Winter 1999 Issue | Volume 8 Number 1
a.b.c. Birthday Fund Established
advocates for better communications (a.b.c.) is celebrating its seventh birthday. We take pride in our many accomplishments. Spearheaded, in 1991, by Dr. Paula Brown Glick and Ruth R. Green (then Executive Director of the League), a.b.c. has grown, and is recognized and consulted by government, cultural, medical, and business institutions concerned with providing accessibility for people who are hard of hearing or deaf. The Americans with Disabilities Act has furthered the cause, but the act itself without advocacy might not have made access readily available in a variety of areas.
There is much tangible evidence of the success of a.b.c.'s good work. Today, listening systems are in all Broadway and many off-Broadway theaters. Open captioned, as well as sign language interpreted, performances at regional theaters and Broadway shows are scheduled regularly. Advocacy and consultation with the Paper Mill Playhouse (Milburn, NJ), the George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, NJ) and the Theater Access Project of the Theater Development Fund (TDF/TAP) has helped make this possible. Regularly-scheduled showings of first-run movies are being offered with open captions. Upon request, hotels and hospitals are providing equipment such as amplified telephones, TTYs, captioned televisions, and wake-up alerts to consumers who are hard of hearing or deaf. Many of the museums have listening systems and captioned videos and they are increasingly sensitive to the needs of patrons with hearing loss. Most television programs are now captioned. Public amplified telephones and TTYs are more readily available. A vital and informative newsletter, a.b.c. Reports, is mailed to over 3,000 consumers.
a.b.c., a small group of dedicated volunteers who are concerned with awareness, advocacy, and access, has been influential in all these successes. We've come a long way, but there is still much to be done.
It is only with the support of friends like you that we can continue our work. If you've never contributed to a.b.c., perhaps you will consider a gift at this time. If you've contributed in the past, a gift to our Birthday Fund would be greatly appreciated. Each gift can help us make a difference in providing even greater access. For your convenience, a donation form is included on the back page of this issue. Thank you so much for your support!
a.b.c. REPORTS
Editorial Staff: Editor-in-Chief: Arlene Romoff
a.b.c. Executive Board:
Coordinator: Ruth D. Shapiro, M.A.
Administrative Affairs: Lois Beadle, Chair
Cultural Affairs Committee: Arlene Romoff and Paula Brown Glick, Ph.D., Co-Chairs
Health Care Committee: Ruth R. Green and Orin Kaufman, M.D., Co-Chairs
Restaurant Committee: Belle Hammerschlag, Chair
Senior Centers: Ruth R. Green, Chair
Telecommunications Committee: Joseph Gordon, Chair
Travel Committee: Ruth D. Shapiro, Chair
League Representatives:
Keith Muller, Executive Director
Lise Hamlin, Access & Advocacy Coordinator
Amy Hohn, Director of Volunteers
Josh Gendel, Technical Services Director
Justin R. Cristaldi, Webmaster
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Coordinator's Report
CHCA Report
Cochlear Implant Information Resources
Health Care Access
Cruising with Sound
FCC Rules
Open Captioned Movie Info
Dance - A Perfect Art Form
Captioned Theatre Updates
Be Prepared
Medicare Cards as ID's for Hearing AIDs
Donate Used Hearing Aids
COORDINATORS REPORT : QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
"Questions and Answers" was the title of a recent workshop presented by the advocates for better communication (a.b.c.) The questions all dealt with coping with hearing loss on an every day basis. They included: "What can I do to ensure enjoying theater and movie performances? I have trouble hearing the television. What can I do to solve that problem? Am I entitled to special equipment or services (i.e. TTY, interpreter) if I am a patient in the hospital? How do I make the necessary arrangements? When I make a hotel reservation over the phone, I seldom get the assistive devices I request. How can I make sure my needs are met?"
The questions were answered by a.b.c. Board members and Josh Gendel, the League's Director of Technical Services. The message that was emphasized by every speaker is that each person who has a hearing loss must make it his business to check in advance for and/or arrange accessibility at home, in the office, at the theater and movies, in a doctor's office or hospital and when you travel. When you arrange for accessibility outside of your home, you are not only helping yourself, you are also helping other people who have a hearing loss. The Americans with Disabilities Act, Federal legislation passed in 1990, mandates that all public spaces must be accessible to anyone with any disability. That includes the 26 million Americans who are hard of hearing and two million deaf. If every one of us would take the time to explain our needs to one other person who has a hearing loss and ask them to pass the message on, we would become an army of advocates for access.
Just before the workshop, I was in Washington D.C. I spent a wonderful weekend at the many museums on the Mall and enjoyed every moment. There was one thing that bothered me a lot. Everywhere I went, I saw the logo for wheelchair access. I didn't see one logo for hearing access - . I am writing to the head of the Smithsonian to ask that this logo be included at box offices, information desks or wherever it is relevant. The question I have is how can we, people with hearing loss, encourage others with this disability to speak up and advocate for themselves so that we can have the accommodations we need everywhere we go? Please contact me with your ideas by e-mail at RDSWEA@aol.com, by fax at 212-255-4413 or by mail c/o a.b.c., League for the Hard of Hearing, 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010. I look forward to hearing from you.
Ruth D. Shapiro, M.A.
Coordinator, a.b.c.
CHCA at the League for the Hard of Hearing
In October, the Center for Health Care Access (CHCA) took our show on the road, traveling to Syracuse, New York for presentations regarding access to health care for people who are hard of hearing, deaf or deaf-blind. Providing information regarding communication access in medical facilities is a major part of our job at CHCA. Although awareness of the need for access has increased dramatically since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), there are still many facilities that are not accessible and need to know how to become accessible.
CHCA was hosted by the Deaf Advocacy Council (DAC) in Syracuse, New York. The DAC is a coalition of deaf and hard of hearing organizations in the Syracuse area who work together on issues of concern.
In the afternoon, we presented a workshop to professionals to alert them to the needs of people who are hard of hearing and deaf. In the evening, members of the DAC attended the presentation for consumers. While there is no question that it is important for providers of health care to understand the needs of people with hearing loss, it is equally, if not more, important for consumers to take responsibility for their own needs. The consumer who knows he will be having surgery in a particular hospital and needs a sign language interpreter should arrange for that in advance. The consumer who knows it's likely his local hospital will be where he goes in an emergency should check before a crisis develops to see to it that his hospital provides the assistive equipment he needs.
The consumers in Syracuse spoke of not having gotten the interpreters they needed in hospitals, and exchanged ideas to get greater access to services. By working to educate the medical community and each other, these consumers not only ensure communication access to medical care for themselves, but they are also helping out the next hard of hearing or deaf patient who walks in that hospital door.
For more information about issues regarding health care access, contact the Center for Health Care Access at the League for the Hard of Hearing, 212-741-7694 or www.lhh.org/chca.
Lise Hamlin
Coordinator, CHCA
COCHLEAR IMPLANT Information Resources
The manufacturers of cochlear implants have a wealth of information available. There are three major implant manufacturers in the world today, Advanced Bionics Corp., Cochlear Corp. and Med-El Corp. Advanced Bionics makes the Clarion device, Cochlear Corp. makes the Nucleus 24 device, and Med-El makes the Combi 40+ device. Listed below is information on how these companies can be contacted. If you, or someone you know, is interested in getting a cochlear implant, it is wise to gather as much information as possible about these devices. The companies making these devices are an important source of information and answers to your questions.
ADVANCED BIONICS CORP.
12740 San Fernando Road, Sylmar, CA 91342
818-362-7588 800-678-2575 800-678-3575 (TTY) 818-362-5069(FAX)
info@advancedbionics.com
www.bionics.com
www.cochlearimplant.com
COCHLEAR CORP.
61 Inverness Drive East, Suite 200, Englewood, CO 80112
800-458-4999 (V) 800-483-3123 (TTY) 303-790-9010
www.cochlear.com
MED-EL CORP. USA
PO Box 14183, Research Triangle Park, Durham, NC
919-572-2222 617-484-9229(FAX)
office@medel.com
www.medel.com
HEALTH CARE ACCESSFOR CONSUMERS WHO ARE DEAF, DEAF-BLIND OR HARD-OF-HEARING
Orin S. Kaufman, D.O.
from the advocates for better communication's Health Care Access Kit. (with permission)
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, all health care providers (including doctors, dentists, and hospitals) must communicate effectively with their patients who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard-of-hearing by providing auxiliary aids and services. This includes qualified interpreters, transcripts of services or written material, as well as FM communicators. It may also include the provision of telecommunication devices for the deaf, (known as TTYs, TDDs or text telephones), telephone handset amplifiers, telephones compatible with hearing aids, and television caption decoders. The ADA, under certain limited and specific conditions, may also apply to family members.
EDUCATE yourself as to what your needs are to make communication easier and as to what you are entitled. YOUR responsibility to yourself is to tell this information to your physicians and other health care providers. EDUCATE them about your needs and their responsibilities under the law.
HEALTH CARE PROVIDER'S RESPONSIBILITIES
As a patient who is deaf, deaf-blind, or hard-of-hearing, while in a hospital, in addition to the rights that apply to all patients, you are also entitled to the following equipment, auxiliary aids, and services:
In a health care provider's private office, the specific interpreter you believe you would most benefit from (if applicable) must be provided at no charge during the office visit. This must be arranged by the practitioner in advance. If you agree, written instructions/information may be used instead.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES
You are the patient. Ultimately, you need to take responsibility for your health care. Being a patient can be a frightening experience. Being informed of your medical condition(s), various options and expected outcomes, can lessen the anxiety. Remember, you are entitled to these rights. Take advantage of them. Do not join the silence. You already live there!!
IN A HOSPITAL (if it is not an emergency)
Notify the Admissions Office/Patient Representative at least one week in advance of your entering the hospital as to which equipment and services you will need. Do not let the hospital discourage you or refuse your request. You may also ask your physician's office to assist with the request if you experience any difficulties.
Ask that the INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL OF DEAFNESS sticker (available from a.b.c. and most local SHHH chapters) be attached to your chart, wristband, and the intercom switch for your room at the nursing station. This will alert the nurses that they must come to your room when summoned.
Since different health care personnel will be seeing you, it will be necessary to keep reminding them of your hearing and/or visual condition and telling them how best to communicate with you. Do not become frustrated with this constant repetition.
Be sure you clearly understand any medications given to you including dosage, purpose, and precautions. Repeat instructions to make sure you understand them fully. Ask for written instructions/directions if that will be more reassuring to you, or if you have any questions concerning your health.
Along with your hearing aids, bring a storage container and extra batteries, a pen and paper, and your personal communication equipment (e.g. one-to-one communicator) with you. Although the hospital is required to maintain assistive devices in stock, it is much easier if you do bring your own. This way, you know for certain that you have it. Remember, the hospital may not be responsible for any loss of equipment.
It is also in your best interest to check with the patient representative at your local hospital and at any other hospitals with which your doctors are affiliated to be certain they are aware of the needs of people who are deaf, deaf-blind, or hard-of-hearing, and to make sure that these entitlements are available. If there are any questions, please contact the Center for Health Care Access at (212) 741-7694 (V/TTY), or through NY Relay at 1 (800) 662-1220.
IN OTHER HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
An INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL OF DEAFNESS sticker should be placed on the outside of your chart. This will ensure that anyone who picks up your record will immediately be aware of your communication needs.
IN A WAITING ROOM
Tell the receptionist that you have a hearing and/or visual impairment and that you may not hear your name when called. If possible and appropriate, sit where you can see the face of the receptionist. Explain how they can best communicate with you, that they need to get your attention, and that they may have to come into the waiting room to get you when it is your turn.
IN THE RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Often times technicians give instructions from another room or to your back. Explain that you are deaf/hard of hearing and that you cannot understand unless you can see his/her face. Suggest they use a light to signal when to take a deep breath/hold, and again when you may resume normal breathing. Be sure you understand all instructions/directions before a procedure begins. If you are deaf-blind, suggest they tap your shoulder when you should hold your breath, and tap you again when you may continue breathing.
UNDERGOING A SURGICAL PROCEDURE
Find out about the policy of wearing your hearing aids during surgery. You may be able to keep them. Be sure your doctor, surgeon, and anesthesiologist are aware of your hearing loss. Inquire about any procedure or medication that might affect your hearing. Indicate that you may not be able to understand anyone wearing a surgical mask. Ask to receive any directions or instructions prior to the doctors putting on their masks. Once their masks are on and they are sterile, they may not remove their masks. If you have a question after the doctors are masked and dressed, ask one of the operating room staff to write down the answer for you so that you may read it.
EYE EXAMINATION
Explain to the examiner that you may not be able to see their face in a darkened room or without your glasses. Suggest that hand or finger gestures be used to indicate when you need to look up, down, read the chart, and so forth.
DENTAL OFFICE
Advise your dentist that you are unable to see his or her face when they are using a face mask. Suggest s/he write or diagram what they plan on doing so that you understand prior to the beginning of the procedure or suggest that they use a transparent face shield. We suggest removing your hearing aids prior to the start of a dental procedure, as the amplified noise of a dental engine is uncomfortable and could possibly cause additional hearing loss.
Most health care providers are eager to help you, but may need to be informed how to best communicate with you. Be cooperative and pleasant, but assertive and persistent in specifying your communication needs.
Cruising with Sound
by Mardie Younglof
I did something recently which I would not have even considered before receiving my cochlear implant at the end of 1996. My husband, Bob, and I took a two-week cruise of Scandinavia and Russia. Cruises are the very epitome of an auditory experience, since there are activities of all kinds on the ship, guided tours ashore, and meals taken in very noisy shipboard dining rooms and in restaurants on land. "Cruisers" constantly contend with background noise, music, and assorted accents, all of which can be intimidating to someone with a hearing loss.
When Bob, who is hard of hearing and wears two hearing aids, and I signed up to take this trip, I decided it would be a gigantic "lab experiment" to assess how well I could function with my implant in such a challenging environment. I knew that the usual preparatory steps would need to be taken to "educate" the cruise line's tour managers about accommodating our hearing loss. Accordingly, I emailed a customer service representative weeks before departure, telling her we wanted to bring our personal FM listening system to use on the tours. She later responded that she had secured the "cooperation" of the various guides.
We found, however, that we didn't need our FM system on the tour buses after all, because in every country the guide spoke into a microphone on the bus, which we heard easily and clearly, even when we couldn't see their faces. We sat in the front of each bus, our seats having been reserved for us by the ship's tour staff. These wonderful young men and women were very careful, without seeming patronizing, to see that we got on the right tour bus. In addition, they tried to assign us to guides whose English was better. Their efforts paid off most of the time, but there were a couple of guides who were virtually incomprehensible - so much so that even the hearing people in our group struggled to understand them. Bob and I were able to watch the passing landscape or cityscape as the guides ran through their monologues about what we were seeing - the culture of the country, interesting statistics or facts, and illustrative anecdotes. On ground, walking around, we stayed near the guides whenever we wished. This tactic paid off particularly well when we visited Oxford University in England after the cruise. Our guide, with his exquisite, precise British accent, had a penchant for gruesome stories about various sites he pointed out to his flock of tourists. Since both of us were right next to him, we got all the gory details, leaving me to muse over whether there can be times when deafness is preferable to hearing.
On the ship, we shared a quiet table at dinner with another couple, dear friends from home, the wife of whom was also hearing impaired. Experienced cruisers, they had acclimatized the staff to her listening needs to the point where we had been given a table against the wall at the front of the dining room, away from other tables. The waiters earnestly assured us over and over that this would be "our table" for the duration of the cruise; no one else would be permitted to sit there. With my cochlear implant, however, I could have sat happily at just about any table and managed with my "best friend," my auxiliary microphone, which is usually employed only in noisy situations. With it plugged into my speech processor and my sensitivity dial turned down to mute the background din, I am very much in the midst of the conversation in any restaurant or party. Bob, in the same situations, uses his FM system and joins the conversation with ease. The quietness of our assigned table, however, shows it pays to speak up about one's listening needs, rather than struggle with communication while dining with others, be they friends or strangers. The all-important evening meal should be relaxing and fun, not torture.
We discovered, to our intense delight, the superb acoustics in the various lounges where lectures, an art auction, music events, and floor shows were held. The microphones were so good that we could easily understand most of what was spoken from many rows back, without lipreading. For me, it was pure heaven, the answer to a lifetime of yearning to be able to attend a lecture on an exciting topic and sit back and listen with nearly total comprehension, with no dependence on anything other than my very own hearing. The art auction was the first I had attended after my implant, and I understood just about everything bellowed out by the auctioneer, except an occasional unfamiliar artist's name. I was thrilled to be able to follow without having to sit right under the auctioneer's nose, and resolved to explore auction-going once home again.
At various airports on this trip, I found that, despite my wonderful "new" hearing, I had to remain as alert as in my "deaf" days, because both Bob and I were only able to understand about one-fourth of the announcements over the PA systems. Airport acoustics and the concomitant noisy bustling, chatter, and clatter are not conducive to auditory accessibility. Thus we relied on our age-old routine of telling the gate personnel that we had a hearing loss and needed to be informed of announcements pertaining to our flight.
Just about everywhere we went, people were willing to accommodate our hearing loss as long as we carefully, in an upbeat, pleasant manner, explained what we needed. Clear, concise communication with hotel concierges, restaurant waiters, cab drivers, and natives on the streets paid off in spades for us, as we look back on a wonderful vacation, during which we encountered few of the communication-related frustrations we had experienced in the past.
I feel, from my perspective as a cochlear implant user, that my "lab experiment," auditorially, was a huge success, as it had been apparent daily that my implant gave me the kind of listening accessibility I had never had before in my life, having been born profoundly deaf. Yet, while the auditory barrier was considerably lowered, it was still there. It was there when I struggled with the heavily accented, staccato speech of the head waiter at our table on the ship, when I missed something someone had said to me on a bus, when I had to use my auxiliary mic in the laundry room to chat with others, when I didn't care for the ship's tiny theater because the sound didn't compare in any way with that in a "regular" movie theater, when I only got words and phrases from airport PA systems. This trip made me realize my sense of being hearing impaired will never entirely fade away because it has been too indelibly part of my identity all my life.
Having much better hearing doesn't erase years of viewing myself as a deaf person. What it has done, among other positive things, is alleviate that conditioning, make it infinitely easier to understand people, allow me to use a regular phone, and enhance my sense of self-esteem. But deafness is still a psychic companion - not nearly as large as before - but nonetheless there, shadowing me. My focus, since getting my implant, has been, not on my deafness, but on my incredible new hearing, and there it shall remain as I strive to continue improving my listening skills. I don't mind the shadow stalking me so long as it doesn't drag me back into the silence of deafness. After all, it's an auditory world we all live in!
Mardie Younglof, an associate editor of CONTACT, the publication of Cochlear Implant Club International, Inc. (CICI), is a member of SHHH and ALDA. A founding member of the Virginia chapter of CICI, she resides in Montclair, Virginia with her husband.
FCC RULES IN FAVOR OF GREATER CAPTIONING ACCESS
On September 21, 1998, the FCC amended its original captioning Report Order, originally given in August of 1997, granting additional captioning requirements:
More information on this ruling may be found at the following website:www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1998/nrcb8021.html
CLEARVIEW CINEMAS EXPANDS OPEN CAPTIONED SHOWINGS
Clearview Cinemas, which has movie theaters in New York and New Jersey, recently expanded their program of showing regularly-scheduled open captioned movies, bringing to eight the total number of their theaters showing open captioned first-run commercial films. There are now four Clearview theaters showing open captioned movies in New Jersey, and four in New York. Open-captioned showings in Manhattan are scheduled to begin in February. The movies are shown at 7:30 p.m., usually following the general schedule below. Check with the theater to confirm dates, times and movie - the phone numbers provided should reach the manager's office and not a recording.
Clearview's Franklin Square Cinemas
989 Hempstead Turnpike, Franklin Square, NY
516-775-0063 First Monday of the month
Clearview's Port Washington Cinemas
116 Main Street, Port Washington, NY
516-883-6464 First Wednesday of the month
Clearview's Mt. Kisco Cinemas
144 Main Street, Mt. Kisco, NY
914-666-7400 Second Monday of the month
Clearview's New City Cinema 6
202 South Main Street, New City, NY
914-634-4439 Second Wednesday of the month
Clearview's Bellevue Cinema 4
260 Bellevue Avenue, Upper Montclair, NJ
973-744-2543 Third Monday of the month
Clearview's Bergenfield Cinema 5
58 S. Washington Avenue, Bergenfield, NJ
201-385-1601 Third Wednesday of the month
Clearview's Headquarters 10 Theatres
72 Headquarters Plaza Mall, Morristown, NJ
973-292-1104 Fourth Monday of the month
Clearview's Middlebrook Galleria Cinema 10
1502 Route 35 South, Ocean Township, NJ
732-493-2277 Fourth Wednesday of the month
OPEN CAPTIONED MOVIE WEBSITE NOW AVAILABLE!
This newsletter brings you news of the expansion of Clearview Cinemas' program of open captioned films. They have made a commitment to show regularly-scheduled open captioned films once a month, every month at select theaters. Other chains are now experimenting with showing open captioned films, but it is difficult to get the necessary information to take advantage of these performances and also to show these chains that there is, indeed, a need and, more importantly, support for open captioned films.
Last summer, the a.b.c. proposed and, with the League's support, began the development of a website to gather together the dates and locations of open captioned film performances in the tri-state area. Starting with a very short list consisting of the Walter Reade and Clearview theaters, the site now includes listings for Sony/Loews, National Amusements, General Cinemas and Hoyts theaters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. To be sure, some of these performances are at odd times, but this may change once people start supporting these efforts with their attendance, and sending notes to both the theater and the chain, expressing appreciation for these first steps and suggestions for more convenient times.
Access the website at www.lhh.org/movies. Please help spread the word about captioned movies to your friends. Take your family and friends and go enjoy a captioned movie!
Rosalind Pretzfelder
a.b.c. Movie Access Subcommittee
DID YOU KNOW . . .
Several movie theater chains are now including the ear logo symbol in their newspaper advertisements. In a recent copy of The New York Times, the Loews Cineplex, United Artists, and Sony theaters all included this logo in their theater listing ads. We, at a.b.c. have been pushing for this for a very long time. We'd also like to see this logo appear in the individual movie ads. We have more work to do!
DANCE - A PERFECT ART FORM FOR HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE
Dance is an Art that should have a special appeal for people with hearing loss. It is totally visual. Enjoyment can be enhanced by the costumes and stage sets. While it is usually accompanied by music, it isn't necessary to hear it all to enjoy a dance performance.
There is a tremendous variety of dance forms - classic ballet, modern, folk, tap, ballroom, tango and flamenco. Dance companies come to New York from cities throughout the country, and from many foreign countries as well.
Last year, New Yorkers could participate in several dance festivals, some lasting a full week. Dance groups are finding new sites for performances - churches, settlement houses, dance studios, in addition to the major venues - City Center, New York State Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. During the summer, there were numerous outdoor programs at Lincoln Center, Battery Park, Wave Hill, and a week-long Dance Festival on the Lower East Side.
Prime sites for modern dance are the Joyce Theatre, the Dance Theatre Workshop, the Kitchen, St. Marks Church, P.S. 122. One free program takes place at the Judson Memorial Church, presented by Movement Research on Monday evenings.
Another source for dance programs are the colleges and universities in New York City - Columbia Teacher's College, NYU, Barnard, Juilliard, Marymount, Pace, and others. Notices of these performances can be found in the New York Times, the Village Voice, New York, New Yorker, Time Out, and Free Time.
Not to be neglected is "social dancing" by couples, where people can be active participants. Social dancing takes place in ballrooms and night clubs throughout the city.
With so much variety, there is surely something to suit every taste. Dance - a visual delight - little or no hearing required.
Toby Kurzband, Ed.D.
a.b.c. Cultural Affairs Committee
GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE CAPTIONED PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
The George Street Playhouse, located at 9 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, has announced that it is open captioning one performance of each of its five productions this season. The theater is also equipped with an infrared listening system. The open captioned performance schedule is as follows:
INSPECTING CAROL - a mix of comedy, farce and Dickens rolled into a real holiday treat.
Sunday, December 27 at 2 p.m.
THE SEA GULL - by Anton Chekhov. Comic masterpiece of unrequited love and human longing.
Sunday, February 21 at 2 p.m.
JOLSON SINGS AGAIN - by Arthur Laurents, the author of West Side Story, The Way We Were and Gypsy.
Sunday, March 28 at 2 p.m.
Final Production - to be announced.
Sunday, May 2 at 2 p.m.
For ordering information, contact the theater at 732-246-7717(V) or 732-846-0825(TTY). You may also request to be put on their mailing list for future captioned performances.
And don't forget . . .
The Theatre Development Fund's Theatre Access Project offers open captioned performances of Broadway shows. Call 212-221-1103 or tap@tdf.org for more information.
And the Paper Mill Playhouse, in Millburn, New Jersey, also runs one or two open captioned performances for each of its productions. Call 973-379-3636 or papermill@aol.com for more information.
BE PREPARED!
You have a hearing loss, but that does not mean that you must drop out of participating in life activities. It does mean that you need to learn about how to make the best use of the aids and services available, and provide for needs and contingencies. Even though the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that aids and services must be available on request, there are many possibilities for things to go wrong. Your knowledge of needed equipment and how things work are the best preparation for travel, staying in hotels, visits to medical facilities, hospital stays, going to the theatre, movies, places of lectures and performances.
Accept that you have a hearing loss and learn as much as you can about living with it. If you use a hearing aid, know how to keep it in working order. Being able to clean the aid and change batteries is most important. Do you know what a t-coil is and how to use it in different situations? Does the equipment you use require recharging, and do you have the equipment to do this?
If you use any connections with the hearing aid, such as direct audio input, neckloops, or auxiliary aids for a cochlear implant, you must know how to keep them in working order too. If you are unfamiliar with aids and auxiliaries, find out about them from your audiologist, hearing aid dealer or by visiting an assistive devices center to learn about assistive listening systems, hearing-aid compatible telephones, telephone amplifiers, TTYs, FM and infrared devices and receivers, person-to-person communicators, TV caption decoders. Try the equipment to see what works for you.
Consider what you might need at home and away from home - flashers or vibrators to tell you that the phone is ringing, the doorbell sounding, door knockers, vibrating alarm clock, TV caption decoder, smoke detector, telephone amplifier, hearing-aid compatible telephone, TTY. If you buy any equipment, be sure that you know how to use it, replace batteries and maintain it. This equipment may be provided at hospitals and hotels, usually by prior arrangement. You need to ask about their availability. Be sure that they work for you. If it is provided at the desk, you may have to get a technician to show you how it functions. On tours and at lectures you may want to have an FM assistive listening system that you know how to use. In theatres and movies, an assistive listening system should be available. Check that it works before you are seated in the middle of a row and the performance has begun.
It is helpful to carry pencil and paper so that people can write the answers to your questions if you cannot understand what is being said.
If you require an interpreter (sign language or oral) or a captioner, it is essential to make plans and requests well in advance. There are organizations that provide these services in many places, but the provider may not be familiar with them so you should be able to supply information for them.
Find out about audiotherapy and speechreading to see if they would be useful to you.
You will usually find that people are willing to help when you can tell them what you need. When you are prepared, you make it easier for yourself and for everyone who wants to communicate with you.
Paula Brown Glick, Ph.D., Co-Chair
a.b.c. Cultural Affairs Committee
MEDICARE CARDS AS ID'S FOR HEARING LOSS
As I was preparing to cover my brand new Medicare card with clear contact paper, I realized that I had space to add the 1" X 1" international logo - - for hearing loss on the right side of the card. Now my card identifies me as a senior citizen, Medicare member and someone who is hard of hearing. This is a decided asset, as I discovered when I went to the movies. The cashier looked at my card and understood immediately when I asked for headphones. I plan to use this card to identify myself as someone with a hearing loss. When you use this logo - - on your identification cards, it will help make hearing loss more visible.
Ruth D. Shapiro, M.A., Chair
a.b.c. Travel Committee
RECYCLE USED HEARING AIDS
Do you or someone you know have hearing aids that are not being used? You don't need to keep old hearing aids because if the aid you are wearing needs to be repaired, most audiologists will loan you a replacement aid temporarily. Do a good deed. Donate your hearing aids to HEAR NOW, a national non-profit organization that reconditions and recycles used hearing aids (even broken ones) and provides hearing aids for persons who are deaf and hard of hearing who can't afford to buy them. For more information, contact HEAR NOW, 9745 East Hampton Avenue, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80231-4923. The phone numbers are 303-695-7797 (V,TTY) or 1-800-648-4327.