New Deaf Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Group:

Many Deaf people find it difficult, if not impossible, to find an accessible Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group they can attend for support and encouragement when dealing with alcohol issues. Even if a mostly hearing group provides an interpreter for meetings, the varying quality and consistency of interpreted meetings can be discouraging. Good news for Frederick, Maryland folks who are looking for an AA group – a new group is forming this month. See more information below. For those of you who live in other cities and states, please send in your local Deaf AA group information in the comments section. We’d love to know where other Deaf, and even interpreted, AA groups are being held.

Deaf AA Group
Frederick, Maryland

March 20, 2009
7:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Community Service for the Deaf (CSD)
425 Prospect Blvd
Frederick, MD 21701

For more information, email Jackie Kanekuni at jkanekuni@c-s-d.org

Deaf Teens and Alcohol: What Every Parent Needs to Know!

TONIGHT Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Maryland School for the Deaf
Frederick Campus Ely Building – Seminar room
7 – 9 pm

Presenters: Laura Dreany, DASAM and Corporal Tom Johann, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office

Contact: Cheri Dowling or Pat Timm for registration and more information cad800@aol.com

What’s a Parent to Do?: So, you’ve seen the newspaper headlines, the anti-drug ads on TV, the Myspace confessions of hungover teens…you’re not in the dark. You’ve even been a teen yourself. You know alcohol is a very real fact of life for many teens. You probably know that teens who drink are at frighteningly high risk for being in car crashes, for having unprotected sex, for being victims of violent crimes such as rape or assault, and for developing alcohol dependence later in life. You’re a parent of a Deaf teen and you know all these facts, but you still might be unsure of how to handle The Alcohol Issue with your teen.

Deaf Teens: Deaf teens may or may not be at greater risk for alcohol use than their hearing peers. Factors that decrease likelihood of teen alcohol problems include: strong, supportive relationships with parents and family, friendships with peers who don’t drink or pressure others to drink, involvement in after-school activities and sports, and parental discouragement of teen alcohol use. Deaf teens who may be isolated in hearing schools can be at greater risk for alcohol use, especially if they decide to drink in order to “fit in” with their hearing classmates.

Clearly, communication is an important factor here. A Deaf teen whose parents are able to communicate their values, expectations, and concerns about alcohol, is in a much better position than a Deaf teen whose parents don’t – or cannot – discuss these things. Simply having parents who sign is not enough. It’s what the parents communicate that is important. See this link for tips on how to do this. Having regular family dinners and chatting with your teen’s friends is another good way to keep tabs on what your teen might be up to.

But I Want to be a Cool Parent: When it comes to teen drinking, there are parents who lay down the law and expressly forbid their teen from going within 100 yards of an open beer bottle. There are parents who acknowledge that teen drinking is a reality, but encourage their teen to avoid it and try to find ways to make it easier for their teen to do so. Then there are parents who want to be cool, who may believe there is no way their teen is going to stay away from alcohol. These are the parents who may look the other way when their teen comes home at 3:00 am, reeking of alcohol. Some of these parents even host parties in their homes for their teens, providing alcohol and confiscating car keys to make sure no one drives home drunk. They may believe that this is the safest way to get their teen through adolescence; they may think they are upping their own – and their teen’s – cool factor. What they may be forgetting or minimizing, however, is that this is not only illegal, but also potentially dangerous and grounds for a lawsuit bigger than they might imagine.

Tell Us What You Think: If you’re the parent of a Deaf teen or someone who is interested in this topic, we’d love to know your thoughts, suggestions, and experiences with teens and alcohol. Is throwing an alcohol-themed party for your teen in your home a good idea? Have you or your teen experienced the consequences of teen alcohol use? How would you advise parents to deal with teens and alcohol?

Resource: Drug and alcohol addiction are serious problems among many teens.  If you know someone who may need drug rehabilitation information, check out this drug and alcohol resource site today to get all the alcohol and substance abuse treatment information you need.

A Cause for Concern: Did you know that for women who experience domestic violence, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most dangerous time of the year? Not only do reports of domestic violence increase during the holidays, but the very nature of the violence itself tends to be especially vicious and harsh this time of year. Holiday-related stress, including expectations involving celebration and gift-giving, as well as additional financial demands, seem to bring out the worst in some people. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between 15 and 44 years of age, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. We should all be concerned about the safety of Deaf women – and children – in our community who are victims of domestic violence.

If You are being Hurt by Domestic Violence:

1) Tell someone about the abuse. If family or authorities know about it, they can help defuse the situation or take you out of harm’s way.

2) Stay out of kitchens or bathrooms during arguments. Knives are in kitchens and bathrooms have tight quarters.

3) If you’re going to party, avoid alcohol and drugs and stay in a big group. That increases the number of witnesses and reduces the likelihood of violence.

If You Know Someone Who is in an Abusive Relationship:

1) If an assault is occurring, call 911.

2) Take the time to listen, and believe what your friend says. Don’t judge or criticize your friend’s choices. Give emotional support.

3) Don’t downplay the danger – express concern for your friend’s safety. Let your friend know about agencies that can help.

If You Think a Person is being Abusive:

1) Tell them you feel uncomfortable when they insult or putdown their partner.

2) Tell them that their behavior disturbs you.

3) Tell them you care about them and urge them to contact a batterer treatment agency. Don’t agree with any statements that suggest their partner brought on the abuse. Remember, there’s no excuse for domestic violence.

DAWN’S FUNDRAISING NIGHT: Show Your Support

Fuddruckers
12111 Darnestown Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20878

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

5-8 PM

20% of all proceeds will go toward the survivor support program, which includes supporting staff members, emergency client costs and pager costs for the volunteer advocates who are currently working with survivors.

You may contact Amy Crumrine, Fundraising Chair, at racrumrine@aol.com for further assistance.

Print out this flyer to bring to Fuddruckers to ensure that your proceeds will go to DAWN.

Coming Next Month: ASC’s licensed psychotherapist, Sharon Duchesneau, will be leading another Deaf Women’s Support Group in Washington D.C. The group is sponsored by DAWN: Deaf Abused Women’s Network. If you are a woman currently in an abusive relationship (including emotional, physical, financial, or sexual abuse) or have experienced an abusive relationship in the past…if your partner is threatening to hurt you if you try to leave…if you want to learn more about healthy intimate relationships – this Deaf Women’s Support Group may be for you.

Deaf Women’s Support Group

Tuesdays 12:00-1:00 PM
Starts December 5, 2006
8 Weeks

Email or call DAWN for more information
(Because of confidentiality, location will be given after registration)

TTY: 202-861-0258

Fax: 202-466-3226

Email: info15@deafdawn.org

24-Hour TTY Hotline: 866-290-DAWN (3296)

Deaf Women and Violence: Sadly, the Deaf community is not immune to violence against women. People magazine’s 1994 article on sexual assaults on the Gallaudet campus points out some of the major issues our community faces concerning violence. These include, but are not limited to, communication and administrative barriers to reporting assaults, fear of tarnishing the image of the Deaf community, and lack of education and awareness for Deaf men and women about sexual assault. You can also check out this link to read more about safety and sexual assault education issues at Gallaudet University.

Great Opportunity: Coming up next month is the Montgomery, Alabama, Mental Health Interpreting Institute 2006. Scheduled for September 12-17, this 40-hour conference offers intensive training in mental health interpreting with Deaf clients, a must for any interpreter or other professional, Deaf or hearing, who works with Deaf clients and professionals in mental health settings. We heard from a past Institute attendee that this training is very much worth it, as well as affordable. See the conference brochure for more information and an application (be forewarned: it takes a a few moments for the brochure to upload).

Last Resort: Although we are first and foremost advocates of Deaf professionals providing direct services to Deaf clients whenever possible, we know that it is unavoidable that interpreters will be needed in different mental health environments. A Deaf person living in a rural area, for instance, may not have access to a Deaf therapist in person or via videophone. Deaf people hospitalized after a suicide attempt are likely to find themselves amongst hearing clinicians, unless they are fortunate enough to live close to a treatment program designed for Deaf inpatients. The authors in this paper suggest the use of mental health interpreters as a second-best resort; we advocate the use of interpreters only as a last resort, and only when the interpreters are qualified for this type of work.

Word Salads: Mental health interpreters need specific training and experience in the subtle nuances of mental health interpreting, in order to ensure the best possible outcome for a less than ideal professional-client relationship. Not only do mental health interpreters need to become familiar with psychological jargon, they also need education about different mental health diagnoses, psychiatric medications, and assessment procedures, among other issues. An interpreter who is familiar with the concept of a “word salad’, for instance, would recognize a Deaf person’s incomprehensible string of words as a psychiatric symptom and be able to communicate this to the hearing professional. An interpreter with no prior exposure or knowledge of word salads, in contrast, might unintentionally try to “clean up” the Deaf person’s signing so that it makes sense to the hearing professional, unaware that an important psychiatric symptom is unconveyed in the process.

Another example of the importance of mental health interpreting training involves assessment procedures. Psychologists administering tests to clients follow clearly defined steps and directions. An interpreter with little understanding of these procedures might inadvertently over-explain directions to a confused Deaf client by elaborating or expanding on what the psychologist said. In another situation, this may be acceptable, but in this case, the interpreter’s well-meaning intentions may end up “feeding” answers to the Deaf client or leading the client to respond in a certain way, thereby impacting the testing results.