Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Category: Uncategorized

  • Why Culver’s Gets My Drive-Thru Money

    My mom and my sister excitedly emailed me. “We went through the Culver’s drive-thru!” they said.

    So why were they so excited?

    They liked the “Order Assist” system that Inclusion Solutions installed in several of Culver’s restaurants. Quite simply, there is a sign with a large button near the speaker of a drive-thru. When customers press the button, this alerts the drive-thru employee that the customer needs assistance. Culver’s has pre-printed menus and pads and pens ready for customers.

    I spent some time talking with Patrick Hughes, Jr., the owner of Inclusion Solutions after getting the drive-thru window closed on me at my local Steak ‘n Shake. I learned that he also has a system that includes an induction loop for hard of hearing persons and cochlear implant users. This allows those with t-coils in their hearing aids and cochlear implants to get the speaker orders transmitted directly into their hearing aids and implants.

    After spending a considerable amount of time on the drive-thru issue and time with Inclusion Solutions, I was able to give Patrick some feedback on how to improve a few things in the system to make service even better and more equal for deaf, hard of hearing and speech-challenged customers.

    I learned that Patrick has spent years, literally YEARS, on the drive-thru issue but restaurants are unwilling to change their way of service. When a large corporation was faced with this issue, their answer to the issue was to simply slap a sign on the speaker.

    So what’s the problem with signs? Signs still don’t alert the employees that assistance is needed. More than once, I have driven up to a drive-thru and as soon as the window opens, I’m handed the order of the driver behind me. I still encounter flustered employees who don’t know what to do and have to take the time to figure out how to keep the orders straight.


    (Photo description: Karen and Ron, the manager of Culver’s in Romeoville, IL)

    I went to the Romeoville Culver’s near me and met with the manager, Ron. When I asked Ron why he chose to install the system, he said, “When deaf customers come in here and they see the Order Assist system, their eyes light up. They know they are welcomed here.”

    I emailed Craig Culver, whose father founded the Culver’s chain and asked him similar questions. Craig’s father, George, was hard of hearing all of his life. While his father was the motivation behind his decision to add Order Assist, Craig shared, “I believe in doing the right thing and in my opinion it was simply the right thing to do and a good business decision, too.”

    And because of that, I make every effort to patronize Culver’s and use their drive-thrus and I encourage others to do the same. Thank you, Culver’s!

  • Steak ‘n Shake–Will We Move Forward?

    “What’s happening with Steak ‘n Shake,” a friend asked me recently. I figured it was time to blog about it once again.

    First, I have to say that the Steak ‘n Shake incident has turned my life crazy upsidedown. The latest to pick up the story was Diversity, Inc.:

    Second Class Citizen: Deaf Mother of Three Denied Service At Restaurant.

    Protecting Rights of People with Hearing Loss: What Does the Law Say?

    A few days ago, my husband came home from work and told me that a co-worker heard the situation being discussed on the radio.

    As it stands right now, I am still waiting to hear from Steak ‘n Shake to see what their solution is to providing drive-thru access for people with disabilities. I want them to do more than just slap a sign on the speaker telling us that they’ll serve us at the window. Their lawyer has stated that they are close to reaching a solution that they will present soon.

    I have not filed a lawsuit– I am working with the corporation to reach a solution that will ensure that every person with a disability who goes through a Steak ‘n Shake drive-thru will do so with access.

    Stay tuned!

  • I’m Allergic to Glitter Earmolds

    My daughter Lauren has glitter earmolds with pink and purple glitter in them. They look really cool sparkling in her ears so I figured I’d get some blue glitter earmolds myself. After all, my current earmolds were several years old and quite nasty looking. It was time for something fresh and different.

    I loved my blue glitter earmolds, but after the first day, my ears were red and itching. By the second day, I had developed sores in several places. I wore them four more days, until I could no longer put the earmolds in.

    The old, nasty earmolds went back on. I figured I’d try again after a week.

    The same thing happened, but by the end of the day, I knew the earmolds were going to have to go back. I tried again a few days later, but the same itchy feeling came creeping back.

    The audiologist called the company to see if they could come up with a solution for me to keep the glitter in a different material. The company is going to remake the earmolds but skip the outer glazing. This means the next set will still have the glitter, but none of the shine. I’m hoping that the next set won’t give me an allergic reaction.

    After all, I want to be the cool, hip mom.

    I know my kids beg to differ.

    On another note, today’s the last day to send me to SOBCon’08! All I need is a click on this link, nothing more:

    Send Karen to the SOBCon!

  • Dancing with the Stars–Marlee Matlin is Ready

    For seven hours a day, the stars from Dancing with the Stars practice. All day long, they twist, twirl, and tango– and in high heels to boot. Marlee Matlin looks really good in today’s Chicago Tribune (above), which shows her dancing with her partner, Fabian Sanchez. Not only does she have to follow Fabian’s lead in high heels, she’ll have to do it backwards as well.

    I’ve never watched Dancing with the Stars, but I’ll be glued to the TV on Monday night and cheering for Marlee.

    Marlee Matlin Ready for Dancing Debut

  • Disability Blog Carnival–Communication Allies

    The 33rd Disability Blog Carnival is being hosted by Ruth at Wheelie Catholic. The theme is Appreciating Allies.

    My tribute today is to the many interpreter and CART (real time captioners) allies that I’ve met over the years.

    I grew up hard of hearing, but I basically lipread my way through life. I didn’t know American Sign Language and I wasn’t introduced to it until I became deaf at the age of 19. Just a short time after I lost the rest of my hearing, I transferred to Northern Illinois University and stayed in a dorm that housed several deaf and hard of hearing students and Deaf Education majors.

    I struggled in my classes. I was dealing with horrible tinnitus–the endless droning sounds that refused to leave my head. I was trying to lipread the instructors as well as follow all the information that was flowing in each class. I used an FM system for a while, but all that did was amplify sounds that I couldn’t understand. In the classes where another student was using an interpreter, I discovered that I could lipread the interpreter much more easily than the instructors. By the second semester, I was requesting interpreters for all of my classes. At the same time, I was being immersed in American Sign Language in the dorms.

    I’m always thankful for that chain of events in my life, because interpreters and real time captioners have leveled the communication playing field for me. They’ve enabled me to attend conferences, group discussions, concerts and many other events. I use a videophone to make voice phone calls– I use a separate phone to talk directly to the person I’m calling and I watch an interpreter on my computer or tv as they interpret what is being said through the phone. The interpreters keep up so well that there’s almost no lag time. The first time that I used this system to call a long time friend, she thought I suddenly was able to hear over the phone.

    Over the years I’ve met some fabulous interpreters who I consider friends. They easily separate the role of interpreting and the role of friendship.

    I’ve also met some interpreters who have considered themselves as power players and some interpreters who downright shouldn’t be in the profession. I had one interpreter at a very important meeting who couldn’t keep up and all of the sentences were muddling together. After the meeting, I discovered that she didn’t pass the minimum level of interpreting and shouldn’t have accepted the assignment. I sent a complaint letter to the state’s Commission office but discovered that nothing could be done as the law “had no teeth” at that point. I later learned that this same interpreter was interpreting in the court system and at a local college. Enough people spoke up and limited her ability to take on assignments.

    But rather than focus on the ones that aren’t the allies– I want to take a moment to thank the ones that are. Thank you to the ones that tirelessly interpret video relay calls, tirelessly attend long events, tirelessly move your hands into accessible, meaningful communication.

    And a very special thank you to those who do it with a beautiful smile as well.

  • Send me to the SOBCon–Update

    You guys are fantastic– I’m now in second place for the “Send me to SOBCon” challenge! But it’s going to take more clicks to send me there!

    “Why would you want to hang out with a bunch of SOBs?” a friend asked me. I had to explain that this was a great group of people and in no way was “Son of a *&#%” a part of this conference. It is “Biz School for Bloggers.” I attended last year’s event and believe it or not, I was too shy to speak up much! Blogging was still relatively new to me back then.

    The SOBCon’08 will be held at the Executive Center in downtown Chicago.

    I’d like to be able to go and I can get there with your help (and your friends, and their friends, and so on!):

    Send Karen to the SOBCon!

  • 17-Month Old Toddler Learns to Read


    On the Today Show, a 17-month old toddler was shown reading off words like “kangaroo” and sentences like “Nice to meet you.” The parents are both speech therapists who signed with their baby when she was younger. The video, unfortunately as usual, isn’t captioned but you can see the mom signing in parts of it:

    The Today Show

    This brought back memories when my kids were little. I loved watching their signs emerge when they were toddlers. They learned their ABCs through fingerspelling. I would often fingerspell words in the bathtub along with the sponge ABCs that we stuck to the wall. Of course, the closed-captioning on the tv helped to speed along their reading skills. I’m a big fan of using all kinds of ways to get language going with kids.

    And way off the subject, I’m in second place for the SOBCon contest! One click from you can send me off to the SOBCon!

    Click here to send Karen to the SOBCon.

  • Dawn Nile’s Sister Speaks Out


    In the Chicago Tribune today, Dawn Nile’s sister, Heather, talked about how the family tried to investigate Dawn’s murder twelve years ago on their own. They didn’t get far by trying to investigate on their own. A family friend urged the local state’s attorney to get involved and two years ago, they began investigating the case, interviewing several of the Hinsdale South students who knew Dawn.

    Heather said, in the Chicago Tribune:

    “Someone does something horrible to your family — how long does it take to get over that?” Hunziker said. “I know the answer: It’s never.”

    I know that many of the students did not forget Dawn, as her name came up several times over the years. This morning, I received an email from a Hinsdale South student who saw her picture in the Sun Times.

    “God, I forgot how pretty she was…” he said.

  • Patti Phadke–Motherhood as a Calling

    For Pattie Phadke, motherhood was a calling that didn’t come easily at first. When her oldest child was born, Patti was thrilled to be a mom. Then she soon discovered that all of her time was devoted to the usual tasks of tending to babies, especially endless diaper changes.

    “Changing diapers was a boring chore that was repeated over and over!” said Patti.

    Patti knew that an attitude change was going to have to happen, especially if she wanted to have more kids.

    “I realized that I was very thankful about having a healthy baby,” said Patti. “So I changed my attitude and I looked at the diaper chore as a time to bond with my baby.” Patti used that time to sign to her baby and give her plenty of attention. Diaper changing became an enjoyable time instead of a dreaded chore.

    “I feel that motherhood is my calling,” said Patti. “From that moment until today, I enjoy having my kids so much!

    Patti’s oldest daughter is now in college and plans to become a doctor. Patti has three other children and she works part time as an ASL instructor at Columbia College in Chicago.

    Patti’s favorite quote: “If you give what you do not need, it is not giving.” This quote is from Mother Teresa.

  • 1981 Murder of Dawn Niles–Deaf Man Charged


    In 1981, Dawn Niles, a deaf student at Hinsdale South was found murdered in a Chicago area forest preserve. My husband was a student there at the time and knew Dawn. He described her as a beautiful, popular student.

    Gary Albert, a deaf man from Sugar Grove, is being held in a local jail with bond set at one million dollars.

    Here are the news stories:

    Long Journey for Justice

    Arrest is Bittersweet

    ABC News with transcript

    Southtown Star


    Victim’s Sweetheart Arrested 27 Years Later

    $1M Bond for Man Charged in 1981 Murder of Disabled Teen


    Man Charged in 1981 Murder

    Ex-Boyfriend Charged

    Bond Set for Man Charged in 1981 Murder

    Cases Never Go Cold With Someone Looking

    RIP Dawn Niles

    Sugar Grove Man Accused of Murder has Kane Record

    Dawn Niles–Justice Will Be Served

    Arrest is Bittersweet

    Update: Gary Albert is out of jail. His family posted the $100,000 bond.

    Gary Albert Pleads Innocent