Mishka Zena

Several months ago while I was researching the deaf schools facing budget cuts and planned school closings, an alumnus alerted me of a Deaf school where the deaf kids in an oral program are segregated from the Deaf students using ASL in the same building. These groups reportedly are not allowed to socialize or even speak to each other. 
Two weeks [...]

An oral Deaf writer attacked Luke of Amazing Race and Deaf people in her op-ed article First Person: I can so talk!  Many deaf people can, despite what you might hear elsewhere
Apparently the fact that Luke was interpreted during an interview as saying that he wanted to disprove people’s perceptions and show that, “Deaf can [...]

For some time, discussions about parental rights vs Deaf children’s right were held on the Deaf Cyberspace. Most of the discourses were illuminating and meaningful. We are actually starting to understand each other out better with less cyberbullying. 
Some people insist that all Deaf babies and children have a right to ASL.  Actually, no.  According to [...]

A Hudson County jury’s $400,000 verdict for a deaf patient whose doctor refused her an interpreter may be a wake-up call for all professionals — including lawyers — that they risk liability for disability discrimination.
This is a big victory. 
Worse, malpractice liability insurance does not usually cover such liability, says plaintiff’s attorney Clara Smit.
Now that the [...]

“This is not about tweaking the genes of a hearing embryo, a technical impossibility. It’s about laying two potential children in embryonic form side by side and affording more right to life to the hearing one by making it illegal to issue preference to the deaf one … this is not about creating a hearing [...]

As of few hours ago over 400 votes have been cast. The results were:
38% YES
58% NO
2%  NO OPINION
Of course when I first heard this,  my first response was pfffttthhh. I went to Washington Post poll center and voted YES. I was disappointed to find the comment section closed as I couldn’t leave my 2 cent.
It’s very easy for [...]

Last week was a difficult week in my life. I had to put down a two years old cat, Niku. Euthanasia is always an agonizing decision to make, but even worse when the pet is very young. Unlike previous times when I had to put down beloved elderly pets eventually due to advanced cancer, this time I had [...]

My eyes filling with tears, I feel deep pain for Jack Barr while he shared his horrific experiences at the oral school he attended. Too many innocent deaf children have received brutal treatment at the hands of hearing educators and speech therapists trying to force them to speak and hear/lipread.  Children’s hands being tied, their mouths scrubbed [...]

I stood back, struck with amazement and sadness at the furor, hurt, and anger within the Deaf Community. Are we so different from each other that we truly cannot understand each other and come to full acceptance of everybody?
First of all, I do not want to see anyone hurt, nor do I want anyone fired from [...]

I’ve thought long and hard about this. I have encouraged DBC twice to become more transparent. I’ve asked two DBC leaders to vp with me, so we can discuss this further, but they both weren’t ‘available’. In e-mails, I asked them why they don’t want to acknowledge to the Deaf Community that they practice Deafhood [...]