CIDAA Bulletin
Autumn 1996

The statistics above show the tremendous success of the joint reunion. Everyone enjoyed their times, despite the surprisingly unexpected mediocrity of the hotel, which caught the joint reunion committee off guard.

Picnic Cut Short By Tornado Warning!

Friday, July 19, 1996 - The much-anticipated joint CIDAA-SJIAA Picnic at Grant’s Farm started with a fanfare as 590 picnickers came — then the angry clouds gathered right over the picnic area as they began to eat, then the tornado sirens sounded warnings. When the heavy rains started to pour, the Grant’s Farm workers motioned for them to seek shelter in the surrounding buildings which used to be horse stables. Three funnel clouds were sighted in Valley Park, about four miles west of this place. An hour later, the picnic was cancelled! This marked the first time in CIDAA Reunion history that a picnic was cut short by a tornado warning!

ATTENTION

The July 19, 1996 CIDAA Membership Meeting produced 3 resolutions, which are intended for public dissemination.

These 3 resolutions are shown on this page.

Resolution #1

(from Bill 96-3 - at July 19, 1996 CID Membership Meeting)
- Introduced by Evelyn (Lipshitz) Zola

Be it moved that the following resolution be adopted:

Whereas, There are no teachers of academics who are deaf at CID;

Whereas, There are qualified deaf teachers who teach deaf children in oral education in other schools; and

Whereas, Deaf teachers serve as excellent role models for deaf children and their families;

Resolved, That CIDAA ask CID to consider the possibility of hiring qualified deaf individuals to teach academic courses at CID.

Resolution adopted.

Resolution #2

(from Bill 96-5 - at July 19, 1996 CID Membership Meeting)
- Introduced by T. Alan Hurwitz

Be it moved that the following resolution be adopted:

Whereas, It has been reported that in the past a significant number of deaf children at CID have been implanted with cochlear implants;

Whereas, It has been demonstrated that cochlear implants seem to be helpful to some deaf children who do not benefit from hearing aids;

Whereas, There is a prevailing concern that many families are not well informed about the risks of cochlear implants for their deaf children during their formative years; and

Whereas, There has not been sufficient information about the lack of success of cochlear implants with many deaf children.

Resolved, That CIDAA goes on record in expressing its deep concern about the cochlear implant issue at CID;

Resolved, That CIDAA adopt NAD’s position on Cochlear implants which calls for families to be provided with vital information on the pros and cons of cochlear implants;

Resolved, That CIDAA supports the concept that deaf children be given the opportunity to actively participate in a decision making process in a meaningful way with their families in obtaining cochlear implants for themselves.

Resolution adopted.

Resolution #3

(from Bill 96-9 - at July 19, 1996 CID Membership Meeting)
- Introduced by Paul Taylor

Be it moved that the following resolution be adopted:

Whereas, The education of the deaf requires active and timely participation of all involved parties to insure effective uses of input toward each child’s development; and

Whereas, The Commission on Education for the Deaf (COED) in 1988 submitted 52 recommendations to assist formulation of policy in deaf education, one being that all boards of directors or policy boards have at least 51% of membership who are deaf or hard of hearing;

Resolved, That CIDAA write a letter to the CID Board of Managers asking that this particular recommendation be adopted and that sufficient time be used to gradually replace retiring board members with deaf or hard of hearing people.

FIRST CIDAA INFORMAL BOARD MEETING

Immediately after the banquet on Saturday, July 20, 1996, all five newly elected officers met briefly - that there would be no board meeting this fall and that they appointed Robert Crowell as the interim editor of the CIDAA Bulletin until the board meeting in the spring of 1997.

-Steve Williams, Recording Secretary

Gregory Heller, '64, was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of the Missouri School for the Deaf. He gave an enthusiastic speech marked with humor.

Heller, who works for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in St. Louis, told the graduating seniors to continue their pursuit to educate the hearing about what it means to be hearing impaired. He said that much of the hearing population continues to believe that those who cannot hear are "deaf and dumb."

Heller invoked laughter and applause when he told the story of a co-worker who told him it is unfortunate he is unable to hear classical music. The man said this to Heller a number of times. Finally Heller told him: "God gave me deafness and brains, but God gave you the ability to hear and no brains."

Heller related a personal story about being called for jury duty a few years ago. The court clerk told Heller's interpreter that he would not be able to serve on the jury because of his hearing impairment. Rather than give up on serving on a jury, Heller chose to educate the clerk about the abilities of deaf people.

"My purpose in life was to educate him that deaf people can do it," said Heller.

Heller was chosen to give the commencement speech because, in Superintendent Peter H. Ripley's own words, "We cannot think of anyone that is more representative of what we would hope our graduates can become. You are raising a family, contributiong to the welfare of the deaf community through your service to the Missouri Commission for the Deaf, and striving to live your life as an example to others. We think these are all important goals and aspirations for graduates of MSD."

Editor's Note: Greg served as the Corresponding Secretary on the 1991-96 CIDAA Board.

The CIDAA wishes "BEST OF LUCK" for all of them.

Alumni News

Steven Ahrens, '91, received a $500 scholarship from Southwestern Electric’s scholarship program. He is a freshman at the University of Louisville.

Holly Bullard, '94, of Memphis, TN, played the lead role in the play, "Children of a Lesser God" last April.

Rob Hartzog, '77, received a master's degree in architecture.

Gregory Heller, '64, was the commencement speaker for the graduating class of 1996 at the Missouri School for the Deaf. (See article on left.)

Vicki (Bernstein) Hurwitz, '58, coached the NTID team that won the College Bowl held during the 1996 NAD (National Association of the Deaf) Convention in Portland, OR, July 1-6, 1996. Two other teams represented Gallaudet University and California State University at Northridge (CSUN). Vicki also coached the NTID team that won the College Bowl in 1994.

Mark Leekoff was one of two winners in the Communication Contest for the Hearing Impaired," a joint venture by the Educational Research Center of Gallaudet University and the Capital Virginia District Optimist Club. This outstanding program, in its seventh year, had eight participants ranging in age from eight to seventeen who presented speeches on the subject, "Listen To Me." The contest took place at the Fair Lakes Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chantilly, Virginia. The winners won $1,500 educational grants to be awarded to them when they enter college. Leehoff wrote a speech titled "Pay Attention To Me."

Susanne (Donnan) McMullen, '71, received a degree in home economics at the University of Akron. She also taught American Sign Language at the university; her involvement and determination encouraged some of her classmates to take sign language classes to meet their foreign language requirements.

Paul Ogden, '64, gave a workshop titled "Failure to Recognize the Importance of Communication Accessibility at Home" during the 1996 NAD Convention at Portland, Oregon. He also, along with Michelle Balske, gave another workshop, "How Deaf Adults Resolve Conflicts with Hearing Family Members."

CID alumni who attended the NAD’s 43rd biennial convention in Portland, Oregon, were:

Khalil

From Alexandria, Egypt, where she grew up, to Kuwait, where she had a thriving practice in pediatrics, to - did you say St. Louis, Missouri? Suma Khalil, you're indeed a long way from home.

But how she got from there to here is quite a story.

Khalil and her husband, Ahmed Foley, a radiologist (both have medical degrees from the University of Alexandria), had lost one of their twin sons to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome only a few months earlier when they discovered that their surviving son, Boudi, was profoundly deaf. Determined to find the best education for Boudi, Khalil and Foley embarked on a mission to investigate facilities all over the world. Their native Egypt and Kuwait, where they were both practicing at the time, had no schools for the deaf and, says Khalil, "We wanted Boudi to learn oral speech in English so, although there were programs in Europe, either they were in another language or they just didn't fit our needs."

Boudi's parents then contacted the Alexander Graham Bell Institute in the United States, which sent them a list of educational possibilities. Among other schools, Khalil and Foley contacted the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis. "When we came to St. Louis for the first time for a visit," Khalil relates, "we were pleased with the facilities and impressed with the Institute's affiliation with Washington University. It was important to us that research had so prominent a role in their work with the deaf. We were happy when Boudi was accepted as a student at the age of 3."

Then the hardest part began. Khalil and Foley still had medical practices halfway around the world. What to do? They decided to leave Boudi in St. Louis under the care of the Institute and, remembers Khalil, despite the certainty that they had done what was best for their son, "I cried all the way back to Kuwait."

Although Boudi immediately began making remarkable progress, the separation from her son proved so miserable for Khalil that, a year later, she moved to St. Louis to be with Boudi and "to learn about speech and hearing." She began graduate studies at Washington University (where she eventually received a master's degree and is now months away from her PhD).

But Boudi's dad was still in Kuwait, separated now from his wife as well as his son. A year later he, too, went on to St. Louis and he, too, went on to receive a master's in speech and hearing.

Today Boudi attends St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, also in St. Louis ("It's got the same great facilties as the Central Institute for the Deaf but it's much closer to home") and is an active 11-year-old who is a green belt in karate, a competitive swimmer ("with the best breast stroke in the midwest"), a student of Japanese, and perhaps most amazing, an accomplished classical pianist. But what does Boudi actually hear? "We can never know that," Khalil responds. "He feels the sound in some way hearing people cannot. He has some residual hearing - he wears two aids - and a great love for music that we discovered when Boudi was 7. We had tickets to the St. Louis Symphony one night and when Boudi's babysitter never appeared we took him along, expecting that he'd just fall asleep. We were amazed when he started tapping his fingers, keeping time with the music."

Khalil herself taught him piano until they found a teacher willing to take on the challenge of a deaf student. He and Sona Haydon, who's been teaching Boudi now for 4 years, have "an amazing relationship," says his mother. Haydon taps Boudi's shoulder to get his attention and he reads her lips for instructions.

Boudi's considering being a famous pianist when he grows up. Or maybe a radiologist like his dad (who went back to practicing medicine after receiving his degree in speech and hearing). As for his mom, she'll stick to audiology. It's way for her to use her expertise in pediatrics, too. "I love to work with children with hearing loss and with their feelings and I feel with them." And, of course, there's still the love of music. And cooking. Khalil's cookbook on Egyptian cooking is due out this year. A delicious future. -Ellen Uffen

©1996, Asha, Winter 1996, the publication of American Speech - Language - Hearing Association. Reprinted with permission.

At the GOP national convention, Heather Whitestone McCallum, a former Miss America who is deaf and whose new husband is a member of Newt Gingrich’s staff, briefly addressed the delegates.

She said "Dole has demonstrated to all Americans the power of perseverance, hope and faith," while referring to his war time disability.

© 1996 by Barry Strassler, publisher & DEAFDIGEST by SILENT NEWS.

Reprinted with permission.

Editor’s Note: Heather Whitestone McCallum is a 1987 Graduate of CID.

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