ABC Family searches for deaf actress to star in new TV show

On October 5, 2010, ABC Family posted a casting call on their website, looking for a deaf female actress and two deaf male actors to star in a new TV show.

The website asks that the characters resemble these descriptions:

"DAPHNE - actress must be deaf or hard of hearing and must speak English well, American Sign Language preferred. Age range from 16 to early 20’s to play high school. Actress is to be light-haired or willing to dye hair blond for the role, and if the show moves to series, actress must be willing to relocate to Los Angeles in February.

Smart, confident, and well-adjusted Daphne is stunned to learn that she and Bay Kennish were accidentally switched at birth 15 years ago. Having grown up in a working-class household as the only child of a single mom, she is excited to meet her new parents, and especially thrilled at the idea of having brothers and a dad. But balancing two families is trickier than she expected, particularly because her biological parents have never been around anyone deaf, and are eager for her to enter a mainstream school and a less deaf-centric world.

EMMETT - 16, actor must be deaf or hard of hearing, must be fluent in American Sign Language. Emmett is Daphne's best friend. Raised by deaf parents and educated in a deaf school, Emmett doesn't talk orally, and is more comfortable in a deaf world. Rugged, reserved, a young deaf James Dean.

PENN - late 30’s or 40’s. Male, actor must be deaf or hard of hearing, must speak English well. Penn is Emmett's father and Daphne's mother's best friend. Penn is the one who educated Daphne's mother about the importance of learning sign, schooling Daphne in a deaf world, etc."

It seems as though the show will tackle various issues regarding being deaf, but also everyday life issues. Daphne, for instance, will meet her biological parents, who are not familiar with being around deaf people, and want to get her more involved in mainstream schooling and culture. Emmett, on the other hand, is very comfortable around the deaf community, but not at all comfortable with mainstream society because of his upbringing.

I know many people with disabilities who are not comfortable around "mainstream" society, and are only comfortable around other people with disabilities. For those people, adapting to the world outside of disabilities can be very difficult, so it will be very interesting to see how ABC handles this issue.

I also think it will be wonderful to have another show that highlights different lifestyles, especially for young teens. ABC Family, after all, is meant to be watched by families. By young people watching this show with their parents, both audiences can learn about what life is like being deaf and how to handle questions and curiousities about people with disabilities.

Let's keep our eye out for this show and hope it does well in the ratings so it can turn into a series.

For more information about how to audition for the various roles, visit http://abcfamily.go.com/site/news/abc-family-searching-deaf-actress-star-new-tv-show/576979.

Schools: Take care of this very serious issue, NOW.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20101008/US.Bullying.One.Town/

If you read the article that can be found by clicking the link above, you will be astounded by the number of teenage deaths at Mentor High School that are directly related to bullying.  I am very glad to have an opportunity to write about such a serious issue.  Bullying will always be a part of growing up, but the increased exposure that children have to violence, sex, and drugs/alcohol is only making it worse.  Violence, sex, and drugs/alcohol are certainly not the only reason that children are acting out, but there is a definite, noticeable shift in our culture's society, specifically in our youth, from 50 years ago until now.

The second to last paragraph in this article describes one student's struggle with bullying due to her learning disability.  But this is just one story.  There are many other cases that often fly under the news radar concerning deaths among students with disabilities that are attributed to bullying. It's a serious problem.  Junior high school and high school are difficult for every child and even worse for children who don't fit popular or "normal" standards.

The biggest problem we have is that our educators and school administrators are not well-trained in strategies to prevent bullying. I believe that more colleges and universities should have courses specifically designed to address these issues, and in today's world, this is not asking much.  I also think that a universal disciplinary plan should be made for students who bully or harass others.  If every school had a rule that once a student bullied another, he/she would be suspended and sent to an anger management class, the number of bullies would significantly decrease.  And I know what you're thinking: some amounts of aggression or anger is healthy.  Of course it is--but don't children and teens fight enough with their parents, friends, or siblings?  They are exposed to every feeling possible throughout their childhood (maybe some more than others, but they do experience it).  For this reason, that counter argument can be diminished.

Perhaps such a plan would benefit not only schools, but also the country we live in.  If the children are our future, maybe we should be teaching them how to get along with others and accept them for who they are.  They don't have to like everyone, but they should treat others with respect.  "To each their own," so to speak.

We have to address this issue, and the time is now--before the youth's death rate increases even more.

Alternate Text

I recently caught up with my friend, Genevieve Smith, a junior at KU, who is blind.  We were talking about my projects for increasing disability awareness, and, mainly, my website (http://www.disabilityawareness4you.wordpress.com/).  When she went on the website, her computer was reading aloud what I have written on the homepage.  Then, she was asking me about the pictures/graphics on the various pages.  I was telling her what they were when she asked if I could add alternate text.  When I told her I had no idea what alternate text was, she was shocked.

So, I went to the editing mode on my website, I clicked on the pictures and there was a text box labeled "alternate text" and I had nothing in it (because I didn't know what it was).  Genevieve told me that by adding alternate text to my pictures and graphics, her computer can read aloud to her what they are. She knows they are graphics, and her computer knows they are graphics, but she can understand what the graphics are by having the alternate text. For example, the alternate text I added to my picture was "professional photo of Jackie Conley."  This lets Genevieve and other visually impaired users know what the picture is. I immediately wanted to blog about this because I never knew about it, and I think everyone should!  It takes no effort at all to add the text, so we should be adding it. 

So, next time you are editing photos online, if you can add alternate text, try it!  Alternate text is simply a description of the graphic that lets all users know what the graphic is a picture of.

How many of you knew about alternate text?  I think I'm going to make this question my next poll. Visit my website later this week to cast your vote.  Thanks.