The Hearing Loss Association of Greater Baltimore
invites YOU and Yours to the
Summer Picnic
at Centennial Park in Columbia, MD
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Pavilion A,

10 AM to around 4 PM

The board and members of HLAGB would like to invite all members, friends, and family that have hearing loss to our annual summer picnic on Saturday, July 21st. (rain or shine).
This years picnic will be held at Centennial Park in Columbia, MD.
The park is known for its natural design and sensitivity to nature and is located on 325 acres. The park features a 2.4 - mile walking path around the lake. Other activities available are hiking, biking, boat rentals, fishing, bird watching and sports.
We will gather at Centennial Park through the South Entrance (off Clarksville Pike, MD 108). The event will be located at Pavilion A which is equipped with 5 picnic tables, and a charcoal grill. There are restrooms nearby, a playground nearby, but there is no electricity. Please see their website for details and regulations:  http://www.centennialmd.org/   Please bring a picnic lunch and a potluck side dish to share. HLA will provide paper goods, cups and ice, bottled water and soda. A donation of $5 per adult is suggested cover the cost of the pavilion..

Directions to the Park From the Capital Beltway (I-495): take I-95 north.    After 14 miles, take Little Patuxent Pkwy. MD Rte175 west.  After 4.5 miles, take Columbia Pike, US 29 north for one mile to Clarksville Pike, MD Rte 108.  Head west on MD Rte 108.   After 1.5 miles, turn right into the South Area entrance. Bear left and follow signs into the parking area for pavilions ABC.
From the Baltimore Beltway (I-695): take Exit 16a, I-70 west. After about 4.5 miles, take Exit 87A, US 29 south. In another 4.5 miles head west on Exit 21B, MD Rte 108 for 1.5 mi.  Turn right into the South Area entrance.  Bear left and follow signs into the parking area for pavilions ABC.

Amy Bopp

The 2012 Hearing Loss Association Convention

June Evening Meeting

Thursday, June 28, 2012

6:30 - 8:00PM

Amy Bopp will discuss the Hearing Loss Association of America 2012 Convention (June 20-24) and the 2012 National Walk for Hearing event to be held in Washington DC on November 4^th. Come and find out what’s happening on the national level and the 200 local chapters. 

Amy Bopp, who grew up in Pennsylvania, earned a Bachelors of Science Degree in Social Work in 1977, from The Rochester Institute of Technology. She has worked as Educational Program Coordinator for Southeastern PA Legal Services for the Deaf, Sign Language Program Instructor at the Chicago Hearing Society, residential counselor at the Center on Deafness in Chicago, Independent Living Counselor at the Houston Center for Independent Living, and Psychosocial Counselor for the deaf at People Encouraging People in Baltimore. She has taught American Sign Language (ASL) at the Hearing and Speech Agency  in Baltimore for the past 20 years and  has also taught ASL classes at Towson State University, People Encouraging People, Catonsville Community College and has substituted as a teach in Baltimore City Schools. Amy serves as support services provider for people who are deaf-blind at the annual Shalom Zone deaf-blind summer camp in West River, MD.

Currently, Amy is Sign Language Program Coordinator at The Hearing and Speech Agency.  Often the first Deaf person that individuals contact who have a hearing loss or have a child who is deaf or hard of hearing (HOH), she is instrumental in linking the Deaf and HOH to resources and services and choices that are available. In 2008, in honor of Deaf Awareness Week, Hamilton Relay recognized Amy Bopp as the 2008 Deaf/Hard of Hearing leader for the state of Maryland. She became a member of the Maryland Governor’s Advisory Committee on the Deaf and HOH in 2009.

Amy is a past president and current vice president of Hearing Loss Association of Greater Baltimore. She has been past president of Library Friends section of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). She has attended several national conventions of the NAD and Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and attended this years’ HLAA convention in Rhode Island. 

Joe Duarte
Assistive Devices:  Which Ones Help and How to Use Them?
May Evening Meeting
Thursday, May 24, 2012
6:30 - 8:00 PM

Joseph C. Duarte (Joe) was born in Portugal and came to the U.S. as a teenager. After receiving a degree in Biomedical Electronics Engineering from the University of Rhode Island, he was employed for 10 years at IBM as an engineer. Desiring to make a difference in the lives of deaf and hard of hearing persons through the innovative use of technology, he left IBM in 1991 to develop a new business specializing in communications accessibility.

This company, Duartek, Inc. now provides custom engineered audio and sound systems to help facilities become more accessible to individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. In addition, the company develops and installs specialized systems to make residences fully accessible for homeowners with special needs.

Joe has a profound hearing loss and recently got bilateral cochlear implants. He is married to Meg who also has a hearing loss and they both have four hearing children. He is also fluent in three languages: English, Portuguese, and American Sign Language.


Sound and Fury Six Years Later Film
April Morning Meeting
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
10:30 - 12:00 Noon

The life of the Artinian family of Long Island was chronicled in the Academy Award nominated film "Sound and Fury " that came out in 2000.

"Sound and Fury Six Years Later" is another engaging look at this extraordinary family in the years since their first movie captured audiences around the world.

"Sound and Fury" ended with 6-year-old Heather's family deciding not to give her the cochlear implant. With the family painfully divided over this issue, Heather's parents decided to move their family to a deaf community to bring their kids up in the signing deaf world. In this stand-alone follow up film we learn that Heather finally did get the implant at 9 years old, as did her 2 younger brothers, her mother, her deaf aunt and her 2 deaf cousins.  Now 12, Heather is the only deaf child in her mainstream school. She takes classes with everyone else, plays basketball and volleyball, stays near the top of her class and is popular with her hearing peers.

Heather's speech is understandable and she delights in her speaking ability and communication skills.

We see that Heather is growing and learning through lip reading and speech but she glides smoothly between the hearing world she is now a part of and the signing deaf world of her parents. We learn how Heather's parents changed their minds, moved back to Long Island and re-joined their family. Heather's father, who was so resistant to the implant in "Sound & Fury," talks about how, with observation and education, he has learned how useful the implant can be for his children and how glad he is they have it. This resilient family is a remarkable testament to family devotion, tireless responsibility to children and enduring love.

Total Running Time: 29 minutes

Credits:
Produced and Directed by Josh Aronson /Edited by Sakae Ishikawa
Photography by Brett Wiley / Original Music by David Jones

All Content Copyright  2006-2012 - Aronson Film Associates

Dr. C. Matthew Stewart M.D., Ph.D.
Surgery Treatment for Hearing Loss
March Evening Meeting
Thursday, March 22, 2012
6:30 PM  8:00 PM

The Greater Baltimore Chapter of Hearing Loss Association is happy to have Dr. C. Matthew Stewart as our March speaker.  Dr. Stewart is an Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology  Head and Neck Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  He is also the Director of the Inpatient Consultation Service at Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Dr. Stewart completed his fellowship at Johns Hopkins with a specialty in Otology, Neurotology, Skull Base Surgery and Pediatric Otolaryngology.

Dr. Stewarts clinical interests are surgery of the inner ear and skull base tumors, sudden hearing loss and surgical restoration of hearing including: Cochlear implantation, stapes surgery for otosclerosis and Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (BAHA).

Dr. Stewart will talk to us about his experience with cochlear implants and the BAHA.  He will address  all your questions about different aspects of hearing loss and the best possibilities for treatment  today.

Dont miss this opportunity to meet Dr. Matt Stewart.  He is looking forward to meeting all of us!


The Gift
A film presentation by Alexander Genievsky
February Evening Meeting
Thursday, February 23, 2012
6:30 - 8:00 PM

The Gift is a tragicomedy about communication barriers and love between Iron (a hearing musician) and Tara (a deaf dancer).  Iron rescues Tara from a train accident and falls in love with her.  But Tara expects Iron to understand her by learning to Sign and this is something else he finds difficult.  The film also sheds light on American Sign Language and some technology (Cochlear implant) that is controversial in the Deaf community.  The plot ends with a tragicomic twist turning upside down the relationship between Tara and Iron.

The Gift was best picture nominee at the Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival and was in the top list of winners at the Amsterdam International Deaf Film Festival.  It was also a best picture nominee in AbilityFest in India last fall and will be screened at the Hong Kong Deaf Film Festival on February 25.

Alexander George Genievsky, a Russian born American citizen, lost his hearing at age 21 during military service in Afghanistan.  After military discharge, he attended St. Petersburg/Pavlovsks Colleg for the Deaf.  He received his masters degree in the Theatre Arts  at Moscow Theatre School of B.V.Shukin in Vakhtangovs Theatre. He also holds an associate degree as a film director from St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts.  His professional credits include acting, directing, teaching, photography, and filming for over 25 years.   His photography exhibition, The Instance of My Love, was shown in three countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan and the US ( Graces Gallery, Owing Mills, MD).   In 2000 , he received a Silver Medal from the International Society of Photographers, as a winner of the The North America Photo Contest.  His legacy can be seen at the Millennium Book of the International Society of Photographers. His professional credits include the TV docudrama The Lucky Man , the full length film feature, The Gift, and several short films: Dj vu, The Fair Tale, and The Sound of Color. Alexander is currently a president and artistic director of a nonprofit organization, Universal Sign Entertainment,  www.universalsignentertainment.com   He is currently working as a director, producer and writer on some new independent film projects and is guest artist for the Delaphine Visual Arts Educational Center and Gallaudet University Washburn Art Center.

Dana Mulvany, MSW
Accessible Group Conversations
January Evening Meeting
Thursday, January 26, 2012
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

One of the most challenging situations for people with hearing loss is interactive group conversations. What do we need to do to help create and maintain accessible group conversations? We will discuss various strategies for maximizing our chances of success of understanding our loved ones, friends, co-workers and other acquaintances in group situations. Assistive listening technologies and how to use them for group conversations will also be discussed.

Dana Mulvany, MSW is the former director of the National Center for Hearing Assistive Technology at HLAA. She is a consumer advocate with lifelong bilateral hearing loss and has been a member of the Hearing Loss Association of America since 1984 (formerly called SHHH Self Help for Hard of Hearing People).  She works as a consultant specializing in hearing loss to optimize the fit between people with hearing loss, technology and their environment. 

Jason Ruzicka, outreach specialist, Project Endeavor
PROJECT ENDEAVOR
January Morning Meeting
Tuesday, January 17, 2011
10:30 AM-12:00 Noon

Project Endeavor is a two year federal grant program that focuses on providing deaf and hard of hearing Americans with access to broadband or high speed internet through discounted internet service plans and internet devices like netbooks, tablets and mobile devices such as smart phones. If you are deaf or hard of hearing with a bilateral hearing loss of 40 decibels or greater; a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.; at least 16 years of age; and, are a transition or vocational rehabilitation client OR income eligible, check out   www.projectendeavor.com

Jason hails from a hearing family in South Dakota. He went to two deaf schools, SD School for the Deaf and Model Secondary School for the Deaf. He graduated from Gallaudet University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is Outreach Specialist for Project Endeavor, a public grant program, under Communication Service for the Deaf located in Sioux Falls, SD. He enjoys playing sports, playing with his dog, and watching sports and movies. He currently resides in Washington, DC.