MODERN GADGETS OFFER BRIDGE TO DEAF COMMUNITY.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer

NORTHRIDGE -- Listen closely to what Laura McManus and Jonathan Isenberg are typing into their cell phones or Sidekicks, and you'll hear the sound of friendship.

They arrange to meet up for lunch or to vent about classes. They discuss the personal and the mundane, their thumbs flying with youthful agility across the gadgets' tiny keys.

For McManus, who is deaf, and Isenberg, who isn't, theirs is a friendship no different from any other at California State University, Northridge. But it's another example of how technology has brought two communities together -- faster.

``It's hard to be friends with someone you can't talk to but want to get to know, but Instant Messenger gives you that ability,'' said Isenberg, who met McManus several semesters ago in one of their classes.

``It's bridging together two cultures.''

At CSUN, one of two institutions in the nation that offer a comprehensive undergraduate program in deaf studies, experts say technological gadgets are contributing to some changing social dynamics for the deaf and hard of hearing.

``Deaf people still participate in events sponsored by local and state associations, religious groups, sports clubs and teen or senior citizens programs, for example,'' said Roslyn Rosen, director for the CSUN-based National Center on Deafness.

Members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities -- with greater access to telecommunications, captioned media and transportation -- tend to be less dependent on a single gathering place and more attracted to dinner clubs and bridge, poker or biking groups, she said.

``The need for social belonging is still very much evident, but different nowadays with many more available choices,'' she said.

McManus, president of the Deaf CSUNians, and Darren Hause, a member of the organization, say they can remember when they relied on text telephones and relay service to meet with friends.

While both services are still widely used, they seem old to younger generations, who are now using video relays to see one another.

``It's more accessible now to be in contact with old friends,'' said McManus, a 22-year-old recreation administration major. ``Instead of coming to the clubs to meet, we arrange to meet at Starbucks.''

But both McManus and Hause say that while instant messaging and e-mail have enhanced the way they communicate, they want to deflect any notion that the technology is a form of help.

And they hope that as telecommunications expand, it will serve to strengthen rather than diffuse their clubs and organizations.

``I think it's important to continue to have deaf communities, to have get-togethers for the future,'' McManus said. ``We want to expand our roles, become role models without relying on technology.''

``We have our own culture, our own identity,'' said Hause, a 19-year-old political science major. ``We want to preserve our deafness.''

American sign language has been able to adapt to the techno-babble and is in no danger of disappearing, Rosen said. The deaf studies program grew to more than 300 students this semester, proof that there's a desire to learn about the deaf culture and language.

``As long as deaf people have eyes and use sign language, they will want to be within a signing community, and with community comes culture and language,'' Rosen said.

``It will never dissipate. On the contrary, there are oftentimes deaf children who have never met another deaf person until they go to school or are enrolled in the upper grades. Once they do, they absorb sign language and culture like thirsty sponges, expanding their knowledge, social skills and communication options.''

Isenberg said that by meeting McManus, he was encouraged to take a sign-language class.

``I'm not very good,'' Isenberg said. ``But in the beginning, I used to write everything down on a piece of paper. Now, we use Instant Messenger, and I sign a little.''

``He knows more than he thinks,'' McManus said.

Rosen said it wasn't too long ago when deaf and hard-of-hearing teens and young people experienced a different set of growing pains.

``In the past, if a deaf teen wanted to date a girl, he had to ask his parents to make the call to the girl's parents to do the asking,'' she said. ``But now, the guy can just directly e-mail, instant message, page or dial the gal via video relay, just like any other teen, to discuss the date and any other subjects to their hearts' content.

``Now, they can tie up the Internet as long as anyone else.''

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Jonathan Isenberg often sends text messages back and forth with his friend Laura McManus, who is deaf. They attend CSUN.

Photo illustration by John McCoy/Staff Photographer