'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
For the first time, a generation of deaf people can communicate with the world on its terms, using cell phones, BlackBerrys or iPhones, of which some 260 million are in use in the United States.
Quietly over the last decade, phones that make text messaging easy have changed life profoundly for millions of deaf people.
And texting is less work, said Ripley, 54.
"I don't have to depend on hearing people. It makes me a lot more independent. I don't have to ask people to call for me. Asking for people to call can be very frustrating," said Ripley, the school's athletic director.
