Providing 
a 
welcoming 
and 
safe 
environment 
for 
Deaf 
and 
hard 
of 
hearing 
individuals 
through 
use 


fthl 
di 
tl

of 
technology 
and 
environmental 
adaptation 


Jonathan 
O’Dell 
Massachusetts 
Commission 
for 
the 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 



Objective 


The 
purpose 
of 
this presentation 
is to 
explore 
ways in 
which 
technology and 
environmental 
adaptation 
can 
lead 
to

p 
a 
de 
facto 
enhancement 
in 
the 
accessibility of 
programmatic and 
environmental 
services for 
domestic 
violence 
survivors. 



Disclaimer 


There 
are 
many manufacturers 
offering 
products that 
have 
the 
same 
end-user 
“result”
. 
Inclusion 
or 
exclusion 
of 
a 
manufacturer 
or 
product 
in/from 
this presentation 
should 
not 
be 
construed 
as an 
endorsement 
or 
lack thereof 
on 
the 
part 
of 
MCDHH. 



Environmental 
Basics 


• 
There 
are 
several 
key 
factors 
to 
consider 
when 
looking 
at 
any 
environment 
from 
a 
perspective 
of 
a 
Deaf 
or 
hard 
of 
hearing 
individual. 
These 
include 
but 
are 
not 
limited 
to: 
– 
Physical 
accessibility 
to 
the 
environment 
– 
The 
presence 
of 
directional 
and 
informational 
signage 
– 
The 
amount, 
orientation, 
quality 
and 
manageability 
of 
existing 
light 
sources. 
– 
The 
amount 
and 
nature 
of 
existing 
ambient 
noise 
and 
whether 
it 
can 
be 
removed 
or 
reduced. 
Are 
there 
carpets 
on 
the 
floor? 

– 
The 
presence 
( 
or 
absence 
) 
of 
unobstructed 
lines 
of 
sight, 
from 
a 
programmatic 
( 
individual 
to 
individual 
within 
a 
group 
communication 
setting 
)
, 
architectural 
( 
columns, 
walls, 
doors, 
windows 
) 
and 
design 
( 
room 
dividers, 
placement 
of 
desks 
and 
furniture, 
design 
of 
office 
and 
living 
space 
) 
standpoint. 
– 
Presence 
or 
absence 
of 
visual 
alerting 
systems 
to 
alert 
Deaf 
and 
hard 
of 
hearing 
individuals 
of 
immediate 
dangers 
such 
as 
fire, 
carbon 
monoxide, 
building 
evacuation 
or 
lockdown, 
unauthorized 
entry 
and 
more, 
in 
multiplicity 
of 
sleep/wake/activity 
modes. 
It 
is 
NOT 
enough 
to 
simply 
follow 
the 
law. 

– 
Wall 
and 
carpet 
coloring/texture/design. 
Fabric 
and 
wallpaper 
patterns 
can 
present 
visually 
distracting 
backdrops 
to 
someone 
dependent 
on 
visual 
communication. 
– 
Visually 
quiet 
areas. 
Are 
there 
windows, 
glass 
doors, 
high 
traffic 
areas 
in 
the 
same 
area 
where 
visual 
conversations 
are 
likely 
to 
take 
place? 

Programmatic 
Features 
of 
Communication 
Access 


• 
Automatic 
provision 
of 
ASL 
interpreter, 
CART 
provider, 
listening 
devices 
for 
Deaf 
ASL 
users, 
late 
deafened 
and 
hard 
of 
hearing 
people, 
respectively. 
••Cti 
i 
di 
t 
tti 
f 
ll 
lti 
di 
Captioning 
and 
interpretation 
for 
all 
multimedia 
content 
or 
materials 
– 
DVD, 
web, 
television, 
movies. 


• 
Optimal 
room 
setup 
to 
accommodate 
face 
to 
face 
and 
direct-line-of-sight 
communication 
between 
participants. 

• 
Communication 
policy 
enforced 
that 
sets 
forth 
best 
communication 
access 
practices: 
– 
Speaker 
identification 
– 
Taking 
turns 
– 
Waiting 
to 
be 
called 
on 
by 
moderator 
or 
discussion 
leader 
– 
Waiting 
for 
CART 
provider/interpreter 
to 
catch 
up 
with 
speaker 
– 
No 
side 
conversations 
or 
interruptions 
– 
Respect 
for 
and 
inclusion 
of 
different 
communication 
preferences 

• 
Visual 
communication 
is 
more 
draining 
than 
auditory 
communication. 
Allow 
for 
frequent 
breaks. 
Stress, 
fatigue 
and 
anxiety 
reduce 
a 
person’s 
ability 
to 
focus; 
this 
significantly 
impacts 
visual 
communication. 
• 
A 
TTY 
call 
takes 
five 
times 
as 
long 
as 
spoken 
call. 
A 
relay 
call, 
even 
longer. 
If 
there 
is 
a 
time 
limit 
on 
phone 
calls 
it 
needs 
to 
be 
extended 
or 
waived 
for 
someone 
using 
a 
TTY 
and 
relay. 

• 
Be 
sure 
that 
shelter 
budget 
includes 
separate 
line 
item 
for 
communication 
access, 
i.e. 
payment 
for 
ASL 
interpreters, 
CART 
providers, 
and 
purchase 
of 
listening 
systems 
and 
other 
adaptive 
or 
alerting 
equipment
equipment 



Design 
Features 
of 
Communication 
Access 


• 
Locate 
high-traffic shared 
resources and 
locations such 
as copiers, 
fax machines, 
lunch 
and 
laundry rooms etc. 
away from 
meeting 
rooms or 
individual 
rooms to 
minimize 
ambient
rooms or 
individual 
rooms to 
minimize 
ambient 


noise 
and 
possible 
electromagnetic interference 


with 
hearing 
aid 
telecoils. 


• 
When 
installing 
energy efficient 
lighting 
fixtures, 
be 
aware 
that 
some 
electronic ballasts can 
interfere 
with 
hearing 
aids and 
cochlear 
implants. 

• 
Provide 
visual 
and 
tactile 
doorbell 
alerts 
in 
individual 
rooms 
to 
foster 
a 
sense 
of 
privacy, 
independence 
and 
inviolate 
personal 
space 
• 
Provide 
visual, 
audible 
and 
tactile 
fire 
and 
carbon 
monoxide 
alerting 
systems 
in 
rooms 
where 
deaf, 
hard 
of 
hearing 
and 
late 
deafened 
individuals 
may 
sleep, 
as 
well 
as 
visual 
and 
audible 
alerts 
in 
common 
areas 
such 
as 
dining 
rooms, 
shared 
rest 
rooms, 
meeting 
rooms 
and 
hallways. 

• 
Provide 
closed 
captioning 
capability 
on 
all 
televisions; 
set 
the 
closed 
caption 
feature 
to 
be 
“on” 
by 
default 
not 
just 
in 
individual 
rooms 
if 
provided 
) 
but 
in 
common 
rooms 
as 
well. 
• 
Have 
a 
television 
listening 
system 
in 
place 
• 
Have 
a 
TTY 
in 
place 
for 
Deaf 
individuals; 
an 
amplified 
telephone 
for 
hard 
of 
hearing
amplified 
telephone 
for 
hard 
of 
hearing 
individuals 


• 
Consider 
providing 
a 
VideoPhone 
for 
Deaf 
ASL 
users. 
• 
Provide 
sensitivity 
training 
for 
all 
staff 
and 
volunteers 
on 
how 
to 
best 
work 
with 
Deaf, 
hard 
of 
hearing 
and 
late 
deafened 
individuals 

• 
Deaf 
and 
hard 
of 
hearing 
people 
cannot 
use 
cell 
phones 
to 
communicate. 
For 
someone 
who 
cannot 
hear, 
a 
Smartphone 
featuring 
a 
QWERTY 
integrated 
or 
virtual 
keyboard 
and 
an 
email 
application 
is 
an 
ideal 
mobile 
solution 
that 
allows 
them 
to 
be 
independent
be 
independent. 


• 
It 
is 
important 
to 
communicate 
to 
a 
Deaf 
person 
the 
risks 
that 
are 
associated 
with 
using 
such 
a 
phone, 
since 
these 
are 
generally 
more 
advanced 
and 
may 
feature 
GPS 
tracking 
and 
location 
services. 

• 
There 
are 
a 
variety 
of 
visitor 
alert 
and 
entry/intrusion 
detection 
systems 
on 
the 
market. 
Most 
feature 
magnetic 
contact 
sensors, 
others 
feature 
pressure 
mats 
and 
still 
others 
use 
motion 
detectors. 
All 
will 
send 
signals 
to 
receivers 
that 
will 
flash
send 
signals 
to 
receivers 
that 
will 
flash 
strobes 
and 
lights, 
activate 
bed 
shakers 
and 
tactile 
pagers, 
and 
some 
will 
even 
activate 
a 
loud 
horn 
or 
siren 
or 
can 
be 
tied 
into 
a 
home 
monitoring 
system. 



Resources 


• 
Technology 
changes 
rapidly, 
as 
do 
ways 
of 
using 
it; 
it 
can 
be 
very 
hard 
to 
stay 
current. 
If 
you 
need 
assistance 
with 
implementing 
technology 
appropriate 
to 
your 
shelters 
and 
services, 
call 
your 
’ld 
fDf 
dHdf

state’s 
lead 
agency 
for 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
hearing 
services 
before 
contacting 
any 
vendor. 


• 
You 
can 
find 
a 
list 
of 
state 
by 
state 
resources 
by 
going 
to 
the 
National 
Association 
for 
the 
Deaf 
website. 

Technological 
Solutions 



+
Telecommunications 
Relay 
Service 
= 
Access 



Examples 
of 
current 
telecommunication 
technology 
used 
by 
Deaf 
individuals 


TheOJO
TheSorensonVP-200videophone(requires display)
TheD-Link 
i2eyeVideophone
videophone 


The 
CSD 
VRS 
“Z” 
150 
standalone 
videophone 



Examples 
of 
newer 
telecommunication 
technology 
used 
by 
Deaf 
individuals 


TheVPAD:Atouch-screen,
WiFi-based,cordless portableVideoPhone,alreadyavailable
Live 
Communication 
in 
Sign 
Language 
between 
cell 
phones, 
already 
in 
use 
in 
Europe 


The 
CSD 
Z 
350: 
A 
WiFi-based, 
cordless, 
ultra-portable 
VideoPhone, 
already 
available 



Voice 
Over 
Internet 
Protocol 
(VOIP) 
Solutions 


Skype 
Screen 
Shot 


OOVOO 
Screen 
Shot 




Voice 
Over 
Internet 
Protocol 
(VOIP) 
Solutions 



Microsoft 
Live 
Meeting 
Screen 
Shot 


Sightspeed 
Screen 
Shot 



Examples 
of 
conventional 
telecommunications 
technology 
used 
by 
hard 
of 
hearing 
people 




Examples 
of 
current 
telecommunication 
technology 
used 
by 
hard 
of 
hearing 
individuals 


D-Link 12eyeTheOJODLink 12eye
Skype 


videophone 



HATIS 


Ultratec CapTel 




Other 
telecommunication 
options for 
hard 
of 
hearing 
and 
late 
deafened 
persons 


CLARITY 
Speakerphone 
Amplified 
Bluetooth 
Neckloop 



GN 
Netcom 
Amplified 
Headset 


A 
Fax 
Machine 



Wireless text-based 
communication 


BlackBerryStorm
Apple 
iPhone 
3G 



T-MobileSidekick
Google 
G1 



Assistive Listening Devices

Televisio
n 
Accessibility 



HDMI 
cable 


HDMI 
cable 


Motorola 
Cable 
Box 



Converter 
Box 


HDTV 
YPbPr 
Component 
Video 
Cable 



Television 
Accessibility 



Infrared 
TV 
Listening 
systems 




EnvironmentalAlertingDevicesEnvironmentalAlertingDevices

Fire 
and 
Carbon 
Monoxide 




Telecommunication Relay Service, 
Video Relay Service, and Internet Protocol Relay

• 
If 
you 
have 
questions, 
comments, 
suggestions 
or 
feedback 
of 
any 
kind, 
please 
feel 
free 
to 
email 
me 
at: 
Jonathan.Odell@MassMail.state.ma.us 


Thank 
you 
for 
attending 
this 
presentation!