Oshkosh Northwestern

September 30, 2001

An Advocate for the Deaf

UWO Student leads effort to help Deaf people participate in society

by John J. Archibald

of the Northwestern

As a Deaf person, Lori Fuller has found she often must fine her own path in a speaking world without anyone to help her along the way.

She recalls a time when a university teacher advised her against attending a class, saying that the interpreter wouldn't keep up with the lecture.

"That, I felt, was wrong, obviously," Fuller said.

Now a human services major in her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Fuller, 25, is about to do a little advocating of her own.

She organized a deaf advocacy agency called "Deaf Empowerment," work that received the approval of the university for college credit.

She also works full time for Lutheran Social Services.

Although she started the agency in June she continues to lobby people for help in organizing a board to guide the aims she envisions.

Nationally, about 300,000 people are profoundly Deaf and another 20 million, or 8 percent of the population, are Hard of Hearing, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Many Deaf people feel better to have someone on their side in times of difficulty.

"It's hard to advocate for yourself. It's easier to advocate for others," Fuller said. "If you're outside, you're not in the emotional situation."

Although there are other deaf organizations for youths and a Bureau for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Green Bay serves 19 counties, there's room for more people to advocate needs of Deaf people, in her experience.

Fuller is trying to find an existing agency to hitch to and launch deaf assistance services.

One of those helping her develop Deaf Empowerment is Melanie Blechl, a sign language interpreter and advocate. She served as an interpreter with Fuller for an interview. 

Blechl said the importance of Deaf Empowerment is in providing another resource for an estimated 300 Deaf or Hard-of-hearing people between Green Bay and Oshkosh.

The services that Deaf Access seeks to provide show the challenges that Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing people have in the speaking world.

Sometimes, someone needs one-to-one counseling about the needs of a Deaf person.

At other times, a doctor may want to discuss with someone the responsibilities a hospital has under the American with Disabilities Act. Fuller doesn't envision serving just adults.

Children or siblings of Deaf adults may feel withdrawn or lonely for lack of being able to communicate. In other situations, parents may pressure a child to fit in with the speaking culture instead of learning sign language themselves.

Fuller wants to offer sign-language instruction classes.

About 100,000 to 500,000 Americans are primary users of American Sign Language, according to Gallaudet University statistics.

"We want to help children who feel left out and help their socialization," Fuller said.

Government paperwork that seems routine reading for speaking people offers a challenge every time for Deaf or the Hard of Hearing. A Social Security record, for example, may need to be "translated" from the printed English into American Sign Language. That's because American Sign Language has its own syntax, Fuller said.

Just like the speaking culture, the Deaf culture undergoes changes from time to time.

The phrase "hearing impaired" no longer is used. It is preferable to refer to someone either as Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Fuller said.

The hard of hearing also may include hearing adults who lose degrees of hearing as senior citizens, opening new challenges of service for the Deaf community.

Advances in technology have helped those in the Deaf culture communicate between with those in the speaking culture.

Speaking people still may call on a telephone to a "relay" operator who types the caller's words on a TTY machine and communicate with a Deaf person receiving on a similar machine.

The most important advance within the past five years has been the development of electronic mail. "You're able to connect with friends who are Deaf, friends in the community," Fuller said. "It makes it easier to communicate with hearing people, to e-mail."

Just like speaking cultures, the deaf culture has a sense of humor.

"My favorite," Blechl said," is Deaf standard time -- That's 'late.'" If an event ends at 11 p.m., Deaf or hard of hearing people still will be talking in American Sign into the early morning hours of the next day.

"When you have the opportunity, you grab the time," Blechl said.

John J. Archibald: 426-6689 or 
jarchibald@smpgo.gannett.com

Note, some words were changed to 
make this article more Deaf-centric, 
and to update specific facts.

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1478 Kenwood Drive
Menasha, WI 54952
(920) 886-7692 (TTY)