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dsa Deaf Seniors of America New Horizons Peace on Earth Goodwill to All Fall 2021 Volume 26 Number 4
DSA Board of Directors President Alfred Sonnenstrahl president deafseniors us Board Member Renwick Dayton ren_beth comcast net Vice President Phil Aiello vicepresident deafseniors us Board Member Richard McCowin tazlight56 gmail com Secretary Ellen Scheppach secretary deafseniors us Board Member Lance Fischer dsalance gmail com Treasurer Michael Lockhart treasurer deafseniors us Board Member Raymond Kilthau raymond kilthau us Past President Nancy Rarus nbrarus gmail com Board Member Elaine Navratil elaine navratil gmail com Table of Contents Editorial Staff Sonny s Musings 3 Editor Muriel Strassler murielstrassler gmail com Editor s Column 5 A Beautiful Place to Visit by Dr Stephen C Baldwin 6 9 Normal Aging Dementia by Cathy R Elder 10 12 In Memoriam 13 Dear Journal by Bob Daniels 15 Sorenson Lumina is Here 16 Treasurer s Report 17 A Spoonful of Flavor by Eric Scheir 18 What is the JDRC by Susan F Cohen 19 2023 DSA Conference 20 24 RMDs and You 2022 Changes 25 2 Assistant Editor Harriet Loeb loebhw gmail com In Memoriam compiled by Shirley Platt Louis Schwarz Proofreader Irene W Leigh Design Layout Nancy Bloch Front cover design layout prepared by Susan Sien
Sonny s Musings Alfred Sonnenstrahl President Inflation Impact Due to inflation prices around us are rising How will it impact Deaf seniors Will inflation affect services such as Video Relay Services VRS Interpreting Services Video Remote Interpreting VRI and Closed Captioning Since major decision makers are not themselves users of accessible services it is possible that they may not remain motivated or focused on priorities important to us Will they reduce the quality of services they provide in order to save money or increase their profits For example will skilled interpreters remain in the VRS industry if they receive minimal pay increases if any while the cost of living goes up drastically If they quit will interpreters with lower skills will replace them If so what impact will that have on Deaf seniors especially in medical settings If you notice any change in quality be sure to share information such as dates locations and names of people or companies involved with the National Association of the Deaf NAD Video Remote Interpreting VRI DSA and NAD formed a task force to develop VRI Guidelines concerning Internet network inconsistency inappropriate equipment unqualified interpreters lack of training and misuse of VRI in inappropriate situations These guidelines can be found at https deafseniors us 2019 vri guidelines Please download the guidelines and encourage administrators of your local hospitals to follow them Should they have questions have them contact me AARP DSA was able to meet with AARP s Executive Vice President recently to discuss possible long term collaboration between DSA and AARP Various issues were discussed including for example improving the accessibility of safety devices designed for seniors such as Life Alert and including ASL in caregiving training programs We will keep you posted on further developments Webinars Because of the cancellation of the DSA 2021 Pittsburgh conference the DSA Board is planning to provide webinars for members in the near future Topics such as Deaf Travel and Deaf Eyeglasses are being considered If you have suggestions for the webinars please contact me Open Forum We hope to have an Open Forum during which the Board will share their activities since our last conference in Seattle in 2019 If you have opinions suggestions or issues you want to share with the board or members please feel free to bring these up at the Open Forum Announcements will be made through FaceBook Deaf Seniors of America our website www deafseniors us and our eBlast Pandemic Updates in ASL CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keeps the nation updated on pandemics through various unbiased and non political postings in different languages For ASL go to www youtube com playlist list PLvrp9iOILTQatwnqm61jqFrsfU B4RKh6J Be safe Be well 3
DSA Membership Application Membership Dues is 30 00 for two years DSA is now accepting payments for memberships due from present to start of DSA 2023 Hollywood Conference in Florida Subscriptions to the popular New Horizons magazine is published quarterly is included in the membership If you join today your membership will be current until the beginning of the next conference to be held in Hollywood Florida June 24 through June 30th 2023 If you have any questions about your membership status you may contact me at treasurer deafseniors us Michael Lockhart DSA Treasurer Please use this membership application form If you wish to pay by credit card use the online membership application at www deafseniors us join If you prefer to pay by ZELLE use treasurer deafseniors us Name __________________________________ Date of Birth _____________________________ Spouse Partner _________________________Date of Birth _____________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________ City _____________________________________ State ___________ Zip Code ______________ Email Address __________________________ Spouse Email ___________________________ VP _____________________________________ Spouse VP _____________________________ Text ___________________________________ Spouse VP ______________________________ Please select one of the three options to pay your membership dues ____ check money order mail see address below ____ credit card www deafseniors us join ____ ZELLE 2 years membership per person couple 30 00 Donation _______ Total payment enclosed _______ Mail check or money order payable 30 00 to DSA Deaf Seniors of America DSA Deaf Seniors of America Att Michael Lockhart 5619 Ainsley Court Boynton Beach FL 33437 Thank you for your support Have a happy and safe holidays A Non Profit Organization with 501 c 3 Status Established in 1992 Incorporated 1995