Miss-Delectable
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Elk Grove Citizen : Feature Story
Nobody watched the television that was played loud at the Birchell household. Leslie and Jeff used sign language to chat with two visitors while their children were busy.
One daughter pointed at everything as she jumped around the house. The other daughter yelled instructions as she described her activity of wrapping tape around a bottle of water.
The parents did not respond to the commotion.
A knock on the front door sent both girls sprinting to be the first to greet another visitor.
During their interview, Jeff and Leslie Birchell considered this unique scene to be a normal moment inside their Elk Grove home.
The couple is deaf.
The cause of Leslie’s deafness may be linked to the rubella that ailed her mother while she was pregnant with her. The cause of Jeff’s condition is unknown as his parents have normal hearing, although he has a brother and a cousin who are deaf.
“The kids bang on the table or point to get attention,” Leslie said in sign language through an interpreter, Alonzo Pack. “In the hearing world, both are considered rude.”
But for the Birchell family, it is a method that works since their children can communicate with their parents.
Accessibility is a great necessity for the Birchells. Instead of having to open a washer or dishwasher to see if a cycle is completed, a digital display erases any doubts.
“That is accessibility for me,” Leslie signed.
Their three kids are bilingual as they are fluent in sign language, which Leslie explained in an email is the primary language used at their home.
“(American Sign Language) is a foreign language, but it’s a natural language,” she signed.
Their son, Brandon, 12, also has a hearing impairment. Daughters Bryanna, 7, and Brittany, 6, have been tested and have normal hearing.
The severity of a hearing impairment is based on the number of decibels in a sound before a person can hear it. A whisper in a quiet library could be up to 30 decibels whereas the volume at a rock concert could be between 125 and 150 decibels.
For people who begin to hear sound when it is closer to 40 decibels, a hearing impairment would be considered “mild” and a hearing aid could minimize the impact.
A hearing impairment is “moderate” to “moderately severe” for people who can hear between 41 and 70 decibels. Brandon fits into this category and is considered to be “hard of hearing.” He wears a hearing aid, can read lips, and has clear speech.
His parents can only hear both beyond 90 decibels and have “profound” hearing impairments, which is “deaf” in common terms. Although both wear hearing aids, the ultra-loud volume of the television fazed neither person.
The Birchells moved to from southern California to Sacramento County in 1995 when Leslie took a job with NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
When Jeff took a job in Stockton, the family moved to Elk Grove in 2001 to cut down on his commute. Both now work for NorCal along with Pack.
Leslie has long been an advocate outside of work as well. She served on the Sacramento County Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) and now serves on the Elk Grove DAC as Elk Grove Mayor Steve Detrick’s appointee.
“She has brought a presence to the DAC that was missing,” Detrick said.
Whereas people can see local DAC Chair David Simpson rolling down the sidewalk in his wheelchair, people might see Leslie on her regular run and not realize she is deaf.
Regardless, she will keep on moving.
“When I run in Elk Grove, I learn new parts of the city,” she wrote, which helps her add to issues that come before the city’s DAC. “My home is here. Elk Grove is such a great town.”
Nobody watched the television that was played loud at the Birchell household. Leslie and Jeff used sign language to chat with two visitors while their children were busy.
One daughter pointed at everything as she jumped around the house. The other daughter yelled instructions as she described her activity of wrapping tape around a bottle of water.
The parents did not respond to the commotion.
A knock on the front door sent both girls sprinting to be the first to greet another visitor.
During their interview, Jeff and Leslie Birchell considered this unique scene to be a normal moment inside their Elk Grove home.
The couple is deaf.
The cause of Leslie’s deafness may be linked to the rubella that ailed her mother while she was pregnant with her. The cause of Jeff’s condition is unknown as his parents have normal hearing, although he has a brother and a cousin who are deaf.
“The kids bang on the table or point to get attention,” Leslie said in sign language through an interpreter, Alonzo Pack. “In the hearing world, both are considered rude.”
But for the Birchell family, it is a method that works since their children can communicate with their parents.
Accessibility is a great necessity for the Birchells. Instead of having to open a washer or dishwasher to see if a cycle is completed, a digital display erases any doubts.
“That is accessibility for me,” Leslie signed.
Their three kids are bilingual as they are fluent in sign language, which Leslie explained in an email is the primary language used at their home.
“(American Sign Language) is a foreign language, but it’s a natural language,” she signed.
Their son, Brandon, 12, also has a hearing impairment. Daughters Bryanna, 7, and Brittany, 6, have been tested and have normal hearing.
The severity of a hearing impairment is based on the number of decibels in a sound before a person can hear it. A whisper in a quiet library could be up to 30 decibels whereas the volume at a rock concert could be between 125 and 150 decibels.
For people who begin to hear sound when it is closer to 40 decibels, a hearing impairment would be considered “mild” and a hearing aid could minimize the impact.
A hearing impairment is “moderate” to “moderately severe” for people who can hear between 41 and 70 decibels. Brandon fits into this category and is considered to be “hard of hearing.” He wears a hearing aid, can read lips, and has clear speech.
His parents can only hear both beyond 90 decibels and have “profound” hearing impairments, which is “deaf” in common terms. Although both wear hearing aids, the ultra-loud volume of the television fazed neither person.
The Birchells moved to from southern California to Sacramento County in 1995 when Leslie took a job with NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
When Jeff took a job in Stockton, the family moved to Elk Grove in 2001 to cut down on his commute. Both now work for NorCal along with Pack.
Leslie has long been an advocate outside of work as well. She served on the Sacramento County Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) and now serves on the Elk Grove DAC as Elk Grove Mayor Steve Detrick’s appointee.
“She has brought a presence to the DAC that was missing,” Detrick said.
Whereas people can see local DAC Chair David Simpson rolling down the sidewalk in his wheelchair, people might see Leslie on her regular run and not realize she is deaf.
Regardless, she will keep on moving.
“When I run in Elk Grove, I learn new parts of the city,” she wrote, which helps her add to issues that come before the city’s DAC. “My home is here. Elk Grove is such a great town.”
