Something to Ponder: Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteres be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe. According to research at Cambridge University, it doesn’t matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letters be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without a problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

You may have seen the above paragraph circulating on the internet in 2003. That year, it became a wildly popular phenomenon, showing up in translated versions of at least 16 different languages. It sparked many debates about the scientific meaning behind it, although as it turned out, the paragraph is just another urban legend. Nevertheless, the amount of attention it received shows just how facinated people are about the process of reading. Psycholinguists, who study the psychology of language, were quick to note that there are both truths and untruths in the paragraph. Not every jumbled word whose first and last letters are kept the same is easy to read, for example. How about “magltheuansr” or “inmcoes”? The reason we can read the above paragraph fairly easily has more to do with the fact that the sentences and words have been manipulated on purpose. We can figure out short jumbled words and we also rely on the presence of function words such as “be” and “the”, to keep things clear.

Check out this psycholinguist’s link to read more about the jumbled paragraph. If you scroll down to just below “Update 2?, you will see some example sentences that debunk what the paragraph claims, as well as references to current research on what information we use when reading. By the way, if you’re still puzzled, the jumbled words are “manslaughter” and “incomes”.

Collecting Demographic Information: If you have ever tried to collect demographic information about the membership of an organization, program, or university, you (a) may have been lucky enough to get a straightforward, no-questions-asked breakdown of the membership by gender, race, age, and so on, or (b) you may have found your request for information met with hesitation, suspicion, or outright hostility, as we experienced not long ago.

Curious to learn more about how many Deaf people work in the mental health field as therapists, social workers, psychologists, and educators, we set out to gather some statistics. This is what we observed while making our requests for information via telephone or email (keep in mind that these are observations only, not scientific or empirically-based findings). It was fairly easy to get answers to questions such as “How many members does your organization have?” or “How many faculty in your department hold doctoral degrees?”.

Once we began asking how many employees or members were Deaf or hearing, however, our questions seemed to be met with resistance. “Why are you calling?”, “What do you plan to do with this information?”, and even “I’m not sure if I have permission to tell you that.” One person put us through what amounted to a full background check, before begrudgingly counting the Deaf and hearing faculty members in her department. It didn’t take long before we concluded that Deaf:hearing ratios fall into the category of “sensitive” information.

Nobody seemed very eager to hand over these demographics, except for a spokesperson who worked for one of the few programs with a relatively high Deaf:hearing ratio, compared to the others. Another consented to share statistics only after being reassured that they would be used in a “positive light”. As compared to what? If all organizations, programs, and departments are proud of their membership, what do they have to worry about?

ADARA Statistics: Here’s an example of some Deaf/hearing demographics we were able to obtain from ADARA (American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association), a national organization of mental health professionals who work with Deaf people. At present, the ADARA membership totals 278. Of these 61 identified as Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, or Deaf-blind; 83 identified as hearing. Unfortunately, no data was available for the remaining 134.

Even without the complete breakdown, a ratio of 61 Deaf to 83 hearing members is relatively high in comparison to the ratios of other programs, organizations, and departments we surveyed. It is our dream, though, that the ratio be reversed. As board members of our local Washington, DC chapter of ADARA, we hope to increase the number of Deaf professionals involved. We hope that one day, all programs, organizations, and departments that directly serve Deaf people will be comprised of largely Deaf memberships.

Only 2 African Americans?!: Another disturbing statistic we observed from the ADARA data is the breakdown according to race: 129 members identified as white, 15 as non-white (with data unavailable for the remaining 134). Clearly, this is something that needs to change, along with the Deaf:hearing ratio, if the organization is going to be representative of the Deaf community. Graduate programs at Gallaudet and elsewhere need to work harder to recruit, retain, and groom Deaf students and professionals, especially those from minority groups. ADARA statistics in detail, for those who are curious:

45 Deaf
14 Hard of Hearing
1 Late Deafened
1 Deaf Blind
83 Hearing
134 No response

129 White
1 Other
5 Asian
2 African American
1 Native American
3 Hispanic
3 Bi Racial
134 No Response

37 Doctorate
79 Master
21 Bachelor
1 Associate
6 High School
134 No response

108 Female
36 Male
134 No response

Domestic Violence in the Deaf Community: There’s a good chance that someone you know is a victim of domestic violence. Approximately 28% of all violence directed toward women is done by their partners and this includes physical, sexual, emotional, verbal, and financial abuse. Spreading the word about domestic violence in the Deaf community, however, is not always an easy task. Even though there are plenty of brochures and books available on domestic violence, very few, if any, are aimed specifically at Deaf people.

A preview clip of a new film by the Deaf-run company, Mosdeux, titled “Til Domestic Violence Do Us Part”, suggests this is about to change. Taking an innovative approach to illustrating domestic violence in the Deaf community, the film is produced in a captivating movie style, in contrast to the typical educational film approach. The impact is powerful and we hope many Deaf people have a chance to view this film. The film will be out this October in honor of National Domestic Violence month. You can purchase it in advance here.

Coming in September: ASC will once again be partnering with the Deaf Abused Women’s Network (DAWN) this fall to offer weekly support groups for Deaf women who have experienced domestic violence. An announcement will be sent out soon, but feel free to contact us anytime at asc@ascdeaf.com if you have questions.

Snap, Crackle & Pop!: This announcement about raising autism awareness by printing public service messages on cereal boxes came into our mailbox a couple of days ago. There is controversy surrounding this particular advertising campaign, mostly because some people who have autism and who are quite functional and happy with their lives, resent being labeled as having a “neurological disorder” and having other people speak for them. Although this makes sense to us and brings to mind lots of parallels with Deaf people’s feelings about being labeled in countless ways, we do think that bringing public attention to autism or any other “difference” is a good thing. How parents choose to deal with their child’s autism is another issue and is obviously dependent on many factors.

Raising Awareness about Deaf People: Cereal boxes might also be a good place to raise awareness about Deaf culture and American Sign Language by printing lists of interesting facts and historical tidbits about the Deaf community. These might include lines such as “American Sign Language and English are two completely different languages” and “If you lived in a house with Deaf people, you might have a light that flashes when someone rings your doorbell”. When you think about how many people start their day with a box of cereal in front of them, cereal boxes could be a great opportunity to educate children and adults and de-pathologize what it means to be Deaf. What would you like to see about Deaf people on cereal boxes?

Green Thumbs Up for Mental Health Benefits: When many people think of therapy, they are likely to imagine a therapist and client having a conversation while sitting across from each other in an office. While this is probably the most common scenario, there are, in fact, many other types of therapy that have been shown to have just as many benefits as the traditional type. Gardening, for instance, is a great way for people to improve their mental health.

Gardening can be done alone in a backyard or a window box, or even as part of an organized community gardening program like this one in England. Just letting go and plunging your hands into the earth can be freeing and relaxing. A sense of accomplishment can be found in seeing the immediate results of 15 minutes of weeding or pruning, or in a season’s worth of planting and nurturing. You don’t need a 10′ x 20? plot of land to reap the emotional benefits of gardening; a simple container of mixed flowers, plants, or herbs will do just fine. Summer is a great time to try out a gardening experiment.

The next time you’re looking for a way to unwind and care for your mental health, why not give gardening a try? For inspiration from a British Deaf gardener who is also a student in a Community Based Learning Program, check out this link to the “Gardener” poem , presented in written and filmed versions.