Many months ago, I spotted on DeadRead a very touching story about an interpreter’s experience as he accompanied a Deaf family through the loss of their son who was a U.S. soldier in Iraq. I very much want to read this article again, but cannot find it on Google nor on DeafRead search. If any of you remember this one, could you let me know? Thanks!
If you’re Deaf and you Twitter, here’s a great way to network with other Deaf folks and get your tweet going. Join the new Deaf TwittGroup, its free, it’s easy and its just a great way to find those long-lost friends to tweet and get your word out to more Deaf people. Personally, I think we need to change the word Tweet. It is just too “hearing” a word. :-) How about we use the standard Deaf flash system and call our tweets “Twlash”? Hmm no that doesn’t look good either. Heh.
Anyway! See you all on Twitter!
I received this email from Certified Deaf Interpreter June Prusak and I have to say I agree completely with her about what is at stake. Your right to expect and assume quality interpreters who can competently relay a conversation via videophone is a precious right and you need to exercise that right by speaking out.
I, for one, am tired of reading the interpreter’s lips during conversation and realizing that he or she is relaying the WRONG words to the hearing caller! Say your thoughts and email to IDHCC ASAP! In fact, I advise you to do even more. You have the right to choose which VRS service you use. Exercise your rights and choose a different VRS service if you know the one you regularly use is stepping on your rights.
See June’s letter below:
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Some of you may be getting an email asking you to please write to Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission (IDHHC) supporting their vision of Interpreter Licensure.
First of all, what are the issues a certain VRS company has with the Interpreter Licensure???
IDHHC is getting much closer to finalizing and implementing the Interpreter Licensure. This licensure is to go into effect on January 1, 2009. There are three licensing levels plus a provisional level included in the Interpreter Licensure standards.
Sorenson VRS wants their interpreters to be excluded/exempt/removed from the law. This means, Sorenson VRS wants the freedom to hire anyone who can sign to work as a video relay interpreter especially in the state of Illinois.
In other words, regardless of the level or qualification of the interpreter, he/she can work at any VRS in the State of Illinois and not have to follow the Interpreter Licensure requirements.
We, the consumers of interpreting services in the State of Illinois, wish to increase the standard and qualification requirements of our interpreters in all aspects, including Video Relay Services.. Aren’t many of us sick and tired of having so-so signers making VRS calls on your behalf? Not understanding you? Don’t you feel frustrated?
If you say yes to the above, then YOU need to ACT NOW!!! Send an email to IDHHC stating that you AGREE/SUPPORT the idea of VRS to be part of the Interpreter Licensure.
What happened at this morning’s meeting with IDHHC, and Sorenson VRS and lawyers?
As of today’s meeting, the IDHHC will continue its goal of enforcing Interpreter Licensure. Sorenson VRS representatives (lawyers/district managers) were NOT pleased with this decision. They left the meeting unhappy. A question has been asked to Sorenson VRS team –where have they been the last 2 years with this process?
What happens next?
IDHHC will have a meeting with JCARR, the Joint Commission on Rules and Regulations, this Wednesday, November 19th. If JCARR accepts the rules of Interpreter Licensure, then IDHHC will do an official publication as early as next week. The Interpreter Licensure will go into effect on Jan 1, 2009.
IDHHC and JCARR have a good working relationship, which is a good sign.
There may be a chance for Sorenson VRS to file a lawsuit against IDHHC to force exemption. IDHHC will not worry until when and if that time comes.
What’s the worst that could happen?
If you don’t want that to happen, then what can you do????? Between now and Wednesday, please continue to send emails to Tonia R. Bogener (dhh.eeo-aa@illinois.gov) and John Miller (john.miller@illinois.gov).
What should you say in your email?
It can be a simple one-sentence email stating that you support the idea of requiring VRS services to be INCLUDED in the Interpreter Licensure. Or it can be detailed in which you explain your experience and history of dealing with bad interpreters when using VRS.
Please spread the word!!!!!
June Prusak, CDI
Certified Deaf Interpreter
Some of you may recall a series of articles I wrote last spring regarding claims that calls on Sorenson’s VP phones were being tracked by Sorenson. It obviously touched a lot of nerves within the community and many comments were posted. Sorenson also privately assured me that they were no longer following this practice.
But this past weekend, I came face to face with the possibility that yet other Video Relay services were tracking our calls. Specifically, HOVRS.
I received an email from HOVRS telling me to get my Purple Number in order to expedite the process of waiting for their upcoming MVP portable video phones. So, I went through the steps and filled out all the online forms. Then I called the number they asked me to call and confirm what I had done so they could set it up on their system.
The representative, a Deaf person, asked me essentially the exact same questions I had answered moments ago on the form. Okay, fine… Time consuming to do something twice already but let’s see where all this goes. Towards the end of the call, I asked what is the expected timeframe for the distribution of MVP phones?
That’s when I got floored…
“Let me give you a hint. If you want to get your phone faster, make as many calls as you can through HOVRS.”
Umm… HOVRS keeps track of my calls? This is *VERY* alarming, to say the least. Exactly how are they tracking us? How far do they go? Do they track the number of calls I make? Do they track the phone numbers I call? Have I unwittingly placed my friends, family and business associates into a compromising position where they are now being tracked? Does HOVRS start building charts linking me from one call to the other and determing my personal network of friends and family? Do they track the actual content of the calls?
As you can see, the mere admission that a phone call is now tracked, however trivially, is mind-boggling. And I fear for my privacy rights.
But then, this whole conversation got weirder. See, a few weeks ago, Sorenson also contacted me to get a free phone number. I called a number, and a Deaf representative answered and we set everything up in just a few minutes.
But with HOVRS, it was umm… weird. First, I called the Deaf rep. Then he asked me to call via HOVRS to teleconference in with someone else. So I called, gave a “pc number”, and the relay operator called another customer rep who then conferenced in the first Deaf rep.
Then this customer rep also asked me all the same questions that the Deaf Rep and the Online form asked me. That’s thrice now, plus a bunch of additional questions! All in all, truly time-consuming, and the relay conversation was the longest portion of all in this process.
But here’s why I got suspicious. Why, when contacting Sorenson, it was all handled via one person, a Deaf rep, while at HOVRS, I had to use their relay service? Knowing that the FCC pays per minute for relay calls, I wondered if HOVRS was making me use their relay service so they could bill the FCC for our time? If so, I want a piece of that pie!
Don’t forget that HOVRS was under investigation for overbilling the FCC by approximately $1M earlier this year. By using us as a legitimate video relay call, looks like they found a way around a little sneaky loophole.
So not only are they tracking our calls, but they’re also jilting us as taxpayers funding the video relay services program managed by the Federal Communications Commission.
Where are the video relay watchdogs when we need them. Something stinks rotten here and I feel violated by their obvious admission that I’m being tracked.
SuperNanny just finished airing on television and I am so awash with emotions in my gut about the episode. First, let me say the “good” part of the show, if we can even call it that…
Today’s episode centered on the life of two Deaf parents, an 18 year old daughter, and 3 younger daughters aged 5 thorough 8. The father was actually a step-father to the elder daughter. All children were hearing and only the 18 year old daughter knew any decent level of American Sign Language, enough to communicate on a rather rudimentary level.
Because the older daughter, Melissa, was the only one who could communicate to both sides of the family, she became the de facto parent in that household. The younger children refused to listen to their parents and only obeyed orders when Melissa came into the room. These children were disrespectful of their Deaf parents and would do things like cover thier mouths while talking to their parents.
Sadly, the parents had long-since given up.and given all responsibility over to Melissa who was holding down two jobs while still going to school. Clearly this woman/child was at her wits end and the parents were completely disassociative to the problems around them.
Jo, the SuperNanny, was clearly a godsend arriving at the scene to help piece the family dynamic back together into a more cohesive environment. I cheered and had tears in my eyes to see the victimized Melissa finally get her due and be validated for the terrible burden her parents relinquished onto her.
However, while I cheered for this family to get better, I have great disdain for the producers of SuperNanny for having aired this show in its format without providing the due diligence required to present an episode with a unique focus. From the outset, I was aghast to realize that the simplicity of the viewing public could contribute to a potential stereotypical view that Deaf parents are unfit to be parents, especially of hearing children.
At no point did SuperNanny make a reasonable effort to inform its viewers that this episode is about a particular and specific family with typical problems that many parents face, regardless of their hearing ability. The only informative statement they made was that “90% of Deaf parents have hearing children.” That’s it!
Oh what a prized piece of ammunition the supporters of Alexander Graham Bell, who advocated sterilization of Deaf people, must think they have in their possession now. In their constant propaganda efforts to showcase why Deafness must be cured, you can be sure those AgBELLites are recording and copying this episode like mad to show to people they preach to.
SuperNanny had a wonderful idea. Include Deaf parents in their programming. Broaden the perspective of the show and make people aware that its not only hearing people who have this problem. But they failed in their endeavors. When you decide to go “outside the box” on a program that reaches millions, you carry with you a responsibility to ensure that the viewers have a fuller undersanding of the situation.
I abhor what these parents did to Melissa. They were stupid, idiotic parents. But while SuperNanny did much to improve the situation for Melissa by ensuring she had validation, SuperNanny chose to completely ignore obvious signs of a need for validation for the Deaf parents. Here’s an example:
Towards the end of the show, while everyone had learned their lessons, the parents were seen sitting at a table with other Deaf people, discussing plans for a cruise. That resulted in a blowup and a need to tend to Melissa’s fears of being dumped on again. But at the same time, the viewers must have though, “How odd? These parents were discussing a cruise just days after being told to stick to a routine with their children??”
SuperNanny should have explored this. Why did the parents feel the need to go on this cruise? I’ll bet you 10-1 this was likely a discussion of a Deaf Cruise. There’s a particular reason why Deaf people go on Deaf Cruises. Why? Because it is a week-long event where you don’t have to deal with hearing people. For a whole week, you are “normal” and everywhere you go, you communicate in ASL. For a whole week, you don’t wake up thinking “Okay, how do I face the world and deal with the communication barriers?” For one week, they can escape that.
Now, I’m not saying I agree these parents should have gone on the cruise. Far from that. But, what I am saying is that SuperNanny chose to ignore this and thus failed to validate the world that every Deaf person experiences. SuperNanny chose to scold the parents as children and comfort the hearing person. SuperNanny ignored the Deafness of the family.
You and I, we’re fortunate. We are a part of the Deaf Community and we were able to view and understand the true dynamics of this family. But a hearing person who may never have been exposed to Deafness probably walked away thinking “How idiotic are Deaf people? Deaf people should never be parents. They are incapable of any logic.”
Could it have hurt SuperNanny to simply insert a 5-minute segment discussing the challenges that Deaf families face? Educate its viewers that not all Deaf families are like this? Educate the viewers that in many cases, there are strong bonds and relationships in Deaf families out there?
I’m grateful that SuperNanny came along and “saved” this family. I hope the lessons this family learned last a lifetime for them. They came out the winners. But the Deaf Community came out the losers in this episode.
A11y stands for Accessibility in Computing. The Word Accessibility with middle letters replaced by a number (A-11-Y)
The Planet-A11y Team is proud to announce the official launch of our website which is a feed aggregator of contributors to computer accessibility and other areas of technology. If you are a software developer, advocate, or other form of contributor to accessible technology, then you should defnitely register your website with us.
Already, on the first day, we have nearly a dozen registered feeds, and we are confident it will grow in the near future.
We’d like to thank Voyage Hosting for theeir generous donation of server space for this cause. If you are looking for great solidly-supported service for your website, I definitely urge you to check them out.
I also want to thank Flavio Percoco Premoli, developer of the Phanet feedreader software that is being used by Planet-A11y. His hard work at improving the code to make it more usuable for us is awesome. By the way, Flavio is also the creator of mouseTrap for Linux. MouseTrap is a way of using your webcam as a a mouse, an effective tool for people with mobility challenges.
As you all know, I continue to fight for accessibility in computing,, especially with my primary interes: Deaf and Blind.
So please, if you’re a contributor to a11y, stop by and register. If you’re just curious to hear what’s going on in the world of accessibility and how many people worldwide are fighting to make computers better for all of us, do stop by and read the articles! Learn what the geeks of the world are doing to fight for you! 
Thank you,
Bryen
Something really cool is going on in Chicago! A group of Deaf-Blind people have formed a team to join VisionWalk. This team will help raise funds for Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) and help find a cure for Usher Syndrome.
Here’s why it is soooo cool! This group of ambitious and dedicated people set a goal to raise $1,000. But instead, they have raised OVER $4,000!!!! No kidding! I’m serious! This proves how much Deaf-Blind people can do and that they cannot be marginalized.
With so many individuals and teams walking this year, it is really awesome to show the shining light of our Deaf-Blind people who show that they can do above and beyond what everyone else expects of them.
So won’t you consider making a donation to this team? You’ll be making two important statements when you make a donation:
So come on! Click here to donate today! They walk this coming Sunday on June 8th!
As is my daily morning routine, I get up in the morning and go to CNN.com to read the latest headlines of the day. One headline catches my eye. Deaf Couple Wants Only Deaf Embryo. Cool, a Deaf story, let’s click on it. Ahh, it’s a video story. Great. Video stories can be so much more pleasing from time to time.
But wait… this is a Deaf-related story. Obviously, Deaf people who read CNN.com will want to read this story. IT ISN’T CAPTIONED!!! What’s wrong with this story?!?
Does technology exist to caption videos on the Internet? Yup. Did CNN bother to caption this story online? Nope. What a shame. A story about my fellow Deaf brothers and sisters and I can’t follow the story. Yup, CNN is getting really stupid these days.
It’s no wonder that Congressman Ed Markey has felt the need recently to propose new federal legislation to require captioning on the Internet. And it is sad that Markey even has to propose this. It should be common sense for the broadcasters to go ahead and caption their videos since they’re already captioning the same stories on television. Yes, this is where CNN starts to get stupider.
The hypocrisy of CNN shows even more stupidity. CNN is owned by Time-Warner. Time-Warner is member of the Internet Captioning Consortium, working with groups like WGBH to get videos captioned on the internet. So, in other words, CNN’s owner is playing lip-service by participating in such a consortium, but not bothering to do the actual work of meaning what they say. This just gets stupider and stupider.
What can you do about it?
Let’s start a mass campaign. Here’s how to do it simply:
Remember, we can’t expect the world to change unless we speak up. SPEAK UP now and write to CNN!
It is no wonder that
I was on another business trip for a couple of days last week and couldn’t help but feel a longing for my videophone. Yes, I guess like the rest of us, I’ve become somewhat dependent on it. And I wondered about those of us who take frequent business trips. How do we deal with this situation and what obligations does a hotel have regarding ADA accessibility and videophnes?
I’d really like to hear your comments about how this is resolved.
True, I can use one of the downloadable software programs provided by some VRS services. But that causes problems too. For example, more and more hotels are using wireless instead of wired internet access in the rooms. Some hotels use decent powerful wireless access points, and others use crappy access points and only so many people can get on at any one time.
I remember one trip, after a convention ended for the day and we all went to our rooms to check our email. I couldn’t connect to the internet because too many people connected to the access point at the same time. I had to wait 3 hours before I could finally get on.
If you bring your Sorenson VP, OjoPhone or whatever, you’ll need to also bring a wireless adapter that you can plug into your ethernet jack on the device. We all know that while wireless ain’t too bad, hard-wire picture quality is far better.
Another problem. I can make calls. But I can’t receive calls. A hearing guest can receive calls on the hotel’s telephone system. Suppose a family member needs to call you about an emergency back home? Oh sure, they can page me and then I’ll call back. But is that the same as hearing accessibility, when we have to do a two-step process?
So, what is the obligation for the hotel? They’re obligated to provide other accessible devices, such as door knocker, CC televisions, fire alarm flashers, etc. Should videophones be the next requirement in their provided accessibility kit?
What’s your experience? How do you resolve this?
I was just reading NAD’s article about participating in the FCC’s 10-Digit Numbering System and couldn’t help but wonder if we’re not looking at this issue in a more global way. Videophones have not only enabled us to use a better form of relay interpreting service, but also to better connect with loved ones who are hearing and thus don’t qualify for a free videophone from those services that provide one to Deaf consumers.
I have recently installed several non-VRS-provided videophones (i.e., D-Link and such) for hearing members of families that have Deaf members. It has been such a joy to see them connect and build their relationship with their beloved Deaf son, daughter, brother, etc. when in the past often such families had an estranged relationship between Deaf and Hearing members.
Now that these hearing people have a VP, they are taking the time to learn ASL more and connect better. Barriers are fast dropping across the board. With such technology, the dynamic where Deaf and Hearing family members sit down at holiday dinners while being complete strangers to each other may become a thing of the past.
So, I look at “10-Digit Numbering System” and I wonder… what does that mean? Do we each get a toll-free number, or an area code? If it is an area code, is it one area code for all users? Or is it an area code related to where you live? What if you move?
If it is a toll-free number, do I want to give that out to hearing people who might be confused with such an unusual number for personal usage? What if it is a number I give out for prospective employers to contact me for job interviews? I would be uncomfortable giving out a toll-free number or an area code that makes me look like I’m not local to the employer.
And then comes the question, why should such numbers be for the use of Video Relay Services? Shouldn’t we think in broader terms?
Going back to my mention of installing videophones for hearing people, I noticed several interesting challenges for people with non-VRS provided devices, or different devices. For example, I have both a Sorenson VP-200 phone and an OjoPhone provided by SnapVRS. The phone numbers that are tied into each device are obviously not real phone numbers. You can’t dial that number on a regular phone and be connected to a videophone. In fact, both devices have the same phone number, but are connected to different databases. Therefore, if you called me on my phone number from a Sorenson-based VP to my OjoPhone, it won’t connect.
The solution to this problem is obviously to use a Dynamic DNS service and tell people to use that DNS name. But that causes another problem, because when I call them, my domain name does not appear in their Caller ID. Instead, my actual IP address shows up on the screen. What if that person then saves my Caller ID in their phone book, not realizing they need to change it to the DNS name? A few days later, my IP address could change and now they can’t call me.
For me, this is not a huge problem because I don’t have dynamic IP addressing. My IP addresses are permanent static addresses because I pay a higher price for business-class service from Comcast. But not everyone can afford this.
That inability to connect via phone number from one type of VP to another is where there is a huge problem that will potentially get worse as the market share of VP users grows. Parents will be unable to call their son halfway across the country because their son’s IP address changed since the last time they talked. The potential gains we have for bridging the gap between Deaf and Hearing family members could be lost.
So this 10-Digit Numbering System, to me, deflects from the real issue at hand. How do we make our VP’s more globally accessible? Remember, videophone manufacturers are or will be benefitting hugely from the growing market demands that are just around the corner. Just like the Deaf Community was a pioneer in the mass text-paging industry in the cellular world, so too are we pioneers in the home videophone industry. In the 1990’s, we were the first true market segment to fully adopt pager communication as a means of normal communication. Now, in 2008, everyone seems to own a pager device of some kind.
We’re contributing to a new economic market here and someday, every home will have a videophone, regardless of Deaf or Hearing.
So, the question is, should the FCC be focusing on 10-Digit Numbering Systems or looking at ways to unify communication across all Videophones? I think the latter is far more important. A 10-Digit numbering system will slow down the mass adoption of VP’s and continue to cause incompatibilities in ease of reaching people regardless of videophone device.
In the hearing home, telephones are made by many many different manufacturers. Yet, if you call that home from your phone, you can connect with no problem. It doesn’t matter if I have a Sony telephone and you have a GE phone. We will connect. That’s where VideoPhones need to be. NOT restricted to the VideoPhone’s own proprietary directories.
Most of us have Sorenson videophones. Many of us are still waiting for OjoPhones, MVP’s, and VPads. When people start getting all these different devices, we’re going to have some headaches trying to teach people how to make this all work. Explaining IP addressing, Dynamic DNS and hostnames isn’t always an easy task.
In fact, I am working with Linux developers currently to make the Ekiga videoconferencing software compatible with the various Videophone codecs out there. That means yet soon another device will have some difficulty with changing IP addresses.
The technology to achieve this is simple enough. And the FCC can get involved in mandating and regulating such a system. These standards should apply to all videophones marketed in the United States, regardless of whether they are to be used by Deaf users.
Then, and only then, do I believe we’ll ensure true global communication by allowing the 10-Digit Numbering System to tap into this potentially huge globally-compatible directory, without impeding on the potential growth of videophones which WILL eventually become ubiquitous in every home, just like it is already ubiquitous in Deaf homes.