What is the DBC?
The Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) is a grassroots movement that advocates on behalf of Deaf babies’ birthright to acquire and use a fully accessible, natural sign language, as part of a bilingual approach. Since its inception in July 2007, the DBC has quickly grown to include participation by thousands of people all over the US and Canada. Many new chapters are being formed, including one in South Africa.
Please visit www.dbcusa.org to read more about our mission, purpose and goals.
What is the nature of the relationship between the DBC and the CAD?
The DBC is an unincorporated association and has been under the fiscal sponsorship of the California Association of the Deaf (CAD) since July 2007. Per the meaning of fiscal sponsorship, all of the DBC's income and expenses are recorded on CAD's books as being part of CAD's finances, and follow the IRS guidelines set up for 501(c)(3) organizations. All of the DBC's financial documentation, including conferences, etc., will be part of CAD's year-end fiscal report to the IRS.
Who are the Core Committee Members of the DBC?
The current core committee is made up of a diverse group of individuals, including parents of Deaf children, educators, and experts in ASL, Deaf culture and bilingual-bicultural education. All members are volunteers.
The seven core committee members are:
John Egbert (MN): Promotions,
Tami Hossler (FL): EHDI, Early Intervention Training Research,
Ella Mae Lentz (CA): CAD Liaison and Education,
David Eberwein (CA): Rallies and Public Relations,
Barbara DiGiovanni (NY): Research and Public Relations,
David Reynolds (CA): State Chapters and Recruitment, and
Kristen Weiner (CA): State Chapter Coordinator.
What is the nature of the DBC's social activism?
The DBC is committed to positive and peaceful activism toward ensuring that parents, educators, medical professionals, and the general public are aware of the importance and benefits of a natural sign language (such as ASL in the U.S. and most of Canada) as a fully accessible language for Deaf children. The DBC promotes bilingualism, and thus rejects exclusionary (monolingual) educational practices that deny Deaf babies the right to a fully accessible language. The DBC rejects exclusionary practices which demean ASL users, and falsely portray them as being isolated and unsuccessful.
One example of an exclusionary practice is the AG Bell Academy's promotion of its Auditory-Verbal Therapy Principle #3 :
“3. Guide and coach parents to help their child use hearing as the primary sensory modality in developing spoken language without the use of sign language or emphasis on lipreading.”
(http://www.agbellacademy.org/principal-auditory.htm)
Another example of an exclusionary practice is AG Bell’s recent letter to Pepsico, objecting to the new Pepsi commercial that depicted ASL and Deaf culture in a positive way.
Is the DBC opposed to the idea of hearing devices?
The DBC maintains that there should be a re-evaluation of practices that advocate the use of hearing devices and technologies to the exclusion of access to ASL and Deaf culture. Until such re-evaluation is done and is based on valid and truthful scientific evidence, and since the ability to hear is not relevant to a Deaf child's learning and use of a natural sign language, i.e. ASL, the DBC will not include such topics as part of its mission.
The DBC does not exclude any person who agrees with the DBC’s mission, purposes and vision from participating. Any and all individuals who support the DBC's mission are welcome to participate, including individuals who use assistive listening devices, such as cochlear implants or hearing aids, or those who use oral methods to communicate.
How does the concept of Deafhood fit in with the DBC's activities?
"Deafhood," a term coined by Dr. Paddy Ladd, a Deaf scholar from the United Kingdom, can be said to reflect “the total sum of all positive meanings of 'Deaf,' past, present and future” and “all the largest meanings of what Deaf people have been, are and can be.” Deafhood is an all-encompassing concept which refers to Deaf individuals examining their own lives, values, and relationship with the world around them. It involves examining what it means to be Deaf, physically, intellectually and spiritually, also including an examination of the historical, social and political aspects.
The DBC recognizes that Deafhood embraces the examination of the unexamined in understanding Deaf people as a cultural entity or entities and their use of natural sign languages. Any outside presentations on Deafhood, while supportive of the DBC’s efforts and sharing some key members, have no financial or promotional relationship with the DBC.
Does the DBC include biculturalism also?
Yes, the DBC, as is the case with other bilingual programs and organizations, includes biculturalism as an integral part of its activities. The DBC advocates for a thorough understanding of Deaf culture and identity formation, as part of a whole-child approach that includes the proper development of the child's intellectual skills.
A Personal Note of Appreciation for the DBC's Supporters:
The DBC is a result of collaborative efforts during various points in time of different individuals who gave advice on the mission and strategic plans to promote ASL for Deaf babies as a vehicle to develop bilingual skills along with other languages, including English, and higher literacy. Some of the individuals were not able to remain with us for a variety of reasons, including time commitments and conflicting strategic plans. We would like to thank them for their input and the time they dedicated to the DBC. This past month, the Internet has exhibited unsubstantiated and conflicting claims which has been disheartening and unjustified in the view of all of us who love and support the mission of DBC.
Nevertheless, we are grateful for the outpouring of support, talent, time, commitment, solidarity, guidance, and peaceful activism from our members at large. The DBC is much more than just a few people involved in making decisions, it involves whole communities of people working together, as part of a movement that will shape the future lives of Deaf babies and their families. Your love and commitment to the mission of the DBC is making a difference!
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the DBC through info(at)dbcusa.org.
The following vlog is a message from the California Association of the Deaf regarding the CAD's fiscal sponsorship of the DBC.
Please allow a few moments for the vlog to load.
If it does not load properly, view this one, below:
Hello, my name is Bobby and I am Deaf. I was born on 28 October 1990 to frenzied and rushed parents, primarily because I was 16 weeks early. I was born hard-of-hearing, with a 75 dB loss of high frequency and a 30 dB loss of low -- however, my hearing has gotten worse. As a result of this, I spent countless hours in speech training and auditory-verbal therapy learning to speak, lipread, and listen with hearing aids and FM Systems. I am considered an "oral success," however, I am going back to therapy to remove the nasality of my ...
