Hello and welcome! I decided to start this blog to share the work I do in the area of deaf advocacy. I have never been one to suffer in silence in the face of a perceived slight. It is my custom to stand up for myself and for other deaf people when I see something that just isn’t right. This blog is an attempt to share these efforts with others in the deaf community. Perhaps something I say or do will inspire others to advocate for themselves.
A brief biography: I was born and raised in suburban New Jersey. When I was 8, I started to lose my hearing to unknown causes. It was a long process and I did not consider myself deaf until I was 22 and no longer able to hear on the phone even with a strong amplifier to boost the sounds.
I attended Syracuse and Rutgers Universities in the days before support services and did not get very far with my studies. In 1980 I enrolled in the Rochester Institute of Technology, where I received support from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. I graduated in 1985 with a B.S. in professional photography.
Shortly after graduating, I founded Deaf Artists of America, Inc., a national nonprofit arts service organization, and ran it for 10 years. A highlight was establishing an art gallery for deaf artists, which hosted more than 20 exhibits over a four-year span (1988-92).
I was editor of Silent News from 1991 to 1996 and publisher/editor of Newswaves from 1997 to 2002. I moved to California in 2000 and worked for GLAD (Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness) for two years, then moved back to Rochester in 2003. The following year I started Deafweekly (www.deafweekly.com), a free news service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
In addition to working as a journalist, I am a part-time photographer (www.tomwillard.com) and recently started a new business (www.canalstreetpress.com) to publish deaf-related and photography books.
So that’s my story and you are invited back any time to keep up with what I’m doing in the area of deaf advocacy. I welcome your comments, but I have to insist that you give your real name when you comment. As a writer, I have stood behind my own comments and opinions all my life, and frankly I don’t have a lot of respect for people who cannot do the same thing. I definitely will not allow people to use this blog to attack other people while hiding behind fake names. I see too much of that on other blogs.
I’ve stumbled on your Blog and want to thank you for it. After 13 years of progressive hearing loss, I’m finally at the point where I need to make changes. I have a LOT of questions and your Blog has provided a lot of information…
I look forward to reading your future posts and investigating your archives,
Raini
Hi Tom,
I found your websites after reading your mesage re. your mother died.
Me and my wife teach Auslan (Australian Sign Language), and your deaf weekly have always had valuable information for our course.
I feel it is nice to put a face to the letters! However, I like to know who you are:
Your name: Tom ….. what? etc. I wanted to save your photo collection “the wondering years” but couldn’t find your name!
Please email me with this info and again keep up the good work!
Ant (sign-name)
sorry d’oh:
tom willard.wordpress etc your name is Tom Willard.
Tom, I decided to add you on to my webpage. I think you deserve that very much. You have a great site and I remember you very much. So I hope I see you at the NTID 40th Reunion!
Semper FI!
Tom ..
A reader of my blog brought yours to my attention. I am impressed with what you’ve written. I also would like to add you to my blogroll.
Please email me and let me know if that’s cool.
)
Paotie
I am wanting to propose that my school board have asl as an elective to be used as a second language. I am trying to gather as much information to support my argument. I have found plenty of things on the advantages but I need to know if there are any disadvantages to learning sign language or if I should even bother including that in my argument please help.
I am in need of Intervention from a appropriate advocate/spokesperson in order to return to post-secondary teaching. I have taught for two years solely by lip-reading and none of the students or staff are deaf. It was not all bad, but when I started open discussions on areas to improve, I stumbled upon a great communication tool to greatly enhance my teaching, it is CART. Immediately after bringing forth this issue, I had to overwhelmingly deal with backlash and it was all misunderstood.
I am now working hard to gather up that silent interventionist in my upcoming presentation interviews. I teach foundational medical information so students become a nationally certified Massage therapist. I loved it and greatly want to return, but only if I am allowed to include some outlined use of accommodation. I do not sign.
Please help. Thanks.
Mark
Mark, I suggest you contact the National Association of the Deaf’s Law and Advocacy Center:
http://www.nad.org/issues/about-law-and-advocacy-center
Hello Tom,
Thank you for setting up a wonderful blog about a condition that effects so many people. I am currently in a situation that is being, how can I describe it, “governed” by hearing people who feel that deaf people should pay for their own legal interpreters. That’s right, they feel that a deaf person should be required to pay for court room interpreters, and not only that, they feel that a deaf person should also pay for the interpreter fees accrued by a representing lawyer.
A hearing judge agreed and allowed an attorney to charge their client 300% more than what is considered normal because the defendant, plaintiff as well as most of the witnesses were DEAF!
Can you believe it? The defendant in the natter has hearing parents that agreed. They also have never learned ASL to talk with their deaf child/adult.
They claim they have been advocating for the deaf for over 40 years, but never learned ASL???
How can this be? Its true, all of what I say is absolutely true.
Hi Steven ..
Thank you for your note.
It does not matter what the hearing people “feel,” there are laws that govern these situations that take precedence over their “feelings.”
The judge who chose not to comply with accessibility laws should, in my opinion, face disciplinary procedures.
A deaf person whose rights are abused can either go “woe is me” or “I’m sitting on a gold mine.” The hard part is getting justice. There are no ADA police. I have filed ADA complaints with the US Dept. of Justice, only to wait six months to get a form letter in response.
Recently a lawyer refused to provide me with an interpreter. When I consulted another lawyer about it, he said he would never take on a case against a fellow attorney. Thus the lawyers are protecting themselves from the consequences of their ADA violations.
Please get in touch with the Law and Advocacy Center at the National Association of the Deaf ..
http://www.nad.org/issues/about-law-and-advocacy-center
They can’t take on every case that comes along, but yours sounds especially shocking and deserving of follow up.
Good luck and keep me posted,
Tom
it’s funny how life works. i’m partically deaf in my left ear. i never really had a need for sign. but my cousin is autistic and couldn’t speak so sign started to become a factor. then i met someone recently who is really special to me and she’s deaf so the lack of communication started to put a strain on us. i made it a commitment to learn sign just so i don’t lose my special girl. i surprised her two weeks later by starting a conversation signing. so now she teaches me and i learn from other sources. you never know how communication changes when you’re missing a component that you’re so used to everyone having. she changed my life and how think and communicate and express myself. i just want to let everyone know that.