Miriam (Scharfman) Zadek
“Small World”!
Miriam is hearing but her two sisters are deaf. Sylvia, and Shirley. Sylvia is married to Carl Bravin and the parents of Phil and Sherry Bravin, and Shirley is the mother of Malcolm and Harvey Grossinger and is married to Walter Zupka.
Miriam came to light recently when the Baltimore Sun newspaper in Maryland reported that to celebrate the Hearing and Speech Agency’s 75th anniversary, Loyola Collage and the Miriam Zadek Family Education program were sponsoring a symposium for professionals in the field and families and guardians of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing. The symposium was held at Loyola’s graduate school in Timonium, MD.
Miriam, a retired social worker and employee of the agency, grew up in New York City with deaf older and younger sisters. “Deafness had a profound effect on my family,” says Zadek, “and given that background, this symposium is simply an effort to get professionals and parents on the same page.”
Her Childhood
“My mother was hearing and my father was really quite “hard of hearing”, Miriam shares when asked about her upbringing, “he lost his hearing when he contracted the flu in 1918. His loss increased as he got older.”
“We were raised in a Conservative Jewish home and my main affiliation to Judaism was through the Zionist movement. My mother was a strict oralist, feeling that lip reading was the way to teach deaf children, but she did not object when Sylvia and Shirley signed with their friends. However, it was understood that I was to speak with them. Luckily, they are both incredible lip readers, which helped. However, I think a lot was lost because of the lack of signing…”
Signing In Adulthood!
“I didn’t learn any sign language until I was an adult, and my first teacher commented on how `deaf’ I was in so many of my mannerisms. Of course, that was not surprising. I have four children and eleven grandchildren, all of whom are hearing. I maintain close relationships with my deaf family – by email and visits.
“My sisters went to Lexington. I am a graduate of Barnard College, and received a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. I have been associated with The Hearing and Speech Agency, in Baltimore, for the past 26 years. I was Director of Social Work, for 20 years, prior to retirement.”
“I founded the Centralized Interpreter Referral Service, at the agency, developed the plan and raised the money for the initiation of the program. It is now 15 years old. I was Acting Director of the agency immediately prior to retirement and was instrumental in hiring the first full time deaf professional who now runs a successful sign language teaching program for the agency. I am now on the Board of the agency, serving as co-chair of their Development Committee.
“The Miriam Zadek Family Education program was established in my honor by my husband, family and friends. We make annual contributions to the Fund to increase the endowment so that programs will be maintained in perpetuity. The mission is to provide an annual forum where both parents and professionals can participate in a learning and sharing experience, for the best decisions are those made with knowledgeable parents and professionals working from a common knowledge base.
“It became a wish of mine over the years as I worked with parents in helping them develop advocacy skills and bring these skills into play in the service of their children. The program is based at The Hearing and Speech Agency, though the meetings are held at larger venues.
“My major affiliation with the Jewish community is through educational programs. I am currently enrolled in the Melton Course, an adult education program in Judaism. I also participate in interdenominational , interfaith educational programs.”
