Services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Solomon Bates, Daniel Quine, Terri Fear and Denice Stohl pose for a picture prior to leaving for the Monroe Senior Center to watch a live demonstration of how Ukrainians make Easter Eggs.

Robyn Anderson, who has been signing since she was 10 months old, hosted the Easter Egg Demonstration. Here she is pictured explaining the process step-by-step while consumers and seniors looked on. It requires a steady hand, the use of a stylus, bees wax, lighter fluid, special dyes, and raw eggs.

The stylus is heated and dipped in bees wax. Lines are then drawn around the raw egg.

A design is then drawn on the egg. A lot of work is required because the stylus has to continually heated and dipped in the wax. The consumers were allowed to choose the colors. The egg was then dipped in different colored special dyes and immediately wiped dry. The special dyes can be purchased in Hamtramck. (Robyn will be teaching her 3 1/2 and 6 year old grandchildren how to make these eggs. The tradition has been handed down for generations. By the time Ukrainian children are 6 years old they are taught how to decorate raw eggs.)

Between dipping the egg in the various dyes, dots were added. The egg was then left in the dye for an hour to ensure the final color was set. The egg was then removed from the dye, dried and then the wax was wiped off using lighter fluid. (Regular easter egg dye would be eaten by the lighter fluid.) A clear coating should be put on the finished egg. In about 10 years the inside of the egg will have dissolved. Consumers and seniors were allowed to handle the finished product. This was a fascinating experience to say the least.

Pictured is the finished egg along beside one which Robyn had completed back in 1997. Pictured below are postcards collected by family members depicting this fascinating art. The postcards were compliments of Aldemis & Valeria Boudreau (Robyn's parents).

For a live demonstration, call Robyn Anderson,
Program Coordinator/Interpreter,
Deaf & Hearing Impaired Services, Inc.
at (248) 473-1888. Or feel free to
email her at Robyn@ili.net

On Saturday, May 12, 2001, the Deaf consumers attended the Michigan Deaf Art Fair in Brooklyn, MI. The Fair was held at DeSales Center, a campus for various Deaf services including summer camps, retreats, youth counseling, etc. Art was displayed from local Deaf students, famous Deaf artists, and from Deaf arts and crafts groups. There were various stage performances by Deaf mimes, Deaf actors, Miss Michigan Teen Deaf, and a wonderful interview with a deaf woman who wrote a book on spousal abuse in the Deaf community.

Our consumers were fully involved. One of our consumers responded to a call for volunteers to help the mime do a routine on stage. Most of the volunteers were sort of teased and embarrassed, but our consumer held her own! She was also very caring to a little girl who did not use sign language. Despite the harried pace of the routine, our consumer took the time to make sure the little girl was clued as to what was going on.

 Consumers met Chris Hunter, the State Director of the Division on Deafness, chuck Baird, nationally famous Deaf artist and performer and Bill Sitwel, professional mime who trained with Marcel Marceau. On staff in DD Services, we have Terri Fear. Terri works with our Day Program consumers. She is president of the Ann Arbor Deaf Association (AADA) and is well known in the Deaf community. Consumers benefited from Terri's popularity. They met many of Terri's long time acquaintances and were introduced as "friends of Terri."

Leslie Martel, a Service Coordinator at Varsity, accompanied us to the Deaf Art Fair. Her adven- turous spirit and openness to new experiences truly added to the happiness of this long day.

 On Saturday, May 12, 2001, the Deaf consumers attended Deaf Bowling Night at Ypsi-Arbor Bowl. It included various other Deaf consumers including all of the residents of Main Street House. Some of them brought friends from the community to take advantage of the 3-games-for $7.00 deal the Ann Arbor Deaf Association (AADA) gets. One of our consumers got a "Turkey," meaning three strikes in a row. The overhead score monitors flash a cartoon turkey and the PA system blasts out gobble- gobbles. It truly was his moment in the sun.

Thanks to the JOAK staff and our own Evelyn Bell, the Main Street residents had a successful bowling adventure despite the fact that they were surrounded by five birthday parties. Food and sweets are a big distraction for a few residents, but Evelyn has a wonderful understanding of the consumers and was able to maintain their focus on enjoying bowling. I would say she saved the day for them!

Penny Myers drove for the day. She has taken a keen interest in sign language and our Deaf Program. She has also demonstrated an amazing ability to learn sign language. All in all, the consumers had a wonderful day and were exposed to opportunities and people that we hope will whet their interests in future outings. The day was a grand opportunity for our staff people to meet and mix with the Deaf people and to beginning to understand some of the social aspects of the Deaf community. The day was a culmination of the efforts of so many which paid off tenfold for the experiences the consumers received.