Deaf advocates stress importance of legislative involvement

The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's legislative advocacy day on Wednesday inspired students like Melissa Davis, a junior at the Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton, to stay aware of policy matters that can affect her family and community.

"For me, this is a very special and unique experience," Davis said. "It has helped me and others in the deaf community to get a better understanding of the need for access to services."

Davis said generational hearing loss runs in her family, and her father recently had an emergency situation that could have ended badly if he didn't have family nearby to help him.

Legislation proposed this year would implement a statewide 911 text system for people who are hearing-impaired. With just over two weeks left in the session, the bill has not left the House, but advocates are hopeful it will pass.

Davis said this mechanism could be a big help to her father and to others who find themselves in an emergency.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater's, R-Holt Summit, district is home to Missouri School for the Deaf. He said it's important for the deaf, blind and hard of hearing community to know what's happening in the Capitol.

Fitzwater has sponsored legislation this year that would create a state advisory council to track the language development milestones of children who are deaf or hard of hearing from birth through age 8.

"The older kids get, it's harder to teach them a new language," Fitzwater said. "We want to find where those kids are on the language scale at a younger age to ensure they are able to interact in a way that's beneficial to them and their community."

The last time any action was taken on this bill was in late March.

Throughout Wednesday's event, advocates spoke about the importance of being educated on various pieces of legislation, such as funding for hearing aids for low-income people and protecting guide dogs and their owners.

More than 600,000 Missourians have hearing loss, said Opeoluwa Sotonwa, executive director of the Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Ninety percent of those people don't use sign language, which may cause loss of employment and limited communication with family members - which is why access to hearing aids is so important, Sotonwa said.

Earnest Garrett III, superintendent for Missouri School the Deaf, said the legislative advocacy day serves as a way to give students real-world experience of how decisions are made in state government. The Fulton-based school serves 60 residential students, but MSD extends its services to communities throughout the state.

"We're bringing our students here to give them exposure to the legislative branch of government because a lot of the decisions made here affect our students' lives," Garrett said. "They need to know how to access legislators if they have an issue that they would like addressed."