Miss-Delectable

Formerly deaf teen helps homeless keep warm - El Dorado Hills Telegraph

Born into a world without sound, a young Folsom girl overcame her disability and now helps others.

Elizabeth Cocker, 14, was born deaf. When she was about 7, she received cochlear implants that allowed her to hear. Now, she works to help the homeless.

“I’m making scarves and blankets for the homeless and we’re trying to keep them warm during the winter,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for three or four years.”

Cocker also enlists the help of others. As a home-schooled student, she inspires other home-schoolers to help.

On Thursday, she visited the Folsom Cordova Charter School, located inside Theodore Judah Elementary School on Dean Way in Folsom. There she spoke to more than 20 kindergarten through third-grade home-schooled children about her project and to enlist their aid. The charter school serves Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Amador counties.

Dubbed “The Rag Coat” workshop, after the title of a book, the young students sat quietly while teacher Kristin O’Rourke read the book to them and then broke the group into teams to help make scarves.

“Do you think there are kids out there in our area who don’t have coats?” she asked the students. “The things you are making today will be given to people who are in need of it.”

Wayne Edney, director of the charter school, said the workshops are a way for the home-schooled children to interact with others.

“Elizabeth was one of the first students we had here at the charter school,” Edney said. “It’s nice to see her grow and develop. She’s our guest today (for the workshop).”

While the kids spend most of their time at home, “they have the option of coming here to the (workshops),” Edney said. “Part of the goal we have with home school is to give the kids a sense of community. It’s really nice when (Elizabeth) does stuff like this.”

Her first year doing the blankets, she made 40 of them and an additional 24 scarves. She distributed them through Loaves and Fishes. Once she watched the reaction of those receiving the blankets, she was hooked.

“Seeing them pass out (blankets) at Loaves and Fishes, and how they were so happy, it made me really happy,” Cocker said. “I could tell they feel safe. … They’ll be warmer with the blankets I gave them.”

She typically makes more than 50 blankets now, with the help of family, friends and students like those at the charter school.

For 7-year-old Jadon Turnbull, the workshop was a way to be creative and help others at the same time.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It makes me feel good (to help).”

For 6-year-old J.J. Baranzelli, “The Rag Coat” story and making scarves made him think about others.

“It’s fun to help,” he said, wondering if his family pet might benefit from one of the coats. “My dog has mosquito bites and he thinks they are fleas.”

O’Rourke said there was a need and Cocker decided to fill it.

“People need people,” O’Rourke said, quoting the book she read to the students. “Elizabeth found a way of reaching out. It’s so nice.”

MEET ELIZABETH COCKER, 14

What is your favorite book?

“I’ve read so many. My favorite is probably ‘God’s Handmaiden.’”

What are your favorite songs?

“I enjoy listening to country music. My favorite is Carrie Underwood.”

What is your favorite movie?

“I like ‘X-Men.’”

What hobbies do you enjoy?

“I enjoy swimming and playing games with my brothers and sisters and pets.”

What are your favorite TV shows?

“I don’t really watch television.”

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Buffalo

"formerly deaf"???? "overcame her disability"???? It is like the hearing people really believe that CI would do away with the discrimination we faced everyday????

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deafskeptic

That's what I want to know too.

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shel90

The title of the article is already AUDIST and offensive.

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souggy

This reeks.

The title reeeeeeeeeeeeeks.

Someone please put the compost outside! It does not belong in the kitchen!

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jillio

Formerly deaf????? So much for those claims that everyone understands that CI doesn't make anyone hearing! This is insulting.

jillio

Hey, everyone! I just clicked on the link, and went to the far right where it says "Contact Us." The second email address listed belongs to the moron that wrote this article. I just sent him a scathing email shaming him for his ignorance and choice of wording in this article. I suggest everyone else do the same. He needs to be educated. This is out opportunity to do it.

whatdidyousay!

I am HOH and I wear a HA I still been discriminated against when I was kick of a restaurant with my hearing dog! And I was told I could not go to collage to be a social worker as I was HOH! Where can we buy this 'Pill" to
over come being deaf or HOH !

Dixie

At the end of the day when she takes her CIs off to shower or to sleep, she is still a deaf individual, her hearing is via technology that allows her to hear through her cochlea rather than her eardrum which are either nonfunctioning or nonexistant.

I'm glad she's leaving a positive message with the younger students, but the author of this article needs to do more research regarding CIs, they don't erase deafness, it simply masks it.

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LDNanna

I read into the author's words that because she "overcame" her "former" deafness that she is now able to help others. So... I guess "current" deafies dont help others?? Get em Jillio. I am so glad that a young woman helps others. Charitable works are commendable in all, espeacially young folks.

What does that have to do with deafness??? augh...

shel90

Right...it is like the reporter is implying to the public that if she was still deaf, she wouldnt be able to do the charity work. That and the idea that the CI cured her of her deafness.

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Phillips

Yep and Audits?

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shel90

Audist in two ways...

That the girl can do charity work because she is no longer deaf.

That the CI cured her of her deafness.

It is a dangerous message to send to the public because all it does do an inservice to many of us.

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Loghead

I stopped reading after the first sentence.

Passionate4ASL

Sometimes I think media doesn't care who they walk-over to get their story. They like to stir up drama and pitty at the expense of others.

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Beowulf

Done. I had a little fun in my email to this Don character. He will not leave his room for a week. Deafies everywhere shall sleep soundly tonight, lol.

jillio

That is exactly what I told the author in my email. That he did a disservice to the entire deaf population of this country. Told him his choice of wording was insulting and patronizing, and that he seriously needed to research before writing another article of this nature.

jillio

Good for you Beowulf. This is the kind of situation that gives everyone the opportunity to speak out for the Deaf Community.

LDNanna

Admire this comment - was this Beowulf or Jillio? Well written, well said!


On 10/18/09 at 10:04 AM, CaliforrniaAdvocate wrote:
I am apalled at this writer's use of the words "formerly deaf" in this story and headline. I want to see the El Dorado Hills Telegraph post a retraction of this usage. As a person with profound hearing loss and one who knows many deaf people who use cochlear implants, none of them are now "hearing people". A person with a cochlear implant (CI) is STILL DEAF. While the device may have more efficiacy for them than a conventional behind the ear hearing aid it does not magically make them hearing. The CI can improve speech and environmental sound comprehension but it does not enable the user to hear all frequencies in the spectrum with a degree equal to a non-deaf person. The CI has only a few sound channels that are computer tuned to enable the wearer to focus on the frequencies of speech but by no means does it allow the brain to perceive the full spectrum of sound equally. But when the CI is turned off or taken off the USER IS STILL AS DEAF AS EVER.

I do not dispute that the young Ms. Coker functions well with her CI and is able to understand people's speech in most cases but, without having met her, I would hazard a guess that she is also a highly expert lip-reader and able to fill in the gaps of what she does not catch or has the skill sets to be assertive and ask the speaker to repeat or re-word what she does not understand. I applaud her efforts and hope she continues to pursue greatness in her life.

Beowulf

I got a reply to my email. I wrote "It is disturbing in this day and age the profound ignorance being displayed that once I put on my hearing aids, I am 'formerly deaf.' A CI is nothing more than a glorified hearing aid, after all; but the fact of the matter is that I am still deaf, with or without hearing aids. Your article implies that deaf people cannot help the homeless, but I do my part, thank you very much. It is disturbing to see audist attitudes creeping up to our deteriment. Sheesh."

The reply says "Do you have a city of residence to run with the letter? Also, if I had written a headline of 'deaf teen'...that would be misleading because she can hear with the aid of the cochlear implants. The article does not imply that if she were deaf she'd be unable to help others. Sheesh."


Looks like the dude still doesn't get it, lol.

Beowulf

More to the saga. Sigh.
I replied to his email with "How would a headline of 'deaf teen' be misleading? It would be accurate. One who reads the article would understand that she is deaf, but with a cochlear implant. It is a matter of perspective, I suppose: you are hearing while I am deaf, and I do not mind the difference in opinion. I surely did not mean you any disrespect.
And by the way, I live in St. Louis."

He replied "Thanks. And the reason I wrote the story is because I read lips and am hearing impaired. So to assume I was completely able to hear probably set me off. Cochlear implants would be of no benefit to me, unfortunately."

Dang. I look ugly now, don't I?
I will apologize for my assumption that he could hear.

souggy

When people think of deaf... they think of "completely deaf."

Maybe suggest the wording to be changed to "hard-of-hearing"?

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Banjo

Wait... a deaf journalist wrote that article? Bizarre.

Beowulf

Apparently so. I flipped when I found out, lol.

jillio

Well, Beowulf, perhaps your assumption that he was hearing was incorrect. Although it would be interesting to know if he is late deafened, or prelingually deafened. Interesting, also, that he identifies as "hearing impaired".

However, the wording of the article is still insulting, and it certainly is no less so when written by a "hearing impaired" individual. He of all people, should be more sensitive to the image he is protraying in the way he worded this artice.

Additionally, it the point of the article was that she was helping the homeless, her hearing status is not an issue. The fact that she is helping the homeless is the issue. Therefore, mentioning her CI status, or her hearing status in any way is unnecessary. Its obvious that he did so in order to portray a particular image: "Look at this poor little deaf girl that has overcome so much!" That is extremely patronizing.

If the issue is her hearing status, then he is still giving false impressions by using the phrase "formerly deaf." The child is still deaf. Think of the parents that will read this article, decide that their deaf child will be hearing with a CI, and then of all the problems that child will encounter as the result of such a false impression.

I did not receive a reply to my email, but I still think this man needed to be corrected on the false imformation he is spreading via the media. I do not regret for one minute speaking out on the topic.

jillio

Personally, I find it even more disturbing.

Banjo

I'll say. That one really got me. Didn't even think of it due to the wording of the article.

Wow.

souggy

Actually... this article is the very reason why I refuse to be in the same room as reporters or do an interview.

They pulled this crap 5 years ago when I was in a drumming circle, and no one told me that the cameras were there. Of course, the media put a spin on it and focused my hearing aid and nerve-damaged left hand on how "drumming circles really helped the disabled " I didn't find out until after it aired twice (from someone else!)... anyway... went through the long tedious process of having them delete it from the archive and not to be repeated for another community commercial.

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jillio

When my son was in kindergarten (before I got him transfered to the Deaf School), a reporter showed up to take pics of kids in the new gym. They published a pic of my son jumping on a trampoline with the caption, "Hearing Impaired Student enjoys new facilities." I raised holy hell with the paper. I asked them if it had been a hearing student, would that have been mentioned in the caption? If not, they had no business mentioning his hearing status, as it had virtually nothing to do with his ability to jump on a tampoline.

Beowulf

I agree, jillio. I am scratching my head as to how he cannot see it as patronizing, so I wonder about his "impairment." Dang, I didn't think being deaf was this complicated, lol.
You didn't get a reply? What did you do, rip him a new one?