Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

Enjoy a hockey game while supporting D&HHS! We are selling?Grand Rapids Griffins tickets as a fundraiser?with a portion of the proceeds directly supporting our programs and services. Tickets are available for games on January 10, February 23 and March 1. More info at deafhhs.org/griffins. The February 23 game will be very cool as it is Hockey Without Barriers night (sensory friendly and ASL interpreted). #Deaf #access #advocacy

At Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (D&HHS), our mission is to provide equal communication access, education, and advocacy to the Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing, in pursuit of all life’s opportunities. Our long-time Executive Director, Deb Atwood will be retiring soon. To aid in furthering our mission at Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, we are seeking a passionate Executive Director to organize and direct the operations of the agency. Interested in the position, you can find more information on the job listing.

This is one of our signature events. Seeing a Deaf child be able to connect with a Santa who knows American Sign Language is powerful. Each child who attends receives a gift, and we are now accepting donations of either gifts or money. Contact Erica Chapin at [email protected] for more details or go to www.deafhhs.org/donate. #Deaf #access #advocacy #Santa

Our Deb Atwood has announced her upcoming retirement! She has given so much to our organization and will be dearly missed. We congratulate her on her many years of service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and wish her all the best as she looks ahead to retirement. #Deaf #access #advocacy https://lnkd.in/ey9MHqPQ

Check out this event being hosted by our partner Corewell Health. They will be providing an ASL Interpreter for public access! What a great opportunity to learn. https://lnkd.in/gVwJ7RMy

Thought y'all would appreciate a positive story. Thanks to Jessica J. for telling me about it. Thank you to PBS News' Stephanie Sy and Lena Jackson for reporting on this. The irony though. I'm not trying to put a damper on this! Be aware the captions are out of sync. Sometimes they flash too quickly. There is a full transcript on the page. I appreciated the story was not inspiration pron (misspelled on purpose). Thomas Fuller wrote a book about the team called "The Boys of Riverside." In talking with experts, Fuller set out to find out what made this team successful. "His reporting included interviews with experts outside football, including David Corina, a cognitive neuroscientist, who explains why deaf people may have what he calls hyper-abilities, starting with the way they take in what they see." In other words, the players have visions like a floodlight. They see more. Disabled people have talked about the comments from people who think "when you don't have one sense, your other senses are stronger" many times. Some don't like it because it's not true of everyone. It's become an assumption, a stereotype. However, the football players commented "We rely on our eyes, so we see the movement a little bit ahead of time. So we kind of think two steps ahead more so than a hearing team. We're much more alert." I think this is what happened when I played sports with hearing people and why I never clashed with anyone going after the ball. This was true in volleyball. A small court with a lot of ball calling. But of course, this isn't going to be true of everyone who is deaf or hard of hearing. The key is to never assume. Anyway, great story! ?? Tap the silent profile bell to catch the next post ?? Follow #MerylMots for past posts ?? Want to work together? Contact me. #Inclusion #Sports

We had a wonderful community celebration last month to conclude Deaf Awareness Month. Words and photos here: https://lnkd.in/eCf9vMHx #Deaf #access #advocacy

Registration is now open for our Fall American Sign Language classes (available online and in person). The next session begins the week of October 7, and during the eight-week course, you will learn what makes the language unique, including signs, expressions, Deaf culture and more. Classes are developed by a Deaf, native signer and taught as an immersive learning experience. https://lnkd.in/ejipkGux

Deaf Awareness Month concludes Sept. 23-30 with International Week of Deaf People. This website has some great resources for the week (or for anytime). #Deaf #access #advocacy https://lnkd.in/eReWNqEU

Hard to believe it’s been 23 years. #neverforget