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From Hearing Aid Tax Credit web site:

What would the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act do? And, what are the differences in the House and Senate legislation?

The bill in the House of Representatives (H.R. 1646) would provide a tax credit towards the purchase of each hearing aid of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years. It would be available to 1) individuals age 55 and over, or 2) those purchasing a hearing aid for a dependent. The House bill excludes coverage for those with incomes over $200,000/year. The bill in the Senate (S. 1019) would provide the same $500 credit but would cover all age groups.

Learn more about the Hearing Aid Tax Credit.

Posted by at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Who Are You Hiring in 2010? Thinking About Diversity in Another Way is a fabulous article that looks at hiring trends and thinking beyond the label. See Think Beyond the Label to learn how you can evolve your workforce. The web site is “committed to making the business case for employing people with disabilities.”

Here’s an article that looks at five myths and the real facts for employers.

I should be grateful I’ve had a great pre-freelance career working in the federal government as well as for two big telecommunications companies.

Posted by at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

No matter how you feel about the Dallas Cowboys — you have to give them credit. From Deaf Network of Texas.

Softeq Development Corporation has implemented DURATEQ Live with Intelligent Access mobile captioning, audio description, and assistive listening service at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. On a recent Sunday, guests who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision could access DURATEQ Assistive Technology Version (ATV) handhelds to enjoy the first NFC Playoff game in the stadium.

“The Dallas Cowboys Football Club contacted us to build a universal experience for all their fans, and we teamed up with Georgia Tech’s wireless captioning specialist Intelligent Access to create a customized assistive technology solution for them,” said Trey Litel, Vice President of Softeq Development Corporation. “The spectacular Dallas Cowboys Stadium has the best technology and now with DURATEQ ATV they have added real time mobile captioning and assistive audio anywhere in the stadium!”

Originally developed for the Walt Disney World theme park, the DURATEQ ATV makes the full game experience available to all guests. Softeq adapted its application to include the Intelligent Access software to add real time mobile captioning to the platform. The device also provides assistive listening of all public address system announcements and assistive audio play by play announcements in English and Spanish. Fully integrated into the existing Dallas Cowboys Stadium captioning infrastructure, the server broadcasts content over the stadium WiFi network and assistive band FM transmitters.

The DURATEQ ATV helps public entertainment venues meet Title II and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Visit the Dallas Cowboy Web site for information for guests with disabilities. Visit Intelligent Access for information on wireless personal captioning.

Posted by at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss shares great information answering many common questions I get from people. Some are afraid to ask the questions in fear of insulting someone. But I welcome them.

Here I share my responses to the 17 misconceptions from my experience…

1. Everyone with hearing losses uses sign language and reads lips. I know a drop of sign language, which I’ve picked up here and there like I’ve picked up words in other languages. My dad and grandmother lost their hearing as they got older. Neither knew sign language nor how to read lips.

2. Talking louder will help a person with hearing loss to understand. No, it puts us in an awkward situation. It is possible to talk too loud to me, but I can’t be sure if it’s someone’s normal volume or trying to do me a favor. Either way, I don’t want to risk hurting anyone’s feelings. It’s all about annunciation.

3. Hearing aids and cochlear implants restore hearing to normal. I wish! I’ve used both and I still cannot hear a conversation on the phone, from behind me or on TV.

4. People with hearing loss are stupid, mute and unsuccessful. I run a successful full-time freelance business. Before doing this, I had a great career in both the government and in telecommunications. A recent article discusses two employees at a large local company, one is an engineer. Unfortunately, if we dare ask “What did you say?” or don’t look like we understand, we’re perceived as stupid.

5. People with hearing loss tend to be older adults. I was born deaf. ‘nuff said. I’ve met many deaf kids my age over the years.

6. People with hearing loss are defined by their hearing loss. Hardly. I’m a wife and mother first. Then a writer and volunteer. Being deaf does motivate me to work harder. I’m as much as a lefty as I am a deafie.

7. Having hearing loss is shameful. Some folks who lose their hearing as they get older do struggle with the loss just like we all struggle with different things that come with aging. But as a person who was born deaf and never experiencing hearing like the average person, it’s not shameful. However, it’s true that some folks are in denial about their hearing loss.

8. When people with hearing loss miss something, it’s OK to tell them, “It’s not important,” or “I’ll tell you later.” Yeah, my brother did this to me all the time as closed-captions weren’t around until I was a teen. But I know he did it because it’s easier. It’s no different than when kids ask their parents what they were talking about to each other. They just don’t need to know everything.

9. People with hearing loss are rude and pushy. From my view, I don’t like lose track of the conversation or force myself not to care what people are talking about. So in my anxiousness to stay on track, I might come across as pushy when I don’t mean it.

10. People with hearing loss mostly hang out with other people with hearing loss. I’ve had very few deaf friends over the years. The only ones I know are from social networking. However, it’s true that some folks do all they can to be active in the community with other deaf people. It’s no different than Jewish people interacting with each other, Blacks and so on. You’ll find this in every race, culture and creed.

11. Everyone who needs an assistive listening system can use ear buds or headphones. I can’t use ear buds at all. They’re not loud enough and they don’t reach my hearing aid. I use headphones and switch my cochlear implant to T-Coil to shut out regular sounds and only hear what comes through the headphones. The T-Coil has been around since I was a kid. Great invention.

12. The wheelchair symbol represents universal access. It represents people who need to know if there’s access for someone with mobility challenges.

13. Hearing access isn’t needed because it’s so rarely requested. “Many people with hearing loss are so accustomed to there being no accessibility accommodations that they don’t inquire about it unless it is publicized.” Very true. I’ve gotten to the pint that if someone tells me about a video, I don’t bother to check it out unless they say it’s captioned or has no words.

14. People with hearing loss read braille. My husband ran into this when he was moving to Washington, DC, and I hadn’t yet joined him. Riding in an elevator, a coworker, who knew I was deaf, asked if I could read braille. Sure, I can rub my ear all over it and know what it says. Not really.

15. Providing access for people with hearing loss is very expensive. I can caption my own videos for zero cost. (OK, we won’t go into the fact you need a computer and Internet connection.) We can also access relay services online.

16. Deaf, hearing impaired, handicapped or disabled one is as good as the other. Even I get lazy and say “deaf person” referring to me. But it’s true that the correct way is “people who are deaf or hard of hearing.” Using “deaf person” or “blind person” implies there’s nothing else to the person. Some deaf people (see?) prefer to be known as “deaf person.” I also get lazy and say “hearing impaired” instead of “hard of hearing.” I’ve used all three terms. The only thing I don’t like is “handicapped.”

17. Companies or accessibility experts with no background with hearing loss can know what best meets the needs of people with hearing loss. Not all companies have the ability to hire someone to be an expert. That’s why you do research, ask questions and contact experts.

Image credit: Chris Baker

Posted by at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Lots of things to report courtesy Bill Creswell [@grwebguy, who should be greatccguy].

• The Year in Captions in 2009
• Closed-Captions Missing from Several On Demand Movies
• 17 Misconceptions about People with Hearing Loss
• University of Arizona launches a class to help people who are losing their hearing.
• Court Reporting One of Strongest Careers for 2010
• TrailerSpy Closed-Captioned Trailers

Posted by at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Laura Carlson provides two great links in her long-time excellent resource, Web Design References. I don’t know how long I’ve been reading it… but most certainly over five years.

Accessible Web Design provides US disability statistics: Measurement and sources.

Jesblog looks at captioning and YouTube. “Anyway, a solution to finding a quick and inexpensive way of captioning short videos is coming closer to fruition. Exciting times. Stay tuned!”

Posted by at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)