Dear ALDA Friends,

      

     I am sure everyone is as tired of snow as I am.  After digging myself out far too many times, I am more than ready for spring.  I hope the announcement of the upcoming ALDA-GS Spring Workshop will put all our members in a sunnier mood!

     Have you ever been pulled over by a police officer while driving, and then had difficulty understanding the officer?  Perhaps it was night time, and you found yourself blinded by the officer’s flashlight shining in your face.  As a person with hearing loss, how do you make your communication difficulties known to the officer in the quickest and safest manner possible?  What are the officer’s obligations to you in response?   What is the purpose of the “Slash-Through-Ear” sticker that is available for your New Jersey driver’s license?  Are you legally required to have it?  If you are detained by a member of law enforcement, at what point do you become entitled to communication accommodations?  If you have ever wondered about the answers to these questions, or if you have any of your own, come to our Spring Workshop at the East Brunswick Public Library on April 16, 2011, from 11am till 3pm for an enlightening presentation on handling law enforcement encounters when you have a hearing loss!

    ALDA-GS turns Sweet 16 this year.  To mark this great milestone, we’re celebrating at the Spring Workshop with a well-deserved cake.  Please join us for a slice and mingle with other members.  Those of you who have not yet met the ALDA-GS Board members will have the opportunity to do so at the workshop.      You can also make new friends and catch up with old ones!

    Most of you know Lori Messing, our ALDA-GS Newsletter editor par excellence.  You may not know of Lori’s career as a school teacher and the challenges her hearing loss presented in the classroom.   The Winter 2011 edition of the Deafness Research Foundation's Hearing Health Magazine features “Life Lessons of a Young School Teacher”, which spotlights Lori.  The article follows her through college, where she first experienced severe hearing loss, and into the classroom.  It outlines her determination to succeed in spite of obstacles that only began with deafness.  It’s an inspiring story that will resonate with anyone who lives with hearing loss or struggles with health issues.  You can read the article at http://www.drf.org/magazine/46/Winter+2011/article/382. 

    We all have a story to tell, and the ALDA-GS Newsletter wants yours!  How has your hearing loss affected your life, your career, and your relationships with your loved ones and friends?  Do you know someone whose inspired you to overcome challenges as you adjusted to life without hearing?  Maybe you have a funny story related to your hearing loss that you tell every time you get together with your friends, or a coping routine you follow in situations that you feel your hearing loss makes particularly difficult for you.  Whatever it is, why not put it down on paper and share it with your fellow ALDA-GS members?  You don’t need to be an expert writer to submit a story.  Editor Lori Messing stands ready to help you produce a story that you will be proud to see bearing your byline.  Submissions can be sent to Lori at lori.messing@comcast.net.

Warm weather wishes to all, and hope to see you at our Spring Workshop on April 16th!

 

                                                         ALDA Best,

                                                         Doreen Dougherty

                                                          President, ALDA-GS