OXNARD : Mute Woman Waits for New Placement
Oxnard shelter officials seeking to identify a mysterious woman who communicates only in sign language said they have referred her to a Ventura home for the developmentally disabled.
The woman needs more supervision than the shelter can provide, said Carol Roberg, associate director of the Women’s Lighthouse shelter.
The Women’s Lighthouse took the young Latina in after Port Hueneme police found her dancing on a Ventura Road traffic island late last month.
The woman was unable to speak and appeared to be deaf, communicating in hand signs that belonged to no established language for the deaf, according to a battery of interpreters who worked with her for several days.
Shelter officials eventually learned her name was Lucy, but could not find out where she belonged.
Then, when a popped balloon caused the woman to jump, shelter officials ordered electronic audiology tests that found her to have perfect hearing.
On Oct. 18, shelter officials turned her over to the Ventura County Mental Health Department for evaluation.
A doctor there ruled that she may be mildly mentally retarded and, while she hears, her brain may not be able to process the sounds.
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