Criminal Justice within the Deaf & Disabled Community: Current Research and Future Needs

Being Michelle: A documentary on a DeafAutistic Woman in Prison
Posted by Mary Pat Luetke-Stahlman

USM recently resumed hosting the annual Maine Deaf Film Festival. The festival has been celebrating films specifically made by and/or starring Deaf filmmakers and actors since 2003. The university’s Linguistics department is largely in charge of organizing the two day event, which is just one of many opportunities for students studying American Sign Language to interact with members of the Deaf community. Sheena Lyles, who is a Deaf comedienne, content creator, and actress, was the keynote speaker this year!

Many thanks to the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Centerand Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for a wonderful meeting with Michelle and the team!

The American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA) is a national organization that brings together professionals from vocational rehabilitation, mental health, chemical health, education, interpreting, and related fields to share best practices in working with individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind to address policy and program concerns, and to network.

While in Missoula we visited Sentinel and Willard High Schools where 204 students viewed the film and 101 students participated in the Q&A with Michelle and the filmmakers.

We are so proud to have shared this film with the @bigskydocfest audience. Thank you for being with us for this important story.

Colter Nuanez, from our local radio partner, @Trail103.3, sat down with the film’s director, Atin Mehra, and two producers, Mae Thornton Mehra and Harold Foxx. Mr. Foxx is deaf; interpreting for him is Mary Morrison.