A Deaf woman, Ashley Vallejo, visited Dutch Bros Coffee in Waco, Texas for the first time. On her receipt, there was a note from an employee saying “most difficult customer ever.” On TikTok, she shared her hurt and frustration and asked the company to have patience with Deaf people instead of punishing them because they’re trying to order food, just like everyone else.

Dutch Bros coffee said they addressed the issue internally and reached out to Ashley to apologise. They stated that her experience was deeply disappointing, unacceptable, and against everything the company stands for. They also hope to work with her and the Deaf community to ensure they provide accessible service.

An Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in Nuevo Leon, Mexico, believes that Deaf people should be able to hold a driver’s licence. Gabriela Govea Lopez, PRI’s local deputy, is leading this initiative. The President of the Health Commission shared his full support on the issue, saying that 90% of the information received while driving is visual.

CHEO, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, now provides access to language interpreters to patients, their families, and physicians through Voyce – a healthcare interpreting service. CHEO’s Patient Experience Manager emphasised the importance of clear and concise communication especially since a growing number of the population don’t speak English or French as their primary language. Canada is one of the most diverse countries globally.

Deaf representation on TV and stage has increased in the U.K. Rose Alying-Ellis won BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in 2021. Now, a 23-year-old model and dancer, Natasha Ghouri will be on ITV2’s “Love Island”, which is a reality dating show; she is the first Deaf participant of the show. Winner will get £50,000.

With the increased awareness and having a deaf participant on Love Island, Deaf viewers expected subtitles to be added. ITV2 didn’t add subtitles. Deaf viewers took to Twitter to share their frustrations about not being able to understand what was being said. ITV responded on social media, apologising for the disappointment and they will work on adding subtitles.

The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), a non-profit organisation working to ensure equal rights for 70 million Deaf people globally. In 2019, WFD held a general assembly and chose Jeju, South Korea to host the WFD’s 19th World Congress between 11 to 15th of July 2023. The theme is “Securing Human Rights in Times of Crises.”

About 5000 people from 130 different countries are expected to participate in the congress. Official language will be International Sign, Korean Sign language, English, and Korean. Registration opens on July 1st and ends on Sept 1st, 2022.

Daniel Ailey from London, UK is a Deaf bodybuilder; he recently won a silver medal in a FitX competition, hosted by FitX Bodybuilding Federation. He will participate in several more competitions soon. On Instagram, he mentions working out and nutrition are key to achieving the perfect body.

Recently, in Kaliningrad, Russia, there was a Deaf poker tournament. Poker is prohibited in Russia with the exception of two cities – Sochi and Kaliningrad. Even though there are more women players, the number of countries participating in the tournament has dramatically reduced because of political sanctions. 

Dr. Wisdom Kawado Mprah, a University lecturer, is working to remove communication barriers for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Ghana by reforming national and educational policies. He said more than 90 percent of teachers in 17 schools, including a Deaf high school, aren’t able to communicate in sign language.

Dr. Mprah wants adequate training for teachers at Deaf schools. Training would include learning sign language, attitudes toward Deaf children, and how to teach them with a course on Deaf Education. He also said parents should take responsibility and learn to communicate with their Deaf children, along with treating them equally to their hearing children.