Search results

There is still much lack of understanding among the general public about the needs of deaf people, says Pat Dugdale, field officer in Wellington for the New Zealand Association of the Deaf.

People who can hear as well as see 'Reasonable Doubts' (TV3, 9.50pm Saturdays) might be surprised to learn that Deaf New Zealanders can understand deaf lawyer Tessa Kaufman’s sign language little better than they can. ASL, used by Deaf actor Marlee Matlin, is a foreign language here. My Deaf friends give it the thumbs up. But the failure of television in New Zealand to provide anything in NZSL is described as “a running sore” by Hilary McCormack.

A trip to the United States in 1990 gave Whangārei man Kim Robinson extra motivation to seek better and equal access for the deaf community in New Zealand. Now, that commitment to ensuring deaf people are heard and their needs met has seen him made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to the deaf community in the New Year's Honours List.

Local bodies in the Wellington region are still inconsistent about the reductions they offer in dog registration fees for deaf owners, says the New Zealand Association of the Deaf.

The Manawatu Deaf Drama Group (MADEDRA) will present a show at Abbey Theatre, before taking it to Auckland for the Deaf View Conference and eventually, hope to travel overseas.

A course to train professional interpreters for the deaf, now being run in Auckland, is the first of its kind in New Zealand.