May 4, 2005
Robyn Russo , Times Staff
They lined the sidewalks, waiting for news. And as they heard reports that Thomas Simich Jr. had shot and killed his sister and brother-in-law, curious neighbors tried to piece together information about the family.
Was it that quiet, older couple? They were deaf, weren’t they? They always seemed nice, people said, but no one could remember much about them. Even though many residents milling around the scene said Freedom is a safe, tight-knit town where everyone knows everyone else, it seemed no one really knew the Simich family.
“We knew them, but only to wave ‘Hi,’ ” said Bob Golletti, who lives across the street at 236 Fifth Ave. and has known the family since 1975.
Since the Simich family is deaf and does not speak, neighbors said the family kept to themselves, somewhat cut off from other residents. Professionals who work with the deaf and hearing-impaired say that such language barriers can leave the deaf feeling isolated.
Don Rhoten, superintendent for the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh, which Thomas Simich Jr. attended, said that students often choose to enroll in the school because they are lonely in public schools.
“Many of our students enroll in middle school years because they feel isolated in their usual schools,” Rhoten said. “We get kids from all over the state. They were just dying for some social interaction. And they thrive here.”
Rhoten said that while he wasn’t working at the school when Simich attended, he doesn’t think frustrations or isolation would be the main impetus for his actions. Rhoten said School for the Deaf students usually adjust well to life in a mainly hearing world after they graduate.
Rhoten said he cautions people against connecting the Simich family’s deafness with Monday’s shootings.
“You hear about these situations every day on the news, and most of the time, it’s a hearing family,” Rhoten said. “But it’s a tragedy, and it’s a tragedy whether it is deaf family or a hearing family.”
Dianne Gallagher, director of the Center for Hearing and Deaf Services in Pittsburgh, said language barriers can become especially problematic in such emergency situations. Her organization located one of their certified interpreters for Rochester police Monday evening so Simich could give a statement.
“In an emergency situation, translating becomes a very big responsibility,” Gallagher said. “We try to send the most skilled person we can because they are more likely to understand a deaf person in the throes of an emergency.”
Gallagher said the National Association of the Deaf and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf both offer certification, although the organizations are bringing their certification programs together. Gallagher said her organization relies mainly on free-lance interpreters and sends out approximately 80 interpreters a month.
Robyn Russo can be reached online at rrusso@timesonline.com.