Deaf Conference and Comedy Show

The final session of Friday's regional conference on American Sign Language and Deaf Culture at Owens Community College was held September 7, 2012. The free conference addressed topics from best practices when working with deaf and the hearing impaired to becoming an interpreter to American Sign Language storytelling and poetry. About 60 people attended the conference. Denslow, who is studying in the Interpreter Training Program at Lansing Community College, traveled from Lansing, Mich. to attend the conference. While many of the conference's attendees were fluent in ASL, some were beginners.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Presenter Crom Saunders, center, speaks with his fellow presenter Keith Wann, left, during a break in the final session of ... THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Presenter Peter Cook, center, posed a question during a talk given by another presenter, Crom Saunders. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Dee Denslow, center, posed a question both aloud and in American Sign Language. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Keith Wann, left, jumped in to comment during a lecture on cultural sensitivity. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Interpreter Jeff Plaxco, center, joined other conference attendees in speaking in American Sign Language. THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH