Is The National Deaf Academy Under Control or Out of Control?
Wednesday June 24, 2009
The Orlando Sentinel reports that the National Deaf Academy in Mount Dora has made numerous calls to the local police for help. (The NDA is one of the few residential psychiatric treatment facilities for deaf students.) All these calls have overwhelmed the city's small police force. Not only that, although the Academy has reportedly taken steps to improve things, the nature of the calls that the police continue to receive are a concern for the police. One horrifying example: a deaf teenager wielding a long stick with nails ran after residents and staff.
Sources:
Orlando Sentinel, "Deaf Academy's Troubles Stretch Mount Dora Police Thin"
Orlando Sentinel, "Problems at Natinal Deaf Academy in Mount Dora"
Related on About.com: Mental Health and Deafness
Comments
What kind of name for the psychatric center serving the deaf population – National Deaf Academy? That is kinda misleading within the name of academy!
What in the world for the possibility of acquiring wooden stick with nails within pyschatric center? No questions about shoddy security system!
I would be not really surprised that the NDA hire less qualified deaf personnels.
RLM
I don’t know anything about National Deaf Academy, but if it’s a psychiatric treatment facility, wouldn’t it know how to deal with people with serious problems? And it seems like it has (or had) serious security issues.
This is a shame. I’m saddened that the legacy of many eminent ones including a pioneering psychologist involved with this program may or not be tainted.
But, this kind of behavior routinely occurs at state-run deaf schools and their ancillary facilities. The Orlando newspaper had a slow day.
The issues with National Deaf Academy are not new. I’m happy to see that the papers are finally catching on. But children have been hurt there already. Remember the teen who’s injury resulted in an amputation last year? That never made the papers! When they get reviews from Joint Commission, or any other organization, they spend time cleaning up things that could seriosly close them up. The hearing staff are told not to use the intercom and the code for overhead calls assistance are minimized as well (per administration direction)when the facility has representatives auditing them.It’s a peyton place with the nurse manager who is rarely available because he is too busy with his personal endeavors there than the care of the patients/residents. If auditors would come without even slight notice and skip the pretty admin building and go straight to where the cafeteria/nursing department is directly, they would then discover how some of these problems originate. Forget PSI, they don’t want to know, it’s about $$$ with them.The Orlando Sentinel did not have a slow day, they are discovering something that has been covered up way to long and the public would be interested to know if proded further.