Summer 1997 Issue | VOLUME 5 NUMBER 2
A Publication of advocates for better communication
Editorial Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Arlene Romoff · Copy Editor: Karin Mango
a.b.c. Executive Board: Co-Coordinators: Sue Bromberg, Ruth R. Green · Administrative Affairs: Lois Beadle, Chair · Cultural Affairs Committee: Arlene Romoff & Paula Brown Glick, Ph.D., Co-Chairs · Health Care Committee: Sue Bromberg & Ruth R. Green, Co-Chairs · League Representative: Keith Muller · Membership Committee: Barbara Cohen, Ph.D., Chair · Restaurant Committee: Belle Hammerschlag, Chair · Telecommunications Committee: Joseph Gordon, Chair · Travel Committee: Ruth Shapiro, Chair
CONTENTS
Broadway Captioned!
Co-Coordinator's Report
Editorial: You Do Count
Travelin' Ears
Telecommunications Report
Meeting Planner's Guide Available
Phone Line for Disabled Visitors to New York
Health Care Committee Report
ADA Action Alert
Telephone Tips
Disney To Improve Services
National Parks Accessibility
Open Caption Test Underway
Paper Mill Playhouse Captions All Productions
BROADWAY CAPTIONED!
Barrymore and Jekyll and Hyde to be open captioned
The Broadway show, Barrymore, starring Christopher Plummer, will be open captioned on Wednesday, September 24 at 8 p.m. at the Music Box Theater in New York City. This will mark the first time that any Broadway show has been open captioned, an important milestone for accessibility for people with hearing loss. The Broadway show, Jekyll and Hyde, will be both open captioned and sign language interpreted on Thursday, October 16 at 8 p.m., and on Sunday, October 19 at 3 p.m. at the Plymouth Theater in New York City. The Theater Access Project (TAP), which is run by the Theater Development Fund (TDF), is arranging for this service. Both theaters are equipped with an infrared listening system.
Captioning provides access to the theater for people with severe to profound hearing loss, who cannot rely on infrared listening systems alone, and are not fluent in sign language. This population, which is comprised of mostly late-deafened adults and people who are oral deaf, has been excluded from attending live theater productions - until now. The captioning will be displayed on an LED screen in front of a section of the orchestra reserved for this purpose. The script, which is loaded in advance, will be scrolled manually in time to the dialogue on the stage. In this way, there are no time delays or transcription errors.
More open captioned shows will be offered if there is a good turnout for these shows. For ticket information, contact Lisa Carling at the Theater Access Program, Theater Development Fund, 1501 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. 212-221-1103(V), 212-719-4537(TTY). Ask to be put on their mailing list for future events. Infrared headsets may be reserved by calling Sound Associates at 212-582-7678. More information about the Theater Development Fund can be found at their website at http://www.tdf.org.
While progress has been made in attaining greater accessibility for people with hearing loss, much remains to be done. Not a day goes by that a person who is hard of hearing or deaf doesn’t experience a frustrating situation. However, as consumers, we still are not speaking up and speaking out for ourselves and our rights.
We hope that one day in the near future accessibility issues will become non-issues. In the interim, all of us must take responsibility for ensuring access everywhere we encounter difficulty.
Some things you can do:
We urge consumers with hearing loss to become activists, advocating for themselves and the 28 million other Americans with hearing loss. Speak up and then share your experiences with us!
The a.b.c. co-coordinators and Ruth Shapiro, chair of the Travel Committee, made a presentation at the New York Downstate District SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing People) meeting in April. The program dealt with the curriculum on How to Become an Effective Consumer. This material was developed by a.b.c. as a grant project for the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association. Chapter officers were given copies of the curriculum and were urged to make effective advocacy a major focus.
We welcome Roslyn Pretzfelder and Florence Steiger who are joining the Cultural Affairs Committee, Charlotte Roth who will be assisting on the Travel Committee and Dr. Orin Kaufman who is working with the Health Care Committee. Florence will also be helping with our membership records.
We thank Herb Bravin for his efforts in sending us information that is helpful to various committees.
Kudos to Marc Aronson, who is actively involved in sending letters both on his own behalf and following up to ensure access for others with hearing loss as well.
Suzanne Bromberg
Ruth Green
a.b.c. Co-Coordinators
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever does." - Margaret Mead
I came across this quote recently, and it seemed especially appropriate to the task of a.b.c. - advocating for people with hearing loss. Although there is still much to be done, we do seem to be "changing the world" - albeit a little piece at a time. Right now we are experiencing the fruition of "impossible dreams" - most notably the captioning of Broadway - but many other hard-fought victories as well.
Because of my own experience with hearing loss over the past 25 years, I am well aware of how much easier it is to remain "invisible;" how much simpler it is to just put up with not hearing than to ask for assistive services. It’s easy to think that whatever you do can’t really make much difference anyway - after all, how much difference can one person make? From our experience here at a.b.c., we have learned that even ONE person asking for a service that he or she needs makes a difference. You do count. Every one of you who asks for the services you need as a person with a hearing loss - whether it’s in a hospital, workplace, museum, theater, or hotel - makes hearing loss less invisible.
Right now, we need your support for the captioned theater and movie performances. It is essential for us to demonstrate that there is a need and an audience for captioning (along with amplification systems), so that additional captioned programming will be offered in the future. Even one more person showing up can make a difference.
There is no doubt that a.b.c. is a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens - and we can, indeed, change the world. But we need your help. As a matter of fact, we’re counting on you.
Arlene Romoff, Editor
TRAVELIN’ EARS by Ruth Shapiro
Recently I went to Disney World in Florida with my eldest son and his family. This was a special experience for me because my family has lived with my hearing loss for years, and tries to accommodate my communication needs. Most of the time I travel alone on tours with people whom I’ve never met before. I educate them about my communication needs asking them to make sure they are looking at me when they speak and introducing them to the joys of using an FM unit.
When you travel, the most important thing you can do for yourself, is to share information about your hearing needs ahead of time. I made arrangements through my travel agent to have our suite hotel provide assistive listening and alerting devices including amplified phones, visual alerting systems for the phone, door knock, fire alarm and captioned TV. I usually make those arrangements myself. This time I let the travel agent do it because she was interested in learning more about the challenge of traveling when you are hard of hearing or deaf. It was a learning experience for everyone because the hotel had never had a request for assistive devices before. There were phone calls, letters and faxes back and forth between the hotel, travel agent and me.
Everything worked out all right except that the equipment was installed in the bedroom my son was using. I didn’t bother to have it moved because I didn’t think I needed it. My family could hear the phone or door bell. One evening I declared "time out for Grandma" and stayed at the hotel while the rest of the family went to dinner. I did laundry, had an early supper, watched captioned TV, read for awhile, took out my hearing aids and went to sleep. When my family came home, they couldn’t get in because I had locked them out. They tried ringing the door bell and calling me on the phone. I didn’t hear anything and didn’t know they were trying to get in because the alerting system wasn’t in my room. Happily, hotel security was able to unlock the door for them.
Why am I telling you this? I learned a lesson and I’m sure you understand it. Even if you are traveling with someone, you still need assistive listening and alerting devices for the times when you are alone.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE REPORT
Implementation of Regulations to Enforce the Telecommunications Act of 1996
Proposed Rules Include:
Review of ADA Guidelines
Improvements being discussed in Washington include:
MEETING PLANNER’S GUIDE AVAILABLE
The handbook, COMMUNICATION ACCESS: EVERYONE’S RIGHT - A Handbook for Meeting Planners, Conference Site Managers and People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, written by Dr. Paula Brown Glick, a.b.c.’s founding coordinator, and presently its Cultural Affairs Committee co-chair, is now available free of charge. Published by the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, the handbook is intended to help planners organize accessible meetings for professional, business, and other groups, and for hotel and conference site managers to provide aids and services needed to accommodate hard of hearing and deaf people at meetings and conferences.
To obtain this publication, contact the League for the Hard of Hearing at 212-741-7650(V), 212-255-1932(TTY), or the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177, 1-800-444-0120 (V).
PHONE LINE FOR DISABLED VISITORS TO NEW YORK
As reported in the New York Times, an international toll-free number for travelers with disabilities is now in operation, providing accessibility information on more than 200 museums, theaters, hotels and restaurants in New York City. Operated by Hospital Audiences Inc., a nonprofit organization based in New York City, the number - (888) 424-4685 - may be called from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday. Callers will speak to a trained staff member who can provide detailed information based on a caller’s disability and the date of the planned visit. Information of interest to people with hearing loss is provided.
Hospital Audiences also has a 210-page guidebook, Access for All: A Guide for People with Disabilities to New York City Cultural Institutions, which costs $5, and is available by writing to Hospital Audiences, 220 West 42nd Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE REPORT
The first major U.S. hospice for people who are deaf has been established as the Jacob Perlow Hospice located at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. The program will provide on-site as well as at-home services for people who are deaf with end-phase illnesses, and their families.
The program will include qualified interpreters skilled in American Sign Language to foster communication between the patient who is deaf or the patient who is hearing but has a family member who is deaf and the members of the staff. The staff will be trained to respond to the special needs of patients with deafness and their families. Paul Brenner, executive director of the program, indicates that they will also try to meet the needs of the patient who is hard of hearing.
Orin Kaufman, O.D. is preparing pamphlets on ototoxic drugs for consumers and for health care providers. They should be available by Fall, 1997.
A mailing has been made to all Connecticut health care facilities to acquaint them with our Kits for Medical Facilities and other materials.
Sue Bromberg
Ruth Green
Health Care Committee, Co-Chairs
Attorney General Janet Reno has asked Congress for an increase in funding for Fiscal Year 1998 to continue the Department of Justice’s enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Justice Department is seeking an increase of $447,000 to enable the Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division to hire additional investigators, mediators and an architect.
This increase is also a national priority for people with disabilities, as it could make the difference between a case in your community being investigated and enforced or falling through the cracks due to lack of funds. In order to continue the strong enforcement of ADA, grassroots disability advocates are needed in every congressional district to assure adequate resources for ADA investigations and mediation.
Send out a letter today to your House Representative, whose name and address you can obtain by calling the Federal Information Center at 1-800-688-9889. Also write to U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli at the U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. Ask them to support the increased funding for ADA enforcement as a positive step in the right direction to guarantee the civil rights of people with disabilities.
If you use a TTY and would like to use a cellular phone, there are a variety of arrangements to choose from. One option is to use a portable battery-powered TTY, such as Ultratec’s Compact model, and use a regular cellular phone with an Audex adapter which fits over the couplers of the TTY. This arrangement allows the caller to use the VCO feature of Relay calling as well. For more information on this equipment, you can reach Ultratec at 608-238-5400 (V, TTY) and Audex at 800-237-0716 (V). Another easy option is to use a Motorola "Flip" cellular phone directly on the Ultratec Compact TTY. This Motorola model is sufficiently long to cover the couplers of the Compact TTY.
If you have ever gone to a National Park and encountered orientation or informational audiovisual programs that are not captioned, now there is something you can do about it. In a communication from Brian C. Jones, chief of the Division of Audiovisual Arts at the National Park Service, he states that "this division is committed to having all new audiovisual programs captioned. Any audiovisual program that has been produced by this division over the last five years has been captioned. I have run across cases where the park did not realize that the captioning was in place and had not been offering the service, but we are working hard to make sure that the service is either advertised or the captions are on all the time."
Mr. Jones is an active advocate of captioning, and hopes that when you find a program that is not captioned, you will complain to the park superintendent. You can also notify Mr. Jones directly with any complaints or questions at: National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center, P.O. Box 50, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 25425-0050, 304-535-6081 (V).
The National Park’s Internet website (http://www.nps.gov) is very informative, listing all the National Parks (with pictures) and the services they provide. Emails received through that website are directed to the appropriate National Park Service personnel.
OPEN CAPTIONED MOVIE TEST UNDERWAY
A test of open captioned movies shown in regular movie theaters at mainstream times is underway. The first movie, "A Simple Wish", was shown open captioned at Cineplex Odeon theaters in four cities - New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, DC in July. The movie was shown on a Wednesday and a Sunday, and based on the attendance and response, future screenings are planned twice a week for other movies. The theater chosen for the New York area is the Cineplex Odeon, 400 East 62nd Street, New York, NY 10021.
Representatives of the Movie Access Coalition, a coalition of nine national and local organizations representing deaf and hard of hearing people, have been working with the motion picture studio executives and the National Association of Theater Owners to convince them to show open captioned movies at mainstream times in area theaters on a weekly basis. These executives have agreed to conduct the test project described above - showing open captioned movies two times a week in neighborhood theaters at regular times in a limited number of cities.
The Movie Access Coalition will continue to provide information regarding additional screenings of this movie. A large turnout at these captioned showings would be further incentive to provide other open captioned movies at additional theaters across the country on a weekly basis.
For more information about the Movie Access Coalition, contact: Toby Silver, chair - Movie Access Coalition, National Association of the Deaf, 814 Thayer Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500, 301-587-1789 (TTY), 301-587-1788 (V), 301-587-1791(fax), Email: nadhq@juno.com
PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE CAPTIONS ALL PRODUCTIONS
The Paper Mill Playhouse, in Millburn, NJ, will open caption select performances of all their mainstage productions for the coming 1997-1998 season. The theater, a leader and model of accommodation for people with disabilities, also provides sign language interpreted performances, an infrared listening system, and audio-described performances for blind patrons.
The shows at the Paper Mill Playhouse are always Broadway-quality, with magnificent stage sets and costuming. Some of the shows for the upcoming season include: Big River, Follies, Death of a Salesman (with Hal Holbrook) and The Will Rogers Follies. For information about the performance dates offering special accessibility services, contact John McEwen at the Business Office at 201-379-3636(V), 201-376-2181(TTY), 201-376-0825 (fax), or write to the theater at Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ 07041.