Transcript Deaf Awareness and Sensitive Training

Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Sensitivity Training for
9-1-1 Personnel
Prepared by the Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
(DHHS)
of the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
Services/Division for Rehabilitation Services, Austin
Presented by:
Why are we here?
Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Sensitivity Training
for 9-1-1 Personnel
Demographics
2.3% are
members of
the Deaf
Community
6.5 % are Hard
of Hearing or
Late Deafened
8.8 % of
general
population
has hearing
loss
Growing Population with
Hearing Loss
Aging population
Noise pollution
Illness and Injury
Life Expectancy
Fastest Growing Disability Group
ADA
 Americans with Disabilities Act
 Title II, Section 35.162
 telephone
emergency services shall
provide direct access to individuals who
use TTY’s and computer modems ...
Parts of the ADA
• Employment
• Any entity employing 15 or more persons
• State and local government
• Public accommodations
• Telecommunications
• Miscellaneous
Which ADA Title covers 9-1-1?
• Only 9-1-1 employees who have a
disability
• State and local government – that is
9-1-1
• N/A
• N/A
• Cannot retaliate
Hearing Loss Categories
Presbycusis
Hard of
Hearing
Late
Deafened
Deaf
Leading Indicators to English Proficiency
for Persons who are Deaf
Age of
Onset
Parental
Involvement
Age of
Identification
English
proficiency
Level of
Intelligence
Severity of
Loss
Initiation of
Educational
Intervention
Initiation of
Amplification
Intervention
Why it might be difficult to learn English,
especially if you don’t hear it:
The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
Since there is no time like the present; he thought it was
time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
After a number of injections my jaw finally got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting, I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Do you know any signs or gestures?
How about…..
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
baseball
bowling
swimming
baby
drink
eat
no
yes
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cry
talk
write
walk
brush teeth
brush hair
bath
hot
cold
Communication Methods
 Sign Language: Linguistic research has shown many sign
languages (American Sign Language is one) have their own
grammatical structures, syntax, rules, etc., like spoken
languages.
 Universality: Sign languages are not universal. Like spoken
languages, sign languages around the world are entirely
different. ASL is primarily used in America and Canada.
However, fluent sign language users do have advantages over
spoken languages users. The monolingual signer can
communicate with other foreign signers much easier, using
gestures, body language and pictorial expressions, than
monolingual (spoken) persons in a foreign country.
 American Sign Language (ASL): ASL is not an abbreviated
form of English nor is it a simplified version. It is the native
language most persons who are deaf in America use.
Communication Methods (continuation):

Home Signs: In some very rural areas, deaf children
and their family members use home signs when they
are not exposed to any other people who are deaf or
the Deaf community.
 Oral/Aural:
 Oral is where the child is taught to use their speech and speech-reading
abilities. Age of onset, identification/amplification onset, severity of loss
all play an important role in the level of success.
 Speech-reading or lip-reading is an innate ability. A person (deaf or
hearing) is either born with the ability to do so or is not born with the
ability to do so. You can improve the skill for someone with the innate
ability but you cannot teach someone born without it.
Sign Systems: a combination of signs used in English
word order, which sign the word and not the meaning used mostly in educational settings to help improve
English proficiency
Communication Methods (continuation):
 Oftentimes, many years of trying to teach (improve) the ability
passes before it is realized that the child will not succeed with the
chosen method.
Much information can be lost during these
formative years.
 The most proficient of speech-readers can only catch about 25% of
a known topic/conversation. This lessens to about 15% when the
topic of conversation is unknown as the context on which to base
one’s guesses is lowered. Many English sounds look alike on the lips
and many words look alike on the lips. The anatomy of the speaker
and the environment influence the “read-ability” - thin lips are
difficult to read, as are the lips of someone with a full
beard/moustache. It is most difficult to read some one who is
writing on a blackboard (school settings) and extremely difficult to
follow the subject matter on films that have voice-overs (speaker is
not presented on the screen) or includes animation.

Aural is where the child is taught to use what residual hearing
(amplified or not) they may have to their best benefit. Some schools
advertise that they “teach deaf children to hear.”
Communicating with
Individuals who are
Hard of Hearing/Oral Deaf
Slow down
Don’t yell
This distorts your words, making it difficult for those who are trying to lip-read
Don’t repeat the same statement over and over
Rephrase the statement
Sometimes more words help capture what you are saying
If you must spell say:
“B” as in Baseball
“P” as in Paul
Separate numbers that sound similar
For example 50 and 15, or 50 and 60
for 50 and 15 say five/zero and one/five
Be patient
The Manual Alphabet
-one of the few
commonalties in the numerous sign systems in use in
America
Practice fingerspelling your name.
What is Deaf Culture?
Identity
Pride
Emotional
Support
Deaf
Culture
Residential
Schools
Folklore
Deaf Parents/
Families
Cultural Behaviors - Deaf/Hearing
* Getting Attention
* Party
*Flickering of lights or
stomping on wooden floor
vs calling, “Hey”
*Staying in the kitchen
where there is more
lighting vs the living
room
* Introductions
*Long introductions with
* Pointing
* Considered necessary
questions vs “Nice to
meet you”
vs considered rude
Who Invented the
Telephone and Why?
 Alexander Graham Bell
 He was trying to help his
wife, who was deaf, obtain
a better life through an
electronic
amplification
device.
 In 1876, his creativity
resulted in something she
and millions of individuals
who were deaf or hard of
hearing could not use for
almost 100 years.
1904
1927
1963
Early 1970’s
Mid/Late 70’s
1980’s - 1990’s
TTY Users
Persons who are deaf, pre-lingually
Persons who are deaf, post-lingually
Persons who are hard of hearing
Persons who are deafened as an adult
Persons who are speech impaired
Others???
TTY Related Words/Definitions
Relay
Service
Direct
Access
• Telephone relay service allowing persons who have
a TTY to call persons who do not and vice-versa
• The ability to directly receive a call with out third
party services
• Code used by TTYs
Baudot
ASCII
• American Standard Code of Information Interchange
• Code used by computers and facsimile machines
Devices used by persons who
are deaf/hard of hearing:
 Telephones:




TTY
Amplified phone
Pay Phone with TTY
Pay Phone w/amplifier
● Hearing aids, cochlear
implants, digital hearing aids,
assistive listening devices
 Pager
Digital
Text
Wireless 2-way
Other devices to assist persons who
are deaf/hard of hearing function in
their daily lives:
B

NN
Types of TTYs
Acoustic
• Telephone receiver must rest in TTY coupler
Direct Connect
• Telephone line plugs into TTY and separate
phone implement is not necessary – “dial” from
keyboard
Acoustic/Direct Connect
• Some have either/or capabilities
What’s that sound?
Types of TTY Calls
 Traditional
 VCO (Voice Carry Over)
 HCO (Hearing Carry Over)
 TTY via relay service
 VCO via relay service
 HCO via relay service
Types of TTY Calls
 TRADITIONAL
TTY
TTY
Types of TTY Calls
 VCO (Voice Carry Over)
 User
has intelligible speech and prefers to
speak instead of type to you.
faster than traditional TTY call;
 popular with persons who are late-deafened
and hard of hearing - typing speed is slow
due to age/arthritis and/or never using a
keyboard previously.

VCO Phone
Types of TTY Calls
 HCO (Hearing Carry Over)
 Users
are speech-impaired (cerebral palsy,
stroke victims, etc.)
faster than traditional TTY call;
 they listen to your voice and they type to you.

Types of TTY Calls
 Traditional via relay service
 VCO via relay service
 HCO via relay service
Is this call a TTY/TDD call?
 Electronic tones
 does not sound like a fax but is often confused and
hung-up on or transferred to fax machine
 Silence (open line)
 older machines and older users do not “key-in” to
alert you the call is from a TTY/TDD
 Synthesized voice announcement
 many newer machines have this option (will not be
recognized by your PSAP and TDD Challenge button is required to
activate)
 Relay agent
 no need to activate the TDD Challenge button or
get your TTY/TDD
A few TTY Abbreviations
 GA - go ahead
 MSG - message
 SK - stop keying
 CUD - could
 GA to SK - I’m ready
 B4 - before




to hang up, are you?
SKSK - hanging up
Q - Question mark
xxx - error
CUL - see you later
 U - you
 Pls - please
 NUM - number
 R - are
 Many, many others
Relay service
mandated by
ADA under Title
IV, however,
Relay Texas
opened prior to
ADA mandate
Enables person
with TTY to call
person/business
who does not
and vice-versa
7-1-1
Free service
that is available
24 hours a day,
365 days a year
Technology and Relay Updates
 IP Relay Service

Problems?

Internet based, so ANI/ALI may not be present if the person is not in
compliance with FCC regulations. Providers are nationwide and your
relay agent may be several states away and unfamiliar with
regional/slang terms. Previously, incoming calls could not be received by
IP Relay users, they now can.
 Video Relay Service

Problems?

Although communication is much smoother and quicker because the
person is using their primary language with which to communicate, the
same problems may be present as it is Internet based.
 Captioned Phone Relay Service

This phone/service uses voice recognition software. When the caller dials a
number, the phone automatically routes the call first through a CapTel
transcription center. There, everything you say is restated by a third party, or
communication assistant, (since software must learn to understand the
speaker) which in turn becomes text for the caller. In the case of CapTel
phones, when a CapTel phone dials 9-1-1, it automatically becomes a VCO
phone and bypasses the CapTel transcription center. You will handle this as
a VCO call.
Relay Protocol
Immediately verify address and phone
number with the caller
Speak in “first-party” language
Don’t solicit opinion or comment from the
agent, operator, or communication assistant
Do handle the call just as you would any
other but add a “GA” or “SK” at the end
TTY-ASL Translations
 mom eat pills wake no
 knife cut arm blood blood
 bad man hurt head me
 fire house near lake baby inside
 bridge old here friend hole fall stuck him
 head hot weak me sick pls help
The TTY Call
 Adjust Your Language
 Exercise
One
 Keep an open mind when reading the
message
 Exercise
Two
Remember:
Ask your questions one at a time!
Wrap Up…..
 Questions
 Post-Test
 Evaluation