-old son Ryan on her company's Facebook page on Monday, revealing that her son had successfully been fitted with a cochlear implant which is enabling him to hear sounds for the first time in his life.



'We're heading home and it's all good news after the mapping and activation,' the mother-of-two, who founded cloth diaper brand Spray Pal, wrote.



'His brain is definitely receiving sound. The audiologist programmed the device at three different levels and we will gradually increase them throughout the week ... Read more: HERE

Deaf Couple Had Their Baby Officially Registered With A Sign Name

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Deaf Couple Had Their Baby Officially Registered With A Sign Name

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf baby becomes first person in Britain to have her sign language name that means smiley face legally recorded on her birth certificate.

LONDON - A Deaf couple have become the first people in Britain to record their baby's name in sign language on her birth certificate.



Theatre director Paula Garfield, 47, and her partner Tomato Lichy, 39, from Wembley, north London, wanted to record Hazel's name in British Sign Language (BSL), but said they were initially told by their local Brent Register Office that it was impossible.



Now their personal name for four-year-old Hazel, a reference to her smiling face, has pride of place on her birth certificate - as UbOtDDstarL.



Hazel's sign name, like many others, is not simply the letters H-A-Z-E-L spelt out.



Instead it is a made-up combination of symbols which, when taken in context, describes her personality in a way only her parents and friends can fully understand.



Hazel's sign name is written as UbOtDDstarL, which represents a combination of hand movements.

WATCH VIDEO WITH CLOSED CAPTIONED - CLICK HERE

The U represents the chin, bO means a 'baby O' made with the thumb and forefinger, tD means 'hands facing the signer', Dstar means 'the handshape opens' and L shows the shape of the hand.



Put that together and it makes a small O shape held at the chin, which then opens into an L shape.



Ms Garfield told MailOnline she had a battle of up to nine months with the Register Office. The issue was finally sorted around four years ago, but the case has had little publicity.



'My daughter's sign name is what it is because her first expression was a smile,' she said. 'There's no way to translate it perfectly into English.



'But we went to the register office and they said it was "ridiculous, you can't register a sign name, don't be silly". So we got in touch with a solicitor, who said the law allows people to have their name on a birth certificate "in their own language".' ... Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2840423/Deaf-couple-s-daughter-Britain-sign-legally-recorded-birth-certificate.html

Deaf-Blind Man Pushed Onto Rail Tracks

Friday, October 24, 2014

Deaf-Blind Man Pushed Onto Rail Tracks

RAW VIDEO: A pair of thugs who pushed a blind and Deaf man and his brother on to train tracks in a 'horrifying assault' at a busy station have both been jailed.



Daniel Webster, 23, and Niall Martin, 24 pushed a 31-year-old, off the platform at Chelmsford station in Essex, then threw his brother Joseph down after him as he tried to intervene.



Martin admitted ABH on the brother and was given a nine-month sentence but he has been freed already after he spent five months in custody, making him eligible for parole. Webster was jailed for 22 months after pleading guilty to GBH and ABH against both brothers.



Chelmsford Crown Court heard that the victim was attacked by Webster and Martin late at night on February 20 this year after the pair came over to ask him about train times.



A row broke out, and Webster launched his attack on the victim, who was described in court as 'profoundly Deaf' and is registered blind.



CCTV footage from the station shows a second man trying to come to the aid of his vulnerable brother, only for both of them to be thrown on to the tracks. As the pair scramble back to the platform edge and attempt to climb back to safety, Martin and Webster punch them both in the head, leaving them stranded. Network rail staff were forced to put a block on all trains coming through the station over fears that the pair could have been killed.

Jailing the pair yesterday Judge David Turner QC said it had been a 'disgraceful episode' and labelled their actions 'manifestly dangerous'. He said: 'This is exactly the sort of thing that terrifies members of the travelling public late at night.'



Speaking afterwards, Detective Constable Alan Reed of British Transport Police said: 'This is one of the most appalling incidents I have investigated. 'Webster and Martin showed a savage disregard for their victims, and one of the brothers is still suffering from the injuries sustained to his foot.



'It is no exaggeration to say the brothers could have been killed after being thrown onto the tracks. 'I would like to pay tribute to the victims, who have shown great dignity following what was a terrifying ordeal for them 'I hope the sentence will provide them with some sense of closure, although in truth, the impact this has had on both of them is likely to remain with them for the rest of their lives.'



The court heard that the victim spent six weeks on crutches and was off work for six months. He now walks with a limp and has been told the foot injury may take two years to heal and may need further surgery. Source