North Country Center for Independence
Question of the Month
Question: "How do I talk on the telephone with a deaf person?"
There are now two main ways that people who are deaf can use a telephone to make or receive calls ... (other than installing an amplifier for people who are "hard of hearing").
The older and still most common method is to use a TDD (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf). This incorporates a typewriter-like keyboard, a place to attach a standard receiver, and a printout of what is typed and received. The deaf person who has a TDD simply dials the number he or she wants to call, attaches the handset to the TDD, and types what he or she wants to say. If the person being called has a TDD also, they type back what they want to say and the words appear on the screen. Most TDDs can also provide a paper printout.
Many deaf people own a TDD, but most of the people they call or who want to call them do not. That is where a relay service like the New York Relay Service comes in. This is a free service where an operator at a central location uses a TDD to relay the hearing person's words to the deaf person's TDD, and speaks the deaf person's typing to the hearing caller. To call someone with a TDD, start by dialing 800-421-1220. The operator will ask for the number you are calling and instruct you on how to proceed. Speak directly to the person you are calling. The operator will relay your words exactly, and speak to you what the deaf person says back.
The newest solution for deaf callers is video relay. The deaf person has a TV and camera setup at home, from a service like Sorenson Communications. When they make or receive calls, they use Sign Language into the camera, the operator interprets in voice to the person being called, and then uses Sign Language to interpret back to the deaf person who is watching on the TV screen. For the hearing person, the experience is similar to the TDD Relay, but for the deaf person, it may be more accurate, since it uses their "native language", American Sign Language, rather than written English.
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© 2008, North Country Center
for Independence, Ltd.
Updated: 4 / 21 / 08
