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Hi Everyone,
With the controversy currently unfolding on the
Gallaudet University campus, across the internet
waves from Washington, DC, to California, and around
the globe, we didn’t feel right putting together our
regular monthly newsletter without mention of this
event and its emotional fallout. Instead of focusing
solely on domestic violence in the Deaf community,
we take a look at the issue from another angle – in
light of behaviors we have observed during the
Gallaudet protest and some of the striking parallels
between abuse at the personal level and abuse at
the societal level.
One of the main themes of the protest centers on
social justice and diversity. People involved in the
protest have repeatedly said they feel unheard by
the Gallaudet Board of Trustees and administration.
On our business trip last month to Germany and the
Netherlands, we witnessed firsthand what can
happen when a community’s voice is heard. In
response to the wishes of the German Deaf
community, more and more Deaf German professionals
have been assuming leadership roles in their own
community. As Gallaudet alumni, we are hopeful that
Deaf and hearing leaders at Gallaudet, and
everywhere, will take a cue from our German friends
by hearing our own Deaf community’s voice and
working toward achieving greater social justice and
diversity in the 21st century.
On another note, ASC has been growing faster than
we can keep up. This month we extend a warm
welcome to our new Deaf contractual therapist,
Lizbeth Katz, LCSW-C, who is now seeing clients in
our Frederick office.
All our best,
Candace and Sharon
| Thought of the Month |
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Anger is one letter short of danger.
— Author Unknown
To Live This Thought: Be mindful of the fine line
between expressing anger in a healthy, productive
way and venting it in a harmful, counterproductive
way. Slow down and take a deep breath before
reacting.
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| Is This Domestic Violence?: Different Types of Abuse |
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Physical abuse is the most visible form of abuse and
most likely (with sexual abuse) to give rise to criminal
charges. Injuries include black eyes, cut lips, bruising,
fractures, deafness, blindness, internal bleeding,
missing teeth, persistent ill health, miscarriages, and
injuries to a fetus and death. Injury sites are often
concealed by clothing or hair.
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Signs of Abuse: In Private and at the Gallaudet Protest |
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When people think of domestic violence, they often
conjure up an image of a husband beating a cowering
wife, perhaps with a crushed beer can or broken
pieces of glass lying nearby on the floor. Sadly,
there are many more types of domestic violence and
abuse, and they are all present in one way or another
in every community, including our Deaf community
(see “Types of Abuse” in this month’s newsletter).
Find out more....
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