Accessibility for Deaf/HOH

Making life accessible for the deaf and hard of hearing often requires technology. Most technologies have been around a long time, and new technologies continue to emerge. Some technologies are inexpensive, and others are not.

Assistive Listening Devices

Assistive Listening Devices - Aid for Hard of Hearing People
Can't hear an alarm clock or a doorbell? Try an assistive listening device.

Audio Frequency Induction Loops
Guest article on audio frequency induction loops, which help hard of hearing people to hear in rooms.

Captioning

Captioning is one of the most important, if not the most important, technologies benefiting deaf and hard of hearing people. Deaf and hard of hearing children and teenagers can benefit educationally from the Described and Captioned Media Program, which makes educational captioned media available. Hearing children can benefit educationally from captioning too.

You can learn about the history of closed captioning and my own contribution to captioning history. If you are a hearing person who wants to become a captioner, you can learn about resources for becoming a captioner.

If you like going to see plays at community colleges or high schools and other places that do not have interpreters, there is a low-cost method for providing captioning.

Captioning is also possible on the internet, through a variety of web video captioning technologies. New technologies come along all the time! In 2009, a bill, HR 3101, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2009, was introduced in Congress to extend captioning requirements from regular television to the Internet.

Movie theaters near you may be using the rear window caption display system, which I have tried. I did not like it the first time, but the second time was a more positive experience.

Hearing Dogs

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf
Hearing dog resources on the Internet. About hearing dogs, how to get one, raising hearing dogs, and more.

Interpreting

Interpreting for the Deaf
About.com has several articles on interpreting for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Finding an Interpreter
Resources for finding a sign language interpreter.

Legal Rights

Deaf People at Doctors, Dentists, and Hospitals
The legal background, caveats, and resources relative to getting an interpreter for a medical appointment or hospital situation.

Legal Rights
Legal rights for deaf and hard of hearing people, from the Americans with Disabilities Act to captioning. A student also wrote a paper on legal rights for deaf and hard of hearing, which was published by About.com.

Police Mistreatment of Deaf
A deaf man believed his ADA rights were violated when he was arrested.

Relay Services

Internet Relay Services
Many text and video relay services are available over the Internet.

Speech to Text Transcription

Breaking Down Laws Applicable to CART
Guest article examining existing disability laws and how they apply to Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART).

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART)
A possible alternative to using an interpreter, for certain situations.

TypeWell
TypeWell is an option for people who want something other than word for word verbatim transcription.

Miscellaneous Technology

Accessibility - Making the Home Accessible
How can deaf/hard of hearing people make their homes accessible?

Technology for Deafblind People
What technologies are available to help deafblind people access information and communicate? That's the question answered by this FAQ page.

TTYs
TTYs, a basic communications necessity for deaf and severely hard of hearing people. About.com also has an article on Robert Weitbrecht, the inventor of the TTY.

Cell Phones and Tablets
New cell phones and tablet PCs come out all the time. On this page, About.com readers post reviews of new cell phones and tablets, with an eye to accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing people.