Norman Wong won’t forget his moment of glory in Maple Ridge on March 10.

The North Burnaby man who works as a program supervisor for the Shaw Multicultural Channel won the right to carry the Paralympic torch by writing a 250-word essay on what the Paralympics mean to him.Wong’s inspirational story revolved around his five-year-old son Colvin.

“When my son was born, he was profoundly deaf in both of his ears,” said Wong. “Since his early years, he was your typical boy just having fun, and one wouldn’t even suspect that something was not right.

“We stared to have concerns when he didn’t have verbal language when he reached the age of two. We brought this up at a doctor’s visit, and then our doctor shared the same concerns and proceeded to move things along for hearing testing. After an audiology test, it was confirmed that he was diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss.”

Norman and his wife Patty were shocked and saddened by the news, but they immediately started looking into what Colvin’s options were.Within months, Colvin was under the knife, and he had a cochlear implant, or digital processor, put inside his left ear. In addition, a hearing aid was put on Colvin’s right ear.

Norman put in his application to run with the Paralympic torch in late-December and received a call in mid-January telling him he was successful.

“I was ecstatic when they called,” said Wong. “I just thought this was a great fit for me, and I’m so honoured to be able to run with the Paralympic torch.”

Norman isn’t sure that Colvin and his younger brother Kade, 3, realize the significance of dad running with the torch, but they will once they see the $400 investment Norman is putting into the relay.

“Yes, I’m buying my torch, and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it, but when the kids ask, I can tell them why it’s in the house,” said Norman.

Norman has tickets for the opening ceremonies of the Paralympics, and he hopes to attend some sledge hockey games as well. Because Norman works downtown, he had a close-up view of the Olympic cauldron.

“It was amazing to see how the city came alive during the Olympics,” said Norman. “I had the opportunity to see some women’s hockey and some speedskating, and there was just a great energy there.”

Wong hopes that energy translates to the Paralympics that run until March 21.

“I think people will really embrace the Paralympics because there are so many stories about the athletes’ courage and inspiration.

“I think that all the athletes are amazing people as human beings. It’s this type of positive human spirit in overcoming physical adversity that I want to share this with my son someday.

“Just because one may be different in some way shape or form, greatness is still possible if one puts in the passion and hard work. This is evident with all the Paralympians of 2010.”

Reprinted with permission from Burnaby Now, March 13, 2010

Photo courtesy of Troy Landreville/The Times

The Burnaby school district launched North America’s first online American Sign Language course last month.

“It’s about access, it’s about bridging cultures, all cultures of the world,” said Karen Taylor, the administrator for the Provincial Outreach Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The comments came as Taylor was speaking and signing to the trustees and district staff at the Feb. 23 school board meeting.

The new course means deaf and hard-of-hearing students can get equal access to a language their hearing counterparts can, Taylor said.”I believe it’s going to be a wonderful success, not only for the district but also for the province,” she said.

Any B.C. student can take the course and get credits for a second language. Adults and international students can also sign up. The course could be useful for anyone who needs to learn American Sign Language, including special-education assistants or bank employees, for example. American Sign Language is the third most commonly used language in North America.

There are instructor videos, entirely in American Sign Language, that teach students signing and finger spelling. There are also live video chats so students can get help from an instructor or practice with each other on split screens. The course instructor, Jo-Anne Robinson, connects and signs with students around the province via webcam, Skype or IChat.

“Nobody else is doing that,” Taylor said. “It’s cutting edge.”

Students can go at their own pace, but the course must be completed in 10 months.

The course is free, but there is a $100 deposit for materials. International students pay $730 for the course.

Thanks to the Family Network for Deaf Children for forwarding the information of the online ASL courses to us. Details about these courses from BC Provincial Outreach Program for Deaf and Hard of hearing Students is also posted at http://www.fndc.ca.

To register, please first go to Burnaby Online Website.

Click on ‘Courses’, look under ‘Modern Languages’, then click on ‘Intro ASL 11’ to read the course descriptions for info about how a student is assessed throughout the course as well as prerequisites.

When a student is ready to register, click on ‘Register Now’

Reprinted with permission from Burnaby Now, March 17, 2010