Accessibility for people with hearing
loss means being able to hear and understand communication
and an audio signal in whatever form it takes: face to face
- one on one and in groups; over the telephone; public address
announcements; recorded sound - TV, radio, movies, internet
based; amplified sound – theater, public presentations;
alerting and emergency notifications.
Most people with hearing loss use spoken language, and whatever
residual hearing they have with hearing aids, cochlear implants,
and other assistive technology. They do not use sign language
and therefore sign language interpreters are not appropriate
accessibility accommodations for them. There are laws that
require that people with hearing loss have access to public,
private, federal, state and local government programs and
services and telecommunications services and products. Examples
of ways to provide accessibility for people with hearing
loss include: assistive listening device, (FM, Infrared,
Audioloop), captioning, CART (computer assisted real time
transcription), hearing dogs, communication strategies,
visual and tactile alarms, oral interpreters, Cued speech
transliteration, volume control phones and telecommunications
relay services- particularly captioned telephone.
Internet Access
May 17, 2010
Hot News on Captioned Movies By Cheryl Heppner, 5/10/10
On May 7, 2010, the Media Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Memorandum Opinion and Order which could greatly improve access to movie downloads for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The FCC opinion and order is in response to a request filed nearly a year ago by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which wanted a waiver of FCC rules to protect “early-release” films from copying by home viewers. The term “early release” generally refers to movies made available for home viewing within weeks after they are released in theaters.
The FCC’s decision aims to give the companies who belong to the MPAA, and the partner companies that provide their movies for home viewing, a limited waiver to disable audio-visual outputs. One of the FCC’s conditions in allowing this waiver is that individuals with hearing disabilities must be able to access closed captioning. Our friends who are blind or visually impaired would also benefit from the FCC’s encouragement that the set-top devices used to access these early-release movies be able to receive video description.
Here is the specific language from the Memorandum Opinion and Order:
16. Closed Captioning and Video Description.
The American Association of People with Disabilities favors MPAA’s plan to offer high-definition films before the general in-home viewing release date and asserts it will serve our nation’s disabled citizens by increasing the entertainment options available in the home.(58)
The National Association of the Deaf argues that granting the requested Waiver can serve a vital role to our nation’s deaf and blind citizens if the new product offerings include closed
captioning and video description, as less than 1 percent of films shown in movie theaters are shown with captions. (59)
We agree that MPAA’s proposed service may provide a benefit to viewers with disabilities, particularly given that video-on-demand services must be offered with closed captions.(60) We condition grant of this waiver on the waiver holder’s providing consumer education about how individuals with hearing disabilities can access closed captioning when using the proposed service.
We further encourage MVPDs that take advantage of the waiver to ensure that the set-top devices used to access this new service are able to pass through video description when provided as part of the programming stream. We will monitor the developments in this area, and we encourage the public to aid us in this effort.
Reprinted with permission. Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org; 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax.
November 20, 2009
Google Announces Automatic Captions on YouTube
Every minute of every day, 20 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube. It’s hard to imagine so much uncaptioned video all in one place.
On November 19, Brenda Battat, executive director of Hearing Loss Association, and Lise Hamlin, director of public policy & state development were invited to attend the official announcement by Google and YouTube of the launching of innovative software that will make more captioning available via YouTube. Thanks to this new software, whenever a video is uploaded to YouTube, the video owner now has an option to easily add captions. The software automatically creates time-coded captions for the text of the audio quickly, easily and for free. Those captions add value to videos: videos with captions are searchable by text. That’s good not just for people with hearing loss, it’s good for anyone who wants their video to be found on Internet.
Google has also found a way for viewers to get captions on videos already uploaded to YouTube. A viewer will be able to click on a key that says “transcribe audio.” That command will add captions to videos they want to see when they want to see it. This clever technique provides one answer to the question, how anyone possibly caption every video on YouTube? It’s all done by machine. It uses voice recognition technology to automatically caption, or “auto-caption” the video.
Google and YouTube are in the “beta testing” phase with 13 educational partners. Because viewer-added captioning relies on speech recognition technology, the captions are not yet perfect. In fact, Google admitted to a 20% error rate, far below the 2% error rate we have come to expect from good caption writers on broadcast television. YouTube videos that have music or noise or environmental sounds in the background will be even more problematic for accurate automatic captions.
Still, it’s a huge leap forward for captioning on the Internet. According to Brenda Battat, executive director of Hearing Loss Association, “This is unprecedented because of the scale, it’s been done without mandates, and it’s free.”
The passion of the Google team was evident at the event in Washington DC on November 13. Ken Harrenstien, the software engineer who helped develop the automatic captioning system and who is deaf, indicated the technology has never been applied on such a large scale. “This is some thing that I have dreamt of for many years,” Mr. Harrenstien said at the event.
Someday, we do hope to see voice recognition software create more accurate captions. When the next American Idol video goes viral, we’d love to see the captioned version right from the start. In the meantime, the fact that Google and YouTube have put their weight behind captioning is a terrific development. We expect to see more and more video creators and producers understanding the value of searchable text captions that we can all enjoy.
Full Accessibility for People with Hearing Loss: Are We
There Yet?
November 10, 2009
Next year, 2010, we will reach the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), the civil rights law for people with disabilities. It’s time
to ask: are the barriers gone, have we reached full accessibility for all people all
the time? The answer: I don’t think so.
One of the problems in reaching for full accessibility for people with
hearing loss is that we are not one monolithic group: there is no one easy
answer, no one accommodation that suits us all. It is time to make it clear we
need to ensure full access for all. It is time for the following of best practices
to become the norm. Some of these go beyond current federal law.
Best Practices
These Best Practices are for individuals or organizations advocating for greater
accessibility, or for agencies, businesses and organizations reaching out to the
community to ensure participation by greater numbers of people with hearing
loss in their events and meetings. These Best Practices are based on the principle
that whenever and wherever information is provided orally, it should also be
accessible to the widest audience possible.
Whether or not a public address system is used, at a minimum, CART
(Communication Access Real-Time Translation), Assistive Listening
Devices (ALDs) and sign language interpreters must be provided.
In situations where a specific accommodation has been requested by an
individual, the individual’s request should be honored.
A dedicated stream of funding should be established to provide any and
all accommodations and services needed.
Staff must be trained so they will have a basic understanding of providing
accommodations:
the various accommodations available
how and where to make requests to put the accommodations in place
for both technology and services
how to ensure proper set-up for the best use of the technology and services
how to ensure that technology is maintained in good working order
When an agency provides direct services to people who are hard of hearing
or deaf, some or all of the staff must have a clear understanding of current
technology used and issues faced by people who are hard of hearing who
use their voice and residual hearing. This is in addition to staff fluent in sign
language who can communicate directly with people who use sign language.
When promoting events, it should be clear on all publicity that all of these
accommodations will be used and available to attendees.
Signage must be provided at the event indicating the type of communication
access in place.
HLAA Attends the First Meeting of the FCC’s CSRIC
December 11, 2009
On Monday, December 7, 2009, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) brought together the 55 members of the newly chartered Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and FCC Commissioners Michael J. Copps, Robert M. McDowell and Mignon Clyburn attended and provided opening remarks at this first meeting.
Operating under the auspices of the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the CSRIC’s purpose is to provide recommendations to the FCC to ensure optimal security, reliability, and interoperability of communications systems, including public safety, telecommunications, and media communications. To learn more about the CSRIC, visit
http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/advisory/csric.
HLAA Joins the Federal Communications Commission’s CSRIC
November 1, 2009
HLAA has been invited to join the Federal Communication Commissions’ (FCC) newly forming Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC). The Public Notice announcing your appointment to the Council was released October 26. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2297A1.doc. The first meeting of the CSRIC will be on Monday, December 7, 2009 at FCC headquarters in Washington, DC.
Smithsonian Seeks Input on Access
November 1, 2009
HLAA joined other advocates in a wide ranging discussion regarding how to have greater access to audible presentations at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art on October 19. Topics discussed included how to provide access to exhibit videos, IMAX films, art work and public program films. Joe Gordon, Chair of the HLAA-New York State Caption Committee was also present at this meeting.
NCD Seeks Input on Emerging Issues and Trends - September 15, 2009 Deadline to Respond
August 23, 2009
The National Council on Disability (NCD) is gathering public input for a study of emerging issues and trends affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Information gathered will be used in the development of NCD's next annual progress report to the President and Congress, "National Disability Policy: A Progress Report," which is required by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The purpose of this public consultation is to gather input to inform NCD's assessment of the status of the nation in achieving policies that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, and empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.
If you would like to participate, the entire document and information on how to respond is available at:http://snipurl.com/orn7q
Please send your responses to NCD by September 15, 2009.
Thanks to Fairfax County Disability Planning & Development & NVRC News: Distributed 2009 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; http://www.nvrc.org.
Iowa 9-1-1 Call Center First in Nation to Successfully Trial 9-1-1 Text Messaging August 23, 2009
Black Hawk County First 9-1-1 Call Center to Participate in Landmark Effort Enabling Speech and Hearing Impaired Citizens to Communicate Directly With 9-1-1 for Help; Service to go live this July
Waterloo, IOWA — The Black Hawk County Iowa 9-1-1 Service Board today announced that the Black Hawk Consolidated Public Safety Communications Center has become the first 9-1-1 Call Center in the country to successfully receive text messages sent directly to 9-1-1. This groundbreaking effort allows those with speech and hearing impairments to use text messaging to communicate directly with a 9-1-1 operator in an emergency. A broad team of communications companies including i wireless, Intrado Inc., Positron Public Safety and RACOM Corporation were involved in this effort. [Read more]
Hearing Loss Petition to the President on Healthcare a Huge Success August 7, 2009
Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) recently posted a call for action to the community: we asked you to sign on to a letter to be sent to President Obama, requesting that coverage of hearing healthcare be included as part of the White House agenda and healthcare reform. We have been overwhelmed with responses: in just one month, between July 9 and August 4, 4,682 people signed onto the letter to the President.
Clearly, hearing healthcare is a hot button issue for our community, a group who are often forgotten when it comes time to reform healthcare. HLAA is here to make your needs known to this administration to make hearing loss awareness a priority for in healthcare reform and policy in the coming years.
We promised the people who signed on to the letter that we would deliver the letter and signatures to the White House and deliver it we did. We sent original letter and a document of the 4,682 signatures in a file that is 312 pages long. We have news from the White House that the document has been received and passed along to the White House team working on healthcare reform. The time you took to sign on to this letter helps us make it clear to the White House that hearing healthcare is an important issue for all Americans.
Thank you to those who signed on!
Citizen Corps News: FEMA Administrator Releases Preparedness Video Message August 7, 2009
Note from HLAA: The FEMA website videos are available with captions. Click on the "cc" on the video window task bar for the fema.gov and YouTube videos. The Facebook video is not captioned, but does make the script from the video available on the site.
Release Date: August 4, 2009
Release Number: HQ-09-094a
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today released a Web video message highlighting the need for the public to be prepared for any emergency.
"Our entire emergency management team has a role to play when it comes to preparing for and responding to the next disaster," said Administrator Fugate. "One of the most important parts of that team is the public. The more prepared the public is now, by getting an emergency response kit, making an emergency action plan, and getting a skill, like CPR, the stronger our emergency response team will be."
The Administrator's video can be found on the following websites:
Tips on how to be prepared, including how to make an emergency plan, and what should be in an emergency response kit, can be found at www.ready.gov.
Disclaimer: FEMA is providing the following links to FEMA's presence on other third party sites for your reference. FEMA does not endorse any non-government Websites, companies or applications.
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
This news story and other Community Preparedness news, including Citizen Corps Bulletins, can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov/.
Sincerely,
The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Community Preparedness Division
U.S .Department of Justice Releases Statement by the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Addressing Civil Rights in the Response to H1N1 Influenza May 19, 2009
As we respond to H1N1 influenza, it is important to remain vigilant in ensuring civil rights compliance. Access to accurate emergency and health information is critical to providing all people with the ability to make informed decisions and protect themselves, their families, and the community at large. In addition, science and the law must lead our efforts to ensure that unfounded fear and/or prejudice do not limit access to housing, education, benefits, services, employment, and information on account of race, color, national origin, disability, or other protected status.
March 22, 2010
AAPR Calls on DOT to Require Subtitles On All Airline Carriers
Hearing Loss Association of America has been advocating for visual access to air travel information for a very long time. We have filed comments with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and held meetings in concert with other consumer organizations urging DOT to mandate as visual display of audible information at the gates and other areas, as well as providing captions for in-flight videos. DOT requires that captioning be available on all safety and information related videos, but still does not have a mandate for in-flight entertainment, such as movies or other videos provided.
Now we have a new ally. The Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR) is calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to require commercial air carriers to provide closed-caption or subtitles on all in-flight entertainment for the deaf and hard-of-hearing passengers. They are offering individuals an opportunity to sign a petition asking for captioning of in-flight video that will be presented to DOT.
AAPR organized two years ago to “promote fairer customer service and accessibility standards in the airline industry and to improve passenger satisfaction.” HLAA and other disability organizations have signed onto a letter to be delivered to the US Department of Transportation to support in-flight captions or subtitles. See the signed letter.
December 11, 2009
Washington State Issues RFP for Visual Alerts for Ferries
Washington State Department of Transportation, Ferries Division (WSF), has issues a Request for Proposals for a visual paging system contract. WSF reports they are the world’s largest ferry system based on the number of vehicles carried each year and the third largest in the world based on the 23,000,000 passengers served each year. The contract would create a voice-to-text visual paging system that would make WSF vessel and terminal communications accessible to customers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The system is to include both emergency announcements and general operational announcements and information. Proposals are due January 7, 2010. The RFP and notices are available on the Washington Department of Transportation website at
www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/business/contracts/contracts.aspx under the “browse” button, “Equipment Procurement”, then “RFP: Visual Paging System Contract”
WSF's actions are being taken to resolve a lawsuit filed against it by the Washington State Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP), a Washington non-profit membership corporation which has the objective of making Washington's public places accessible to people with hearing loss. To learn more about this lawsuit, and other activities by Wash-Cap, visit
http://www.hearinglosslaw.com/articles/washcap-1/washington-state-ferries
March 23, 2009 Accessible Transportation Survey - March 31, 2009 Deadline to Respond
The following information was provided by the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center (www.adagreatlakes.org):
Meeting the Challenge, Inc. received a grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and is conducting a survey designed to collect information from people with disabilities regarding their experiences with public transportation. All people with disabilities are invited to participate.
Information gathered will be used to determine what barriers still exist in public transportation for people with disabilities and will be used to create Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) technical assistance materials directed toward alleviating those barriers.
The survey is available on-line at: http://mtcinc.transit.sgizmo.com. It is estimated that it will take from 5 to 15 minutes to complete the survey.
Anyone who does not have access to the internet but would like to participate in the survey can do so by calling Meeting the Challenge at: 1-800-864-4264 (select menu choice #2), Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM (Mountain Time) Individuals may take the survey by telephone and/or request a paper copy.
Responses to the survey will be collected through March 31, 2009.
Feel free to forward this e-mail to any individuals with a disability or to any organizations serving individuals with disabilities that you feel would be appropriate respondents.
Thank you for your participation and assistance!
Questions regarding this message can be directed to:
Cristi Harris
Special Projects Director
Meeting the Challenge, Inc.
(800) 864-4264 charris@mtc-inc.com
March 9, 2009 New York City Taxis Are Looped
Ellen Semel, HLA-Manhattan Chapter planning committee chair, reports that induction loops are being installed and tested in New York City taxis as part of a pilot project for accessible taxis. Some chapter members tested the looped taxis on Tuesday, March 3. The taxis were available both before the chapter meeting to allow members the opportunity to listen to speech using a t-coil in the taxi and evaluate their performance. The results of the evaluations will be sent with a report to the Taxi and Limousine Commission in New York City.
February 9, 2009 Recent Department of Justice (DOJ) Actions Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) provides information about cases they are involved with on their website
http://www.ada.gov/new.htm . We have summarized information about cases that impact people who are hard of hearing or deaf. Visit ada.gov or the links provided below for more information about these and other cases.
Wal-Mart Stores. On January 16, 2009, DOJ entered into a settlement agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. to improve access for persons with disabilities at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Many of the complaints alleged that persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by service animals. One person who filed a complaint indicated that Wal-Mart auto service department denied him equal access to its services because he was deaf and did not have a cellular telephone. Wal-Mart is required to take several steps to improve access for customers with disabilities, including welcoming persons with disabilities, training Wal-Mart employees, and posting its new service animal policy on its web site and in its stores.
Shopsmith, Inc., Dayton, Ohio. On December 1, 2008, DOJ entered into a settlement agreement with Shopsmith. This company provides educational materials and instruction in the use and operation of woodworking tools and equipment, as well as a variety of education programs through two academies, the Traveling Woodworking Academy and National Woodworking Academy. The Traveling Woodworking Academy provides hands-on training to customers at the home office in Dayton, Ohio, and one-day academies at places such as hotels and inns. The complaint alleged that Shopsmith refused to secure a qualified sign language interpreter or other auxiliary aids to ensure effective communication at one-day workshops by the Traveling Woodworking Academy. Shopsmith agreed to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified interpreters, for live presentations at its academies.
Manhattan Hotels. The Marriott Marquis and the Muse Hotel in New York City have entered into settlement agreements to improve accessibility for customers with disabilities. Both hotels agreed to make any modifications necessary to make additional rooms accessible to persons with hearing loss. The hotels will provide portable visual alarms and communication devices and install sufficient electrical outlets (including outlets connected to the Hotel's central alarm system) and telephone wiring in units to enable persons with hearing loss to utilize the portable visual alarms and communication devices.
Concord Hospital. On September 18, 2008, Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire, entered into a settlement agreement with DOJ resolving complaints that it had failed to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to ensure effective communication for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Both patients and family members of patients were denied qualified sign language interpreters or other adequate auxiliary aids and services to communicate with hospital staff and medical personnel. Concord Hospital agreed to establish a comprehensive program to provide effective communication in the future for patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Elk Grove Village Police Dept. (Illinois). On October 28, 2008, DOJ entered into a settlement agreement with the police department requiring it to make available appropriate auxiliary aids and services to all members of the public who are deaf or hard of hearing, where such aids and services are necessary to ensure effective communication with these individuals, especially persons who are arrested and brought into custody.
http://www.ada.gov/elk_grove.htm
Germano v. International Profit Association, Inc. (IPA). On September 12, 2008, a federal Court of Appeals ruled that conversations conducted through the nationwide telecommunications relay service (TRS), between a person who uses a telephone and a person who uses a text telephone (TTY), are permitted as evidence in court on the same basis as conversations between two people speaking directly to each other by telephone. During a relay call, IPA offered to interview an applicant for a job but later withdrew the offer after realizing that he was deaf or hearing impaired because he had communicated with IPA through the relay service. IPA argued that the communication should be excluded as evidence. The court disagreed and allowed the conversation into evidence, stating that the opposite would be “at odds with Congress’s intent to make disabled persons full and equal participants in society.” http://www.ada.gov/newsltr1008.htm
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
March 22, 2010
Congressional Leadership Join Justice For All Action Network in
Commemorating the ADA and Announcing 20th Anniversary Agenda
At a press event at the Capitol Building on February 23, 2010. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (MD-5) and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-5) joined the leadership of the Justice For All Action Network (JFAAN) in kicking off the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Hearing Loss Association of America sits on the Steering Committee of JFAAN. Brenda Battat, executive director and Lise Hamlin joined press event on February 23. CART was provided for the event attended by many disability advocates and friends eager to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the ADA.
ADA Amendments Act Resources from the Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
January 26, 2009
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has not yet completed the regulations for the new legislation. However, the Job Accommodation Network has developed a publication and resource page regarding what information is currently available about the Act.
The new publication is called JAN's Accommodation and Compliance Series:
Thanks for alerting us to this resource goes to the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC) http://www.nvrc.org.
Disability “Power & Pride” Inaugural Ball A First-Ever Event Held at the Press Club in Washington, DC
January 26, 2009
An historic event took place with the first-ever Disability Inaugural Ball held Sunday, January 19, 2009, at the Press Club in Washington, DC. More than 1,000 people of all disabilities, both physical and intellectual, and leaders in those communities, joined to celebrate our new president and administration. The Hearing Loss Association of America was a supporter of the event and HLAA staff joined many organizations for people with disabilities to celebrate this event.
Tony Coelho, former senator who served under President Clinton as Chairman of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and chair of the Ball Planning Committee said:
“DISABILITY POWER & PRIDE…These words distill decades of dreams and struggles, progress and challenges. They reflect the life work of countless leaders, legislators, advocates, and individuals of all ages, abilities, and political affiliations. There is no marquee large enough to show all their names. But as we gather tonight, their spirit is with us not only as part of our history but as an inspiration to the path ahead. The Disability Power & Pride Ball is a testament to the way Barack Obama’s presidential campaign captured the hope and imagination of people with disabilities….We have proved we can do what every other major political constituency does: mobilize capital to advance our agenda. The Ball represents one more step toward full inclusion for people with disabilities."
Senator Tom Harkin (Iowa) noted the progress that people with disabilities have made since the America with Disabilities (ADA) was passed, but he reminded us that there is one exception – employment. Sixty-three percent of people with disabilities are still unemployed.
Entertainment included Comedienne Geri Jewel who has Multiple Sclerosis. Geri is best known as Cousin Geri on the NBC sitcom, “The Facts of Life.” She was the first person with a disability to have a regular role on a prime time series. Bill Shannon, dance and media artist also appeared and performs on crutches due to a mobility disability. Bill is widely recognized in the dance/performance world, the underground hip hop and club dance scene as well as the disabled artist community.
The Hearing Loss Association of America was a supporter of the event and HLAA staff joined many organizations for people with disabilities to celebrate this event.
From left: HLAA Executive Director Brenda Battat, Lauren and Larry Goldberg, and Christopher Sutton, HLAA director of development. Larry Goldberg is the director of The Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston. The Media Access Group produces captions and video descriptions for all media. Through its Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media, they conduct research and development, develop guidelines and standards, and author publications – all in an effort to make media and technology accessible to people with disabilities in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.
From left: Christopher Sutton, HLAA development director, Barbara Kelley, HLAA deputy executive director and editor of Hearing Loss Magazine join Mrs. Pennsylvania and Mrs. Galaxy who were invited guests of the chair. Mrs. Pennsylvania, Wendy Sledd, works with children who are autistic and who have intellectual disabilities. She also supports the wounded warriors program as a military spouse.
HLAA members and staff join people from across the country and across the disability field at the 2009 Disability Inaugural Ball. From left: Lise Hamlin (HLAA director of public policy), Dana Mulvany, Barbara Kelley (HLAA deputy executive director), George Kosovich and Bill Kelley.
Barbara Kelley and Brenda Battat, representing Hearing Loss Association of America, meet people from all disability groups at the historic 2009 Disability Inaugural Ball. Executive Director Brenda Battat has spent 21 years in the field working on major pieces of legislation affecting people with hearing loss, often working within coalitions with people across the disability spectrum.
Media Access Group at WGBH To Provide Closed Captioning And Live Description for PBS's Inaugural Coverage
January 16, 2009
Described version of coverage will also stream live on the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) web site,http://www.inaugural.senate.gov
Boston, MA — The Media Access Group at WGBH, a non-profit service of the WGBH Educational Foundation in Boston, Massachusetts, will provide both closed captioning and live description of Barack Obama's presidential inauguration for the PBS presentation of Inauguration 2009, a NewsHour special hosted by Jim Lehrer. The PBS coverage of the inauguration airs live on Tuesday, January 20 from 11AM to 1:30PM EST. While live captioning is an established feature of many television broadcasts, live description, the creation at time of air of a narration track imparting information about visual elements that people who are blind or visually impaired would miss, is a rare service. Dunkin' Donuts is generously sponsoring the description service for this broadcast. In 1993, PBS's coverage of the Clinton inauguration was the first live television program that was made fully accessible to the nation's 36 million deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind and visually impaired viewers. Read the whole article.
Signed and Captioned Inaguration Events at the Smithsonian Institution
January 14, 2009
Jumbotrons at the Presidential Inauguration to be Open Captioned
December 15, 2008
Sign Language Interpreters will be located at designated positions within each ticketed section, with the exception of the Mall Standing Area. There will be jumbo-trons (large television screen) with open captioning positioned on the Capitol Plaza (blue, red, green, and yellow ticket holders) and within the Mall Standing Area.
Tickets to the Swearing-In Ceremony are distributed by both Senators and Representatives elected to the 111th Congress. All tickets distributed by Congressional representatives are free to the public. However, some websites are promising tickets for up to $20,000 each. However, given the demand for tickets, there is no promise that any of those tickets sold will be delivered. While reputable companies are promising refunds, that is not much solace if you’ve based a vacation around the inaugural. This is most certainly a case of “buyer beware.”
Thanks to Dave Pearson and Dana Mulvany, members of HLAA, we received the following information about YouTube:
"In a move to make videos easier to understand without volume or for hard of hearing people, YouTube has given users the option of embedding closed captions that show up as semitransparent overlays. Caption files that have text dialogue synced up to the proper timestamps can be uploaded during the time of upload or afterwards, and YouTube has provided multiple language support to let viewers swap between different languages of a single video without having to leave playback."
WGBH National Center for Accessible Media Emergency Management Survey Report
December 1, 2008
The WGBH-Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media announces the release of its "Emergency Management Survey Report", which conveys a broad sampling of the state of accessible emergency notification, and indicates opportunities to fill in known gaps and identify effective practices. The 10-page report summarizes challenges and opportunities in policies, roles and practices for accessible message development and dissemination, and is available (as an accessible PDF document) at http://ncam.wgbh.org/alerts/resources.html. The report is listed under the Emergency Management section.
The report was informed by NCAM's national web-based survey (conducted in summer 2008) to identify existing and planned practices to make emergency notifications accessible to people with sensory disabilities (people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind). The survey queried over 200 stakeholders across public and private sectors, representing nearly every facet of the emergency notification arena and beyond.
National Public Radio launches captioned radio in time for election day ’08.
Read their press release so you don’t
miss it.
Court Cases
Court Rules ADA Requires Closed-Captioned Movies
May 3, 2010
In December, 2008, HLAA joined Washington State Communications Access Project (Wash CAP) and others in a "Friend of the Court" (amicus) brief for a movie captioning case that was filed in Arizona. In that amicus brief, we supported closed captioning in movie theaters as a form of accommodation that could be provided to people with hearing loss under the ADA.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled April 30, 2010 that the ADA can require movie theaters to exhibit closed-captioned movies.
Sports Fans Win Their Day in Court
October 17, 2008
In an opinion issued on September 30, 2008, a federal district court in Maryland held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires the Washington Redskins “to provide deaf and hard of hearing fans equal access to the aural information broadcast over the stadium bowl public address system at FedEx Field, which includes music with lyrics, play information, advertisements, referee calls, safety/emergency information, and other announcements.”
The lawsuit was brought in August 2006 on behalf of Redskins fans Shane Feldman, Brian Kelly, and Paul Singleton, who are deaf or hard of hearing and who regularly attend Washington Redskins home games at FedEx Field. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Joseph B. Espo of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, represent the plaintiffs. The court’s ruling requires that FedEx Field, the home of the Washington Redskins, must provide auxiliary aids and services to make the game-day experience fully accessible for deaf and hard of hearing fans.
“We expect that stadiums, arenas and other sports venues will take heed and begin to follow the law on providing equal access to individuals with disabilities, including providing equal access to aural information for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing,” said Mr. Espo.
“The court’s decision marks a significant victory for plaintiffs and the deaf and hard of hearing community,” said Marc Charmatz, NAD Senior Attorney. “The ADA applies to stadiums, and now a court, for the first time, has recognized that deaf and hard of hearing fans have a legal right to equal access at stadiums.”
Lise Hamlin, HLAA director of public policy, provided this information from a news release issued by the National Association of the Deaf, October 2, 2008.
