A PATH TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD A PATH TOWARD “America is well into the so-called “Information Age.” The best-paying and some of the fastest-growing jobs and careers involve collection, analysis, AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD and interpretation of information. All of us are bombarded daily with more information than were our parents; sifting the wheat of knowledge from the chaff of information is a crucial skill in daily life today.” Dr. Frank G. Bowe - Winter 1997 GA-SK Newsletter 1968 - 2018 “We want that little hand-held gizmo with perfect speech recognition capabilities that we can point to a speaker and be able to read the text of TDI’s 50 Years of Service and Contributions to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community what he or she is saying instantly. We’d like CART (computer-aided real time translation) to be within a hair of 100% accurate and give us ALL the information going on around us, including sound effects … I’m just getting warmed up. Stop me now!” Cheryl Heppner 1998.1 GA-SK Newsletter
“The original founders of APCOM (the company formed to manufacture
acoustic couplers) and TDI were pioneers in advocacy. Their communication 1968 - 2018 methods were different - some of them were f uent in sign language, the rest did not sign for one reason or another. In spite of this difference (remember - diversity!), they all learned to work together to plead their cause before federal agencies and industry. Not only did they talk about their situation, they also came up with possible solutions to problems and acted on them. As their network grew, they cultivated friends and allies who then helped make things happen.” Jim House 1998.4 GA-SK Newsletter
From a Board Views column, titled “We Want You!” by in Volume 47, Issue 4 (2017) - “It is important to welcome new members of all ages and hearing loss while retaining loyal members so we can more fully represent the great diversity of our country. We need a larger base of younger members to carry out our mission and vision.” Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, Board President TDI World Magazine Volume 47, Issue 2
“There are some times, when we try to convince industry and government that our access needs can be met as readily achievable, simply through extra effort, and with much less expense. Equally important, we have to take into account some constraints that industry has had with its resources, or A TDI World Anniversary Commemorative Edition government with its regulatory responsibility.” Volume 49, Issue 2 Claude Stout, Executive Director TDI World Magazine Volume 48, Issue 3
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. First TDI Board Meeting
1972 TDI Board & Staff
2018 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1968 – 1977: TDI BEGINNINGS ...... 2 From Modest Beginnings to an Advocacy Powerhouse ...... 3 TDI’s First President & Executive Director: H. Latham Breunig ...... 15 TDI Agents - The Nuts and Bolts of TDI ...... 16 Teletypewriters Made Easy! ...... 20 Board Presidents - Navigating the Future Through Leadership and Vision for TDI ...... 24 Board Members - Charting the Future for TDI ...... 25 1978 – 1987: A NEW ERA FOR TDI ...... 27 A New Era for TDI...... 28 TDI’s Second Executive Director: Barry Strassler ...... 29 TDI’s Third Executive Director: Tom Mentkowski ...... 32 1988 – 1997: TDI EMERGES AS A POWERFUL FORCE ...... 37 Tdi Emerges as a Powerful Force ...... 38 TDI’s Fourth Executive Director: Alfred Sonnenstrahl ...... 40 A Brief History of TDI Biennial Conferences ...... 49 A Kaleidoscopic Look at Accessible Technology ...... 54 1998 – 2007: TDI GOES DIGITAL...... 58 TDI Goes Digital ...... 59 TDI’s Fifth (and Current) Executive Director: Claude Stout ...... 60 Staff – Implementing TDI’s Goals Via Programs and Services ...... 72 Repackaging TDI ...... 76 2008 – PRESENT: TDI GROWS IN STATURE ...... 77 TDI Grows in Stature ...... 78 A Tale of Two Roberts ...... 96 Technology Changing over the Years - Life with Mr. QWERTY ...... 98 Technology Changing over the Years - Relay Services ...... 99 Technology Changing Over the Years - Movie/TV/Internet Captioning ...... 100 Technology Changing Over the Years - Emergency Communications ...... 101 Technology Changing Over the Years - Emergency Notifications...... 102 Technology Changing Over the Years - Hearing Aid Compatibility ...... 103 Technology Changing Over the Years - Consumer Advocacy Tools ...... 104 Accessibility Initiatives from the Corporate World and Academia ...... 105 Technical Advisors - the Geniuses Behind TDI ...... 121 Pro Bono Law Entities & Their Filings on Behalf of TDI and Other Consumer Groups...... 125 Allies with TDI in the Trenches...... 133 Consumer Advocates - The Power of One, Two, Three or More...... 134 Our Future Depends on the Never-Ending Advocacy from TDI ...... 146 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... 150 ABOUT THE AUTHORS ...... 151
Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved. This book A PATH TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD is copyrighted by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. You may not reproduce in whole or in part, by printing, duplicating, mimeographing, photocopying, scanning, downloading, or any other means, without express written permission from TDI. TDI has no affiliation with any company mentioned or listed in this book, and offers neither endorsement nor recommendation regarding their products and services, and is not to be construed as official statements by TDI. The absence of a company name or product does not imply any negative treatment on TDI’s part. Furthermore, TDI does not warrant any product or service to be in compliance with any Federal, state or local laws. Reconstructing this historical information throughout this book has been at best an imperfect exercise. We apologize for any errors that we may have made in the process. For more information, contact TDI at: Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) P.O. Box 8009, Silver Spring, Maryland 20907 Phone: 301-563-9112 • [email protected] • www.TDIforAccess.org Shaping An Accessible World! BEGINNINGS
TDI BEGINNINGS
1968 – 1977
2 BEGINNINGS
From Modest Beginnings to an Advocacy Powerhouse
ongratulations to Tele- technological expertise and its vision communications for the that anything is possible when new and Deaf and Hard of Hear- emerging technologies are equipped from ing, Inc. (TDI) on its 50th the very beginning with accessibility fea- Anniversary! From its tures such as captioning, text, and video modest beginning in the along with traditional audio information. CMidwest, TDI has become a powerhouse TDI’s achievements over the past 50 years for an accessible world as a leading advo- have inspired hundreds and thousands of cacy organization in the nation’s capital. individuals and groups to join in the spirit Its current mission statement is to provide of shaping an accessible world. leadership in access to telecommunica- For more than f ve decades TDI has tions, media, and information technolo- adapted to the rapid changes in technol- gy for people who are deaf and hard of ogy that has provided new ways to stay hearing. Our work has also touched the in touch with members and friends. Since lives of people who are deafblind, deaf 1968 when TDI incorporated in India- plus, late-deafened, and others with the napolis as Teletypewriters for the Deaf, goal of effective communications through Inc., the annual directory that began with technology. TDI’s ongoing collabora- 174 TTY listings is now the “TDI Na- tion with other consumer groups serving tional Directory and Resource Guide for people who are deaf or hard of hearing Deaf and Hard of Hearing People”. What is a force multiplier that leverages its we know today affectionately as “The
3 BEGINNINGS Dr. Robert Haig Weitbrecht Dr. Robert Haig “Bob” Weitbrecht was a deaf physicist with an unusual avocation in amateur radio, commonly known today as ham radio. Thousands of licensed operators use ham radio today as a way to communicate with friends around the world, and to connect with others during disasters when traditional telecommunication networks are down.
As W6NRM, Bob Weitbrecht used Morse Code and radioteletype to communicate with other ham radio operators the world over. One day, at the request of his good friend Dr, James L. Marsters, he retrof tted his radioteletype modem for use on telephone lines, and made possible telephone access for deaf people. The hundreds of thousands of TTYs installed worldwide today bear testimony to Weitbrecht’s genius and vision.1
For several years, Weitbrecht, Marsters, and Andrew Saks were in business together manufacturing modems and helping to make the TTY network grow. The trio founded a company, APCOM, which by 1979 was struggling in a competitive business environment where competitors snatched bids from telecommunications equipment distribution programs, and incompatible TTY standards that existed throughout the world.
Bob portrayed himself as a low keyed character where he is more comfortable doing the work he was supposed to do than to toot his own horn. Rumor has it that one day, Weitbrecht and a friend went to visit a school for the deaf. As instructed, they went to a waiting room and sat for quite some time just outside the superintendent’s off ce. Because Bob was casually dressed with a baseball cap, the superintendent did not recognize him and passed by several times. When someone spotted Mr. Weitbrecht and informed the superintendent, all of a sudden classes were called to a screeching halt and a special assembly was hastily put together to give the students a chance to meet the inventor of the TTY. Dr. Weitbrecht was a humble man who just wanted to make a difference in the lives of deaf and hard of hearing people.2
4 Blue Book” has 20,000 plus listings using The f rst International TDI Conven- several telecommunication technologies tion where consumer advocates, industry such as videophones, captioned phones, professionals, and government off cials mobile phones, and more. This book gathered took place in 1974 in Chicago. contains many excerpts from the 2018 Last year TDI held its 22nd Conference BEGINNINGS Resource Guide (blue pages) that records in Bethesda, MD with more than 350 at- several chronologies listing achievements, tendees. TDI sent out its f rst eNote email news in 1999, and produced its f rst vlog large and small, of our struggles toward (video blog) in 2008. full access in telecommunications, media, emergency preparedness, and advocacy. This 50th Anniversary Commemora- tive Issue of TDI World is not so much The f rst TDI newsletter, The GA-SK, a list of “who’s who” like the TDI 30th was published in 1970 from a mim- Anniversary GA-SK Commemorative eograph machine in Latham Breunig’s Issue where we listed all the movers and home that is “...published every once in a shakers in our world, plus other notable while.” Today almost f fty years later you achievements that can be found in the now hold in your hands a slick multi-col- annual Blue Book chronologies within its or quarterly magazine, the 50th Anniver- blue page section. This time around, we sary Special Commemorative Edition of acknowledge and applaud TDI’s leader- TDI World. ship in major legislative and regulatory
Dr. James Marsters Dr. James Marsters, a deaf orthodontist by vocation and a pilot by avocation provided his good friend, Bob Weitbrecht a discarded TTY and a request that he f nd a way for both of them to communicate with each other. Unlike Weitbrecht, Marsters was not a ham radio operator, so the only way for them to communicate was either face-to-face or over the regular telephone lines using interpreters. At the time, the Bell telephone company, through its monopoly on the telecommunications network, owned all the phones and did not allow customers to add their own peripheral James Marsters teaches equipment directly to the network. From this his son how to use request, an acoustic coupler was invented to the TTY. allow TTYs to transmit tones to each other.
5 achievements in the past half century that were as large as a street corner mailbox BEGINNINGS have brought lasting change in the pursuit and shook the house each time a call was of inclusive and universal design in com- made. munication access. After years of asking AT&T to allow the deaf community to have access to the telephone network, Dr. Robert H. Weitbrecht, a deaf scientist developed an acoustic coupler modif ed for Baudot transmission of TTY tones. Dr. James C. Marsters, a deaf orthodontist, sent Weitbrecht a Teletype Model 32ASR and asked that a system be set up so they can communicate directly with each other between Pasadena in Southern California and Redwood City, more than 360 miles The three founders of the TTY network. L-R: Dr. Robert H. Weitbrecht, Dr. James away in Northern California. Unlike L. Marsters, and Andrew Saks. Weitbrecht, Marsters did not have a li- cense to operate a ham radio, so the only EARLY DEVELOPMENTS way to communicate was to do it over A key event that led to the establishment the public phone system. Andrew Saks of TDI was during the mid 1960’s, when brought his business management exper- Robert H. Weitbrecht, Dr. James L. tise to help build the TTY network. The Marsters, and Andrew Saks of APCOM APCOM coupler made its public debut at showcased the new acoustic coupler, a the 1964 Alexander Graham Bell Associa- modem-like device which became the tion for the Deaf Conference in Salt Lake connection between a hulking TeleType City, Utah.1 machine and the standard telephone, Meanwhile, big businesses such as Bell hundreds of deaf and hard of hearing Telephone, Western Union, and others people signed up. The deal was that the were discarding their Teletype machines customers would receive a free TTY if and migrating to new computers that can they purchased a coupler and signed up transmit messages much faster in ASCII for telephone service. The original TTY code. When deaf leaders learned that the transmitted in 45 baud (a snail’s pace corporations were dumping and destroy- compared to the blazing speed on the ing the old TTY machines, they ap- internet today) came in several models proached the Bell Telephone Pioneers and but all included a keyboard and a roll of asked them to salvage their inventory and paper to type our conversations. Some divert the unwanted machines to them.
6 Andrew Saks Andrew Saks was another friend with an interest in ham radio technology. Marsters introduced BEGINNINGS him to Weitbrecht and they hit it off well with common interests in telephone access and other topics. Marsters convinced Saks that an investment in the TTY network would be worthy of great consideration. Saks eventually came around and brought his business acumen and f nancial backing to the TTY network Andrew Saks spray painting PhoneType modem cases to allow APCOM to (Credit: Andrea Saks) acquire more TTYs for refurbishing. His wife, Jean Saks, became an early proponent of the TTY network, and demonstrated TTY calls to her friends across the country. Their hearing daughter, Andrea Saks, who once relayed her parent’s phone calls as a child, introduced the TTY to England. Andrew Saks’ f rst advocacy efforts paid off when the IRS allowed expenses related to TTYs to be deducted as medical expenses. This marked the f rst time that the federal government recognized the unique needs of deaf people in telecommunications. Andrew Saks, ever the visionary, presented the idea of a relay service where deaf people could call and leave messages for hearing people without a TTY. This concept was years ahead of its time. An operator would collect the message and call the hearing person to “relay” the message a few hours later. The same system would allow hearing people to call the same relay service and ask that a message be relayed to a deaf person. Saks set up the relay call center in Redwood City, California while Marsters set up a similar relay service 350 miles away in Glendale. However, due to the high cost and the long length of time it took to exchange messages, the f rst relay services did not last long.
7 The TTY was a breakthrough for some H. Latham Breunig was selected as the BEGINNINGS deaf and hard of hearing people who f rst President of TDDC. He and his wife were able to read and type back and Nancy Breunig, represented AGBell. Jess forth to each other. Since the telephone M. Smith from NAD was the Vice Presi- was patented in 1876, it had become an dent. On June 10, TDDC became incor- insurmountable obstacle for deaf people porated in Indianapolis as a non-prof t seeking employment or integrating in any organization called Teletypewriters for community activity. If it was a local call, the Deaf, Inc. (TDI). At the time, the Bre- both callers would type for hours as long unigs ran TDI part-time from their master as they had paper available and installed bedroom, the shipping department was with ink in the typewriter ribbons. The from a second bedroom, and the Rolo- paper also provided a way for callers to dex f les containing names of people who refer back to a transcript of a previous owned a TTY sat in the dining room. phone call to resolve disputes. Before long, the Hoosier State Chapter 1968 – The Oral Deaf Adults Section of the Telephone Pioneers of America, an (ODAS) of the Alexander Graham Bell honor society of retired employees of Bell Association (AGBell) and the National System, donated off ce space and volun- Association of the Deaf (NAD) both teers to help TDI in distributing TTYs found that the two organizations had lim- nationwide.2 ited resources and manpower to handle Because typing words took more time the acquisition and distribution of TTYs. than to speak or sign, long distance calls Both organizations agreed to join forces were prohibitively expensive. TTY users and create an independent organization, often abbreviated many words and devel- the Teletypewriters for the Deaf Distribu- oped a code. GA means “Go Ahead” it is tion Committee (TDDC) in March 1968. your turn to type. Then the other party This allowed the f rst batch of 200 TTYs types the response and both callers type donated by AT&T to be stored in a ware- what they want to say then GA back and house for repairs and refurbishing before forth. To end the call you type GA SK. SK being distributed to deaf people’s homes. comes from a common practice in teleg- raphy when SK meant Send Kill or Stop Keying. The other party either continues to type the conversation, or conf rms the end of the call by responding SKSK then taking the handset off the coupler and hanging up the phone. If there is a Nancy Breunig, H. Latham Breunig, and question, instead of using the shift key to Jess M. Smith type ??, we instead punch the Q key twice
8 like this QQ. Today when we text, we use grate in the world at large. Many of the abbreviations like LOL (Laughing Out organization’s members do not know sign Loud), OMG (Oh my goodness), TTYL language, having been taught to listen (Talk to you later!), and many others.3 and speak. Breunig worked as a chemist and statistician at Eli Lilly in Indianapo- BEGINNINGS The TTY machine unif ed the deaf com- lis. On the other hand, NAD, the oldest munity, which at the time were educated consumer advocacy organization in the in either of two ways as follows. AGBell United States promoted the preservation advocated that deaf children should inte- of American Sign Language and the rich cultural heritage of the deaf community. Generally, their members embrace the bilingual approach of using sign lan- guage to teach English and develop other linguistic skills. Smith was a teacher and the editor of NAD’s magazine, The Deaf American. With both men using different communication modes, how do they com- municate with each other when Breunig does not know sign language and Smith does not speak? The TTY was the perfect solution as they could still type to each other. The TTY transmitted text instead of spoken English used by “oralists” or sign language used by “manualists”.4 The three founders continued to demonstrate the acoustic coupler to hundreds of deaf and hard of hearing people across the United States, stopping at major conferences hosted by the the Vicki Hurwitz types out a reply to a friend in St. Louis, Mo, as her husband Oral Deaf Adults Section (ODAS) of the [Alan], reads the teletype message from Alexander Graham Bell Association (AG the friend. The deaf couple are using a Bell) and the National Association of the Phonetype, a device which enables deaf Deaf (NAD). Major sports events and persons to communicate over ordinary tournaments where deaf people compete telephone lines. (Credit: Johnson, staff for prizes were also targeted. Little by photographer at Sioux City, Iowa Journal 7/30/68 Thanks to Sally Taylor and little, the f edgling TTY network grew. As SMECC) more individuals, businesses, and agencies
9 I. Lee Brody BEGINNINGS I. Lee Brody, a deaf son of a tavern owner in New Jersey was a tinkerer. He became interested in TTYs after an outdoor hunting accident that left him unable to walk for several hours and unable to call for help. He had installed doorbell f ashing systems for many of his deaf friends so they would know if someone was at the door. A few of them also had TTYs and wanted the signalling system to also f ash when their phones were ringing. Brody also noted that the acoustic couplers produced by APCOM were somewhat out of reach f nancially for many of his customers. Since the phone company had failed to develop a coupler on its own, he took it upon himself to build a modem at a reasonable price to meet the demand for more TTYs on the East Coast, and founded the New York/New Jersey Phone-TTY. As volunteer relay call centers were established on the East Coast, Brody supplied the centers with TTYs. With the help of Jim Steel of ESSCO Communications, Brody developed software applications to automate many of the relay call functions. One of Brody’s proudest accomplishments was when he created a Braille TTY for deafblind callers in 1974. With the help of Jim Steel of ESSCO Communications, Brody developed software applications to automate many of the relay call functions. One of Brody’s proudest accomplishments was when he created the Braille TTY for deafblind callers in 1974.
joined, it became apparent that a directo- start working to establish volunteer relay ry was needed.5 centers in California where households As the TTY network grew, the main with a TTY can pay a monthly fee to use question was “Who else has a TTY?” the service. Competition hits APCOM Some were hesitant to be listed, afraid when a new TTY coupler hit the mar- that their homes would be identif ed ket. To meet the demand for TTYs from as easy targets for burglars. From the people who lived on the East Coast, I. Lee records maintained of each TTY deliv- Brody, established the New York/New ery, TDI compiled a TTY directory of all Jersey Phone-TTY, Inc. Ever the tinkerer, 174 members who had obtained a TTY. Lee had jerry-rigged f ashing light signal Individuals and households made up systems and placed them in deaf people’s the majority of those listings with about homes so they can tell if someone is at the half living in California and Missouri. front door, or calling them on the TTY. Although there were several government Seeing a need, he developed an affordable agencies listed, half of the states in Ameri- TTY coupler to help deaf and deafblind ca did not have a single TTY user yet.6 to have TTYs in their homes.7
1969 — Dr. Marsters and Andrew Saks
10 I. Lee Brody of New New York/New Jersey Phone-TTY, and York-New Jersey other text news services in Washington, PHONE-TTY and H. DC and Houston. Latham Breunig with a Model 31 TTY. (Credit: 1972 — Andrea Saks, daughter of An-
Southwest Museum of drew Saks voyaged to London with two BEGINNINGS Engineering at APCOM Phonetype acoustic couplers. www.SMECC.org)8 ) Her mother, Jean Saks had gone to school The founders of the TTY network came there and still had many friends in the up with an idea of selectively placing area to help Andrea and Bob Weitbrecht TTYs in the homes of deaf community build a TTY network in England. With leaders of the day. Within months, those new installations in businesses, schools, leaders had orders from their friends and government agencies, libraries, rehabilita- family asking for a TTY in their homes tion centers, transportation hubs and oth- as well. Schools and government agen- er public places, access increased as more cies ordered multiple TTYs for different than 2,500 TTYs were in use throughout departments to be used by employees and America.1 customers. The success of this strategy TTYs were also installed in city police was the major reason for the jump to 475 departments throughout Texas, Califor- Blue Book listings in its second publica- nia, Alabama, New York, and Maryland. tion. The IRS granted TDI its 501(c)(3) While some emergency services could nonprof t tax exempt status.9 respond to calls from deaf people expe- 1971 — Consumer activism scored a vic- riencing heart attacks and other medical tory, thanks to the efforts of Andrew Saks emergencies, gas leaks, severe storm of APCOM, when the IRS ruled that the damage and other threats to their lives cost of TTYs and modems are tax deduct- or property, the majority of 9-1-1 centers ible as medical expenses. were inaccessible to deaf TTY callers.10 The First National Conference of Agents of Teletypewriters for the Deaf was held at Gallaudet College in Wash- ington, DC. Government off cials and industry professionals looked at several issues, including interfaces between TTYs and computers, emergency access, TTY TDI Board meeting in 1972 L-R, Joe Dyer, answering services, and the burgeoning Gordon Allen, Jess Smith, Paul Taylor, TTY news and weather services such as Latham Breunig, Tom Rule, and Joe the accessible Dial-A-News service by Slotnick. (Credit: SMECC)
11 TDI’s f rst experience in working with As President Richard Nixon’s inaugural BEGINNINGS the emerging captioning industry came speech was open-captioned, the Caption about at the f rst National Conference Center began captioning ABC World on Television for the Hearing Impaired News Tonight, replacing commercial slots in Nashville, Tennessee. There, the Na- with text readouts of deaf community tional Association of Broadcasters (NAB) news, airing four hours after the original and other engineers determined that TV broadcast. Now many of us are able to captioning is feasible, allowing PBS to begin development and testing of the keep up on what is happening around the Line 21 captioning system. The newly world instantly on our mobile phones. launched Caption Center at the Boston Meanwhile, HEW contracted with PBS Public Broadcasting System (PBS) aff liate, to develop the closed captioning system, WGBH airs a new cooking show, The and the system was formally approved French Chef, with Julia Child airs as the by the FCC. Three years later, TDI joined f rst program with open captions. The the Council of Organizations Serving the National Bureau of Standards and the ABC network held a demonstration of a Mod Squad episode with closed captions at Gallaudet College.11
1973 — David Saks founded the Orga- nization for Use of the Telephone (OUT), dedicated to making telephones compati- ble with hearing aids and installing induc- tive loop amplif cation in public meeting places. The TTY network grew with over 3,000 listings. The f rst TTY call between Honolulu and the mainland costed $15.00 for f fty lines of text.
Julia Child in The French Chef Program Book for the First International (Credit: The Caption Center) TDI Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Mod Squad (Credit: IMDb) (Credit: Paul Taylor and SMECC)
12 Deaf, a coalition of national organiza- hearing people using TTYs.13 tions that meet to discuss any pending Lee Brody developed the f rst Braille federal legislation that could have an TTYs in the United States. The f rst call impact on deaf Americans. Accordingly, on a Braille TTY was made between the Council would advocate in support
Martin Sternberg at New York Uni- BEGINNINGS or in opposition of federal legislation or versity and Robert Smithdas, a deaf- regulation. This action in 1973 is one of blind administrator at the Helen Keller the earliest records of TDI’s foray into National Center on Long Island. Over advocacy. the next two years, more than 40 Braille The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was TTYs were built and installed around signed by President Nixon. This major the country at a cost of two thousand disability rights law prohibited discrim- dollars per machine. Years later, Brody ination in Federal agencies and other received a letter from President Ronald entities that receive funding from the Reagan about his contribution to the US Government. The right to access was deaf and deafblind community, “To be secured through accommodations such cut off from the ability to communicate as sign language interpreters, TTYs in with others can be a lonely, frightening government off ces, and changes in poli- experience...I know their gratitude for cies to eliminate barriers to access.12 your effort is boundless.”14
1974 — 358 registrants attended the 1975 — The f rst authorized transat- f rst International TDI Convention lantic TTY call was placed between hosted by the Chicago Telecommunica- England and the United States. From tions Club for the Deaf. Al Pimentel was Washington, DC, Robert Weitbrecht elected as Board President while Breunig started the call with THIS IS THE was selected as TDI’s f rst Executive UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Director. CALLING GREAT BRITAIN GA. Jack TDI published “Teletypewriters Made Ashley, a deaf member of the Parliament Easy,” a TTY repair manual for TDI in London responded, GOOD AFTER- Agents. This red notebook showed NOON. THIS IS LONDON SENDING photos and instructions for trouble- WARMEST GREETINGS TO OUR shooting a broken TTY and making the FRIENDS IN THE UNITED STATES. appropriate repairs. A consumer guide … CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS on “How to Use Your TTY” was also SYMBOL OF PROGRESS FOR DEAF published to show hearing family mem- PEOPLE WHICH HAS GIVEN VAST bers, coworkers, and professionals how ENCOURAGEMENT TO EVERYONE to make phone calls to deaf and hard of HERE.15
13 Students from Gallaudet College (now BEGINNINGS University) joined hundreds of disability activists in a sit-in protest at the off ces of the US Department of Health, Edu- cation, and Welfare (HEW) in Washing- ton, DC. Similar sit-ins were going on simultaneously at HEW off ces in other Left: H. Latham Breunig takes part in the f rst transatlantic TTY conversation cities around the country, the largest in between off cials at HEW in Washington, San Francisco. They were pushing for the DC, and British off cials at the World Secretary of HEW, Joseph Califano to Trade Show in London, England on May sign and implement regulations in Section 12, 1975. Right: Michael King-Beer, Jack Ashley and U.S. Ambassador Elliott L. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Richardson making the f rst transatlantic These regulations prohibit discrimination call over the deaf telephone. against people with disabilities at Federal 1976 — As the nation celebrated its agencies and any other entity that re- Bicentennial with patriotism on display ceived federal funding. everywhere, the telecommunications As the Rehabilitation Act became industry paused to remember the hundred effective,the FCC, Amtrak, IRS and other years since Alexander Graham Bell suc- cessfully patented the voice telephone and federal agencies installed toll-free TTY f rst demonstrated it at the Centennial numbers. Members of Congress as well Exhibition in Philadelphia. Legend has it as state and local elected off cials also that the telephone was invented while Bell installed TTY’s in their off ces for constit- was experimenting with ways to commu- uents, helping to bring the total of 35,000 nicate with his deaf wife, Mabel Bell, and TTYs in use. Federal employees who are to teach speech to deaf children. deaf or hard of hearing received accom- modations in the workplace such as TTYs 1977 — 500 registrants attended the sec- and amplif ed telephones. ond TDI Convention hosted by the New York/New Jersey Phone-TTY, Inc. in Port The National Center on Law and the Chester, NY. The participants identif ed Deaf (NCLD) f led comments with US three avenues of advocacy that continue General Services Administration (GSA) through this day: 1. Seek legal mandates on TTY’s in public facilities and petitions through federal legislation, 2. Convene ne- FCC for Rulemaking regarding Tele- gotiations to encourage AT&T and other communications Services and Charges industry stakeholders to voluntarily im- for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Citizens, prove services and equipment, and 3. Seek regulatory relief from the FCC. Today TDI leading to a yearlong inquiry into the still follows roughly the same strategies.16 telecommunication and computer access needs of deaf & hard of hearing people.17
14 Dr. H. Latham Breunig He and his wife Nancy were two of the three founders of Teletypewriters for the Deaf Distribution Committee (TDDC) in March 1968. When the Committee was
renamed as Teletypewriters for the Deaf, BEGINNINGS Inc. (TDI) in June 1968, he became the f rst President, and then its f rst Executive Director in 1973. He and his wife Nancy were among the key forces for the growth (b. 1910, d. 1999) of the TTY network across America, and as First Executive Director, TDI (1973-1978) a team, they produced the f rst ten annual TDI directories of all TTYs in the nation. All After H. Latham Breunig became deaf of TDI’s activities in the early years were at age 4 or 5 from unknown causes, he done from the Breunig’s master bedroom, attended Clarke School for the Deaf in the shipping department was from a Northampton, MA, and then Shortridge second bedroom, and the Rolodex f les High School in Indianapolis, IN. He containing names of people who owned graduated with a Bachelor of Science a TTY sat in the dining room. After TDI degree in 1934 from Wabash College relocated to Washington, DC, and then in Indiana, and then received a Ph.D in Silver Spring, MD, Breunig retired from this chemistry in 1938 from Johns Hopkins position in 1978. University in Maryland. He was employed He was the f rst deaf president of the as a statistician with Eli Lilly & Co., and his Alexander Graham Bell Association for the main role there was to develop statistical Deaf. He later served as a member of the procedures to improve quality control on President’s Committee on Employment of the company’s products. the Handicapped.
“Funny Noise on the Line” One day some “TTYs Assist the Stork” The f rst TTY time back Judge Finesilver, whom many installations early this year in Atlanta, GA, of us (knew) as a champion of the legal were in the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Roland rights of the deaf, planned to travel from Swanson (Gail) and her parents, Dr. and Mrs. George Vann. The chief purpose for his Denver, CO home to Minneapolis, MN. the installation, arranged by Mr. John Lyle Since he wanted to talk to Gordon Allen of of Southern Bell, was to make it possible that city, he sent him a telegram advising for Gail to reach help when her expected the details of his arrival. Gordon and his baby decided to be born. The f rst call wife, Myrtle (were) the only people in their came at 4:00 a.m. last April 26. With the home, and all of their communication (was) TTY the Swansons reached the Vanns who by TTY. As it happened, the telegram then alerted the physician. Following a ten-minute ride to the hospital, a daughter, (arrived) by mail a couple of days later. On Carol Ann, was born at 11:00 a.m. Not the bottom someone had written: “Party only was the TTY of practical assistance, does not answer phone. Funny noise on but also its availability contributed greatly the line.” towards the peace of mind of the young (by Dr. H. Latham Breunig - December, 1970 couple and the parents GA-SK newsletter) (by Dr. H. Latham Breunig - December, 1970 GA-SK newsletter)
15 BEGINNINGS TDI Agents The Nuts and Bolts of TDI
ike the nuts and bolts that jammed several keys together each time hold a TTY together, our the caller accidentally pressed more agents have been what held than one key. When you type near the TDI together at the outset. end of the line, you had to remember TDI wants to recognize our to hit the RETURN key to return the “people on the streets” for carriage back to the left margin of the Ltheir hard work and their families for paper, and then hit the LINE FEED key support. As the TTYs are distributed, to advance the paper roll up one line they spent many hours installing them, before you can continue typing.1 and training individuals and business- Most TDI Agents were men who liked es how to use them, and selling TDI to tinker with the intricate mechanical memberships. When closed captioning parts inside the TTY. If they were mar- began on television and the TeleCap- ried, their wives often helped keep their tion decoders came on the market in records in order. Whenever Paul Taylor the 1980s, those dedicated individuals goes out to install a TTY in someone’s reprised their roles, installing them, and home, he calls home to his wife, Sally to training individuals and businesses how test the new TTY and see if all keys were to use them, and selling even more TDI working properly. The standard testing memberships! protocol was to type RYRYRY, then Here is how it all began. In 1968, THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED the Hoosier State Telephone Pioneers OVER THE LAZY DOG’S BACK trained an army of TDI Agents to repair 1234567890 TIMES which covered all and restore donated TTYs so they can parts of the Baudot code and to test 2 be distributed to customers across the each character on the TTY keyboard. United States. Each machine weighed In 1974, TDI published “Teletypewrit- at least 200 pounds and were as big as ers Made Easy,” a pictorial TTY repair a street mailbox. Every time a call was manual for TDI Agents. This red note- made, the whole house thundered, and book shows photos and instructions for apartment landlords frequently imposed troubleshooting a broken TTY and mak- restrictions on tenants’ use of the TTY ing the appropriate repairs.TDI Agents after neighbors complained about the hold this notebook in high esteem.3 noise. The mechanical keyboards often
16 private telephone line from their home to Sally’s parent’s home “in case of an emergency.” They and their friends formed the f rst local telecommunica- tions advocacy group, the Telephone/ BEGINNINGS Teletype Communicators of St. Louis and established the third relay service in the country, which later became Relay Missouri. This volunteer relay service was modeled after the ones in The Teletype Corporation Model 28 ASR California that were established by Jim teletypewriter was a f rst generation TTY. Marsters and Andrew Saks. Back then, It weighed 260 pounds and measured families were charged $30 per month to 39” x 36” x 18”. (Credit: I. Lee Brody use the relay service, and now today this Collection at NY-NJ Phone-TTY, Inc.; service is free for anyone to use, simply George Potanovic, Jr./Sun Studios; and by dialing 7-1-1 or a toll-free number. SMECC) From there, this group expanded the Without these TDI Agents, the deaf TTY network outward from the Mid- telephone network would not have west, and an estimated 25 TTY stations grown the way it did in the 70’s, 80’s, were in operation that year. The FCC set- and 90’s. Many of these ambassadors tled the Carterfone lawsuit by ordering went above and beyond the call of duty. telephone companies to revise their poli- Here are some of their stories: cies to allow the use of consumer-provid- ed equipment with direct connections to the telephone network as long as it did not harm the network itself. This ban on direct connections inf uenced the acous- tic coupler design where you have to put the handset so it was rested in the cups on the coupler.2 Two years later, in 1969, the Taylors came up with another service, The St. Members of the Telephone/Teletype Louis Deaf Messenger. Since some of the Communicators of St. Louis (Credit: Sally machines were once used by United Press Taylor and SMECC) International (UPI) to send news feeds In 1967, Paul and Sally Taylor wired a to newscasters around the world, why
17 can’t the deaf community receive their manually on their Kleinschmidt TTY, BEGINNINGS own news through this system? The TTY and transmitted the news one by one. At could become the “radio” for the deaf the time, there were only ten people who where they can get text news on demand. owned TTYs in Rochester who sub- UPI donated a TTY that included a tick- scribed to the biweekly news service. Na- er tape feed encoded with news stories. tionwide, the number of TTYs exceeded An editor would come in and change the the 1,500 benchmark in 1971.6 tape once a week with updated nation- al news and other notices supplied by the deaf community. Anyone who has a TTY can call in weekly to catch up on the news. The Taylors also made the f rst TTY call from their home in St. Louis out of the country to their Canadian friends in Vancouver, BC.5
Hyman Krakover, a TDI Agent repairing TTYs in the Los Angeles area. (Credit: JamesTDI ad.qxp_TDI Marsters /ad Harry from Lang gupress Collections 9/11/18 at 12:52 PM SMECC.org) Thank You, TDI
Lester Zimet, a TDI agent calls his customer in Rochester, New York. (Credit: Paul and Sally Taylor via SMECC)
Lester Zimet, a TDI Agent, and his wife, Eleanor launched the f rst TTY news service in Rochester, New York. They called each sub- scriber house- hold, set the tape
18 Henry Dorsey installed and repaired TTYs and the early TeleCaption decoders around
United States and BEGINNINGS Canada. The f rst TTYs were big, heavy, clunky mechanical devices that weighed as much as 75 to 200 pounds, stood as tall as four feet Richard Dramin working on his f rst Model high, and two feet wide. 15 TTY in September 1974
The Telephone Pioneers of America and some interested deaf men from the Washington, DC metropolitan area got together in 1970 for the Pioneers training course on repairing and refurbishing Jerry Berke, a local expert in TTY Model 15 teletypewriters. Hence began communications and repair, was hired a new volunteer group called the TDI by Communication Services for the Deaf agents. The four members of Telephone (CSD) to train Bill Christiansen to repair and Pioneers of America stood behind the install TTYs in the homes of deaf and hard men in the front two rows, some of whom of hearing residents and local businesses. later became active TDI agents: Bud (Credit: CSD) Dorsey, Jerry Attix, Steve Brenner, David Christenson, Frank Hutchinson, Mark Law, James Marsh, Roger Scott, Homer Smoak, Gary Tompkins and Byron Zimmerman.
Bill Christianson was hired by CSD in 1976 to repair TTY devices in and around the Sioux Falls area. He was assisted by Willard Schumack and Paul Berka. (Credit: CSD)
19 TELETYPEWRITERS MADE EASY! BEGINNINGS by Sally Taylor
20 Today on TDI’s f ftieth anniversary, we see history repeating itself with video relay service providers and captioned telephone service
providers who would send BEGINNINGS installers to customers homes and installing video phones and captioned telephones, and training individuals and businesses how to use them. Below is the list of all known TDI Agents in the United Paul Taylor, James Marsters, Alfred Sonnenstrahl, States and Canada listed by and I. Lee Brody at New York/New Jersey Phone- state or province. TTY warehouse in mid 1990’s.
ALABAMA James Marsters Henrietta E. Samples Desmond Brown Andrew Saks Ruth Souppe Robert W. Cunningham Dale Saterlund Ruth Smith Cam Desmarais Julian Singleton Brack Gilliam Joseph Slotnick GEORGIA Martin Maier Ray Stallo DuWayne Dukes Jim Swanberg Charles Stringer James Peterson George Turner James White William Sofey Ina Weber Horace Taylor ARIZONA Robert Weitbrecht Delores Erlandson Richard Zellerbach ILLINOIS Russell Dolan Don Kitson COLORADO Sol Moss Marion Dramin Alex Pavalko Allan Wilson Frederick Neubert CONNECTICUT Dennis Roin Bobby Smith ARKANSAS Edward Buell Frank B. Sullivan Kenneth G. Van Dyke George T. Ecker
CALIFORNIA FLORIDA INDIANA Floyd Barlow Joseph M. Allen H. Latham Breunig Paul Barnes Harry Anderson Nancy Breunig Carl Blinchatz Miles O. Chandler Robert Downing Linda Cummings Daniel Curl Gerald O’Neal Vincenzo Generoso Arnold Daulton Ronald M. Richardson Edward Ingham Paul Enf nger Alan Rork Roland James Jerome Peeples Jess Smith Hyman Krakover Gerald Piscotty
21 IOWA Alfred Marotta NEW JERSEY BEGINNINGS Harold Kinkade Tom Rule Carl Anderson Dale Van Hemert Bernard Argule MICHIGAN Jack Bahan KANSAS James Carrigan Carl Bravin Fred Banks Charles Casper Philip Bravin William P. Ragland, Jr. Dudley Cutshaw I. Lee Brody George H. Ruby William Dawe George Calder William F. Thompson Robert D. Grumm Daniel Chiarello KENTUCKY Gerald Holmes Fred Danneman Walter Genther John S. Calvecard, Jr. Dennis Rodell Bernard Gross James Hester Harold Hagaman John Love MINNESOTA Irving Hand Everett McCoy Gordon L. Allen Arthur Jones Barry Rankin Jerome Carstens Phil Leeds Thomas Ryan William Manders Rick Levenson LOUISIANA Robert Norf us MISSISSIPPI Junior Ritter Harold Austin John Alman David Myers Cliff Rowley Joe Deaton Sol Soll MAINE Frank J. Margiotta Ed Sonnenstrahl Lois Morin James Stern Bett L. Woods MISSOURI Jerry Tesler Don Dunham MARYLAND Leslie Hall NEW MEXICO A. Philip Aiello James Roper Robert Ferguson Steve Brenner Howard Schwartz James E. Holliday Macon Calhoun Sally Taylor Jerry Seth Bernard Davidson Paul L. Taylor Bud Dorsey NEW YORK Tom Dowling MONTANA William Brown, Jr. Michael Downey Edward Van Tighem Dana Carlile Howard Haines Deborah Cobb Mark Law NEBRASKA Julius Duquin Louis Schwarz Everett Degenhardt Warren R. Goldmann Paul Snyder James DeVaney Colleen Kazragis Frank Stewart Robert D. Neill Arthur G. Nelson Gary Viall Donald Neimeyer NEVADA John Ratcliffe MASSACHUSETTS Harold Roach Russell Biando Mike Barkan Carmelo Sciandra George Clapp Richard Cale William Tulloch Paul Ducharme Jim Swanberg Leonard Vanvechten
22 Charles M. West Gordon Wallace David Shirley Lester Zimet Kenneth Welch W. S. Smith, Sr. Franklin Tippett NORTH CAROLINA PENNSYLVANIA Ann Wallis Hans Brower June Asman Glynn Whittemore Lyon Dickson Joanne Campbell BEGINNINGS Robert Dykes Edward Cooley UTAH D. A. Hipp John Fedio Robert Sanderson Carlisle Saunders Michael Gusikoff Grady Spence Donald Lurwick VIRGINIA John Maurer Patrick Bryant OHIO John Sadowy Wayne Frick A. Frank Benedict Ann Benedict RHODE ISLAND WASHINGTON Arnold Daulton Edwin Medeiros Floyd Brower Robert Gantz Roberta Zebrowski Bruce Malcolm Norman Gerger Robert McKnight Charles Goodyear SOUTH CAROLINA Michael Schmitz John Haldie Craig Maddox Jerome Schwear George Henry J. Charlie McKinney Frank D. Sullivan Benjamin Hermelin Ken Whitney Robert O. Lankenau SOUTH DAKOTA Alfred Lepka Jerrold Berke Ben H. Medlin WISCONSIN Philip Annarino William D. Otis Donald Bauman Harry Reese TENNESSEE William D. Otis William J. Richard Lloyd Billingsley Warren Riege Dick Rosenberg Robert Grubbs Frank Sprader Hoad Shiner Sam W. McBride Harry R. Smith James McCain Paul Sernsing WYOMING Dean Cosner Roy Wires TEXAS Chuck Woodall Jimmy Brooks James Chaney CANADA OKLAHOMA Gordon Crocker O’Neal Bennett Carl Dykman BRITISH COLUMBIA Jack Bertram Abraham Israel Wilfred Kelly Tate Malcolm OREGON Michael Moore NEWFOUNDLAND Robert Jones Wallis Schmit Peter Haskins Carl D. Veriebe Carey Shaw Hamilton Taylor
23 BEGINNINGS Board Presidents Navigating the Future through Leadership and Vision for TDI
In recognition of past and present Board presidents who have led the Board in the last 50 years to make strategic and budgetary decisions for the staff at TDI to conduct the daily operations in the best manner possible. The distinguished list of 14 names who have honored TDI with their leadership, vision, and guidance as the Association’s presiding off cer:
Breunig, Pimentel, Rowley, McClintock, Slotnick, Joseph one of the TDI Dr. H. Latham Albert Clifford Robert Board members that (1968-1974) (1974-1976) (1977-1979) (1979-1981) served in four non- consecutive terms during the 1970’s through 1990’s, (1982)
Allen, Gordon Lankenau, Spalton, Bernstein, Ransom, Pamela (1983) Robert William Seymour (1991-1993) TDI’s f rst and only (1984-1985) (1986) (1987-1991) hearing Board President
Turk, Dr. Frank Breslow, Lori Miller, Dr. Roy Conlon-Mentkowski, (1993-1995) (1995-1997) (1997-2013) Sheila (2013-present)
24 Board Members Charting the Future for TDI
n recognition of past and present Board members who have voluntarily contrib- BEGINNINGS uted their talents, expertise, and resources to guide the Association via policies, procedures, and strategic planning throughout its f rst 50 years. The distin- guished list of 78 names who have honored TDI with their service on the Board Iis as follows: Allen, Gordon (1971-1983) Herron, Diana (1994-1995) Rothschild, Kenneth Archer, Charles (1984-1987) Hobson, Cary (1989-1995) (1995-1999) Bernstein, Seymour Holmes, Pam (1998-2001) Rowley, Clifford (1975-1979) (1985-1993) Hurwitz, Bernard (2011-2015) Rule, Tom (1974-1977) Bloch, Nancy (1992) Hurwitz, T. Alan (1991-1995) Scheffel, Robert (1986-1993) Brenner, Stephen (1980-1983) Jacob, Phil (2007-2011) Schmidt, Peggy (1990-1992) Breslow, Lori (1993-1997) Jones, Robert (1982-1985) Schriempf, Alexa (2013-2016) (2001-2009) Ketchum, Clyde (1985-1986) Schwarz, Louis (1976-1983) Breunig, H. Latham Kinstler, John (2017 – present) Seeger, Mark (2017 – present) (1968-1974) Lange, Andy (2013-2017) Breunig, Nancy (1968-1975) Lankenau, Robert (1974-1987) Singleton, Julian (1976-1979) Boryslawskyj, Cassandra Leeds, Phil (1983-1987) Sliney, Carol (1995-2013) (2015-present) Littleton, Larry (1999-2003) Slotnick, Joseph (1973-1976) Bourgeois, Susanna MacGillivray, Charles (1979-1983)(1991-1994) (1986-1991) (1973-1974) (1996-1999) Buell, Stephanie (2009-2017) Marotta, Alfred (1977-1981) Smith, Jess (1968-1976) Conlon-Mentkowski, Sheila McClintock, Robert ( Smith, W.S. (1973-1976) (2011-present) 1977-1985) Sonnenstrahl, Alfred Driscoll, Tom (1999-2007) Miller, Roy (1993-2013) (1983-1987) Duarte, Joseph (1996-2016) Myers, David (1973-1979) Spalton, William (1983-1987) Dukes, Duwayne (1975-1985) Myrick, Matt (2017 – present) Taylor, Paul (1973-1975) Dunne, Toni (1997-2001) Nelson, Gerald (1985-1989) Teuber, Hartmut (1979-1983) Dyer, Joseph (1973-1975) Parnes, Alan (1987-1991) Tiberio, Carmen (1989) Estes, Charles (1973-1975) Peterson, Paul (1987-1991) Turk, Frank (1992-1995) Evans, Larry (1991-1993) Pimentel, Albert (1973-1976) Viera, Judith (2007-2011) Gantt, Greg (2005-2009) Post, Alan (1997-1998) Grindstaff, Jarvis Ransom, Pamela (1989-1994) Watson, Susan (1997-2001) (2017 to present) Rodriguez, Ramon Weiner, Fred (2003-2015) Hall, Leslie (1993-1997) (1987-1991) Weinstock, Robert Harris, Mack (1987-1989) Rosenthal, Rebecca (1994-1998) Hart, Ted (2003-2007) (2009-2017) Withers, Jan (2015-present) Heppner, Cheryl (1993-1994) Roth, Ellen (2001-2005) Zeledon, Michael (1997-2001)
25 BEGINNINGS
Left L-R Alan Hurwitz, Joseph TDI Board during the late 1980’s. Back Slotnick, Pamela Ransom, Seymour row: Jerry Nelson, Robert Schefel, Bernstein, Nancy Bloch, Larry Evans, During a break from the 1993 TDI Robert Lankenau, Susanna West Alfred Sonnenstrahl, and Cary Biennial Conference in Anchorage, (Bourgeois), Seymour Bernstein, Charles Hobson (Credit to Steve Brenner). Alaska, the TDI Board pose for a Archer. Front row: Alfred Sonnenstrahl, Right: Running late for the TDI group photo on a cruise. L-R: Alfred Bill Spalton. Board picture, Robert Scheffel at the Sonnenstrahl, Joe Slotnick, Larry Evans, Boston Marathon (GA-SK Newsletter Pam Ransom, Cary Hobson, Cheryl Winter 1992) Heppner, Seymour Bernstein, Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz and Dr. Frank R. Turk.
TDI Board and Executive Director posing for picture with Mardi Gras masks during The TDI Board at the 30th Anniversary 2005 TDI Biennial Conference in New Gala. L-R Pam Holmes, Michael Orleans, Louisiana. This photo was taken Zeledon, Susan Watson, Carol Sliney, six weeks before Hurricane Katrina made Dr. Roy Miller, Joe Duarte, Alan Post, landfall. L-R Tom Driscoll, Roy Miller, Ken Rothschild, Joseph Slotnick, and Carol Sliney, Claude Stout, Ellen Roth, Claude Stout Joe Duarte, Lori Breslow, and Ted Hart.
TDI Board Members at an exhibit. TDI Board and Executive Director with L-R: Dr. Roy Miller, Carol Sliney, and their families posing for picture while on Judy Viera a cruise to the Bahamas in 2006.
Current TDI Board of Directors, staff and friends in Durham, North Carolina. From Front to back: John Kinstler, Matt Myrick, Jan Withers, Jarvis Grindstaff, Eric Kaika, CM Boryslawskyj, Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, Donna Lucido, Vicki Potts, TDI Board met on May 12, 2018 in Durham, North Rebecca Rosenthal, Judy Carolina. L-R: Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, Jan Withers, Stout, Claude Stout, and Matt Myrick, Claude Stout, Jarvis Grindstaff, a CART David Rosenthal writer, CM Boryslawskyj, and John Kinstler
26 A NEWERA 1978 –1987 TRS 27
NEW ERA — TDI experimented on electron- TDI experimented — On Sunday March 16, NCI began On Sunday March 16, The National Captioning Institute Captioning The National World of Disney and PBS’ Masterpiece World Theater and other programming total- Sears started to ing 16 hours that week. set-top decoders and TeleCaption sell TV sets with built-in captioning made viewers in Los Angeles, California. Angeles, viewers in Los 1980 ic messaging (email) with DEAF-NET and San Francisco, DC, Washington, in The FCC with HERMES in Boston. deaf began its inquiry into the needs of and hard of hearing consumers and request to lower long AT&T’s approved Reduced users. TTY distance rates for TTY rates for interstate long distance A free calls are allowed in 12 states. in TTY distribution program began funded by California for deaf residents, tele- a small surcharge on all monthly started its toll free AT&T phone bills. TTY operator service. Sunday ABC’s closed captioning on Wonderful The NBC’s Night Movie, (NCI) was formed with seed mon- (NCI) was formed provide captioning ey from HEW to that perceived services for broadcasters as a competitor The Caption Center The Si- a rival network. with ties to PBS, and broadcasts lent Network produces captioned program- sign language and and hard of hearing ming targeting deaf ce in Silver f rst TTY manufacturer rst f
ce (GAO) issued a report recom- ce (GAO) f — The third TDI convention was The third — — Breunig retired upon TDI’s TDI’s retired upon — Breunig 28
A former TDI Agent, Steve Brenner Agent, TDI A former to recognize Weitbrecht’s patent and sell Weitbrecht’s to recognize TTYs. affordable electronic Wisconsin. The bonds formed during Wisconsin. this friendship led to the establishment the of Ultratec, introduced Robert Weitbrecht to Robert Weitbrecht introduced Robert an engineer from Madison, Engelke, Executive Director. Executive Director. approved the name change to Telecom- approved the name change to Barry Inc. munications for the Deaf, second TDI’s Strassler is selected as 1979 Telecommunications hosted by Georgia TDI Board Atlanta. for the Deaf in (CSD} begins local 24/7 relay service in (CSD} begins local 24/7 relay service Dakota. South Sioux Falls, ers with hearing and speech disabilities. ers with hearing and speech disabilities. Deaf Communication Services for the Sonnenstrahl and a deaf priest, Jay Sonnenstrahl and a deaf priest, to consider providing AT&T Croft ask us- TTY operator services for telephone dot incompatibility between TTYs and TTYs and between dot incompatibility Alfred Board member TDI computers. for deaf and hard of hearing citizens to for deaf and hard and the government, communicate with ASCII/Bau- the raises concerns about ing Of into the effective ways mending a study 1978 of relocation to a new Account- General The U.S. MD. Spring, A NEW ERA FOR TDI FOR ERA A NEW
NEW ERA years withExport-ImportBank He workedasaccountantfor9 (Accounting) in1966. of ScienceinBusinessAdministration aBachelor Gallaudet, havingearned High School.Thenhewentto diploma from CharlesEvansHughes his for theDeaf,andthenearned the ninthgradefrom P.S. 47 School New York City. Hegraduatedafter boroughs ofBrooklyn andQueensin Barry Strasslergrew upinthe deaffromBorn unknowncauses, the Future” of employment,orevenassecond orthird TDDsinahousehold.” From article,“TDD’s and These portablesgiveus take intoconsiderationtheportableTDDsonmarketwhich didn’t existadecade ago. "As farasthefuture theTDDsare isconcerned, noexception.Evenatthat,westillhaveto Barry M. Strassler Second ExecutiveDirector, TDI (1979-1983) (b. 1942) f exibility inuse-whiletravelingorbringing thesetoourplaces he returned toNADasitsManaging f bothinaccounting- in California, the StateofMaryland,andDCARA Department ofGeneralServicesin leaving TDI,heworkedforthe in thispositionfor Director withTDI,andcontinued he becamethesecondExecutive as AdministrativeAssistant.Then Association oftheDeaf,serving before movingontotheNational previous marriage. a daughter-KellyGagainfrom a Carroll andheisaproud father of been marriedsince1997toCathryn history ofGallaudetathletics.Hehas say, a“walkingencyclopedia”on of hearing community. He is as many service forthenation’s deafandhard Editor of Deaf Digest, an online news For manyyears,hehasbeenthe in 2014. Conciliation Servicesbefore retiring accountant withFederalMediation and thenworked24yearsasan Pennysaver Advertiser(Maryland) Director ofPayroll Serviceswiththe After leavingNAD,heworkedas as Director ofMembership Services. Editor ofNADBroadcaster andthen nancial analysiscapacities.Then by BarryStrassler, June1980GA-SKnewsletter f ve years.After 29
NEW ERA With 180,000 TTYs in use, two TTYs in use, 180,000 With — rst to have a remote control. What What control. remote a have to rst f more chapters joined as TDI started to more chapters joined as TV decoders and TeleCaption sell NCI Real-time caption- sets at reduced rates. Academy The Oscars ing began with technology had been further developed, developed, further been had technology a make to possible been have would it TV deafblind so Brailler a to connection captions with along follow can viewers output to a Brailler. Early TeleCaption Decoders circa 1980 1980 circa Decoders TeleCaption Early was decoder (middle) #2 The 1990 - the if that is know not may people many will you shell, outer the remove you the If port. printer parallel hidden a see nationwide, CBS Television relented Television CBS nationwide, other and started captioning Dallas and ABC, joining popular programming, in using the Line 21 and PBS NBC, for encoding system instead of waiting system to come to the TeleText Europe’s in Europe Teletext While United States. were a lot of there is similar to Line 21, seen extra features that could only be The major drawback was over the air. service was not record- Teletext that the not allow Hollywood so it could able, or anyone else to produce captioned home videos. 1982 Force rst f became the rst to be captioned. rst to be captioned. f — Missouri-Kansas Telecommu- — Missouri-Kansas 30 After a series of grassroot protests with Disabilities Act. with Disabilities al Council on the Handicapped, which al Council on the Handicapped, created the National Policy on Disabled Americans a forerunner of the Persons, intrastate long distance calls. President intrastate long distance calls. TDI Ronald Reagan appointed former Director Latham Breunig to the Nation- chapters and other advocates in more chapters and other advocates in more for than 30 states seeking reduced rates Park, Kansas. AT&T reduces long AT&T Kansas. Park, users nationwide TTY distance rates for TDI to while NCLD provided assistance nications for the Deaf, Inc. hosted the Inc. nications for the Deaf, in Overland TDI Convention fourth captioned home movie videotape. captioned home movie videotape. 1981 by Sanyo-Fisher. An IBM TV commer- An IBM by Sanyo-Fisher. cial was the 10 from Navarone Director, at TCCI’s 6th Anniversary Anniversary 6th TCCI’s at Director, TCCI) Banquet. (Credit: Telecommunicators of Central Illinois Illinois Central of Telecommunicators Bobby to recognition gives (TCCI), Executive TDI Strassler, Barry and Smith Paul Dramin, President of of President Dramin, Paul
NEW ERA commissions. AT&T petitionedstatepublicutility speech-related disabilities nationwide. ing customersaswellpeoplewith cation needsofdeafandhard-of-hear- the speciallong-distancetelecommuni- Deaf Centerwasestablishedtomeet Telecommunications Devicesforthe for personalcomputers. The AT&T CM-4 TTY modemand TTY software in Philadelphia. Phone-TTYdevelops Telecommunications fortheDeaf, Inc. tion hostedbytheDelaware Valley standards. TDI heldits op TTY technicalandcompatibility Industries Association (EIA)todevel- 1983 f program. The SuperBowlXVIwasthe the lowed by ABC’s World News Tonight as Awards byMartinBlockofNCIfol- (Credit: Hurwitz) AlanandVicki Alan; unidenti children, Stephanie and Bernard, and holding signs, left to right, Vicki, theirNew two York. The Hurwitz family are seenCBS Line 21 Protests in Rochester, rstlivesportingeventtobecaptioned. f rstdailyregularlivecaptionednews — TDI unitedwithElectronic f ed woman behind Alan. f fthConven-
the GallaudetResearchInstituteand TTYs, whichboostedmemberships. Book orderforminboxesofallnew ers toincludea TDI membership/Blue er. TDI workedwith TTY manufactur- computers thensentouttoalocalprint- layout workwasdonein-houseonMac through athirdparty, theBlueBook duce publishingcostsforthedirectory TDI’s thirdExecutiveDirector. To re- 1984 Access BoardbyPresidentReagan. appointed toasecondtermontheUS cate, andDavidMyers, who waslater and respectednationaldisabilityadvo- G. Bowe, aHofstraUniversityprofessor eral GuidelineswiththehelpofFrank f puters couldfunctionas TTYs. These inaccessible to TTY usersandthatcom- Board showedFederalinstitutionstobe Board). Other ers ComplianceBoard(TheUS Access Architectural and Transportation Barri- patible with TTYs accordingtotheUS ASCII basedcomputersthatareincom- TTYs inusecomparedwith counted approximately100,000Baudot make TTYs more afford charges for intrastate ratesfor TTY users, eliminate f helped TDI chaptersacrossthenation into regionalBellcompanies. NCLD break-up oftelephonemonopoly, AT&T, lelocalregulatorypetitionstoreduce ndingswerebasedonupdatestoFed- TDI conductedajointstudywith Judge HaroldGreeneorderedthe — Thomas Mentkowskibecame f ashinglightsignallers, and f ndingsbythe Access able. f vemillion 31
NEW ERA cation. He cation. f eld for 25 years before for 25 years before eld f
rst licensed deaf hearing aid rst f ce before joining TDI as its third third joining TDI as its ce before f the in the state, as well as provider certi attaining a board worked in this 2014. He now volunteers in retiring his time with the Sacramento Committee Garden Southside Organic and also volunteers as its Treasurer, with the California Public Utilities Deaf and Disabled Telecommunication Equipment Program (DDTP) Program’s Advisory Committee (EPAC). He is married to Sheila Conlon- Mentkowski for 36 years and they have one son, Alex, who is a graduate student pursuing dual master degrees in International Development and Public Administration at Gallaudet University. He worked with the National with the National He worked its 504 of the Deaf on Association and Public Information Project Of at TDI for While Executive Director. rising years, he oversaw fast three decoders in sales of TeleCaption TDI his regular addition to meeting to become Mr. duties. He left TDI Mom for two years. After moving to California, he became (b. 1955) From article, “Bits and Bytes” by Tom Mentkowski, Summer 1986 GA-SK newsletter Mentkowski, Summer article, “Bits and Bytes” by Tom From (1984-1986) Third Executive Director, TDI Executive Director, Third Thomas M. Mentkowski M. Thomas 32 store this valuable input.” store “One only has to step inside a school, note the computers that are used for many things: used for many things: “One only has to step inside a school, note the computers that are and note the money machines a food store calculations, ... go through processing, word you have money giving you cash, call your bank and check to make sure which before that use and the computers that scan food labels as you checkout and many other places display data and information, but to gather data, read/or computers not only to store Chief for the 1977 Tower Clock, an Chief for the 1977 Tower annual yearbook, and also served of Student Media there as Director Student Body with Gallaudet’s Government. from Marquette University High Marquette from a School in Milwaukee and attained in Sociology Bachelor of Arts degree Gallaudet University. in 1977 from At Gallaudet, he was the Editor-in- Tom Mentkowski was born and raised Tom in Milwaukee, WI, the youngest of and the only Deaf brothers three He graduated member of his family.
NEW ERA 33
NEW ERA ight entertainment. f — New York/New Jersey Phone- York/New — New The lack of FCC action following its Paul Singleton from the National from the National Paul Singleton provided real-time The Caption Center services prompted the National Associa- services prompted the National tion of Regulatory Utility Commission- to petition that the FCC ers (NARUC) conduct a Further Notice of Inquiry on NCLD strongly interstate relay services. captions for local news programs in captions for local news programs in Computer Boston for two hours a day. Prompting & Captioning started selling software that outputs captions simultane- data Teleprompter ously with pre-scripted from the television news studio. 1987 once again hosted the seventh Inc. TTY, TDI Convention at the Meadowlands New Jersey. Hilton Hotel in Secaucus, goals were reassessed to include: ad- TDI’s vocacy for accessible telecommunications TTY and increased captioning; updating ASCII; evalua- standards from Baudot to TTYs and other assis- tion standards for tive devices; ensure compatibility between and manufacturers. consumers programs, Notice of Inquiry that acknowledged the patchwork systems of state and local relay has since been amended to update access been amended to has since in- rules on surveyed at Gallaudet University Academy found that a whop- sixty-one cities and the police departments ping 57 percent of Many of those TTY. a do not even own shoved TTY just simply that did have a and failed to train their them in a drawer how to recognize and call center staff on TTY call. respond to a ed f t cap- f eld reports. f rst for-pro f — TDI continued its lead in Tele- TDI continued its lead in — — Nevada Association of the Deaf Association — Nevada 34 American Data Captioning (now VI- (now American Data Captioning rights for air travelers with disabilities. It rights for air travelers with disabilities. Caption decoder sales. The Air Carrier The Caption decoder sales. including Act is signed into law, Access in-studio interviews and 1986 weather and sports segments are usually weather and sports segments are usually viewers lose access to weather unscripted, forecasts and sports scores as well as live Mentkowski and Karen Peltz Strauss Strauss Peltz Karen and Mentkowski (both of NCLD) Clockwise from top left: Paul Taylor (TDI), TRS (TDI), PUSHING FOR A NATIONWIDE Taylor Paul left: top from Clockwise Paul Singleton (NAD), Sheila Conlon- er is being used. As a result, since the As a result, er is being used. captioned in Kansas City with electronic captioned in Kansas Such systems generate news system. Teleprompt- in-studio captions while the TAC) opened as the TAC) news First local tioning service provider. competition among TTY manufacturers. TTY manufacturers. competition among hosted the sixth TDI Convention in Las in Las TDI Convention sixth hosted the equip- State telecommunication Vegas. intensi programs ment distribution 1985
NEW ERA representatives, onataskforcethatdraft- along withindustryandstate government Sheila ConlonMentkowski ofNCLD, later workedwithKarenPeltzStraussand nationwide TRS system. Bothcommittees to createacomprehensiveanduniform led byPaulSingleton. Their agendawas the NAD Task ForceonRelayServices, by Paul Taylor, andthesecondone was TDI RelayServicesCommittee, chaired sumer committees. The development oftwonewnationalcon- TRS servicesgainedimpetuswiththe relay calls. the manybreachesofcon tions, lengthandcontentofthecalls, and included restrictionsonhoursofopera- not acrossstatelines. Otherlimitations sumers tomakecallswithinthestate, but that allowdeafandhardofhearingcon- consumers overinadequaterelayservices scribed thefrustrationandconfusionby endorsed theNARUC petitionthatde- Book Directory. (Credit: Tom Mentkowski) memberships, which included the Blue at an exhibit booth selling TDI Executive Director, Tom Mentkowski During thefall, thepushfornationwide f rstonewasthe f dentialityof boxes of NCI TeleCaption Decoder 200 Executive Director Tom Mentkowski with home. (Credit: Tom Mentkowski) install the decoder in the customer’s units. Where possible, a TDI Agent would were madeinits service, operated by AT&T. 80,000calls inaugurated the relay services. Meanwhile, Californiahad FCC intocreatingacommitteetoreview Congressional pressureandspurthe fellow DemocratfromHawaiitoincrease ator HarkinandSenatorDanielInouye, a Harkin. The advocacygroups urgedSen- perienced byhisolderdeafbrother, Frank shortcomings oftherelayservicesasex- Iowa who was intimately familiar with the by Senator Tom Harkin, aDemocratfrom Resources. This subcommitteewaschaired Senate CommitteeonLaborandHuman Subcommittee ontheHandicappedof staff directorandchiefcounselofthe NCLD sentalettertoBobSilverstein, mittees, aswellotherconsumergroups, with Disabilities Act. ed the TRS provisionsofthe Americans On behalfofthe TDI andNADcom- f f rststatewide, 24/7relay rstmonthofservice. 35
NEW ERA 36
NEW ERA TDI: A POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL
1988 – 1997
37 TDI EMERGES AS A POWERFUL FORCE
1988 — Gallaudet University made at both conferences with computers and headlines during the Deaf President Now laser printers. The goal was to bombard movement when the students shut down the FCC with thousands of letters ask- the campus following the Board of Trust- ing that: TRS services be of high quality ees’ selection of Elizabeth Zinser, a hear- with no restrictions on frequency, length, ing woman with no background in deaf hours, or content of calls with acceptable education over two deaf f nalists for the answering speeds; communication assis- POWERFUL FORCE position of President of the University. Al- tants would be skilled in English and be fred “Sonny” Sonnenstrahl, TDI’s fourth able to understand typical cultural and Executive Director donated 25 TDI Blue linguistic considerations, including gram- Books to the Piekhoff Alumni House on mar and syntax used by deaf people when campus for students and supporters to typing, and be able to type at least 60 arouse support from alumni and friends words per minute; relay operators must around the country. Within just one week, adhere to strict codes of conduct and not Zinser resigned and I. King Jordan was alter the contents of the calls; the TRS selected as Gallaudet’s f rst deaf president system needs to take advantage of new in its 124 years. Phil Bravin was selected and emerging technologies to increase ef- as the f rst deaf chairman of the Board of f ciency and lower costs; and an advisory Trustees. After Greg Hlibok, one of the committee of all stakeholders, including four student leaders, was selected as ABC consumer advocates, industry profession- News Person of the Week, he went on to als, and government off cials will guide become an attorney, and later the director the TRS operations. of the Disability Rights Off ce at the FCC. Unsatisf ed with the inadequate Federal Shortly after the Gallaudet victory, the Relay Services, one of Arizona Senator FCC started an inquiry seeking propos- John McCain’s staffers, Mark Buse shared als on how to implement the new relay his frustrations in trying to call his friend services and what the rules should look at Gallaudet University. Only one oper- like. Fred Weiner from NAD suggested ator was on duty during business hours. that during the summer NAD and SHHH If she was sick or on vacation, there was (now HLAA) conferences host a grassroot no one else to handle TTY calls to Con- letter writing campaign. Al Sonnenstrahl gress or any other Federal agency. McCain and Paul Taylor reserved exhibit booths declared that Americans with hearing dis-
38 abilities were still being denied telephone TTY printer was jammed. Later that fall, access enjoyed by the rest of the nation.” TDI created the Emergency 9-1-1 Access The Technology Access Program at Project with Lopez as its chair. Gallaudet put on a four-day conference on relay services, real-time captioning, and automatic speech recognition. The forward-looking conference attracted 300 attendees and was the f rst time that representatives of large telecommunica- tions companies came to learn about deaf issues and mingle with community lead- ers. A proceedings published a few months later was made possible because the entire John Lopez discusses a 9-1-1 educational coloring book with Alfred Sonnenstrahl conference had been real-time captioned (Credit: Estate of John R. Lopez) — long before this became a common practice at conferences. Information from 1989 — TDI held its eighth convention the conference was used in policy work on and in the form of Technology Forums on what became Title IV of the ADA. captioning, 9-1-1 access, relay services, POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL and computers at Deaf Way, an interna- For years, TTY users in the nation’s tional conference hosted by Gallaudet capital had to dial a seven-digit number University in Washington, DC. during emergencies. When Washington DC Metropolitan Police announced a At the Deaf Way International Confer- new 9-1-1 service for TTY users, a press ence in Washington, D.C., TDI and Deaf conference was held to demonstrate how Artists of America unveiled the new Inter- the system worked, which did not go as national TTY Symbol designed by Jennifer expected. In the audience was John R. Hummel to designate TTY locations in Lopez who was representing TDI on 9-1-1 public places as required by the Telecom- services. After many calls to 9-1-1 cen- munications Accessibility Enhancement ters in suburban Maryland and Northern Act. As this Act was implemented, Presi- Virginia, Lopez found numerous glitches dent George H.W. Bush makes f rst call on while attempting to connect with the Pub- the newly expanded Federal Relay Service. lic Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). There TDI produces a new TTY training vid- eotape, Using Your TTY/TDD with Sign was almost no collaboration or outreach Media, Inc. with local deaf and hard of hearing people prior to setting up TTY services. One cen- With NCLD’s advocacy and support, ter in Northern Virginia took more than Dr. Frank Bowe was working with Sen- two hours to connect simply because the ator Tom Harkin who sent him overseas
39 Alfred Sonnenstrahl
(b. 1935) to this day. In 1981, he returned to the Fourth Executive DC area to lead the NAD’s Section 504 Director, TDI Technical Training program and then (1987-1996) entered Gallaudet University to pursue his doctorate in aging. Born deaf to deaf parents in When he was ready to start his doctoral New York City, dissertation in the spring of 1987, he Alfred “Sonny” was asked by the TDI Board of Directors Sonnenstrahl to become its acting and eventually attended Lexington permanent Executive Director. After 10 School for the years, during which he worked on the Deaf and transferred to PS 47 on 23rd ADA and the TV Decoder Circuitry Act POWERFUL FORCE Street at the age of 10. He then went to legislations, he retired in 1996. Since then, Stuyvesant High School, graduating in he has worked for CSD VRS as a regional 1954. He obtained his bachelor’s degree marketing director, and served as a in mechanical engineering from New consultant, contractor, and expert witness York University’s College of Engineering on various telecommunications access in 1958. For 10 years, he was employed issues. Currently, he is Vice President of as a marine engineer for the U.S. Deaf Seniors of America, Treasurer of Deaf Department of the Navy in Washington, and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy DC. He then obtained his Masters Degree Network (DHHCAN), and a member of in Administration and Supervision in the Maryland Relay Board and the FCC Special Education from California State Disability Access Committee. He has two University at Northridge’s Leadership married children, Sam (Marjorie Charles) Training Program in 1969 and worked and Beth (Dwight Benedict) and is a proud as a job placement specialist for the grandparent of Rachel, Lauren (Jon Mowl), Michigan Department of Labor from 1970 Ethan, and Brett. He resides in Maryland to 1974. There, he created a nationwide with Irene W. Leigh, Ph.D. employment program for deaf postal workers. Because of the new law, all new television Subsequently he became a State sets with at least a 13-inch screen must have the decoder chip built in by 1992. It would Coordinator for Deaf Clients for the mean that every such television set sold Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. anywhere in this country will have a decoder Three years later, in 1977, he became chip in less than two years! Imagine going to the director of a residential mental any hotel, hospital, or your hearing relatives’ health program in St. Paul, Minnesota. and friends’ homes, and f nding captions on During his stay there, he was part of the their sets. This will mean hearing-impaired people will not have to lug their decoder planning committee that created statewide adapters when they travel.” services for deaf people, which continues by Alfred Sonnenstrahl, Fall 1990 GA-SK newsletter
40 to interview CEOs of all TV manufactur- ers in Japan and South Korea about the proposed captioning chip requirement. Bowe learned that the CEOs do not see captioning as an added value for com- petition, but if there was a law passed in the United States, they would comply by making their TV sets capable of display- ing captions with a built-in chip. Mean- while, major network prime time pro- The International TTY Symbol logo, created gramming reaches the 100% benchmark by Jennifer Hummel, a deaf artist from Seattle, Washington, was chosen as the for captioning. winner of an international contest to design a logo to indicate the location of TTYs in 1990 — After the Americans with Dis- airports, train and bus stations, government abilities Act (ADA) passed the House on buildings and other public places. The July 12, and the Senate the following day, judging took place during the Deaf Way it was time for a conference because both Conference in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 1989. versions of the bill had minor differences
that needed to be reconciled and agreed FORCE POWERFUL upon. The advocates worked with Karen Peltz Strauss of NCLD to get the US Con- gress to insert the new language into the ADA’s legislative report requiring direct TTY access to 9-1-1 emergency services. The revisions were approved by both The judges for the International TTY houses including the new language and Symbol on the left are: Ellen Harland, Accessibility Specialist with the U.S. the bill passed the f nal conference. Pres- Architectural and Transportation Barriers ident George H. W. Bush signed the ADA Compliance Board; Jim Stewart, Director into law in a White House Rose Garden of the Off ce of Design and Construction, ceremony. General Service Administration; and Paula Grcevic, Professor of Art at the The ADA is now the premier civil rights National Technical Institute for the Deaf law, ensuring equal access for all Amer- at Rochester Institute of Technology. Also pictured on the right are Alfred icans, including those with disabilities. Sonnenstrahl, Executive Director of TDI; Title I prohibits workplace discrimina- and Tom Willard, Executive Director of tion, which applied to businesses with Deaf Artists of America (DAA). TDI and more than 15 employees, although states DAA co-sponsored the logo contest, which awarded a prize of $500 to the were allowed to enact more stringent winning artist. employment anti discrimination laws.
41 President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act in an outdoor South Lawn ceremony at the White House as disability advocates, Alfred Sonnenstrahl reviews legislative Evan Kemp, Rev. Harold Wilke, and language in the ADA with Senator Justin Dart, Jr. (with cowboy hat) look on. Tom Harkin. POWERFUL FORCE Title II mandates effective communica- phone stations with four or more phones tions, prohibits discrimination in state to include a TTY. Local and state gov- and local government services, including ernment began to install payphone TTYs 9-1-1 and other emergency services. Title in public buildings and transportation III requires public accommodations to hubs. However, there have been anecdot- provide auxiliary aids and services, and al reports of builders circumventing this remove architectural barriers for people requirement by erecting banks of only with disabilities. For example, the ADA three payphones without a single TTY. Accessibility Guidelines require that pay- Sy Dubow and others at NCLD played a
TDI and other key consumer advocates pose together with U.S. Senator John McCain after the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the White House on July 26, 1990. From left to right, Kevin Nolan, Sy DuBow, Gerald Buckley, Karen Peltz Strauss, Alfred Sonnenstrahl, U.S. Senator McCain, Larry Evans, Paul Taylor, Jack Gannon, I. King Jordan, and Tim Rarus.
42 huge role in the development and advoca- On October 15, 1990, President Bush cy for this Act. signed the Television Decoder Circuitry Title IV establishes the Telecommu- Act, requiring TV sets above 13” diameter nication Relay Services (TRS) and re- to have captioning capabilities built-in, quires captioning on video public service effective in 1993. The law included some announcements produced with federal last minute amendments that cover com- funds. Throughout the process, agreement puters with TV cards to support caption- was reached by key stakeholders to en- ing, regardless of monitor screen size. The sure that relay services would be treated law also protects captioning in the event as a utility service that is fully integrated of future changes in broadcast technology. into the public switched telephone net- TDI hosted two national forums to help work, rather than a charitable or social the FCC draft its regulations for the na- service. tionwide telecommunication relay service TDI and the American Athletic Associa- program. The f rst one was held in April tion of the Deaf presented a Certif cate of 1990 in Tempe, AZ, and the second was Appreciation to Senator John McCain for held in November 1990 on Capitol Hill his role in passing the ADA. in Washington, D.C.
1991 — TDI helped the US Department FORCE POWERFUL of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Commu- nications Commission (FCC) to develop federal relay standards as def ned by Title IV of the ADA. A new mission statement and bylaws were passed by the TDI Board at its ninth convention hosted by Deaf Community Services in San Diego.
In 1990, President Jordan places a call NTID loaned Paul Taylor to the FCC to the off ce of Senator Daniel Inouye for one year to help draft rules and regu- (D-Hawaii) on a Gallaudet pay phone TTY lations for TRS services. At an FCC open to launch a one-year trial in the Baltimore- meeting, the Commissioners discussed Washington area. L-R interpreter Bill a long list of issues to consider in devel- Adams; Del Lewis, president, C&P oping TRS policy. About 70 issues were Telephone, Washington, D.C.; Alfred Sonnenstrahl, executive director, raised by Judy Viera and other advocates Telecommunications for the Deaf; and based on their experiences in implement- Ray Smith, chairman and chief executive ing the California Relay Service. A TTY off cer, Bell Atlantic. (Credit: Gallaudet was brought into the meeting room where University On The Green) Paul Taylor demonstrated the TTY relay call experience.
43 Captioning service providers helped on C-SPAN. The US Dept. of Education design new Line 21 decoder display stan- sponsored a national conference on local dards for FCC. Zenith Electronics Corp. news captioning in Washington, DC. was the f rst TV manufacturer to develop TDI coordinated three national forums televisions with a built-in captioning chip on Access to Emergency Communication since the f rst TeleCaption TV sets were Services where experts engaged in an sold. The US House of Representatives ongoing dialogue on policy, technology, begins captioning its f oor proceedings legal issues, and implementation models
White House TRS Demonstration POWERFUL FORCE
Frank Harkin / President Clinton
In a White House ceremony Frank Harkin, the deaf brother of Sen. marking the inauguration of Tom Harkin, D-IA, wipes tears from Telecommunications Relay Services, his eyes at the Harkin family home in Senator Tom Harkin arranged to Cumming, Iowa, Tuesday after talking have President William J. Clinton with President Clinton by using a make a demonstration relay call to nationwide telephone relay system. Frank Harkin, the Senator’s older Harkin’s interpreter, Joy Milligan, stands at far left. (Credit: The Des Moines deaf brother. With TV cameras Register on July 28, 1993) on him, President Clinton dialed the number but the line was busy. with the right to be full participants Frank was on the TTY talking to in all facets of society,’’ Tom Harkin someone else. Brother Tom had said in a statement upon Frank’s to call Frank’s neighbor to get his brother off the phone so the passing in June 2000. President President could call him. They had a Clinton later remarked that Frank pleasant conversation through TRS. Harkin was the only person who “He taught me that people with stood him up on a phone call during disabilities are people with abilities his eight years in the White House.
44 Ed Bosson adding ASCII capabilities to their prod- ucts based on the theory that this feature will allow TTY users to call computers.
1992 — In mid-July, TDI and NCLD submitted a request to the FCC for two three-digit N11 numbers for nationwide access to relay services: as planned, 7-1-1 for TTY users and 5-1-1 for voice users. The request was f led on behalf of 12 The “Father of VRS” national organizations and 26 state and Ed Bosson from the Texas local consumer groups, telephone relay Public Utility Commission began centers, and government off ces. discussing the idea of using TDI conducted a national poll that video conferencing products for conf rmed TTY as the preferred acronym deaf people not only to call each for text telephones over “TDD” (Telecom- other directly, but also to set up video relay with a network of sign munications Device for the Deaf) or “TT” language interpreters to relay (Text Telephone). TDI joined the Consum- conversations between deaf and er Action Network, (currently known as FORCE POWERFUL hearing parties using ASL over DHHCAN) a national advisory council broadband Internet connections. for national consumer organizations serv- His vision earned him the title of ing deaf and hard of hearing Americans. “Father of VRS”. All states and the District of Columbia established 24/7 telecommunication relay services. Norman Williams developed surrounding access to 9-1-1 services. TDI FUTURA TTY, a DOS computer program also had meetings with NENA and the that was compatible with both ASCII and Association of Public Communication TTY modems. Off cers (APCO) which were both leading 9-1-1 industry associations. With the help Hillsborough County, Florida and Fre- of Toni Dunne on 9-1-1 access issues, TDI mont, California became the f rst county and city, respectively, to caption real-time helped develop a white paper outlining all government and school board meet- accessible policies for TTY users when ings, funded by a surcharge on all cable they call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. TV bills. NENA and APCO were concerned about the ASCII requirement, which had yet to 1993 — The tenth TDI Convention was be proven as a reliable way to communi- hosted by the Alaska Association of the cate by text. The TTY manufacturers were Deaf in Anchorage. Title IV of the ADA
45 takes effect with 24/7 telecommunication relay services (TRS) in every state.
At the press conference held in Chapel Hall on July 1, 1993, Rep. Steve At the 1993 Conference in Alaska. Gunderson speaks to the audience while L-R: Karen Peltz Strauss, Sheila Conlon President I. King Jordan, Senator Tom Mentkowski, Alex Mentkowski, future POWERFUL FORCE Harkin and Senator John McCain look on. advocate in training, and Tom Mentkowski. This was the day the Television Circuitry Decoder Act went into effect, mandating that new television sets 13 inches or larger manufactured or sold in the United States have a closed caption decoder chip built into the set. (Credit: Gallaudet UniversityAccessibility_final2_6x10_mechWITHcrops.4.25.pdf On The Green) 1 4/25/18 3:42 PM
A Zenith TV ad for the GA-SK on the f rst TV with a built-in decoder since the 1980’s
The National Center for Accessible C
M
Media (NCAM) is formed as the researchY
CM arm of the Corporation for Public Broad-MY CY
CMY
casting and WGBH-TV. One of NCAM’sK early achievements is the development of the Rear Window Captioning (RWC) System to display movie captions off the back wall of the theaters onto ref ectors. At the time, there were more than 750 hours of TV captioning per week on net- work programs and over 5,000 captioned
46 home videos. The Television Decoder Cir- Chairman of the FCC to be the key- cuitry Act takes effect so all televisions note speaker at TDI’s 11th Convention, larger than 13” in diameter essentially hosted by D.E.A.F., Inc. in Boston. He became decoders, and the captioning said, “...we have no higher responsibil- functions preserved whenever broadcast ity and no greater calling than making technology is upgraded. sure that people with disabilities share in the communications revolution. This 1994 — The US Department of Justice mission is in itself a suff cient justif - (DOJ), contracted with TDI to develop cation for the existence of the Federal a training kit, Emergency Access Self Communications Commission.” Evaluation (EASE), for emergency per- sonnel at 9-1-1 call centers. The EASE training packages covered the basics of recognizing and handling a TTY call, in- cluding things such as ASL syntax com- monly typed by deaf callers that could be perceived as “broken English”. The EASE training kit led to the requirement for all call-takers to have access to their Miss America Heather Whitestone and FORCE POWERFUL own TTY or TTY software built into FCC Chairman Reed Hundt demonstrate their computer consoles. how a relay call works. Linda Dubroof and Pam Gregory of the FCC Disabilities The Caption Center introduced relo- Issues Task Force are in the background. catable roll-up captioning during the FCC Chairman Reed Hundt an- Winter Olympic Games for CBS, which nounced a new TRS campaign with the ensures that important sports action or f rst deaf Miss America, Heather White- graphics are not obscured with captions. stone. Simultaneously, Linda Dubroof 1995 — Reed Hundt was the f rst and Pam Gregory were selected to head the new Disabilities Issues Task Force at the FCC to ensure that the needs of TTY users are considered along with telecommunication needs of other disability groups. The goal of universal access to telecommunication had existed since Congress passed the Communi- cations Act of 1934. This Act included a provision requiring that the newly established Federal Communications
47 Commission (FCC) must ensure univer- telephone sectors. This Act amends the sal service ... “as far as possible to all the Communications Act of 1934 and man- people of the United States with rapid eff - dated full captioning of television, includ- cient, nationwide and worldwide wire and ing cable television, with a phase-in period radio communications” and to regulate all granted by the FCC until 2006. A separate interstate and foreign electrical communi- ramp-up schedule for Spanish captioning cation systems originating in the US. would also go into effect at the same time. The FCC issued hearing aid compatibil- ity regulations for landline and cordless telephones but exempted wireless digital handsets temporarily.
1997 — TDI hired Claude
POWERFUL FORCE L. Stout as its f fth Execu- tive Director.
Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the ADA The Missouri-Kansas in 1995 on a Potomac River dinner cruise Telecommunications for ship. L-R: Paul Taylor, I. Lee Brody, Andrea Claude Stout the Deaf, Inc. hosted TDI’s Saks, James Marsters, H. Latham Breunig, 12th Convention in Kansas City. Wireless and Alfred Sonnenstrahl. communication devices (cellular phones, Sprint conducted a number of successful fax, emails, pagers) became popular and video relay interpreting (VRI) trials at four f lled the airwaves. TDI participated in locations in Austin, Texas using AT&T’s two forums to study analog TTY access PictureTel products on ISDN lines. Live! through digital wireless cellular networks With Derek McGinty from The Discovery to 9-1-1 systems. The FCC made available Channel became the f rst regularly cap- the 7-1-1 number for easier dialing access tioned regular Internet program. to TRS; issued regulations on captioning in accordance with the Telecommunica- 1996 — Alfred Sonnenstrahl retired as tions Act of 1996; and required wireless Executive Director after ten years at TDI. carriers to forward all 9-1-1 calls. Texas VRI trials expanded to ten cities, TDI was an active participant in the enabling children at Texas School for U.S. Access Board’s Telecommunication the Deaf to call parents, many for the Access Advisory Committee (TAAC). This f rst time. President Clinton signed the advisory group reported out recommen- Telecommunications Act of 1996 into dations for regulations under Section 255 law, paving the way for the telecommu- of the Communications Act. Section 255 nications industry to consolidate opera- mandated accessibility of telecommunica- tions within the local and long distance tions equipment where readily achievable.
48 A Brief History of TDI Biennial Conferences
DI conferences began as an contributions to making telecommuni- opportunity for what was cations, media and information tech- then called “TDI Agents” nologies accessible for deaf and hard of to gather and share their hearing people, and unlimited oppor- expertise and experiences, tunities for networking with movers as well as to answer con- and shakers who are concerned with Tsumer questions regarding the modif ca- and knowledgeable about accessibility tion and distribution of teletypewriters. issues facing deaf and hard of hearing Since then TDI conferences have consumers. grown into biennial events that feature Over the years TDI conferences were exhibits from various industry vendors, held in various places around the coun- presentations from government policy try in order to provide opportunities for makers concerning their plans for future consumers everywhere to participate policy changes, workshops given by in- in the conferences. However, starting dustry representatives concerning their in 2015, due to budget constraints on newest accessible technologies, panels federal agencies, TDI has found it more FORCE POWERFUL where consumers are invited to ask suitable to host the biennial event in the questions and raise issues concerning Washington, DC metro area. Our next accessibility, an awards luncheon where Biennial Conference, TDI’s 23rd will be worthy individuals and/or organizations held at Gallaudet University in Wash- are recognized for their outstanding ington, DC on August 13-18, 2019
Past TDI conferences have been held in the following cities: 2017 – Rockville, MD 2005 – New Orleans, LA 1989 – Washington, DC 2015 – Baltimore, MD 2003 – Las Vegas, NV 1987 – Secaucus, NJ 2013 – Albuquerque, 2001 – Sioux Falls, SD 1985 – Las Vegas, NV NM (TDI-ALDA Joint 1999 – Seattle, WA 1983 – Philadelphia, PA Conference) 1997 – Kansas City, MO 1981 – Overland Park, KS 2011 – Austin, TX 1995 – Boston, MA 1979 – Atlanta, GA 2009 – Washington, DC 1993 – Anchorage, AK 1977 – Port Chester, NY 2007 – San Mateo, CA 1991 – San Diego, CA 1974 – Chicago, IL
49 TDITDI ConferenceConference PhotosPhotos
During a break at the TDI Conference, Rob Engelke of Ultratec poses for the
POWERFUL FORCE picture with Jayne Turner Tom Mentkowski, TDI Executive Director poses with and Kevin Colwell joining in. wife, Sheila, Robert Lankenau and Robert McClintock in Las Vegas, NV for the 6th TDI Biennial Conference.
During the 21st TDI Biennial Conference in Matt Myrick enjoys a Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Vikki Baltimore, MD (2015) moment with Joe Duarte Porter, John Fetcher, Pam following Chairman Tom and Clayton Bowen. Holmes, Matt Myrick Wheeler’s keynote speech, on the “Interacting with Rosaline Crawford, E. Hearing Colleagues” Elaine Gardner, and Karen panel at the 21st Biennial Peltz Strauss speak during Conference.* the FCC Town Hall.
Joe and Meg Duarte Christopher Soukup, CEO of Donna Platt, Suzy Rosen visiting with Ron Vickery CSD gives keynote speech Singleton, Richard Ray in the exhibit area as at the 22nd TDI Conference and Toni Dunne after a Med El (a cochlear “One World: Community they f nished the 9-1-1 implant manufacturer) Ownership as a Catalyst for workshop*. representative looks on.* Innovation”*
50 Angela Off cer, Judy Stout, and Katie Fishbein.*
Murray Margolin, Dr. Christian Vogler, and Neil McDevitt participate in a discussion.*
Dr. Scot Atkins with Gary Behm from NTID discuss a recent workshop Panelists during FCC Town Hall from left with Alfred Sonnenstrahl, former to right: Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Chief Executive Director of TDI.* POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL of the Consumer Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB); Suzy Rosen Singleton, Chief for the Disability Rights Off ce (DRO); Eliot Greenwald, Deputy Chief for DRO; Robert McConnell, Telecommunications Accessibility Specialist with DRO; and Dr. Christian Vogler from the Technology Access Program at Gallaudet University.* Benro Ogunyipe, a current member of the National Council on Disability Board of Directors, visits with Pam Holmes, a former member.*
Haben Girma, f rst DeafBlind graduate of Harvard Law School gives keynote speech Omnitor’s Gunnar Hellstrom, SignAll’s at the 22nd TDI Conference “The Universal Zsolt Robotka, Fidelity’s Jeff Witt and Benef ts of Accessible Design”* IDEAL Group’s Steve Jacobs.*
* Photos by Steve Brenner 51 This animated set Norman Williams accepts The crowd is jealous after Conference up is part of the the Saks Award from Andy volunteer, Gary Viall wins the iMac David Rose Prsonas Lange. computer as a raff e prize. L -R: CM presentation on Boryslawskyj, Jarvis Grindstaff, Gary
POWERFUL FORCE holograms and sign Viall, Andy Lange, Donna Viall, and language. Tayler Mayer.
Members of the IP-CTS panel from left to right: Ron Bibler (consumer), HLAA’s Lise Hamlin, Clear Captions’ Mike Strecker, Hamilton Relay’s Dixie Ziegler, Ultratec’s Pam Dot and Steve Brenner volunteers at the Holmes, Sprint Accessibility’s Mike Ellis, and registration table and as photographer, CaptionCall’s Cameron Tingey. respectively.
A dinner table crowd from l-r: Laurie Dowling, Tom Dowling, Peter Sepielli, Karen Sepielli, Donna Viall, Byron Hampton, Gary Viall, Jim VRSCA’s Sharon Hayes pose for photo with House, and Karen Philo-House. FCC’s Karen Peltz Strauss.
The “Big Three”: Two former TDI Executive Directors - Tom Mentkowski and Alfred Sonnenstrahl with Claude Stout, current Executive Director.
52 Five FCC Chairs Lend Credibility to TDI Conferences with Their Presence
William Kennard, FCC Chair talks about the implementation of Section 255 (of the Reed Hundt, the f rst FCC Chair to give Telecom Act of 1996) in his keynote speech a keynote presentation at the 1995 TDI at the 1999 TDI Conference in Conference in Boston. Seattle, Washington POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL
Michael Copps, as a new Commissioner, 14th TDI BIennial Conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and again as Acting FCC Chairman, 19th TDI Biennial Conference in Austin, Texas.
Tom Wheeler, FCC Chairman, 21st TDI Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman, 22nd TDI Biennial Conference in Baltimore, MD Biennial Conference in Rockville, MD
53 A Kaleidoscopic Look at Accessible Technology
s we celebrate TDI’s TTY Call, 1997 Neon half-century of innova- Assemblage, 21" w x tion, we take a moment to 21" d and 26 " h, old look at the human side of TTY, hand /phone / technology. The artwork half - f gure below by deaf artists over the years can provoke deep thinking, pro- is a half f gure piece
POWERFUL FORCE A vide comic relief, or illuminate the funny in a collage and sur- side of access. rounded by a swirl of blue and purple neon Description: This is an assemblage of light. There are also pieces of curled neon an old TTY, painted orange and with the lights on each side of the TTY. On the stick-on letters GA and SK on the TTY's keyboard of the TTY is a hand, placed as readout line, which is lit up by a neon typing a TTY message. light. In addition, on the back of the TTY
BETTY G. MILLER
Betty G. Miller, also known as Bettigee, her artwork signature, was a deaf artist who became known as the "Mother of De'VIA" (Deaf View/Image Art). She was born hard of hearing in Chicago to deaf parents and attended an oral school, but learned ASL at home. In June of 1976, she earned a Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) in art at Pennsylvania State University, becoming the f rst undergraduate alumna of Gallaudet to earn a doctoral degree. She was also a Certif ed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, specializing in working with deaf patients. Her art practice included some of her ref ections on a deaf person's experiences in an oral school. Miller taught at Gallaudet, her alma mater. In 1975, she co-founded Spectrum, Focus on Deaf Artists, which brought together other painters, dancers, and artists contributing to deaf culture. In 2009 she was awarded the Alice Cogswell Award from Gallaudet for service to deaf people.
54 J. STERLING WHITE
Sterling White was born on January 5, 1935 in Elizabeth City, NC. He earned his diploma from the NC School for the Deaf in 1934 and graduated from Gallaudet in 1959 with a BA in Chemistry. After earning certif cates in Infrared Spectroscopy and Computering, he started working as an Infrared Spectroscopist for RJR-Nabisco Co. Sterling was elected as president of NCAD in 1973 for f ve years, and remained as an editor for the NCAD newsletter, The Bugler. He served as the President of the Piedmont Lions Club while organizing the NC State Service for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 1974. He was chosen for Who's Who in the South and Southwest 16th and 17th Edition, and honored with the Amos Kendall Award from Gallaudet in 1990, and received several other awards. He enjoys growing orchids, studying birds, and astronomy. POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL
55 BRUCE HANSON When Bruce Hanson earned his certif cate in Information Technology, POWERFUL FORCE TDI contracted with him to provide IT Support to its growing off ce computer network. In the years since, Bruce currently enjoys working full-time as a Senior Technical Support agent. He is Video phone for the Deaf: Drawback happily married, and buying property in Number One, a cartoon in the May 1992 the Philippines with his wife. Silent News by Bruce Hanson
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION IS OUR FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATION AND DRIVES OUR BUSINESS FORWARD.
Comcast NBCUniversal is proud to support TDI and their 50th Anniversary Gala.
DIVERSITY.COMCAST.COM
56 ANN SILVER
Born deaf into a hearing family in Seattle, WA, in 1949, Ann Silver attended public schools. As professional support services did not exist, she was not mainstreamed. Her childhood education, GA / SK she says, “was 90% (1992, Ann Silver / 2-D layered guesswork, 10% art.” paper collage / 20"x16") Silver received her BA in The bold GA and two pointing Commercial Art from Gallaudet University and arrows, one pointing left and an MA in Deafness Rehabilitation from New York one pointing right, grace the f rst University in 1977. Along with Betty G. Miller, she signpost. GA was used to signify that the other person could "Go Ahead" has the distinction of being one of the founding and type. In the second signpost, members of the Washington DC-based Deaf there is a bold SK and a red stop Art Movement (DAM) in the 1960s-1970s. While sign. The term SK stood for "Stop working as a designer/art director for major Keying," meaning the conversation book publishing companies in Manhattan, Silver was over -- but many in the Deaf POWERFUL FORCE POWERFUL burned the midnight oil as a sign language artist community still believe it meant "Send Kisses." and a Deaf Studies researcher and writer. In 1979, she and the Museum of Modern Art established a 125-museum consortium program for Deaf visitors, earning a NY Governor’s Art Award. She was also a museum docent at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Living in Japan as a 1986 Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Fellow, her pioneering cross-cultural research led to Japanese Deaf Studies. Silver’s artistic background is varied—ranging from poster art, graphics, TT, T & TDD: WRONG WAY / drawings, logos and greeting cards to book TTY: RIGHT WAY jackets, Deaftoons and creative direction. A self- (1992, Ann Silver / 2-D layered taught artist, her work has been exhibited across paper collage / 20"x16") the country and abroad, including Stockholm and This pair of signposts highlight Tokyo. While Silver’s work represents the visual the terms for a TTY that the arts wing of the academic Deaf Studies spectrum, Deaf community never widely she also deals in issues of discrimination. As an approved: TT (Text Telephone), T (Teletypewriter), and TDD oppression theorist, her work includes legal/policy (Telecommunications Device for the analysis and identif cation of system barriers for Deaf) were bad choices. Regardless agencies such as the Washington State Human of the age or size of the machine, it Rights Commission. was a TTY -- the term accepted and used by the Deaf community.
57 TDI GOES DIGITAL
GOING DIGITAL GOING 1998 – 2007
58 TDI GOES DIGITAL
1998 — TDI appointed as a member of the Electronic and Information Technolo- gy Access Advisory Committee (EITAAC), a federal advisory committee formed by the US Access Board to develop Section 508 standards based on the recently amended Rehabilitation Act. The newly amended Section 508 rules require all Federal agencies to develop, procure, Claude Stout, Dr. Judy Harkins, Pam maintain, and use accessible electronic Holmes, Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden, and and information technologies in ways that Karen Peltz Strauss with other members give full access to federal employees with of the Electronic and Information disabilities and the public seeking to do Technology Access Advisory Committee, US Access Board, in May 1999. GOING DIGITAL business with the government if it can be celebrated its 30th Anniversary celebra- achieved without undue burden. Section tion with an Expo and Gala at Gallaudet 508 went far beyond telecommunications University honoring past and current ad- by covering computers, off ce equipment, vocates in telecommunications and media software, and websites. Various advocates access. The Expo with 43 exhibitors drew including Claude Stout, Dr. Judy Harkins 2,000 attendees. of the Technology Access Program at Gallaudet University, Dr. Gregg Vanderhe- 1999 — TDI’s new public email listserv, iden of the TRACE Center, Pam Holmes, TDI eNotes, proved to be a valuable tool a member of the US Access Board, and in engaging its members and friends in Karen Peltz Strauss participated in this advocacy with timely updates in areas of advisory group. telecommunications and media access. In TDI launched a new website, and one of its early eNotes, TDI joined with
59 Claude L. Stout (b. 1954) recently stepped down after serving Fifth Executive for eighteen years as Chair of Director, TDI Deaf & Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN), a (1997-present) national consumer coalition of twelve After completing organizations representing deaf his preparatory year and hard of hearing citizens. He is at Gallaudet, he a two-term member of the Federal returned to North Communications Commission’s Carolina School Disability Advisory Committee. for the Deaf in Mr. Stout has served on numerous Morganton where he obtained his high government and industry advisory school diploma in 1974. Returning committees such as: Cingular Wireless to Gallaudet, he was able to pursue Task Force, 1999 to 2007, AT&T two degrees, achieving a Bachelor of Advisory Panel on Access and Aging, Science in Business Administration 2006 to present, AT&T National (General Business) in 1978, and a Consumer Advisory Board, 2008 Master of Business Administration to 2014, Federal Communications (MBA) in Management in 1980. He Commission Consumer Advisory was the f rst in Gallaudet’s history to Committee, 2000 to 2015, Electronic be re-elected for a second one-year and Information Technology Access term as President of its Student Body Advisory Committee - U.S. Access
GOING DIGITAL GOING Government. Board, 1998-1999, Microsoft Disability After attaining his MBA, he taught six Access Advisory Committee, 1998- months as an Instructor in Gallaudet’s 2000, and AOL Accessibility Advisory Business Administration Department. Committee, 1997-2009. He then worked for ten years at Mr. Stout is happily married to his high National Association of the Deaf school sweetheart, Judy Cummings in Silver Spring, MD, as Assistant Stout for thirty-eight years, and they Executive Director for Business have two children, Abby (Katie), Services. He relocated to Fulton, MO and Ty (Emily). They are the proud to become the Executive Director for grandparents of Abby and Katie’s two Missouri Commission for the Deaf. boys, Landon and Logan. He was also the Assistant Director for Community Affairs with North Carolina “The Sky is No Longer the Limit” “We Division of Services for the Deaf and must not give up when we run into obstacles the Hard of Hearing in Raleigh, NC for on the journey to full accessibility. Dealing f ve years. When the Executive Director with adversity brings out the best in us. A position at TDI opened up in the fall of cordial but f rm approach will enable the 1996, Stout applied and was offered general mainstream to understand and the position which he accepted. respect our concerns and aspirations. We must exercise every diplomatic option, He has served as TDI Executive conf ict resolution, and communication Director since January 1997. He facilitation to accomplish our dreams.” by Claude Stout in the 1998-4 GA-SK newsletter
60 ers to work side-by-side with consumers with disabilities in the design phase. In other telecom news, Ameriphone, Krown and Ultratec developed TTYs with 2.5mm audio jacks that connect to cellu- lar phones and household cordless phones as well as microphones and handsets for Dr. Roy Miller, Claude Stout, Pam VCO and HCO users. Two-way pagers Holmes, and FCC Chairman William with TTY, fax and e-mail capabilities Kennard ready for a “toast” at the 1999 became popular for those on the road. TDI Conference in Seattle, Washington. Ultratec and Sprint conducted joint Fas- NAD and other consumer groups with Tran trials to improve TRS services using an action alert on June 25 requesting speech recognition technology. Maryland that the deaf community respond to an became the f rst state in the continental FCC inquiry on eliminating barriers to United States to implement the three-dig- voicemail and interactive telephone menu it 7-1-1 TRS number, which led to an systems. Following the endorsement of increase of 41% in calls initiated by voice Personal Communications Industry Asso- users over the ten-digit toll-free number. ciation (PCIA), the FCC acted by a vote Thank You, TDI of three to two to support Section 255 rules, including accessibility of interactive Thank You telephone menu systems, ensuring access to telecommunications equipment and GOING DIGITAL services by consumers with disabilities TDI where readily achievable. These new rul- Charter Communications is ings were acclaimed as having a potential proud to support TDI and its impact similar to the ADA in the Informa- 2018 Biennial Conference. tion Age. Collaborating with the deaf and hard of hearing Chartercommunity Communications allows us to better meet the needs is Right after the historic Section 255 of all of our customers. rulemaking, FCC Chairman William E. proud to support TDI and its Kennard sets the tone at the 13th Biennial 2018 Biennial Conference.
TDI International Conference in Seattle, Collaborating with the deaf and hard of hearing community allows us to better meet the needs Washington, hosted by Thurston Coun- of all of our customers. ty Association of the Deaf. His keynote speech, “Def ning Vision,” encouraged telecommunications engineers and design- © 2018 Charter Communications | policy.charter.com
61
© 2018 Charter Communications | policy.charter.com 2000 — TDI submitted f lings to the FCC become the Coalition for Movie Caption- in areas of digital television captioning ing (CMC). TDI became a charter mem- standards, instant messaging, Internet ber and Jim House, its Director of Public Telephony, handset volume control, Relations, was selected as the Vice Chair. obligations of television broadcasters, the CMC authored a position paper on access needs of deaf-blind consumers in video to theatrical movie captioning. CMC’s description. The FCC overhauled TRS vision was “We believe that individuals rules to improve access to telephone ser- who are deaf and hard of hearing should vice for people with hearing and speech have the same freedom as anyone else to disabilities, requiring increased quality attend and showing of any movie at any standards, providing for Speech to Speech theater; to be seated anywhere within the (STS) relay, and ensuring that TRS keeps theater with their family and friends; to up with the Information Age. The FCC receive equal access to the audible por- also adopted regulations requiring all tions of the movie through high quality telecommunications carriers nationwide captioning; and to be guaranteed that the to implement the 7-1-1 three-digit dialing presentation of captioning is consistently for state relay access. TDI f led comments reliable.” with the US Access Board on telecom- Dr. Harry G. Lang’s book, A Phone munication and media access issues in of Our Own, is published, detailing the
GOING DIGITAL GOING Section 508 rulings and the upcoming birth of the TTY network and the in- revisions to the ADA Accessibility Guide- ception of TDI. The AOL/Time Warner lines. Claude Stout coordinated activities of the TRS Coalition in bringing the case merger prompted calls to standardize for reaching TRS functional equivalency competing Internet instant messaging to the FCC. protocols. Ultratec introduced the Cap- Tel line of phones, which uses automatic text transcription using “communications assistants” and speech recognition. The FCC cited TDI’s opposition in its denial of a closed captioning waiver based on undue burden to Home Shop- ping Network because a similar com- The Coalition for Movie Captioning group. L-R: Nancy Bloch, Toby Silver, petitor, QVC was captioning their home Claude Stout, Brenda Battat, a shopping shows. The FCC established representative from AG Bell, Jim House, a phase-in schedule for captioning of Cheryl Heppner, and John McCelland. digital television programming, mandated The Movie Access Coalition, a subcom- increased accessibility of video program- mittee of the NAD, was reorganized to ming to viewers with hearing and vision
62 disabilities during local emergencies, said “My overriding goal as an FCC and launched a beta version of in-house Commissioner is to help bring the best, real-time Internet captioning to make most accessible, and cost-effective tele- its Open Meetings and public forums communications system in the world to accessible to Internet users with hearing our people – and I mean all of our people. disabilities. Air Force News became the Each and every citizen of this great coun- f rst military funded regular programming try should have access to the wonders to use captioning. The Weather Chan- of telecommunications. I don’t think it nel began 20 hours of captioning on its exaggerates much to characterize access all-weather cable network. to telecommunications in this modern age as a civil right.” 2001 — The TDI Board of Directors reorganized with f ve elected represen- TDI f led comments with the FCC tatives from the Northeast, Southeast, on Universal Service Fund support for Midwest, Central and West Regions. CSD orphan technologies such as TTYs with hosted the 14th Biennial TDI Conference Braille output and for service fees above and Expo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, customary fees required to make tele- its f rst time in a rural setting under the phones accessible such as a second line theme: “Information, Technology, Access: for 2-Line VCO users. ISDN technology The Gold Rush of the Future”. is displaced as modern broadband Inter- net services gained a foothold in 8 million American households fueling the rapid growth of video relay services (VRS). Dig- ital Subscriber Line (DSL), cable modem
and f ber optic services were faster, less GOING DIGITAL expensive, and easier to set up and main- tain. MCI WorldCom and AT&T Relay implemented IP-Relay trials, allowing TTY users to make relay calls through the Michael J. Copps, the newest Commissioner of the Federal Internet. The FCC extended its deadline Communications Commission (middle) for coin-operated payphones and digital discusses the success of the TDI cell phone compatibility with 9-1-1 and Conference with Claude Stout of TDI (left), TTYs. The FCC approved the AOL/Time and Rick Norris of CSD (right). Warner merger with the condition that On the second day of the Confer- future versions of AOL’s popular instant ence, Michael J. Copps gave the keynote messaging (IM) software be interoperable speech, his f rst since his Senate conf r- with competing IM software as long as mation as FCC Commissioner. Copps AOL retains dominant market share.
63 Several captioning providers began to Disability Telecommunications Advisory caption streaming videos on the Internet. Committee. Section 508 went into effect WGBH’s National Center for Accessible requiring that the federal government Media published guidelines for making procure information technology products software accessible to deaf or blind users. and services that are accessible to feder- Congress allocated funding for a pilot al employees with disabilities as well as CART training program. the public seeking government services. The US Department of Justice report- On 9/11, terrorists hijacked airliners ed success in removing barriers to local and attacked the World Trade Center in government services as part of its ongoing New York City, the Pentagon near Wash- Project Civic Access. ington, DC and a fourth plane crashed enroute to Washington, DC in a Pennsyl- 2002 — TDI f led comments with the vania f eld. Following the attacks, TDI FCC requesting that the Commission rushed an issue of The GA-SK on Disaster revoke current exemptions to the Hearing Preparedness. The FCC reminded tele- Aid Compatibility Act of 1988; request- vision broadcasters of their emergency ing that it uses the Universal Service news accessibility requirements. Fund for training and outreach from schools and libraries on TRS and other The FCC formed a new Consumer/ telecommunication services; urging the GOING DIGITAL GOING FCC not to classify wireline broadband services as information services; stream- line and simplify its informal complaint procedures; requesting that cable modem Internet service be accessible and usable to people with disabilities; supporting Congratulations the petition of the National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) to recover TDI! costs for wireless calls made through TRS from the Interstate TRS Fund. TDI Celebrating also sent comments with sign-ons from 50 years – a true NAD and ALDA on cost jurisdiction and milestone of other mechanism issues regarding reim- bursement for Internet Protocol Relay, commitment! including people with hearing or speech disabilities. TDI, NAD, SHHH, and CAN Copyright © 2018 Hamilton Relay. Hamilton is a registered trademark of Nedelco, Inc. d/b/a/ Hamilton Telecommunications. CapTel is a (Consumer Action Network) f led a registered trademark of Ultratec, Inc. petition for reconsideration of the FCC’s
64 Order on the handling of relay calls made receivers for use while waiting in lines for through payphones, alleging that the certain attractions. Order violated the requirement to not 2003 — TDI returned to Las Vegas, charge relay users any more than con- Nevada for the 15th Biennial TDI Inter- ventional callers for payphone calls, and national Conference. Voice over Internet required outreach measures that would Protocol (VoIP) raised many new acces- alert relay consumers about making pay- sibility and funding questions as legacy phone calls using relay services. TDI also landline telephone service wanes. The f led comments with the Federal Trade FCC approved Ultratec’s CapTel as an Commission (FTC) urging that it make its enhanced voice-carry-over TRS service “Do Not Call” registry accessible to all and other TRS enhancements such as consumers. TDI f led joint comments with Call-Waiting; Call-Release; 900-number CAN, NAD and Deaf Seniors of America Dialing and other features. With TDI’s (DSA) to the National Telecommunica- support, Brenda Battat, the Executive tions and Information Administration Director of HLAA had spent many years at the U.S. Department of Commerce in collaborating with phone manufacturers support for full deployment of broadband and service providers to make their digital wireless handset phones hearing aid services across America compatible (HAC) within three years. In TDI also f led joint comments with addition to a new version of EnVision SL, NAD to the FCC opposing the petition Sorenson launched the VP-100; the f rst of several digital wireless service pro- TV set-top videophone mass-produced viders to extend the time or waive their for deaf and hard of hearing users and responsibilities to make their network implements its own video relay service. digital-TTY 9-1-1 compatible.
TDI f led a petition asking and rein- GOING DIGITAL TDI was recognized by students in Gal- forcing the contention made by others laudet University’s Department of Busi- that emergency TRS calls be routed to the ness as the Organization of the Year 2002. most appropriate PSAP, rather than be automatically routed to the geographical- Twenty-two captioning providers ly “nearest” PSAP. The FCC then issued formed the Accessible Media Industry new TRS rules that require emergency Coalition (AMIC), a trade association to calls to 9-1-1 to be routed to the nearest address quality issues in captioning and appropriate PSAP. Hospitals nationwide audio-description. Real-time voice-to-text turn to Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) captioning and CART using automatic in an effort to address accessibility issues speech recognition becomes widely used by deaf and hard of hearing patients. in the marketplace. Walt Disney World provided breakthrough technology of mobile captioning through handheld
65 Two national coalitions changed names, decrying the lack of accessible news during CAN changed to the Deaf and Hard of the DC Sniper spree in October 2002. In Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network Texas, the San Antonio police installs VRI (DHHCAN). A second coalition, COR is in police station for deaf victims and wit- now the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Alliance nesses to report crimes in sign language. — A Coalition of Professional and Con- Sacramento (CA) police began to accept sumer Organizations (DHHA). 9-1-1 calls from deaf citizens using text pagers. 2004 — Cheryl Heppner from NVRC, with support from Claude Stout and Kelby As broadband services and video equip- Brick, released a 40-page DHHCAN ment became more affordable, video Emergency Preparedness and Communica- phones and webcams gradually replace tion Report, that revealed signif cant gaps TTYs in many households and business- and a general lack of coordination in the es. TDI and other organizations f led a nation’s ability to respond adequately, and petition asking that the FCC make Video gave America’s communication network Relay Services (VRS) a mandatory TRS systems a failing grade for not being acces- feature. TDI and other consumer groups sible to deaf and hard of hearing citizens. established the National Video Relay Services Coalition (NVRSC). Over 5,500 The US Department of Homeland Secu- individuals joined an Internet petition in rity awarded TDI a $1.5M Competitive GOING DIGITAL GOING support of improved VRS standards and Training Grant for TDI’s 2-year proposal for ASL to Spanish relay services. The FCC to implement the Community Emergency issued new regulations for VRS providers Preparedness and Information Network to provide 24/7 VRS service, and required (CEPIN) Project. CEPIN was developed that 80 percent of all calls be answered as a network of four deaf service centers within two minutes by January 2007. with specialists who go out and provide community emergency preparedness Movie theaters in Washington, DC and workshops to deaf, deafblind, and hard New Jersey agree in separate settlements of hearing people. CEPIN also developed to increase their offerings of closed-cap- “Disaster Preparedness,” an eight-hour tioned movies. Internet search engines, course to teach community members and Google and Yahoo turn to captioning data emergency management professionals as a tool to f nd online video clips, using about best practices in effective communi- words stored within the caption f les. The cation during emergencies. FCC declined more requests for cap- The FCC clarif ed rules that emergen- tioning waivers from television program cy news access regulations do cover acts producers. of terrorism in response to a complaint TDI and other organizations f led a pe- brought on by a community service agency tition to the FCC addressing technical and
66 non-technical captioning quality issues. community service centers collaborating Some of the requests TDI made of the with TDI as follows: Stephanie Clark FCC include listing contact information - DEAF Inc., Lise Hamlin - NVRC, of someone who can resolve captioning Kristina Hakey then Glenna Cooper - problems immediately, not having to wait CSD of Oklahoma and Christine Seymour days or weeks for resolution; require f nes - DCARA. TDI became partners with or penalties for noncompliance with cap- Colonel Thomas Tucker, Rick Matthews, tioning rules, continuous monitoring of and Charlotte Curtis of the National captions to ensure that technical problems Center on Biomedical Research and are remedied promptly and eff ciently; Training at the Louisiana State University meet minimum standards for complete- in Baton Rouge for the CEPIN project in ness, accuracy, readability, and synchro- course development and instructor nicity with the audible portion of the certif cation. video. The FCC immediately responded, in part, to the 2004 Petition by amending the TDI had its sixteenth biennial interna- captioning complaint process and requir- tional conference in New Orleans, Lou- ing providers to make contact information isiana. During the membership business available. Nearly 10 years later, the FCC meeting at the Conference, a motion was adopted captioning quality standards and passed by a majority vote to change TDI’s technical compliance rules to ensure that organizational name to Telecommunica- video programming is fully accessible. tions for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. to acknowledge the growing hard of 2005 — TDI appointed Jim House as the
National Coordinator GOING DIGITAL for its Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) project and Trudy Suggs as the National Public Relations Specialist. Regional specialists joined the four
67 hearing population. During the confer- nication. In the aftermath of Hurricane ence, TDI honored captioning providers, Katrina that caused over 1,700 deaths advocates, and other supporters for a and resulted in $100 billion damages, great 25 years of access to television and President Bush developed a new policy videos. TDI and other national organiza- to appoint a disability expert to oversee tions continue to oppose many petitions recovery access and functional needs in for captioning waivers. future disasters. Emergency Notif cation System for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a joint effort by the Maine Emergency Management Agency, Division of Deafness and the Maine Center on Deafness began sending alerts to deaf and hard of hearing residents in the state. Claude Stout was appointed to serve as Chair of the Disability Access Working Group, one of the subcommittees of the FCC Consumer Advisory Committee. The Deaf Section in the Houston Astrodome FCC instructed industry to provide Video after Hurricane Katrina (Credit: FEMA) Relay Services (VRS) 24 hours 7 days GOING DIGITAL GOING One month later, Hurricane Katrina effective January 1, 2006. The FCC ruled made landfall in New Orleans as a Cat- that Spanish relay interpreters will be egory 4 Hurricane, causing widespread reimbursed with TRS funds. Hearing aid damage. CEPIN and TDI assisted Hurri- compatibility issues with digital wireless cane Katrina survivors with a fundraising devices emerges to the forefront. TDI drive to restore their basic telecommuni- helped the California Coalition of Agen- cation needs. CEPIN worked behind the cies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing scenes to relay reports of no captioning in a Petition for Declaratory Ruling on In- or inaccessible emergency bulletins in the teroperability. FCC issued a rulemaking to solicit input from consumers and industry Gulf area to the FCC. Upon receiving on TV captioning quality issues based on complaints that sign language interpret- the 2004 joint petition f led by TDI, NAD, ers and videophone installers were being DHHCAN, ALDA and HLAA. barred from entering the Houston As- trodome and other emergency shelters, 2006 — Under the leadership of Sheri CEPIN worked with FEMA’s Off ce of Farinha, TDI hosted an E-9-1-1 Stake- Civil Rights and Civil Liberties to allow holder Council, which led to a summit at personnel in the shelters to provide auxil- the FCC. In TDI’s White Paper on Access iary services and ensure effective commu- to 9-1-1 Services, the stakeholders ex-
68 pressed grave concerns about the fact that center emergency preparedness website the provision of emergency 9-1-1 services along with quarterly newsletters and FAQ to the deaf and hard of hearing commu- sheets about different disasters. nities has lagged behind the provision of such services to the hearing community. Although the technical challenges in providing 9-1-1 services to TRS users are greater than 9-1-1 services associated with traditional voice telephony, all Americans need rapid action from f rst responders. As a result, all stakeholders in the provision of emergency services must be committed to overcoming the technological challeng- Robert Engelke, Kevin Colwell, and Ron es they are facing to ensure that those who Schultz discuss Ultratec’s plans for its new are deaf or hard of hearing receive critical CapTel captioned telephone service. emergency services when needed. The FCC determined that Internet In August, the FCC expanded on an Protocol (IP) captioned telephone service earlier clarif cation to the effect that (IP CTS) is a reimbursable TRS expense, broadcasters in the top 25 markets were which made it more attractive for em- not required to caption emergency an- ployers to accommodate their workers’ nouncements if they were unable to do ability to answer the phones on the job. so in good faith and listed steps that Captioned telephone relay services be- broadcasters should take to ensure full come available in 42 states, as well as to federal workers and retirees in all states coverage and compliance with regulations. GOING DIGITAL Neil McDevitt, a deaf volunteer f ref ghter and territories. Ultratec licenses its CapTel from North Wales, PA, was appointed to technology to Hamilton Relay and Sprint Relay. lead the CEPIN Project while Jim House resumes his public relations duties at TDI. Lisa Bothwell becomes the new Public Because Every Conversation Matters Relations Specialist. Four pilot work- shops for the CEPIN course “Emergency Preparedness and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” were held V R S in San Francisco, Tulsa, Boston and Phil- adelphia and f fteen instructors were cer- purplevrs.com zvrs.com tif ed. CEPIN developed a new one-stop
69 HDTV transition begins as captioning TDI Mission 2010. The strategic goals users experience glitches in viewing CEA- included: policy development and advo- 708 captions on new digital TV sets. The cacy in telecommunications, media, and 100% captioning benchmark arrives for information technology; applications of all new non-exempt television program- existing and emerging technologies; con- ming. In September, the FCC issued nearly sumer education and involvement; and 500 waivers to nonprof t video program- networking and collaboration. mers granting permanent exemptions TDI received a second $1.3 million and bypassing public comment periods grant from the Federal Emergency Man- to create a new category for program agement Agency (FEMA) to develop an providers to claim exemption based on online course designed for emergency undue burden. Evidence surfaced that the management people on how to incorpo- FCC did not follow its own protocols for rate access and functional needs popu- reviewing requests in the Angler’s Exemp- tion Order. TDI and other organizations lations into mass care shelter planning. f led an application for review, resulting in CEPIN expanded training of its f rst further modif cations of policy to balance workshop, Emergency Responders and consumer and broadcaster interests. The the “Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Taking FCC agreed to put all future petitions for the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” under a new partnership with the Rural
GOING DIGITAL GOING waivers on their website to allow for pub- lic comments, inform all petitioners af- Domestic Preparedness Training Center at fected by those waivers that those waivers Eastern Kentucky State University. were in fact, temporary, not permanent. E9-1-1 Stakeholder Council convened with the US Department of Transportation Executive Director, to stress access needs in Next Generation Claude Stout gave a 9-1-1 that will incorporate more avenues presentation about for people to obtain emergency help. technology access at the International Deaf TDI participated in a two-day VRS Forum in Fez, demo on Capitol Hill that featured Mar- Morocco. lee Matlin as its spokesperson, demon- strating the impact that the videophone 2007 — Nearly 500 people “left their has on deaf people today. In 1964, AT&T hearts” in San Mateo, California, during had demonstrated the Picture-Phone at the 17th Biennial TDI Conference. At the New York World’s Fair. Calls using the Conference, the new TDI logo and this f rst videophone would have cost $21 quarterly magazine “TDI World” were for a three-minute call over an analog unveiled. The TDI Board completed its network. That equals $120 in today’s new strategic planning document titled, dollars.
70 Led by Karen Peltz improving access to emergency services. Strauss, Rosaline Craw- By the time the CVAA was passed in three ford of NAD, and years, more than 300 organizations had Jenifer Simpson of the American Associ- signed on with COAT. ation of People Disabilities (AAPD), the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) was formed. Advanc- es in technology created gaps in national policy during the transition from its lega- cy infrastructure to internet-based digital technologies. COAT’s ultimate goal was to see the Communications and Video Ac- cessibility Act (CVAA) passed. Its agenda On October 17, 2007, Claude Stout included expanding Section 255-type ac- presented testimony to the House cessibility provisions to internet-enabled Subcommittee on Technology and the communication products and services; Internet, chaired by Rep. Markey, about the extending relay obligations to internet-en- diff culties in accessing captioning on new abled services; establishing a telecommu- digital television sets. Ms. Jenifer Simpson nications equipment distribution program (AAPD) sits behind him. for deafblind people; widening the scope In a historic f rst for a TDI Executive of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act Director, Claude Stout testif ed on behalf to include all devices that playback video of COAT about digital television tran- programming; extending closed caption- sition issues with captioning before the ing obligations to internet videos previ- US House Subcommittee on Telecommu- ously shown on television with captions; nications and the Internet. The switch requiring easier access to accessibility fea- GOING DIGITAL over to high-def nition digital television tures such as a captioning button on TV brings nightmares to many early adopters remotes and voice navigation for blind viewers; and restoring video description who rely on captioning. The FCC begins rules. Other goals include improving an educational campaign to promote a Hearing Aid Compatibility rules and digital-to-analog converter box coupon program for viewers that still use the old- er analog TV sets to receive programming from over the air using “rabbit-ears” antennas.
TDI participates in the VRS Demo in the US Capitol. L-R Andrew Phillips, Jim House, Scott Recht, Marlee Matlin, Claude Stout, and Gloria Carter
71 L-R Claude Stout, Ken Glickman, Jim House, and Allie Friends in early 2000.
L-R Claude Stout, Carol Yeh, Ken Samson, Terry Berrigan, and Fadi Abu- Shaaban, in the late 1990’s. GOING DIGITAL GOING
Staff Implementing TDI’s Goals Via Programs and Services
hese individuals have been Book Directory and Resource Guide, the face of TDI’s off ce and the quarterly TDI World maga- operations and advocacy zines. They have given the Executive activities over the years. Directors their full support to produce/ Their efforts have been deliver TDI’s programs and services in T ref ected in the annual Blue the most eff cient manner possible. 72 TDI Staff
1968 TO 1978: Anne Edwards John Garner H. Latham Breunig, Paula Holbrook Ken Glickman Executive Director Elaine Montgomery Kristina Hakey Nancy Breunig Ken Samson Lise Hamlin John Skjeveland Byron Hampton 1979 TO 1983: Barry Solomon Cheryl Heppner Barry Strassler, Gail Steever (Masek) Jim House Executive Director Mitch Travers Denise Hanlon Eric Kaika Diane Hoke Tayler Mayer 1997 TO 2018: Sharon Legler Robert McConnell Claude Stout, Neil McDevitt Executive Director Dr. Roy Miller 1984 TO 1986: Fadi Abu-Shaaban Tom Mentkowski, Suleiman Notta Sharon Applegate Executive Director Linda Bachman Andrew Perlman Mitch Travers GOING DIGITAL Terry Berrigan Scott Recht Susie Wilding (O’Hara) Lisa Bothwell Michele Roseman Ken Samson 1987 TO 1996: James Brune Helena Schmitt Alfred Sonnenstrahl, Gloria Carter Executive Director Erin Casler Christine Seymour Nancy Abbott Stephanie Clark John Skjeveland Linda Bachman Glenna Cooper Trudy Suggs Eugene Bergman Don Cullen Robert Triana Terry Berrigan John Egbert Jenny Witteborg Steve Brenner Alice Friends Carol Yeh
73 GOING DIGITAL GOING
74 GOING DIGITAL
75 From this… …to this...... to today.
R e p a c k a g i n g T D I
Editor’s Note: This article was adapted from an as one moves clockwise around the circle article by Dr. Roy Miller that appeared in TDI (rather than counter-clockwise), suggest- World, Volume 38, Issue 2. ing that the world is moving “forward” (not backward) on the long journey of ome of you may remember providing access to people with hearing the antiquated TDI logos at loss. And f nally, the dot over the “I” is the top and on the left that we a different color (red) to remind us that had used for many years. The TDI serves “individuals” who are deaf second logo was created at a time when TDI was promot- and hard of hearing. Our focus is not ing access to TTYs for deaf and hard of on the bottom line of industry (making a prof t), nor on the partisan politics GOING DIGITAL GOING S hearing people. that often play such an important role in After many new draft logo versions the lives of government off cials, nor on were considered by the TDI Board, a preserving a culture, nor on promoting new logo was selected in 2007. That logo the preferred communication method is shown above on the right, and here of one group over another. Rather, our is how the Board came to decide on the focus is on the individual, and our efforts new logo. The letters “TDI” have a for- are guided by a sincere desire to see that ward slope greater than standard italics. all telecommunications, media, and in- This is to represent the fact that TDI is formation technologies are accessible to a forward leaning organization, always every single person with a hearing loss. looking to the future. We are constantly We have been asked “With all the trying to be proactive and promote the changes, what does ‘TDI’ mean now?” resolution of technology access issues in And our response is that TDI is an orga- the design stage, rather than having to nization that is: Working For... seek some retrof t solution. The circle of dots of increasing size surrounding Telecommunications “TDI” represents the world around us, access to meet the and indicates that the amount of acces- Daily needs of sible technology in the world is contin- ually increasing — in part due to the Individuals who are deaf efforts of TDI. The dots increase in size and hard of hearing
76 TDI GROWS IN STATURE
2008 – PRESENT GAINING STATURE
77 TDI GROWS IN STATURE
2008 — TDI offered weekend Consumer (DOT) tested proof of concept for the Advisory Training seminars sponsored by Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG-9-1-1) ser- Hamilton Relay in Fairfax, VA, Boston, vices. The testing sites were in Rochester, MA, Madison, WI and Sacramento, CA. NY, St. Paul, MN, Seattle, WA and the The seminar participants learned about states of Indiana and Montana. Among different disability rights laws and how other things, the goals of the test included to advocate effectively, with lessons from determining the ability of Public Safety leading advocates in TDI history. Answering Points (PSAPs) to accept voice, data, video, and text via Instant Messag- ing (IM) and Short Messaging Service (SMS), and thus improve 9-1-1 access for deaf and hard of hearing people. TDI also f led comments in the FCC’s Wireless E-9-1-1 Location Accuracy Requirements proceeding to ensure that the E-9-1-1 system is designed to include users that E-911 Stakeholder Council from L-R Patrick are deaf or hard of hearing. Halley, Sheri Farinha, Cheryl King, Jenny Hansen, Dr. Judy Harkins, and Claude TDI participated in national election Stout – 2008. activities by sponsoring local delegates at The efforts of TDI’s E-9-1-1 Stake- the Democratic convention in Denver, CO holder Council have begun to bear fruit. and the Republican convention in Minne- GAINING STATUREGAINING The U.S. Department of Transportation apolis, MN.
78 TDI led an ad-hoc coalition of more than ten consumer organizations in drafting a list of over 60 recommen- dations for President Barack Obama’s Transition Team agenda. The nation’s video relay and IP-relay service providers prepared for the implementation of the FCC-mandated 10-Digit Numbering Plan implementation that would connect users In 2009, U.S. Representative Edward Markey, D-MA poses with Claude Stout, of Internet-based relay services with each Karen Peltz Strauss, and Dr. Roy Miller other, with hearing people and with 9-1-1 after receiving the Karen Peltz Strauss services using just one local telephone Public Policy Award from TDI during its number. 18th Biennial International Conference in ABC led as the f rst major network to Washington, D.C. caption all of its prime-time programming 18th Biennial TDI International Confer- online as competitors followed suit with ence. Conference participants met with partial listings. The transition to digital their Congressional representatives and television progressed as analog broad- advocated support of the 21st Century casts began to cease. Captioning tools for Telecommunications and Video Acces- online user-generated media proliferated sibility Act (CVAA) or H.R. 3101 at the on major video streaming sites such as United States Capitol. Despite the massive YouTube.com. national attention devoted to other issues, TDI received funding from the Lead- such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ership Conference on Civil Rights to the economy and health care reform, promote the digital television transition the CVAA bill garnered more than 20 to deaf and hard of hearing people across co-sponsors since its introduction by Rep- the nation and participated in Digi- resentative Edward J. Markey (D-MA ). tal TV (DTV) Transition summits and workshops at the FCC. Jim House gave a presentation with Greg Hlibok about the DTV Transition as well as captioning GAINING STATURE issues to the Virginia Association of the Deaf Conference in Fairfax, Virginia, where the electrical power went out half- way through the presentation.
2009 — “Washington, D.C.: Where www.svrs.com Access Begins” was the theme of the
79 TDI and consumer groups f led a Pe- videos uploaded to YouTube at a rate of tition for Partial Reconsideration of the 20 hours per minute. At f rst the captions December 19, 2008 Second Report and were run-on strings of words with no Order and Order on Reconsideration to punctuation or capitalizations to separate not authorize individuals without a hear- sentences. Since then the auto-captioning ing or speech disability to obtain ten-digit technology has improved with the use of numbers from the VRS Providers Report artif cial intelligence. In some colleges, and Order. A Notice of Inquiry, a Further professors can now give lectures and their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Or- PowerPoint will display captioning with der was also issued that would take steps improved accuracy. to further improve VRS quality, authorize Local TV news stations turned to voice skills-based routing and deaf-interpreter captioning as a lower-cost alternative to trials; and seek further VRS reforms. This steno-captioning. Professional sports and was followed by an Emergency Petition college stadiums began to install caption- For Stay of requirements in the August ing systems delivering text to message 11, 2009 Public Notice governing the use boards and handheld devices. The FCC of toll-free numbers for Internet-based formed a task force with representatives Telecommunications Relay Services Re- from broadcasters, captioning providers port and Order that adopted rules to im- and consumer groups to work on digital prove assignment of telephone numbers television closed captioning technical associated with Internet-based Telecom- issues. On this task force was Ron Bibler, munications Relay Services (iTRS). a f nancial advisor from Montana, and Videophone users were able to easily an early adopter of HDTV technology switch to ten-digit local telephone num- who discovered that some networks were bers in a move designed to link physical captioning their analog programming, yet addresses and phone numbers, simplify they were avoiding captioning identical calling among deaf videophone users and
GAINING STATUREGAINING shows in digital format on a “different between users and video relay services network”. and emergency call centers. Real-Time Text (RTT) emerged as a viable alterna- tive to the TTY in the digital age where users could see the other party type char- acter-by-character without having to wait for blocks of text to be sent at once when Congratulations to TDI on pressing the Return key. 50 years of advocacy for Online captioning appeared on many accessible communications. more websites as Google announced automatic captioning for uploaded You- Tube video using speech recognition. This solution addressed the massive scale of
80 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) on CEPIN’s second course, ‘Collaboration Works’ pilot online training, included several FCC recognized with a framed Chuck leaders from the disability and access Baird US f ag paintbrush artwork for and functional needs community. This its 75th Anniversary by TDI and other online training was intended to familiarize Consumer Groups Front (L-R): Brenda emergency responder personnel with Battat (HLAA); Karen Peltz Strauss the resources available to them in (KPS Consulting); Julius Genachowski, the access and functional needs and Chairman of the FCC; Jamie Pope disability community. The project was (AADB); Cheryl Heppner (DHHCAN) and coordinated, designed, and developed in “Galaxy”. Back (L-R): Sherrese Smith, collaboration with TDI, the CEPIN project, Legal Adviser to the FCC Chairman for and St. Petersburg College’s Center for Media, Consumer and Enforcement Public Safety Innovation in Florida. (Front, Issues; Dr. Judy Harkins (Gallaudet L-R): Jenifer Simpson (Washington, DC), University); Dr. Roy Miller (TDI); Claude Mary Goepfert (New Jersey), Michele Stout (TDI); Joe Duarte (TDI); Shane Roseman (Maryland), Mary Anyan Feldman (NAD); and Jim House, TDI. (Florida-Administrative Assistant for (Credit: TDI) Center of Public Safety Innovation at St. responders and shelter management Petersburg College) and Neil McDevitt about dealing with the disability and the (Pennsylvania) (Rear, L-R): Chris Littlewood (Florida – Project Coordinator for NTPI access/functional needs populations. at St. Petersburg College)), Mike Monge TDI participated in developing the (Minnesota), Leighton Jones (New York), National Broadband Plan to ensure that Bruce McFarlane (Virginia) and Bentley people with disabilities including those Lipscomb (Florida). who are deaf have resources that em- GAINING STATURE Neil McDevitt and Michele Rose- power them to call 9-1-1 in case of an man developed CEPIN’s second train- emergency. Waterloo, Iowa was the f rst ing program at the National Terrorism jurisdiction to accept 9-1-1 text calls from Preparedness Institute in St. Petersburg, T-Mobile customers. FL. “Collaboration Works” is an online After several meetings between TDI and course offered by FEMA to educate f rst other consumer groups, the US Depart-
81 protocols that could be outdated as tech- nology evolves. TDI assisted HLAA on making cap- tioned telephone relay services mandato- ry in all 50 states. Hamilton Relay and Sprint Relay released their mobile apps for captioned telephone users on the go. HLAA was founded in 1979 as Self-Help for Hard of Hearing by Rocky Stone, a retired CIA operative who discovered President Obama signs The Twenty-f rst that services for hard of hearing people Communications and Video Accessibility were scarce even though they rank high in Act of 2010. disability populations. ment of Transportation released the Air- With support from TDI, the FCC line Carrier Accessibility Act’s (ACA) f rst removed personal toll-free numbers from major regulatory overhaul, which resulted the ITRS database and imposed monetary in positive changes for deaf and hard of restrictions on calls made by employees hearing air travelers, including captioning who work for a VRS provider. for in-f ight entertainment. The implementation of the Nation- 2010 — TDI and other disability orga- al Broadband Plan Comments spurred nizations celebrated at the White House numerous comments to public notices ceremony marking the passage of the concerning access to 9-1-1 and emergency CVAA as President Barack Obama signed alerting services on broadband networks. the bill into law in the East Room on Oc- More government agencies and hospitals tober 8, 2010. Among other things, the
GAINING STATUREGAINING turned to video technology in an effort CVAA requires television programming to enhance access for employees and shown on the Internet to carry captions patients. The DC Metropolitan Police and makes it easier for people to access installed video interpreting software in the captioning controls on television police cruisers in pilot program to im- remotes. prove access to deaf residents. TDI testif ed before the US Access With the advent of mobile two-way Board during its hearings on revised video calls and the prevalence of texting, standards and guidelines for Section 508 deaf and hard of hearing people were no of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 longer tethered to videophones at home of the Telecommunications Act, praising or at the workplace. After Apple unveiled the focus on the abilities of the end users iPhone 4 and other products with video rather than on any device or transmission calling features, VRS providers released
82 new versions of their videophone soft- at the 2001 TDI Conference, he said, “As ware and mobile applications or “apps” many of you know, I am completing my for Apple products using FaceTime. time at the Commission this year. But I The American Association of the Deaf also want you to know this: I am going to continue speaking out and working on Blind (AADB) received assistance from these issues in the years ahead. Your voic- TDI on f ling comments to set up the Na- es inspired me as I walked through the tional Deaf Blind Equipment Distribution doors of the Commission ten years ago Program as required by the CVAA. and they continue to inspire me today. TDI assisted in a successful lawsuit Your work, my work—our work—is not where a deaf WalMart pharmacist was done. But we’re on the march, we’re mak- barred by the Alabama State Board of ing progress, and we shall overcome.” Pharmacy from accepting prescription orders over the phone through the relay because the CA was not licensed to dis- pense medicine. TDI and other deaf and hard of hear- ing organizations f led a Petition for Rulemaking with comments supporting this higher standard to eliminate the class exemptions that have impaired the effectiveness of universal captioning rules. The FCC streamlined captioning Judy Viera discusses her presentation with Phil Jacob, Jim House, and Robert complaint procedures and required video McConnell at the TDI Conference in distributors to post contact information Austin, Texas. online for quicker handling of captioning TDI and other consumer groups f led complaints by viewers. the Universal Captioning Petition that 2011 — The 21st Century Communica- asked the FCC to eliminate some of the tions and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA): long-standing exemptions to captioning Challenges and Opportunities was the of certain TV programs. Several exemp- GAINING STATURE theme for the 19th Biennial TDI Interna- tions include late-night programming air- tional Conference in Austin, Texas during ing from 2am to 6am local time; commer- the f rst week of June. Outgoing FCC cials under f ve minutes; locally produced Commissioner Michael J. Copps present- non-news programming, interstitials, ed the keynote at his second TDI Confer- PSAs and station promos; channels with ence. As Copps looks back over the past a budget of less than $3M, and TV news ten years since his’ f rst keynote speech programming in smaller cities under the
83 Top 25 Designated Market Areas.. movie theaters. TDI also f led comments TDI assisted American Association of with DOJ in a second ANPRM that will the DeafBlind (AADB) in f ling a petition update ADA regulations on accessibility for rulemaking with the FCC proposing of websites operated by state and local rules governing communication facil- government off ces and public accom- itators that will physically assist deaf modations, encouraging captions on all blind callers using video relay services by videos. In addition, TDI f led comments relaying the other party’s dialogue during with DOJ in its third ANPRM that will the call. update ADA regulations on equipment and furniture, specif cally those that TDI f led comments with the US De- provide electronic information technol- partment of Justice (DOJ) in its advanced ogy such as access to information kiosks notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) and other communication devices such that will update the Americans with Dis- as restaurant drive thrus, ATMs, building abilities Act (ADA) regulations on movie intercom systems and other audio-centric captioning and video description and op- communication systems. Lastly, TDI f led posed DOJ’s proposal for requiring access its fourth comments with DOJ in its AN- on 50% of the screens within f ve years, PRM that will update ADA regulations and advised on captioning standards for on access to the Next Generation 9-1-1 Access to emergency services operated by state and local government entities, expanding communication options for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to include Internet based communication such as SMS, email and video calls. GAINING STATUREGAINING TDI and other Consumer Groups presented the TRS Policy Statement - Functional Equivalency of Telecommu- nications Relay Services: Meeting the EVERYONE Mandate of the Americans with Dis- abilities Act” to the FCC. The statement IS A GAMER def nes functional equivalency as “Persons receiving or making relay calls are able to participate equally in the entire conversa- www.theESA.com tion with the other party or parties and they experience the same activity, emo- tional context, purpose, operation, work,
84 service, or role (function) within the call 2012 — A coalition of consumer groups as if the call is between individuals who led by TDI and Gallaudet TAP f led a are not using relay services on any end of complaint against Amazon for noncom- the call.” pliance with captioning rules. The Con- sumer Groups also petitioned the FCC to The FCC overturned the Anglers Order, reconsider its exemption of online video eliminating nearly 300 closed captioning clips from the IP captioning rules that exemptions and requiring many reli- was adopted requiring that full-length gious and small nonprof t producers to online Internet Protocol-delivered pro- start captioning or reapply for continued gramming be captioned. The same order economic burdensome exemptions. The also required substantial improvements to FCC also proposed a higher standard for the captioning capabilities of various vid- future exemptions. eo playback and recording devices. The TDI submitted a proposal with the FCC incorporated many of the proposals United States Copyright Off ce to ex- and interpretations advocated for by TDI empt the addition and improvement of and other deaf and hard of hearing orga- accessibility features, like closed captions, nizations. FCC regulations for captioning for online videos, DVDs, and Blu-ray on the Internet go into effect for new pre from the anti-circumvention measures recorded programming shown on the of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Internet after airing on television. The (DMCA). The DMCA forbids users of leadership work by TDI and one of its copyrighted works from circumventing pro-bono law f rms, the Institute of Public technological protection measures de- Representation (IPR) on Internet cap- signed to control access to the works. TDI tioning garner awards from TDI’s sister also drafted and f led reply comments advocacy organization, NAD, along with regarding the proposal and testif ed in Computer Prompting and Captioning. support of the proposal at the Copyright TDI f led a Petition for Reconsider- Off ce. The Copyright Off ce granted the ation on FCC rules to implement access exemption in 2012. to advanced communications services as TDI increased its online presence applied to stand-alone software. TDI also GAINING STATURE through numerous eNotes and social drafted oppositions to two industry pe- media postings through Constant Contact titions for waiver of the CVAA rules and on social media outlets such as FaceBook succeeded in persuading the FCC to deny and Twitter, acknowledging signif cant one and partially deny the other. accessibility milestones, additions to FCC TDI drafted and f led an amicus brief, regulations, TDI sponsors, surveys, action joining more than 15 other accessibility alerts and many other topics. organizations and researchers in Authors
85 Guild v. Hathitrust, a Second Circuit automatic bounceback error messages Court of Appeals case concerning efforts warn callers who attempt to text 9-1-1 by university libraries to make their col- in areas not providing that service to lections accessible to patrons with disabil- call a different way using the TTY or ities. IPR chronicled the extensive history relay services. of Congress’s efforts to make copyrighted The FCC implemented new rules for IP works accessible to people with disabili- Captioning that required all television ties, and urged the Court to conclude that programming to carry captions when the accessibility efforts of libraries con- displayed online through the Internet. TDI, stituted non-infringing fair uses. In 2014, with the help of Dr. Christian Vogler and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Technology Access Program (TAP) in favor for the libraries, concluding that at Gallaudet University, f led a report on the accessibility efforts of libraries on compliance with FCC’s Internet captioning copyrighted media constituted non-in- rules, noting non-compliance by Amazon. fringing fair use. The FCC issues the User Interfaces Order, In a partnership with AT&T, TDI improving the ease of turning closed cap- provided online resources for a deaf and tions on and off on various devices. hard of hearing driver safety campaign at With the collaboration of TAP, TDI http://ItCanWait.com Four videos were hosted the International Telecommuni- made in sign language with open captions cations Union (ITU) meeting at Gallau- advising deaf and hard of hearing drivers det University on media accessibility.. of the dangers of texting while driving. ITU is the global telecommunications New public videophones placed at hos- standard-setting body headquartered in pitals, libraries, schools and community Geneva, Switzerland, Andrea Saks rep-
GAINING STATUREGAINING service centers for low-income people who resents TDI in ITU and other internation- cannot afford Internet access at home. al telecommunications groups. A federal judge ruled that the ADA is applicable to online services, which led to a settlement between NAD and Netf ix where the vendor commits to captioning its entire online library of streaming vid- From left to right: Kathy Evans, Claude Stout, Dr. Lauren Storck, Bill Graham, and eos within two years. Amazon and Hulu John Waldo during the 2013 Joint TDI- follow with similar agreements. ALDA Conference in Albuquerque, NM. The panel focused on the power of citizen 2013 — Areas offering Text-To-9-1-1 advocacy, that of how we best harness our grew as jurisdictions upgrade their passions, fortify planning for advocacy, and PSAPs or 9-1-1 call centers. Meanwhile, ways to persevere by pooling and sharing.
86 During October, TDI held its 20th con- agement Agency (FEMA) rolled out ference jointly with Association of Late new tools to help aid deaf and hard of Deafened Adults (ALDA) in Albuquerque, hearing people in obtaining access to New Mexico, a historical f rst conference services in disaster recovery centers, such hosted by two national organizations as enhanced listening devices, iPads with serving deaf and hard of hearing people. real-time video remote sign language in- ALDA’s history began in a Chicago piz- terpreting apps and captioned telephones, zeria. Over pizza and beer, Bill Graham while also promoting participation in and several other late-deafened friends local Community Emergency Response founded ALDA in 1987. With the tagline Teams (CERT). In collaboration with “Whatever Works” its members have Homeland Security and FEMA, NPR made their preferences known loud and Labs tested its widely acclaimed emergen- clear to have real-time captions as a sup- cy alerting system project for deaf and port service for meetings and other live hard of hearing population, starting with events. The joint conference was chaired pilot tests along the Gulf Coast states. by Dr. Roy Miller who was also the TDI Press conferences that include sign lan- President and a retired political science guage interpreters and closed captioning professor at Southern Illinois University. help spread emergency information that deals with response and recovery from Thanks to the CVAA, several state tele- winter storms, summer wildf res, and oth- communication equipment distribution er natural or manmade hazards. FEMA programs began distributing new tech- rolls out Wireless Emergency Alerts nology to help deafblind users as part of (WEA) to send timely notif cations to all the new National Deaf Blind Equipment devices within targeted disaster zones. Distribution Program, also known as, “ICanConnect”. The FCC adopted comprehensive reforms to protect and strengthen video Responding to reports of limited or relay services to support innovation and no access, the Federal Emergency Man- competition, drive down ratepayer and provider costs, and eliminate incentives for waste, fraud, and abuse.
TDI and other consumer groups par- GAINING STATURE ticipated in meetings with industry and proceedings with the FCC to address one of the “big picture” issues facing telecom regulation: the evolution of the Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”) from “legacy” time-division multiplexing (“TDM”) systems toward an Internet
87 protocol (“IP”) based network. cessfully prompted the FCC to improve TDI f led a Petition For Stay of the closed captioning. TDI f led opposition to requirement that low income IP CTS dozens of requests for captioning waivers. users pay $75 for software or hardware TDI also f led an ex parte letter calling on pending outcome of the Final Notice of the FCC to eliminate certain categorical Proposed Rulemaking. Instead the FCC closed-caption exemptions from their will rely on IPCTS rules on user registra- rules and FCC’s setting groundbreaking tion and self-certif cation. TV closed captioning quality standards. TDI f led an amicus brief in Greater Los In addition to the FCC requirement that Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAAD) full-length programming that appears v. Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN), with closed-captioning on TV also include a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case captioning when the video is posted where CNN claimed that its failure online, is extended to short clips of that to caption its videos was protected by same TV content. the First Amendment. The amicus brief argued that the closed captioning regu- The FCC issued a Second Report and lations were actually consistent with the Order that amended rules to hold video First Amendment. The court ruled against programmers responsible for ensuring the CNN in 2014. insertion of closed captions on all their TDI also drafted comments asking the nonexempt programming; concluded that FCC to adopt new rules to allow parties the obligations associated with compli- submitting documents related to closed ance with the closed captioning quality captioning exemptions to f le electronical- rules shall be divided between Video ly. In the spring of 2014, the FCC adopt- Programming Distributors (VPD) and ed an order to allow electronic f ling. video programmers, the responsibilities associated with ensuring the provision of GAINING STATUREGAINING closed captions on television shall remain primarily with VPDs. TDI advocated for strong location accuracy measures with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the Association of Public-Safety Commu- From L-R: Andrew Phillips, Tom nications Off cials (APCO) and the four Wlodkowski, Cheryl Heppner, Claude nationwide wireless carriers in the U.S.— Stout and Jim House at Comcast Center, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile – to Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2013. form a location accuracy accord that calls 2014 — Efforts from TDI and other for leveraging location information from leading advocacy organizations suc- distributed antenna systems (DAS), small
88 cells, Wi-Fi access points and Bluetooth address. He said, “With the broadband beacons that are becoming increasingly revolution, we have an opportunity to get prevalent in today’s indoor environments. in on the ground f oor as technologies are As part of the agreement, which the FCC being developed. Accessibility must be a approved, the carriers said they will f rst thought, not an afterthought. At the obtain a location f x using heightened FCC, we are determined to seize this new location accuracy technologies for 50 opportunity.” percent of all wireless 9-1-1 calls within AT&T f led a petition for rulemaking three years; 75 percent within f ve years on replacing TTYs with Real Time Text and 80 percent within six years. (RTT). The FCC granted AT&T and Vermont and Maine became the f rst Verizon two temporary, limited waivers of two states to fully enable text-to-9-1-1 via the Commission’s requirements to sup- all four major carriers. The FCC adopted port text telephony (TTY) technology on an order that requires all wireless carriers wireless networks to the extent that they and other text messaging providers that use Internet Protocol (IP) technologies enable consumers to send text messag- such as RTT. es to and from U.S. phone numbers to TDI, NAD, and HLAA (collectively, the deliver emergency texts to PSAPs that re- Consumer Groups) and the Technology quest them by the end of the year. Sprint, Access Program at Gallaudet University Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T (TAP) jointly f led a response to a f ling voluntarily committed to providing text- by the National Association of Broadcast- to-9-1-1 service capability. ers (NAB) regarding the experiences they 2015 — More than 350 attended the have had in following the new Electronic 21st Biennial TDI Conference in Bal- Newsroom Technique (ENT) rules and timore on August 20-22 where FCC the extent to which the new ENT rules Chairman Tom Wheeler gave a keynote have been successful in providing full GAINING STATURE
Claude Stout, TDI Executive Director of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, spoke on Thursday at the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in its Communications, Technology and Internet Subcommittee hearing regarding “Locating 9-1-1 Callers in a Wireless World.” - 1/16/2014 (Credit: NVRC)
89 and equal access to live programming on during a transition to real-time caption- television (ENT Report). We differ with ing pale in comparison to the signif cant NAB on whether substantial problems problems that remain with ENT; whether remain with the quality of captioning despite quality problems with real-time using electronic newsroom technology captioning, that the appropriate response (ENT); on evidence that ‘enhanced’ is to address those problems head-on ENT procedures implemented over the by requiring functional standards for past year have yielded meaningful im- high-quality real-time captions, and not provements; on whether the issues raised to continue allowing the use of ENT cap- Andrea Saks
L-R: Gary Fereno and Andrea Saks, TDI’s L-R: Andrea Saks, TDI Representative, Representative in one of the meetings Malcolm Johnson, current Deputy Secretary during the 1990’s at International General of International Telecommunications Telecommunications Union (ITU). Gary Union (ITU), and Hiroshi Kawamura in one Fereno from the US State Department was of the ITU meetings at Cairo, Egypt in 2008. then the head of the US delegation to the Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Mr. Kawamura ITU. Dick Brandt, a technical advisor to TDI, promotes access for persons with disabilities not pictured, was also a member of that to information given in disaster preparedness. delegation for the meeting. There, Ms. Saks and Mr. Kawamura were awarded the ITU World Telecommunications and Information Society Award. GAINING STATUREGAINING
Houlin Zhao, now the current Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) was the f rst person to allow Andrea Saks to have sign language interpreters for some ITU functions in 2003. The interpreting services were provided in three languages.
Over the years, Andrea Saks attends various International has followed in the footsteps Telecommunications Union (ITU) of both parents, Andrew and meetings around the world. ITU Jean Saks. After introducing the is a global standards setting body TTY to England, she continues is fortunate to have Andrea as a her involvement in pushing for subject matter expert in promoting telecommunications access on an access by people with disabilities in international scale. She currently the telecommunication network.
90 tions with substantial quality problems of their own. The FCC granted Entertainment Soft- ware Association (ESA) a partial extension TDI Board updated governance and of the class waiver from the Commission’s operational documents, such as its bylaws, accessibility requirements for advanced investment policy manual, f nancial opera- communications services (ACS) for video tions manual, and employee manual. game software until January 1, 2017. TDI and other deaf and hard of hearing The US Department of Transportation organizations held a series of meetings issued new regulations that require “high with the FCC commissioners’ off ces contrast” captions to be displayed on all regarding a draft order apportioning the public TV sets in airports. “High con- responsibility for the quality of closed trast” captions are settings that optimize captioning among video programmers and the display of captioning in response to video program distributors. The coalition sightings of TV sets that are displaying advocated a number of points to ensure captions, but rendered unreadable. that both groups remain fully engaged TDI Executive Director Claude Stout and diligent in their closed captioning was appointed by FCC Chairman Tom responsibilities. The FCC issued an order Wheeler to serve as one of the two Co- agreeing with and incorporating many of Chairs of the Disability Advisory Commit- the positions advocated for by TDI and tee. DAC is a federal advisory committee the consumer group coalition throughout that provides advice and recommenda- the proceeding. The FCC adopts amend- tions to the Commission on a wide array ments to its rules on closed captioning of of disability issues within the FCC’s televised video programming to ensure jurisdiction and reports to the Chair of that millions of Americans who are deaf the FCC. and hard of hearing have full access to The FCC made the National Deaf-Blind programming. The Order clarif es that Equipment Distribution Program perma- responsibility for the quality of closed nent. The FCC issued the Open Internet captioning falls on video programmers Order, imposing net neutrality require- that prepare or make arrangements for ments, including transparency require- the captions on their television shows, ments to assist consumers who are deaf while the delivery and technical aspects GAINING STATURE or hard of hearing in acquiring accessible of captioning remains the responsibility services. DOJ revised the ADA rules to im- of distributors (such as cable or satellite prove and ensure effective communication. companies). The Commission allocates the responsibilities for addressing and resolv- 2016 — TDI received a $500,000 two- ing closed captioning provision and qual- year grant from Google for a captioning ity control issues between video program- correction project called uCaption. mers and distributors, based on which
91 entity has primary control for each issue. disabilities and use ASL to make video The Order also modif es and improves calls directly to business and government the captioning complaint procedures and call centers. certif cation process. TDI submitted a Letter & Proposal for As of December 21, 2016, 828 local ju- Leadership and Public Policy to Ensure risdictions across America (12 percent of a Equal Access and Opportunity for Deaf, total of 6,800 PSAPs) were able to accept Hard of Hearing, Late-Deafened, Deaf- and process text-to-9-1-1 calls. Blind, and Deaf-Mobile Disabled Ameri- cans to Vice President Michael Pence who The FCC undertook several steps to led the Trump Transition Team outlining implement new rules to ensure that peo- recommendations in seven life activities ple with hearing loss have full access to such as Civil Rights Protection & Enforce- innovative wireless devices. It amended ment, Education, Employment, Health the hearing aid compatibility requirements Care, Housing, Transportation, and Tele- that are generally applicable to wireless communications, Information Services, service providers and manufacturers of and Video Programming. digital wireless handsets. Specif cally, the Commission increased the number of hear- The FCC amended its rules to allow ing aid compatible handsets that service phone companies to replace support for providers and manufacturers are required the TTY, an outdated form of analog text to offer as per the two new benchmarks. telephone communications with support The f rst benchmark is that 66 percent of for real-time text (RTT), to provide reli- handset models must be compliant fol- able digital telephone communications for Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, lowing a two-year transition period for deaf-blind, or who have a speech disabili- manufacturers, with additional compliance ty. The FCC initiated a rulemaking seeking time for service providers, and then it comment on replacing its TTY require- ramps up to 85 percent of handset models
GAINING STATUREGAINING ments with rules for the RTT technology. must be compliant following a f ve-year TDI f led reply comments in the proceed- transition period for manufacturers, with ing advocating a common implementation additional compliance time for service pro- standard to achieve RTT interoperability viders. Last, but not least it reconf rmed across communications platforms, net- its commitment to pursuing 100 percent works, and devices and for ensuring that compatibility within eight years. RTT be interoperable with telephone relay Suzy Rosen Singleton became the new services. After the presidential election in Chief of Disability Rights Off ce, Consum- November 2016, the FCC announced that er and Governmental Affairs Bureau at it would not take action on the propos- the FCC. In one of her f rst-year achieve- al without unanimous support from the ments, the FCC hosted a showcase event commissioners. In a hastily arranged series which demonstrates direct video calling, of meetings with FCC Commissioners which enables consumers with hearing and staff, TDI and sister consumer groups
92 with the support of Gallaudet TAP and TDI’s annual holiday party. the TRACE Center urged the Commission not to delay their vote on RTT. In Decem- 2017 — The 22nd Biennial TDI Confer- ber 2016, the FCC unanimously adopted ence was held in Bethesda, MD. Ajit Pai an order implementing the proposed RTT was the f rst Republican-appointed FCC rules. Chairman ever to give a keynote address at the Conference. As Pai described the FCC accessibility agenda, he concluded by saying, “The fourth and f nal piece of our accessibility agenda might not strike you at f rst as relevant to accessibility. But our work to bridge the digital divide is critically important to Americans with disabilities. We are aiming to connect FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and every American with digital opportunity FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler are shown regardless of who they are or where they with Claude Stout at TDI’s Holiday Party in live.“ December 2016. The FCC approved updates to its vari- After the FCC granted RTT the green ous rules for hearing aid compatibility and light, Chairman Tom Wheeler and Com- volume controls on wireline and wireless missioner Mignon Clyburn attended telephones. The Order also implements
Thank you TDI for all you do to support the deaf & hard of hearing communities. GAINING STATURE
800-825-6758 (voice) | 952-388-2152 (VP) | HarrisComm.com
93 a provision of the CVAA to apply all the discuss the state of accessibility in gaming Commission’s hearing aid compatibility and recent strides. The FCC granted ESA requirements to wireline telephones used what is expected to be the f nal one-year with advanced communication services, extension of its current waiver of the including phones with Voice-over-Inter- Commission’s accessibility requirements net-Protocol (VoIP) services. Recognizing for advanced communications services the increased reliance on wireless phones, (ACS) and equipment for video game the Order further required that, within software. the next three years, all wireless handsets Amid the controversy surrounding the newly certif ed as hearing aid compatible rollback of net neutrality rules, the FCC must include volume control suitable for maintained its transparency requirements, consumers with hearing loss. letting users know what happens when The FCC approved new rules to im- they use the Internet. prove the quality and eff ciency of video TDI Executive Director Claude Stout relay services with specialized interpret- was appointed by FCC Chairman Tom ers for medical, legal, or technical calls; Wheeler to serve as one of the two Co- allowing comparison shopping for VRS Chairs of the Disability Advisory Com- companies; allowing hearing people who mittee (DAC). DAC is a federal advisory are f uent in ASL to have direct video calls committee that provides advice and using videophones; and allowing VRS recommendations to the Commission on providers to let some interpreters work a wide array of disability issues within from home. the FCC’s jurisdiction and reports to the The FCC adopted new rules to let Chair of the FCC. television broadcasters use the Next As of January 26, 2018, 1531 local Generation broadcast television trans- jurisdictions across America (23 percent mission standard, also called ATSC 3.0, of a total of 6,800 PSAPs) were able to GAINING STATUREGAINING on a voluntary, market-driven basis while accept and process text-to-9-1-1 calls. maintaining accessibility requirements. The Entertainment Software Association CONCLUSION (ESA) met the consumer groups led by For an organization of this size, the TDI with support from Gallaudet TAP to power of TDI’s achievements reach far and
Members of the FCC Disability Advisory Committee (2017).
94 wide. The visionary foresight of Robert H. Weitbrecht has touched all of us over the years. TDI’s collective expertise has brought a human face to technology, and inspired individuals and groups to change the world in their own communities. Before TDI, each new technology created barriers for deaf and hard of hearing people. Some of us who have lived long enough remember the days when the In the picture, the quote on the slide behind Claude Stout says it all. “Access telephone was attached to the wall with and functional needs integration is no a cord. The TTY was a breakthrough in longer a question, or viewed as “special”, uniting deaf and hard of hearing people but just what we do. Barriers are eliminated with each other, but by itself, it did not go one by one in every new product. “ far enough in connecting us to our com- munities until relay services came along. Step by step the cord disappeared, and today we can call anyone from almost anywhere, even with video and text. Many of us remember the days when our TVs were bulky and heavy, just like a Eric Kaika talking to a group of Gallaudet TTY. They only showed black and white students participating in a focus group with Entertainment Software Association pictures on three or four channels. At least and Sony Interactive Entertainment on that was a big improvement over radio May 7, 2018. Students played several where there was sound but no picture. video games and shared ideas to Captioning came along, and it was hailed improve gaming accessibility.
as the greatest equalizer as we can follow 2018 along whatever programs we want to CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF ADVOCACY watch. Televisions became f at and skinny, VOLUME 49, NO. 1 The TDI National Directory and Resource Guide Resource and Directory National TDI Blue Book
but with impressive video quality. Shaping An Accessible World Accessible An Shaping
WORLDTechnology News and Commentary for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People TDI is often called to advise and consult with various industries to ensure that peo-
Shaping An Accessible World ple with disabilities are able to use differ- GAINING STATURE ent products and services. Every step of the TDI National Directory and Resource Guide
www.TDIforAccess.org way, TDI looked at the barriers and saw Addressing Needs and Issues of the DeafBlind CommunityStarting on page 4 in America opportunity. An opportunity to develop REQUESTED SERVICE ADDRESS ALSO INSIDE: How to Effect Change in Public Policy – pg 2 2018 Apple Reaches Out to Schools for Deaf and Blind – pg 12
National Outreach from iCanConnect Program – pg 14 20907
new accessibility features in products while Maryland Spring, Silver P.O. Box 8009 Box P.O.
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) Inc. Hearing, of Hard and Deaf the for Telecommunications Introducing 12 Famous DeafBlind Americans – pg 24
Permit No. 163 No. Permit
Dulles, VA Dulles,
PAID U.S. Postage U.S. they are in the planning stages rather than Org. t Non-Profi an “oops” afterthought. TDI Publications today.
95 A Tale of Two Roberts: Robert Engelke and Robert Weitbrecht
n 1979, Steve Brenner introduced his friend and fellow TTY agent Robert (Bob) Weitbrecht to Robert Engelke, a young engineer from Madison, Wisconsin who had an interest in assistive technology. IEngelke remembers, “We got to know each other quite well and shared a num- ber of similar experiences and interests (physics, electronics, communication technology, astronomy, and f ying to name a few). We also enjoyed a beer together once in a while!”1 Engelke continues, “I loved talking to manufacture affordable, electronic with Bob especially about his interest in TTYs. Ultratec was the f rst and only improving the communications capabil- TTY manufacturer to recognize and ities of the deaf community. We spent honor Dr. Weitbrecht’s patent. To this many hours talking about new ideas day, every single Ultratec TTY user and ways to enable text communica- manual printed includes an acknowl- tion in the world of “Ma Bell”. Recall edgement to Dr. Weitbrecht’s contribu- that at that time the telephone network tions to TTY technology was completely controlled by AT&T. GAINING STATUREGAINING You could not just “hook up” to the At the time, large mechanical text telephone network. No, no. It had to teletype machines, the earliest “TTYs”, be done acoustically and even that was were becoming obsolete and spare parts highly regulated. Eventually we were were becoming hard to f nd. Many able to break through the AT&T bar- companies went into business to manu- rier and connect directly to the phone facture electronic TTYs that at the time system which allowed a lot of new and cost anywhere between $650 to one better communications technologies to thousand dollars, many of which were be developed.2 not well received by the deaf commu- nity because they did not all work well The tight bond formed during Weit- together as promised. brecht and Engelke’s friendship con- tinued through the establishment of Recognizing that TTYs were a neces- Ultratec, the company Engelke started sity, not a luxury, Ultratec offered a line
96 of basic text telephones such as the f rst with access to a text-news service via Minicom TTY, which retailed for $159. telephone. For the f rst time, individuals who were Weitbrecht was planning to move deaf could afford to communicate more from his Redwood City home to the easily with family members via TTYs. More advanced TTYs were loaded with Sierra mountains so he could spend features like printers, Voice Carry Over, more time with his beloved Irish setter, Direct Connect that bypassed the use Mickey, and a brand new telescope. Un- of acoustic modems, ASCII communi- fortunately, Bob was hit by a car while cations, Turbo Code, and auto-answer walking Mickey one balmy California answering machines. Engelke ensured night near his home. The driver appar- access for the deaf/blind community ently saw the dog and while he swerved, with TTYs that featured large-print dis- he hit Bob instead. plays or Braillers. Other Ultratec prod- People who knew Robert Weitbrecht ucts included payphone TTYs for access at public facilities and Intellemodems were shocked at his untimely death. that allowed computers to function as Some of us barely knew him at the time, TTYs. More recently, Ultratec released but have grown to appreciate his life- CapTel, a telephone and a service that time of contributions, inspiring us to allows users who can speak well to call become innovators and advocates. His directly to family and friends, and read spirit lives on as the spirit of TDI. their responses transcribed on a screen From an example of this partnership, through a service using automatic TDI has collaborated with industry to speech recognition. improve their products and make it In the later years of Weitbrecht’s ca- more accessible and usable by a greater reer, Engelke hired Weitbrecht as part of number of people. When you include Ultratec’s engineering team to continue accessibility features, everyone wins. collaborating on innovations to improve telephone access for people who are deaf. Ultratec’s national distributor, Weitbrecht Communications Inc (also known today as WCI) is named in hon-
or of Dr. Weitbrecht. GAINING STATURE Upon Weitbrecht’s retirement in 1983, Engelke asked him to stay on as a con- sultant at half the salary in addition to patent royalties. On one of their f nal projects together, they worked on a new modem for Bob’s “Dial-a-News” system that for years provided deaf TTY users
97 Technology Changing Over the Years Life with Mr. Qwerty
hen the TTY became available in the mid-60’s, many of us used recycled TeleType machines of various models. The photos below show the evolution of the keyboard, affectionately known as MR. QWERTY from mechani- cal TTYs to electronic TTY devices, computers, wireless W pagers, and now smartphones.
TTYs (Teletypewriters aka Desktop TTY Compact TTY the Green Monster) GAINING STATUREGAINING
PayPhone TTY Computers
Pagers Smart Phones/Tablets
98 Technology Changing Over the Years Relay Services
he original telecommunication relay services (TRS) that predate the ADA were primarily for TTY users with hearing or speech disabil- ities to communicate with hearing people and vice versa. The state relay services are easy to access by dialing 7-1-1 or a ten-digit toll-free number. As the Internet became prevalent, new technologies were incorporated into TRS, so now we can all use different types of relay Tservices to accommodate our communication preferences using the Internet, cap- tioned telephone, speech-to-text, and even video relay. Some TRS providers offer specialized services targeted toward deaf and hard of hearing users with vision and mobility disabilities, and those who speak Spanish and other languages.
Video Relay Service (VRS)
TTY-Voice
Captioned Telephone Service (CTS), then IP-CTS GAINING STATURE
Internet Protocol (IP) Relay
Special TRS Features for: • Individuals who are deafblind • Individuals who are deaf & have a mobility disability Speech-to-Speech (STS) TRS • Individuals who use English as a Second Language
99 Technology Changing Over the Years Movie/TV/Internet Captioning
aptioning adds a new dimension to f lms and video programming. When silent movies ended in the late 1920’s, deaf people were cut off from a common entertainment venue. Then in the 1950’s the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) started a program to insert subtitles into Hollywood movies and educational f lms on 16mm f lm reels. The HEW f lms were popular with deaf Cclubs and schools around the country. When open and closed captioning appeared on TV, the number of organizations showing open captioned f lms dwindled. As public acceptance of captioning grew, we begin to see captioning everywhere, in- cluding many Internet videos.
1978 - Open captions on TV from WGBH - 1968 - Reels of 16mm The Caption Center. 1988 - Line 21 closed Captioned Films were captioning. distributed on loan to schools and deaf clubs from HEW. GAINING STATUREGAINING
2008 - Internet captioning has become widespread. Many rely on automatic captioning systems to cut costs, but ignore the steps to make the video more readable. A better way would be to review the caption f le, edit as 1998 - Live news captioning. needed before posting the video online.
100 Technology Changing Over the Years Emergency Communications
1968 - As the f rst 9-1-1 phone call took place in Haleyville, Alabama, 1978 - In the early years, we were deaf people everywhere had to run to taught to dial 9-1-1, and then leave their neighbors for help because the our phone off the hook. This kept phone system was not accessible to the line open for the dispatcher to deaf people. hear background sounds. Automatic Number Identif er and Automatic Location Identif er were being put into place that tells the dispatcher where each call was coming from.
1988 - When Title II of the ADA required direct access to 9-1-1 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), TDI trained call-takers around the country on how to recognize and 1998 - BlackBerrys, Sidekick, and handle incoming Nokia wireless phones raise the need calls from TTY users. for direct access through TTYs, and (Photo: TDI) eventually Text-to-9-1-1. GAINING STATURE
2008 - The US Department of Transportation is coordinating the NG9-1-1 Project that will enhance PSAPs’ ability to handle text, video, and data through the Internet, even from Automatic Collision Notif cation Systems (AACN). Language barriers will be resolved using multi language services, including trained ASL interpreters and other translators.
101 Technology Changing Over the Years Emergency Notif cations
ur best chances of survival is when communities provide effective communications before, during, and after a disaster. Below are O several ways we can stay informed.
Coordinate our needs with family, neighbors, and others in the community. Work with local Some cities have their own community off cials so they know where we live, and notif cation services such as Reverse 9-1-1, that make inclusive emergency plans. sends out messages to our cell phones GAINING STATUREGAINING Your local community may use Weather and Emergency Alerts that will automatically send Graphic messages crawls across your TV during messages to all cell phones near the disaster zone. emergency announcements.
If you are within the top 25 television markets, Monica McGee interprets for the Governor of you can get real-time captions with the weather North Carolina, Roy Cooper on TV in a press reports on your local newscast. brief ng during Hurricane Florence.
102 Technology Changing Over the Years Hearing Aid Compatibility
efore TDI, telephones were insurmountable barriers to our participation in society. Most jobs require the ability to use the phone and it was the easiest way to get in touch with someone. In the past 50 years, here are some technology that has helped people with suff cient residual hearing be able to use the phone with just a few tweaks. TDI has supported advocacy efforts by Hearing Loss Association of America and technical assistance Bfrom the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Hearing Enhancement re- garding hearing aid compatibility issues.
Amplif ers handsets with Hearing aids with Cordless phone with audio analog phones built-in telecoils clarity controls GAINING STATURE
Helpful smartphone apps that can help you f nd Smartphones with hearing Hearing aid features built restaurants that have low aid compatibility features in smartphones (volume, levels of ambient noise background noise blocking. distractions
103 Technology Changing Over the Years Consumer Advocacy Tools
n the United States, we have the constitutional right to freedom of expres- sion. When you see something that is unfair or has an effect of discrimination against you, you can seek to make a change. In the old days we would just write a letter to the editor, and hope it gets printed. Now today we have a va- riety of tools at our disposal on the Internet. If you see something, say some- I thing and make the change. Be persistent until change happens.
Send a letter of inquiry, a File a letter of complaint. Have a Town Hall meeting letter to the newspaper or a workshop to learn editor, or to request a about consumer advocacy. meeting. GAINING STATUREGAINING Form a coalition. Conduct a protest like Make a direct call to the those that were done FCC or another federal for Section 504, Deaf agency. President Now (DPN), etc.
Make a regulatory f ling, send out an action alert, or create a petition at www.change.org
104 Accessibility Initiatives from the Corporate World and Academia
acknowledges the work on shaping an accessible world in telecommunications, media, and information technology is at best a collaborative effort between consumers, researchers, professionals, and regula- tors. Consumer advocacy groups express a need. Educational research conf rm its feasibility. Industry TDIprofessionals and engineers follow suit seeking to make their products and services more accessible and usable. Government regulators put their stamp of approval by building it into policy.
From Michael Warnecke, Chief Counsel, Tech Policy, Entertainment Software Association:
Accessible Products into their games in an effort and Services Provided: to make them more acces- sible for deaf and hard of 1. Reaching out to the deaf and hard of hearing individuals. hearing community to better under- 5. Collaborated with TDI, Gallaudet Uni- stand their accessibility needs versity, and Sony Interactive Entertain- 2. Sharing industry progress on the ongo- ment to hold a VR event at Gallaudet ing efforts to make games accessible University, where students and faculty learned more about the PlayStation VR, 3. Meetings with consumer groups and played some of the latest VR games, the FCC on industry’s efforts to comply and discussed accessibility with a senior with the advanced communications engineer. services provision
6. Invited TDI and gamers from the deaf GAINING STATURE Special Projects Achieved in and hard of hearing community to Partnership with TDI: ESA’s annual E3 conference for one- on-one meetings with game creators 4. Worked with TDI to propose an ac- and industry executives, who had the cessibility-related challenge at Global opportunity to learn more about the Game Jam, where a number of teams needs and wants of deaf and hard of of coders incorporated haptic feedback hearing gamers.
105 THERE IS NO OTHER PLACE LIKE THIS IN THE WORLD. GRADUATE SCHOOl OPEN HOUSE November 9, 2018
UNDERGRADUATE OPEN HOUSE October 15, 2018 • November 5, 2018 March 11, 2019 • April 12, 2019
CONNECT WITH US
@GallaudetU
We’re a university like no other. For more than 150 years, Gallaudet University has led advances in the education of deaf 202.559.0434 (videophone) and hard of hearing students and deaf rights worldwide. A comprehensive university 202.651.5050 (voice) designed for deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing individuals, in a global capital. www.gallaudet.edu Experience Gallaudet for yourself during one of our upcoming open houses.
For 50 years, TDI has led the fi ght for equal access, with eyes to the future and hearts focused on the GAINING STATUREGAINING Deaf community. Verizon proudly supports partners who envision a world embracing diversity in all its forms.
106 From Robert Engelke, President, Ultratec, Inc.:
Accessible Products deaf or hard of hearing and Services Provided: person to be able to use the telephone just like anyone 1. TTYs – Over 180 different models, else. No typing. No opera- 27 countries, 13 languages. Starting in tor on the call. Just pick up 1974 with the ultra low-cost VIP and the handset and dial like anyone else. Minicom (the f rst TTYs available for When a breakthrough in voice recog- under $200) to the 80-column printing nition technology was f nally achieved, SuperPrint Pro 80 and including the Ultratec set to work and developed Uniphone – a combination TTY and the f rst captioned telephone. CapTel telephone – the f rst phone for use by service was introduced to the public in everyone and the payphone TTY (10s of 2000. Since then hundreds of thousands thousands installed all over the USA). of people in four countries have be- 2. Communications products for the come CapTel users, making CapTel the DeafBlind. Working in collaboration world’s most popular relay service. with Telesensory Systems, Ultratec Special Projects Achieved in developed the f rst TeleBraille – a TTY combined with a dynamic Brailler so Partnership with TDI: that DeafBlind people could use the 1. Consultation on key topics addressed telephone and relay service. Ultratec with the FCC and other regulatory also developed TTYs with very large bodies and bright displays and the LVD (Large Visual Display) that attached to a TTY 2. Participation on panels at biennial TDI and allowed persons with limited vision Conferences to read what was being said. 3. Key resource support for the Consumer 3. CapTel – the First Captioned Telephone. Groups TRS Policy Statement Back in the mid 1980s the concept f rst came up at Ultratec to make a telephone and service that allowed a GAINING STATURE From Malcom Glenn, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Uber:
Accessible Products hard of hearing, (today’s and Services Provided: number is now over 5,000) 2. ease of commuting/travel 1. driving opportunities for the deaf and in large metropolitan areas
107 for deaf and hard of hearing Americans. Special Projects Achieved in Also, some of the Uber riders who are Partnership with TDI: hearing f nd travel with deaf and hard of hearing drivers more suitable/calm 1. Participation on panels at biennial TDI for their hectic schedule “on the go.” Conferences 3. apps for communication/requests for 2. Consultation on key topics and future rides - totally accessible/inclusive design potential related to accessible local (over 40,000 activations) transportation 3. Dissemination of news regarding Uber’s impact on the community
From Dr. Gerard Buckley, President - NTID and Vice President/Dean - RIT:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. its’ Center on Access Technology Inno- 1. Support with audio-visual vation Laboratory equipment and services for 2. post-secondary education for its stu- our biennial TDI Conferences dents, and high-caliber preparation for 2. Consultation with consumer groups on their employment post-graduation key topics addressed with the FCC 3. a key resource on disability access 3. Consultation with unique expertise and inside/outside the classroom for other experience to industry, government, and colleges and universities. research entities on needs and issues of individuals who are deaf and hard of
GAINING STATUREGAINING hearing
From Sarah Herrlinger, Director of Global Accessibility Policy & Initiatives, Apple:
Accessible Products which enables richer com- and Services Provided: munication for people us- ing sign language so they 1. Every Apple product comes with can catch every gesture important assistive technology built and facial expression. right in. 3. There are customizable visible and 2. This includes features like FaceTime haptic notif cations, Type to Siri func-
108 tionality on iOS, and on-device RTT those who are deaf-blind, iPhone lets and TTY phone call capability with- VoiceOver users access closed cap- out the need for separate hardware. tion and subtitle tracks through their 4. Apple was the f rst to create a seam- braille displays. less, direct streaming connection Special Projects Achieved in between a smartphone and hearing devices for people who are hard of Partnership with TDI: hearing. 1. Consultation on key topics addressed 5. Apple also is a leader in advanc- with the FCC ing captioning. Not only does iOS 2. Presentations at biennial TDI Confer- support open captions and subtitles, ence you can even customize captions with 3. Needs assessment for its products and different styles, fonts, and sizes. For services
From Lance Pickett, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Sorenson Communications:
Accessible Products munications Commission and Services Provided: (FCC) in establishing enhanced 911 services 1. Sorenson Video Relay Service® so that Deaf Americans (SVRS®) is the only relay technolo- would have access to this gy developed for the Deaf. To date, essential service through VRS, a right Sorenson videophones and apps on mandated by the ADA. different platforms provide the most 3. CaptionCall is Sorenson’s provider of functionally-equivalent technology Internet Protocol Captioned Tele- to that used by hearing people, as phone Service (IP CTS). CaptionCall mandated by the Americans with is the leading provider of IP CTS, Disabilities Act (ADA). The technolo- a service that aids hard-of-hearing gy revolutionized communication for people to stay socially connected, Deaf people and “leveled the playing empowering them to conduct import- f eld” in terms of access to communi- ant business and maintain conf dent cation. GAINING STATURE communication for longer, happier 2. Sorenson Communications, LLC is lives. the leading provider of Video Relay Service (VRS). Sorenson processes Special Projects Achieved in more calls than all other VRS provid- Partnership with TDI: ers combined. Sorenson pioneered en- hanced emergency 911 VRS services, 1. Support and sponsorship of TDI ini- offering a model to the Federal Com- tiatives and conferences - and partic-
109 ipation on panels addressing relevant 3. Key resource support for the Con- issues at biennial TDI conferences sumer Groups’ TRS Policy Statement. 2. Discussion and consultation about Sorenson continually cites the policy important and critical topics ad- statement in its f lings with the FCC. dressed with the FCC
From Angela Roth, President & CEO, Global VRS:
Accessible Products Deaf and Hard of Hear- and Services Provided: ing Americans/immigrants from the Spanish Lan- 1. Provision of Video Relay Service guage/Culturally Diverse 2. Gives additional support in VRS populations/communities to Americans who are DeafBlind Special Projects Achieved (Retinitis Pigmentosa [RP], Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma, Diabetic in Partnership with TDI: Retinopathy, Completely DeafBlind. 1. Participation on panels at biennial Also, we service and support individu- TDI Conferences als with Auditory Processing Disorder [APD], Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI] 2. Consultation on critical topics ad- and/or Binocular Vision Disorder dressed with the FCC [BVD]) 3. Essential resources support for the 3. Gives additional support in VRS to Consumer Groups TRS Policy State- ment
GAINING STATUREGAINING From Sherri Turpin, CEO, ZVRS and Purple Communications:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
• Leading Provider in Enterprise/Corpo- • Participation on panels at biennial TDI rate Partnerships. Conferences • Innovative hardware and software com- • Consultation on key topics addressed munication solutions for VRS, point-to- by the FCC point, and VRI. • Key resource support for the Consumer • Top of the industry in interpreting ser- Groups TRS Policy Statement vices, both in the community and online.
110 From Jarrod Musano, Chief Executive Off cer, Convo Relay:
Accessible Products Windows platforms. and Services Provided: Special Projects Achieved 1. Deaf-owned VRS provider with a in Partnership with TDI: signing-centric approach to commu- nication solutions and interpreting 1. Participation on panels at biennial philosophy. TDI Conferences 2. Marketing efforts heavily intertwined 2. Consultation on key topics addressed with supporting the Deaf Ecosystem. with the FCC 3. Offers free VRS apps designed by 3. Key resource support for the Con- signers for iOS, macOS, Android, and sumer Groups TRS Policy Statement
From Matt Gerst, Assistant Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Accessible emergency services via 1. CTIA’s Participation on Text-to-9-1-1, Real-Time Text and panels at biennial TDI Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) Conferences 2. AccessWireless.Org, a central hub for 2. CTIA and TDI consult on key topics consumers to f nd accessible wireless that are addressed at the FCC’s Dis- products and services abilty Advisory Committee. 3. Most wireless handsets available 3. TDI’s Participation on its CTIA’s today are hearing aid-compatible. 9-1-1 Location Accuracy Advisory Group that meets quarterly to learn about enhancements to wireless 9-1-1
location accuracy GAINING STATURE
111 From Dixie Ziegler, Vice President of Relay - Hamilton Telecommunications:
Accessible Products ally equivalent, communi- and Services Provided: cation technology.
1. provision of 711 and captioned tele- Special Projects Achieved phone relay services in 18 states, the in Partnership with TDI: District of Columbia and the Island 1. Sponsorship, Exhibition and Par- of Saipan ticipation on panels at biennial TDI 2. provision of IP-CTS, including offering Conferences service through an app 2. Consultation on key topics addressed 3. incorporation of Real Time Text with the FCC (RTT) support, which will allow 3. Sponsorship of TDI’s Consumer Ad- Hamilton Relay users to take advan- vocacy Training tage of the latest, and most function-
From Jenny Lay-Flurrie, Chief Accessibility Off cer, Microsoft:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Offering services for captioning/sub- 1. Participation on GAINING STATUREGAINING titles like Presentation Translator, and panels at biennial TDI Microsoft Stream Conferences 2. Advertising campaigns including deaf 2. Consultation on key topics addressed and hard of hearing Americans with the FCC 3. Provides a special feature called 3. Needs assessment for its products and Mono Audio in Windows 10 oper- services ating system to help one hear more from his or her computer. 4. Visual notif cations 5. Game chat transcription
112 From Robert Rae, President & CEO of ClearCaptions:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Provider of Internet Protocol Captioned 1. Participation on panels at biennial Telephone Services (IP-CTS) that im- TDI Conferences proves independence and connectedness 2. Consultation on key topics addressed for individuals with hearing loss. by the FCC 2. Providing outreach and training on how 3. Key resource support for the Con- to use its brand name Clear Captions sumer Groups TRS Policy Statement service.
From Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden, Director, Trace R&D Center and Professor, School of Information Studies, University of Maryland - College Park:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Telecom and Caption provisions in 1. Joint Comments with TDI to the FCC and Access Board on deaf and hard- Section 255 and 508 - and CVAA of-hearing matters 2. Real-Time Text Technology 2. Live Caption Correction 3. Raising the Floor and auto-personaliza- 3. Helping TDI anticipate future trends tion of ICT with unique expertise and proven
record in predicting technology trends GAINING STATURE and disability impact
113 from Linda Vandeloop, Assistant Vice President External Affairs/Regulatory, AT&T Communications, Inc.:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Corporate Accessibility Technology 1. Telephone Pioneers of Off ce America 2. Accessibility Plan (TAP), U-Verse and 2. Don’t Text, Don’t Drive Project DirecTV with captions, and hearing 3. AT&T Advisory Panel on Access and aid compatible phones Aging 3. Real-Time Text technology (regulato- 4. Collaboration during the develop- ry initiative, then deployment) ment phase of RTT
From Joseph Duarte, Chief Executive Off cer, MezmoCorp (dba InnoCaption):
Accessible Products and Services Provided:
1. Provision of Internet Protocol cap- tioned telephone services (IP-CTS) 2. Providing outreach for the commu- nity on the InnoCaption App, TRS GAINING STATUREGAINING services, and accessing 911
Special Projects Achieved in Partnership with TDI:
1. Connecting with the Community at TDI Conference Exhibits CBS is proud to support TDI 2. Consultation on key topics addressed by the FCC on its 50th anniversary. 3. Key resource support for the Con- sumer Groups TRS Policy Statement
114 18-A81 TDI.indd 1 9/11/18 5:16 PM From Joseph Duarte, Principal, and Laurie Dowling, Operations Manager, Duartek, Inc.:
Accessible Products and expe- and Services Provided: rience to industry, 1. Customized design and installation of government, accessible audio-visual systems for the and research entities on needs and deaf and hard of hearing issues of individuals who are deaf and 2. Providing education, outreach, and hard of hearing training on assistive listening technol- 2. Joint f lings with TDI and other con- ogies sumer groups to FCC on key issues in telecommunications and others Special Projects Achieved in Partnership with TDI: 3. Participation on panels/presentations at biennial TDI Conferences 1. Consultation with unique expertise
From Laura Berrocal, Senior Director, Policy & External Affairs, Charter Communications
Special Projects Achieved in Partnership with TDI:
1. Participation on panels at biennial TDI Conferences 2. Consultation on key policy issues that impact the accessibility community GAINING STATURE
115 From Monica Desai, Director, Global Connectivity Policy, Facebook:
Accessible Products and captioning tools for and Services Provided: Facebook Live 1. Automatic Alternative Text and Face Special Projects Achieved Recognition accessibility tools in Partnership with TDI: 2. Open source tools for accessibility 1. Participation at biennial TDI Confer- that helps developers debug accessi- ences bility issues 2. Collaboration on a variety of accessi- 3. Captioning support for video on FB, including Automatic Video Caption- bility topics. ing (for US advertisers and pages)
From Darren Achord, Amazon:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Accessibility Advisory Board with Dr. 1. Participation on panels at Christian Vogler as a member biennial TDI Conferences 2. Accessible offerings of its Alexa and 2. Consultation on key top- Echo products ics addressed with the FCC 3. Convenient online shopping on its 3. Needs assessment for its products and Prime/Smile platforms services GAINING STATUREGAINING
From Adrienne Biddings, Policy Counsel, Google:
Accessible Products 3. Google Drive features and Services Provided: (including Hangouts) - commendable for their 1. Biennial Accessibility Summit for accessibility and off ce leaders of the disability community production eff ciency 2. Auto-Captioning software tool for the YouTube videos
116 Special Projects Achieved in Adrienne’s law school internship at Partnership with TDI: IPR via f lings with FCC for TDI) 3. TDI was awarded a grant for caption- 1. Participation on panels at biennial ing and captioning correction service TDI Conferences project, uCaption. 2. Expertise in Accessibility (thanks to
From Shellie N. Blakeney, Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs, T-Mobile:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Sidekick pagers, a big hit during the 1. Consultation on key early 2000’s topics addressed with the FCC 2. T-Mobile’s Accessibility Queue to customize customer service needs 2. Participation at Biennial TDI Confer- ences 3. Hearing aid compatible phones, 3. General assessments of products and numerous handsets with accessibility services features 4. Service plans designed to support accessibility handset features 5. We support Text-to-9-1-1 and Real Time Text services that will help individuals with hearing loss to better communicate with emergency service providers.
EisEnbErg baum Law CEntEr for DEaf& anD HarD of HEaring GAINING STATURE
Handling cases since 2011 for clients who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing www.DeafLawCenter.com 646-807-4096 (Videophone) 212-353-8700 (Voice)
117 From Mark J. Turits, Vice President, Captioning and Video Description, CBS Television Network:
Accessible Products cess that led to FCC’s and Services Provided: formal action in 2014 for qualityTV captions 1. A trusted advisor to TDI from the TV broadcast industry for quality closed Special Projects captions on TV Achieved in Partnership 2. In the 1980’s, it developed an alter- with TDI: nate captioning technology, called Teletext, no longer in use today, but 1. Participation on panels at biennial it opened up our thinking to pursuing TDI Conferences new approaches in TV captioning. 2. Consultation on key topics addressed 3. A key player in the regulatory pro- with the FCC
From Christopher J. Soukup, Chief Executive Off cer, Communication Service for the Deaf:
Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI: 1. CSD was one of the very f rst com- 1. CSD and TDI co-hosted the 2001 TDI panies to provide TTY relay services, Biennial Conference in Sioux Falls, SD; and the f rst company to provide 2. CSD and TDI, along with many oth- GAINING STATUREGAINING video relay services; ers, worked together to pass the 21st 2. CSD was the f rst company to commer- Century Communications and Video cially provide Deaf-owned and operat- Accessibility Act; ed direct ASL call centers; 3. CSD and TDI worked together on 3. CSD launched the f rst and only Project Endeavor, an initiative to Deaf-owned and operated learning bring broadband Internet access to management system with multiple the Deaf community. courses and ASL assessments.
118 From Michael J. Ellis, National Director, Sprint Accessibility:
Accessible Products and Service Provided:
Sprint Accessibility is the nation’s largest Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) provider and is currently awarded 35 TRS Special Projects Achieved in state contracts (including Puerto Rico and Partnership with TDI: the U.S. Virgin Islands), the federal gov- 1. Participation on panels at biennial ernment, and the Commonwealth of New TDI Conferences Zealand. 2. Consultation on key topics addressed Sprint offers a wide range of communi- with the Federal Communications Com- cation products and services for customers mission (FCC) and with deaf/hard of who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, hearing consumers or have a speech disability. Accessible communication for everyone is 3. Key visibility at American Association woven into Sprint’s culture. We build our of People with Disabilities (AAPD), products and our networks to ensure con- M-Enabling Summit, and US Business nectivity. We solicit information from con- Leadership Network sumers and business customers about how 4. Provided sponsorships for TDI con- to better provide connectivity. We believe ferences, TDI Blue Books and TDI by focusing on connectivity and accessibility World Magazines that all Sprint customers can communicate with anyone at any time. By empowering people with disabilities through accessible wireless solutions, we’re demonstrating how good technology works to connect people and improve lives. GAINING STATURE
Uber is proud to congratulate TDI on 50 wonderful years!
We look forward to our continued work together to make Uber more accessible.
119 From Dr. Christian Vogler, Director, Technology Access Program, Gallaudet University: Accessible Products Special Projects Achieved and Services Provided: in Partnership with TDI:
1. Improving quality of relay services 1. Consultation with unique (research and development) expertise and experience 2. Access to emergency calls and to industry, government, Next-Generation 9-1-1. and research entities on needs and 3. Real-Time Text technology issues of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing 4. Representing the academia communi- ty from USA in ITU circles 2. Joint f lings with TDI and other con- sumer groups to FCC on key issues in 5. Research, testing, and advisement in telecommunications and others Federal advisory groups and interna- tional standards groups on text tele- 3. Participation on panels/presentations phony, text-based emergency alerting, at biennial TDI Conferences and accessibility of communication 4. Co-sponsorship of special activities equipment and networks. like E9-1-1 Stakeholder Council and the high-level ITU standards meeting on relay services GAINING STATUREGAINING
120 Technical Advisers The Geniuses Behind TDI
ome of us at TDI are policy Welfare (HEW), the National Center on wonks, we help Congress, Law and the Deaf (NCLD) was estab- the FCC, DOJ, and other lished at Gallaudet College in the late agencies develop inclusive 1970’s. NCLD’s line-up of attorneys policies and regulations. included Karen Peltz Strauss, Sheila Although we are consumers Conlon Mentkowski, E. Elaine Gard- Sand use technology every day, we do not ner, and Sy Dubow, who were the f rst always understand how they work. The pro-bono attorneys to work with TDI barriers in analog technologies such as and other consumer groups serving peo- TTYs have given way to increased func- ple who are deaf and hard of hearing. tionality and quicker access in newer Marc Charmatz, Rosaline Crawford, digital counterparts such as Real Time and Sarah Geer of the NAD Legal De- Text (RTT). To gain a better under- fense Fund also helped out with some of standing of the evolution to newer and the telecommunications policy develop- emerging technologies, we turn to these ment. Sarah introduced Sheila to David technical advisers, our geniuses and sub- Saks and Latham Breunig when she f rst ject matter experts who have the knack started out at NCLD as a staff attorney for converting binary codes into policy. in 1980 after completing an internship With a $240,000 grant from the US as a third year law student at NCLD in Department of Health, Education, and ‘79-’80. GAINING STATURE
National Center on Law and the Deaf alumni - From left to right: Dick Brandt Elaine Gardner, Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, A private practice and Karen Peltz Strauss consultant - v.18
121 Dr. Benjamin J. Fred Weiner Linda Kozma-Spytek Paula Tucker Soukup Formerly with NAD, Gallaudet Gallaudet Formerly with CSD - AT&T, and now Technology Access Technology relay services Gallaudet Asst. VP Program - Hearing Access Program - Administration / Aid Compatibility telecommunications Business Development and IP-CTS access issues - federal relay services
Norman Williams Dr. Christian Vogler Dr. Judy Harkins Gary Behm Gallaudet Technology Current Director of Director of Gallaudet’s Director of RIT/NTID’s Access Program - Gallaudet’s Technology Technology Access Center on Access Real-Time Text, TTY Access Program - all Program, retired - all Technology Innovation answering machine forms of TRS, RTT, and forms of TRS, Real-Time Laboratory - all forms technology, and V.18 Next Generation 9-1-1 Text, TTYs and cell of TRS, and captioning phones, and closed access in the classroom captioning GAINING STATUREGAINING
Brenda Kelly-Frey Harvey Goodstein Greg Hlibok (former) and Suzy Telecommunications Relay Services Rosen Singleton (current), FCC - Access of Maryland Disability Rights Off ce - statewide relay services and equipment distribution programs
122 Dr. Malcolm Norwood Ernest Hairston Dr. Gregg Gunnar Hellström Omnitor - RFC 4103 and Jo Ann McCann Vanderheiden The TRACE Center, (Real-Time Text), Total US Department of Education University of Maryland - Conversation (audio, - television closed captioning Real-Time Text, human video and real-time text), engineering, Universal and 1-1-2 emergency Design, Raising the service dialing number Floor (the Internet (Europe’s equivalent of of Things), real-time 9-1-1 in America) captioning, caption correction, HD audio, and NG9-1-1
Karen Peltz Strauss, legal counsel for NCLD, NAD, FCC, CSD, and Dale Hatf eld RERCs - drafted federal Formerly of the TRACE/ laws on TRS, closed Gallaudet RERC and captioning, hearing aid the FCC, and now compatibility, real-time David Capozzi, Timothy Creagan, and University of Colorado, text, 711, and accessible David Baquis (former) Boulder - hearing aid telephone and TV U.S. Access Board - website accessibility, Section compatibility and TTY equipment. 508, telecommunications access, and ADA compatibility with effective communications guidelines digital wireless devices GAINING STATURE
Dr. Aaron Steve Jacobs Ed Bosson Rob Engelke and Kevin Colwell Bangor The IDEAL Group Texas Public TTYs, accessory technology for AT&T - Real- - apps accessibility, Utilities deafblind, and captioned telephone Time Text and and the uCaption Commission service development project - Video Relay of accessibility Service standards
123 Larry Goldberg, Jim Tobias Andrea Saks Heather York, Inclusive Technologies International Mark J. Turits, - Raising the Floor, Representative for TDI Tom Wlodkowski, Interactive Voice at ITU Response technology, and Margaret Tobey TV/Internet captioning and Sections 255 and 508
Donna Sorkin, Dr. Carl Jensema Dr. Frank G. Bowe Brenda Battat, Research on our ability Television Decoder and Lise Hamlin to read and watch Circuitry Act of 1990 Hearing aid compatibility captions on TV and Universal Design GAINING STATUREGAINING
David H. Pierce Brian Rosen Robert Mather Toni Dunne Captions for f rst-run Independent consultant Civil Rights Division, Hamilton movies in theaters, and and with Neustar - U.S. Department Telecommunications also TV programs in emergency, NG9-1-1, of Justice - direct - direct access sign language (Silent NENA, VRS on SIP and emergency to emergency Network) and with ten-digit-numbering communications with communications with captions PSAPs PSAPs Donna Platt NC Division of Services for the Richard Ray Deaf and Hard City of Los Angeles of Hearing - Mayor’s Off ce with David 911 Training, Disabilities - direct Nelson Emergency access to emergency Amtrak - Notif cation, communications transportation direct access with PSAPs issue to emergency communications 124 with PSAPs Pro Bono Attorneys and Their Filings for TDI and Other Consumer Groups DI would not be the powerful neys, Blake Reid, with a background in force for change if it were not intellectual property law took on many of for the attorneys who devot- TDI’s advocacy efforts not only in caption- ed their passion for access to ing, but also access to copyrighted digital technology. Having a law- media content. He continues to work with yer by your side can make a TDI from Colorado. Tworld of difference in accessible telecom- Today, TDI uses the f nest pro-bono legal munications policy. talents from three distinguished f rms: In 1998, TDI signed a pro-bono agree- Morgan Lewis, the Institute for Public ment with Swidler Berlin Shereff & Fried- Representation (IPR) at Georgetown man, LLP, one of DC’s foremost telecom- School of Law, and the Samuelson-Glush- munications law f rms to represent the ko Legal Clinic at University of Colorado organization in its f lings with the FCC, in Boulder. DOJ, and other federal agencies on various Since 2000, TDI has been fortunate to access issues. When Swidler Berlin Shereff have pro bono legal services to develop Friedman merged with Bingham McCutch- drafts, and to coordinate with our other eon, the acquisition created an awkward sister consumer groups, two Rehabilita- situation because several media clients tion Engineering Resource Centers, and were part of the package, and created the a few national and state professional potential for conf icts of interest in cap- associations to f le various documents tioning f lings. One attorney, Elliot Green- with the Federal Communications Com- wald moved on to work at the FCC in the mission and a few other agencies within Disability Rights Off ce. One other attor- the federal government. TDI has received ney, Tamar Finn continues to represent services from the Telecommunications TDI and other consumer groups on issues Media and Technology Practice Group involving telecommunications. Today, this at Morgan Lewis and Bockius, LLP same f rm is now known as Morgan Lewis. (previously with Swidler, Berlin Shereff, When the captioning issue arose at Bing- Friedman, LLP, and then Bingham-Mc- ham McCutcheon, TDI looked to Angela Cutcheon, LLP) (the TMP Group) since Campbell, Director of the Institute of the year 2000, then from the Institute for GAINING STATURE Public Representation (IPR) at the George- Public Representation, Georgetown Uni- town School of Law. IPR has had a long versity (IPR) since 2010, and the Samu- relationship with TDI and NCLD. IPR elson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy gladly joined forces and supported TDI’s Clinic, University of Colorado—Boulder advocacy efforts in media access, especially (TLPC), since 2013. Here below is a list with requests for waivers from small pro- of three entities’ selected key pro bono ducers seeking to avoid their captioning legal activities for TDI that have resulted obligations. One of IPR’s leading attor- in signif cant outcomes from the FCC and
125 GEORGETOWN LAW INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC REPRESENTATION Consumer Groups’ goal of others in accordance with TDI’s mission functional equivalency in and advocacy. relay services. The FCC has used the Policy Statement as a guide in various Telecommunications decisions, rulemakings and reports Relay Services on TRS and routinely cites the Policy • For over 15 years, the TMT Group Statement in such actions, including has worked with TDI and the FCC to in its 2017 Order that took steps improve Video Relay Service (“VRS”) to improve the quality of VRS by and other Telecommunications authorizing skills-based routing and Relay Services (“TRS”) to achieve deaf-interpreter trials and seeking functional equivalency in commu- comment on metrics and further VRS nications. Our work with TDI has reforms. The Policy Statement had or- included making recommendations igins in various prior f lings that the on issues that impact the day-to-day TMT Group f led including a Petition use of TRS services, the transition to for Mandatory Video Relay Service next generation services, access to that was f led on October 19, 2004, advanced communications services, on behalf of the National Video Relay and access to emergency alerts. The Service Coalition, which included GAINING STATUREGAINING TMT Group assisted TDI and other TDI. Some of the key f lings the consumer groups in the develop- TMT Group has made that resulted ment of the “Consumer Groups’ in FCC action to advance functional TRS Policy Statement – Functional equivalency are summarized below. Equivalency of Telecommunications • On July 20, 2004, the TMT Group Relay Services: Meeting the Mandate f led an Application for Review and of the Americans with Disabilities Petition for Emergency Stay of a Act” (the “Policy Statement”) which Consumer and Government Affairs was f led with the FCC on April 12, Bureau (CGB) decision decreasing the 2011. The Policy Statement provides interim reimbursement rate for VRS the Consumer Groups’ perspectives to per minute rate of $7.293 from on the core principles of TRS and $8.854. On December 30, 2004, the identif es the objectives to achieve the FCC released an Order that retro-
126 actively revised the decreased per Group f led with the FCC a Petition minute rate to $7.596. For Stay of the requirement that low • On October 1, 2004, the TMT Group income IP CTS users pay $75 for soft- f led Petition for Reconsideration re- ware or hardware pending outcome questing that the Commission recon- of FNPRM. While the FCC did not sider its decision not to authorize TRS act on the Petition, the requirement reimbursement for ASL to Spanish was stayed and ultimately vacated by VRS. The FCC granted the Petition the Court of Appeals for the District and reversed its conclusion that of Columbia Circuit in response to a translation from ASL into Spanish is motion f led by Sorenson. not eligible for compensation from • In addition to the specif c results the Interstate TRS Fund. summarized above, the TMT Group • On January 29, 2009, the TMT has advocated for policy changes Group f led a Petition for Partial and accountability to the community. Reconsideration of the FCC’s decision Examples of such additional work not to authorize individuals without a include: (1) a Petition to Initiate a hearing or speech disability to obtain Notice and Comment Rulemaking ten-digit numbers from VRS Provid- Proceeding on Limiting or Restricting ers. In March 2017, the FCC amend- Certain Types of VRS Calls; (2) an ed its rules to permit VRS providers Application for Review of Declarato- to assign iTRS numbers to hearing ry Ruling that found VRS calls placed to and from a VRS Employee are not individuals upon their request. eligible for compensation; (3) a Peti- • On October 27, 2009, the TMT tion for Rulemaking to amend rules Group f led an Emergency Petition to allow for a cost-recovery meth- For Stay of FCC requirements gov- odology for the provision of Com- erning the use of toll-free numbers for munication Facilitator services when iTRS. On August 4, 2011, the FCC offered in conjunction with VRS or adopted rules addressing the concerns Point-to-Point services; and (4) a in the Emergency Petition by improv- Petition for Reconsideration of FCC ing assignment of telephone numbers rules to implement access to advanced associated with iTRS. communications services as applied to
• The TMT Group f led multiple Re- stand-alone software. GAINING STATURE quests to Extend Waivers regarding the removal of toll free numbers from Television Closed Captioning the iTRS database, which were grant- • On July 23, 2004, the TMT Group ed by FCC, thus giving consumers f led a Petition for Rulemaking re- more time to transition to ten-digit questing the FCC to establish cap- iTRS numbers. tioning quality standards and enforce- • On September 30, 2013, the TMT ment mechanisms. In 2008, the FCC
127 responded, in part, to the Petition by caption its programming and (2) the amending the captioning complaint Bureau’s grant of 297 exemption pe- process and requiring providers to titions based on the new “standard” make contact information available. established in the Anglers Exemption In 2014, the FCC adopted caption- Order. On October 20, 2011, the FCC ing quality standards and technical granted the Application for Review compliance rules to ensure that video and reversed the closed captioning programming is fully accessible. exemptions granted to Anglers for • On October 12, 2006, the TMT Christ Ministries, Inc., New Begin- Group f led an Application for Re- ning Ministries and another 296 view of the Anglers Exemption Order petitioners and provided guidance seeking review and rescission of (1) on the documentation required to the Bureau’s decision that a non-prof- demonstrate that providing closed it organization satisf es the “undue captioning would be “economically burden” showing merely by asserting burdensome.” that it does not receive compensation • On January 27, 2011, the TMT for airing its programming and that it Group f led a Petition for Rulemak- may terminate or substantially curtail ing to eliminate the class exemptions its programming or other activities that have impaired the effectiveness important to its mission if required to of universal captioning rules. On GAINING STATUREGAINING
128 February 19, 2016, the FCC amended closed captioning exemptions to f le rules to hold video programmers re- electronically. In the spring of 2014, sponsible for ensuring the insertion of the FCC adopted an order to allow closed captions on all their nonexempt electronic f ling. programming and concluded that the • In 2013, IPR f led an amicus brief obligations associated with compliance for TDI and other consumer groups with the closed captioning quality in Greater Los Angeles Agency on rules shall be divided between video Deafness v. Cable News Network, programming distributors (VPDs) and Inc. (CNN), a Ninth Circuit Court video programmers, but the responsi- of Appeals case where CNN claimed bilities associated with ensuring the that its failure to caption its videos provision of closed captions on televi- was protected by the First Amend- sion shall remain primarily with VPDs. ment. The amicus brief explained • In 2010, IPR began supporting TDI why closed captioning regulations are and other deaf and hard of hearing or- consistent with the First Amendment. ganizations in their efforts to have the The court ruled against CNN’s consti- Federal Communications Commission tutional challenges in 2014. (FCC) eliminate numerous exemp- • From 2013-2017, IPR and the TLPC tions from the FCC’s requirements for submitted numerous comments and closed captioning on television, includ- other f lings and held more than a ing in advocacy meetings with FCC dozen meetings on behalf of TDI commissioners and staff. In the fall and other deaf and hard of hearing of 2011, the FCC reversed nearly 300 organizations urging the FCC to exemptions. The FCC also proposed a address long-standing problems with higher standard for future exemptions. closed captions. In February 2014, the IPR f led comments on behalf of TDI FCC adopted a landmark order setting supporting this standard, which the comprehensive closed caption quality FCC ultimately adopted. standards and best practices for televi- • Between 2012 and 2016, IPR f led sion programming. comments or oppositions on behalf of • In January 2016, IPR and the TLPC TDI with the FCC concerning more organized and led meetings on behalf than 130 petitions for exemption of of TDI and other deaf and hard of the television closed captioning rules. hearing organizations with the FCC GAINING STATURE Over that period, the FCC denied or commissioners’ off ces regarding dismissed over 60 petitions that TDI a draft order apportioning the re- opposed. sponsibility for the quality of closed • In the fall of 2013, IPR drafted captioning among video program- comments for TDI asking the FCC mers and video program distributors. to adopt new rules to allow parties The coalition advocated a number submitting documents related to of points to ensure that both groups
129 remain fully engaged and diligent partially deny the other. in their closed captioning responsi- • In 2012, IPR drafted a petition for bilities. In February 2016, the Com- reconsideration on behalf of TDI mission adopted an order agreeing and other consumer groups urging with and incorporating many of the the FCC to reverse its initial decision positions advocated for by TDI and the not to include short video clips in the consumer group coalition throughout rules. From 2013 to 2014, IPR and the proceeding. the TLPC drafted multiple reports • Over the course of 2017, TLPC f led and held many ex parte meetings with several comments urging the FCC FCC staff on the missing coverage of to retain closed captioning protec- video clips with captions. In 2014, the tions for “next-generation” television FCC reversed its earlier decision and broadcasting systems using the ATSC incorporated video clips into the rules. 3.0 standard. In November 2017, the • In 2013, IPR f led a complaint on FCC voted to conf rm the applica- behalf of TDI and other consumer bility of its closed captioning rules to groups against Amazon for systemic next-generation broadcasting systems. violations of the IP captioning rules, and IPR and TDI supported the com- Online Video Closed plaint with numerous followup f lings Captioning/CVAA in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, the FCC agreed with TDI that Amazon had vio- • In the fall of 2011, IPR represented lated the rules and Amazon changed its TDI in its advocacy efforts concerning practices. the FCC’s rulemaking to implement the CVAA’s captioning requirements Copyright and the DMCA for online videos, including by draft- • In the fall of 2011, IPR drafted and ing and f ling comments and reply submitted a proposal on behalf of comments and by meeting with FCC TDI with the United States Copyright staff and industry representatives.
GAINING STATUREGAINING Off ce to exempt the addition and In January 2012, the FCC adopted improvement of accessibility features, rules requiring that online videos be like closed captions, for online videos, captioned and requiring substan- DVDs, and Blu-ray from the anti-cir- tial improvements to the captioning cumvention measures of the Digital capabilities of various video playback Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). and recording devices. The FCC in- The DMCA forbids users of copy- corporated many of the proposals and righted works from circumventing interpretations advocated for by TDI technological protection measures de- and other deaf and hard of hearing signed to control access to the works. organizations. IPR also drafted and f led reply • In 2012, IPR drafted oppositions to comments regarding the proposal and two industry petitions for waiver testif ed in support of the proposal at of the CVAA rules and succeeded in the Copyright Off ce. The Copyright persuading the FCC to deny one and Off ce granted the exemption in 2012.
130 • In the spring of 2012, IPR drafted meetings with FCC commissioners’ and f led an amicus brief on behalf of off ces and FCC staff. In December TDI and more than 15 other accessi- 2016, the FCC unanimously adopted bility organizations and researchers in an order implementing the proposed Authors Guild v. Hathitrust, a Second RTT rules. Circuit Court of Appeals case con- cerning efforts by university libraries to scan their book collections in to Net Neutrality make them accessible to patrons with • In 2014, the TLPC f led comments disabilities, among other things. IPR on behalf of TDI and other deaf and chronicled the extensive history of hard of hearing consumer groups Congress’s efforts to make copyright- and accessibility researchers urging ed works accessible to people with the FCC to protect deaf and hard of disabilities, and urged the Court to hearing consumers from losing the conclude that the accessibility efforts of libraries constituted non-infringing ability to operate video calling and fair uses. In 2013, the court ruled that other applications of their choices. In efforts to make copyrighted works ac- March 2015, the FCC adopted land- cessible were non-infringing fair uses. mark network neutrality rules that cited TDI’s comments. Transition from TTY to RTT • In 2017, the TLPC f led comments on • In April 2016, the FCC initiated a behalf of TDI urging the FCC to re- rulemaking seeking comment on tain net neutrality rules, including im- replacing its TTY requirements with rules for real-time text (RTT) tech- portant transparency rules that allow nology. In July 2016, IPR f led reply deaf and hard of hearing consumers comments in the proceeding on behalf to choose wireless plans that work for of TDI, advocating for, among other their needs. In 2018, the FCC retained things, a common implementation the transparency rules. standard to achieve RTT interoper- ability across communications plat- Disability Advisory Committee forms, networks, and devices and for ensuring that RTT be interoperable • From 2015-2018, the TLPC’s director with telephone relay services. After served as an alternate representa- the presidential election in Novem- tive for TDI on the FCC’s Disability GAINING STATURE ber 2016, the FCC announced that it Advisory Committee. During that would not take action on the pro- time, TDI led the DAC in drafting and posal without unanimous support adopting resolutions regarding video from the commissioners. IPR and TLPC worked with TDI and a coali- accessibility in public accommoda- tion of consumer groups to urge the tions, the accessibility of the Internet of Commission not to delay, including Things, and closed caption capitaliza- organizing and leading a series of tion practices.
131 Special Note of Gratitude:
TDI thanks the following list of coordinators and pro bono legal services attorneys, law student attorneys, and paralegals with the three entities, which worked on the regulatory f lings with TDI:
TMT Group at Morgan Jean Kiddoo Blake E. Reid, Lewis and Bockius, LLP: Edward Kirsch Past Fellow (selected professionals Aaron Mackey, from prior f rms are also Catherine Kuersten Past Fellow included in list below): Kimberly Lacey Drew Simshaw, Tamar Finn, Frank Lamancusa Coordinator Past Fellow Andrew Lipman Paul Gagnier, Past Chris Laughlin, Philip Macres Coordinator Past Fellow Douglas Orvis, II Priscilla Whitehead, Lindsay Barrett, Past Coordinator Ulises Pin Fellow (current) Katie Besha Michael Romano Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Russell Blau Jeffrey Strenkowski Policy Clinic University Joshua Bobeck Troy Tanner of Colorado – Boulder Eric Branfman Nguyen Vu Law School: Timothy Bransford Catherine Wang Blake E. Reid, Director
GAINING STATUREGAINING Renee Britt Willlam Wilhelm, Jr. Arielle Brown Danielle Burt Denise Wood Christopher Gray Patricia Cave Institute for Public Reggie Nubine Robin Cohn Representation Lindsey Knapton Georgetown Ronald Del Sesto, Jr. Casey Warsh University Law School: Stephany Fan Emily Caditz Angela Campbell, Brett Ferenchak Director Corian Zacher Jonathan Frankel Adrienne Biddings, Past Elliott Browning Eliot Greenwald Fellow Colleen McCroskey
132 Allies with TDI in the Trenches
or f fty years, TDI has built sive position on a wide range of issues, and maintained positive, and sometimes, to propose solutions for working partnerships with the FCC to consider as it makes f nal sister consumer advocacy regulatory decisions, etc. TDI has been organizations, rehabilitation deeply grateful for the diverse input and engineering research centers, expertise from the entities below, and Fand trade associations on a range of only with their support, could we pos- issues before the Federal Communi- sibly submit reliable information that cations Commission (FCC) and other would best meet our deaf and hard of federal agencies. By working with hearing constituents’ needs and issues in these entities, TDI was able to submit telecommunications, media, and infor- hundreds and hundreds of f lings to mation services before the Commission express any one coalition’s more inclu- and others. GAINING STATURE From Top Left: National Association of the Deaf (NAD); Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA); Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA); Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. (RID); American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association (ADARA); Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools & Programs for the Deaf (CEASD); Deaf Seniors of America (DSA); Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN); National Association for State Relay Administration (NASRA); Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program Association (TEDPA); National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NASADHH); California Coalition of Agencies Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CCASDHH); Cerebral Palsy and Deaf Organization (CPADO); American Association of the DeafBlind (AADB); Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD); Speech Communications Assistance by Telephone (SCAT); Deaf/Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (DHH-RERC); Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Universal Interface & Information Technology Access (IT-RERC)
133 Consumer Advocates The Power of One, Two, Three, or More
uring the past 50 years courses was to spend some time in a legal while TDI worked on clinic where she could volunteer with the behalf of 48 million deaf National Center for Law and the Deaf and hard of hearing (NCLD). Once employed by NCLD as Americans, a number of a staff attorney, one of her f rst ongoing consumer advocates have tasks was to monitor and read the Federal emerged to help shape an accessible world, Dindividually or in small groups. Their Register to see if the FCC had published grassroot campaigns brought about small any regulatory or proposed rules. In those steps toward accessibility in their commu- years the Federal Register was published nities. Here are their stories. daily, and a certain day of the week was devoted to certain federal agencies. The Federal Register paper was rather thin and the print copy was small. These were the days before the internet became available and widely used. At NCLD, Sheila worked closely with Sarah Geer who worked with Marc Char- matz of the NAD. Sarah helped Sheila Sheila Conlon Mentkowski ease into telecommunications issues and introduced her to people like David Saks
GAINING STATUREGAINING In the mid 1970’s Sheila Conlon Ment- kowski got her f rst TTY, the big teletype and Latham Breunig. At that time, there through Massachusetts Rehabilitation was an organization called Telecommuni- Services with Al Sonnenstrahl‘s assis- cations for Hearing Impaired Consumers tance. Her hearing mother really enjoyed (THIC) which focused on telephone issues the machine and being able to call her for hard of hearing and deaf consumers. daughter and save their conversations for There was also an organization that David later reference. When Sheila went off to Saks formed, called Organization for Use law school in the fall of 1977, her parents of the Telephone (OUT). bought a blue MCM TTY so she could In the fall of 1986, the FCC issued a no- call home from time to time. tice of their intent to hold a public hearing While in her third year at Georgetown on issues of interest to the deaf and hard University Law Center, one of Sheila’s of hearing community in telephone mat-
134 ters. There was nothing in the notice indi- to participate without the interpreter? cating whether accommodations would be The FCC representative was embarrassed provided. There was no TTY number list- and said, let’s all break for 15 minutes and ed for the FCC. With the assistance of her then return to resume the hearing. secretary at NCLD, Sheila called the FCC Looking back, Sheila was proud that her number on the notice and spoke with the statements had empowered the audience, FCC representative arranging the meeting. except for the FCC representative. Now He tried to persuade her to bring her own today, deaf and hard of hearing people interpreter. She said, no and f rmly told can participate equally in all FCC public him that the FCC has the responsibility hearings because access is now the norm, under the Rehabilitation Act to provide including live video streaming with cap- interpreters. The FCC representative told tions. Sheila he would have to check into this. He did call her back and told her there would be an interpreter present. Sheila then went to the meeting at the FCC, but she was running a bit late. When she got to the meeting, she learned that she would be the f rst person to speak on the record, and there was only one interpreter present. She decided to tell Barbara Chertok the audience what had happened prior to Barbara Chertok lost her hearing sud- the meeting when she had called through denly in 1957 at age 21 due to an auto- her secretary to f nd out if a sign language immune disease, but she was not going to interpreter would be provided. She also let her deafness stop her from living her spoke on issues that NCLD felt should be life to the fullest. To advocate for com- addressed in telecommunications matters munication access for deaf and hard of for deaf, hard of hearing, and late deaf- hearing people, she joined TDI soon after ened consumers. Other speakers came up its founding in 1968. to address the FCC. Halfway through the In 1971, while on sabbatical leave at GAINING STATURE hearing, an FCC off cial attempted to stop Stanford with her family, she contacted the hearing because he said the interpret- Bob Weitbrecht, a deaf Stanford scientist, er needed a break but the meeting will and bought two of the f rst acoustic cou- still continue during the break. All of the plers he invented, which worked together participants in the room were aghast, and with the two TTYs donated by the tele- they all said, but how are the deaf and phone company. This allowed her and her hard of hearing members going to be able husband to use the telephone for the f rst
135 time since her deafness by typing messages fever. He graduated from the American back and forth over the telephone lines. School for the Deaf (ASD) in 1943 at the Years later, frustrated by not being able to age of 16. “Mac” Norwood earned his reach the medical and professional people bachelor's degree from Gallaudet Col- she needed to call, Chertok decided to sell lege in 1949. He taught f rst at the Texas TTYs for a local distributor, and even sold School for the Deaf for one year, then at one to the White House! By that time, ASD for two years, and later worked as TTYs had become smaller and portable a teacher, administrator, and coach at the electronic devices. Decades later, when West Virginia School for the Deaf and state telecommunication relays came into Blind (WVSDB). There he built up a large being, she discontinued this practice. library of f lmstrips and regularly ordered Chertok received her f rst cochlear foreign subtitled f lms for students. He implant in 1997 and her second in 2008. believed that children would benef t from Having studied operatic voice before los- watching and comprehending media with ing her hearing, she now enjoys attending subtitles or open captions. the opera at the Sarasota Opera House. Norwood joined the Captioned Films Chertok is currently involved with the for the Deaf program (now the Described Sarasota / Manatee chapter of the Hearing and Captioned Media Program) in 1960 Loss Association of America and writes and eventually became its mainstay and for Hearing Life (formerly Hearing Loss) leader, serving as chief from 1971 until magazine. his retirement in 1988. As the head of this organization, Norwood became a leading advocate for the development of closed captioning on television. Norwood's pioneering work on television and f lm
GAINING STATUREGAINING captioning improved access to media for deaf and hard of hearing Americans. Norwood was the f rst deaf profession- al to work at the U.S. Department of Edu- Malcolm J. Norwood cation and head a major program there. Norwood was at the forefront of almost Malcolm J. (“Mac”) Norwood has been every research and development program revered in the deaf and hard of hear- related to captioned media for the deaf. ing community as "the father of closed Most importantly, Norwood was the f rst captioning." Born in Hartford, Connecti- to envision the possibilities of closed cap- cut, Norwood became deaf when he was tioning on television. Norwood explored f ve years old from measles and scarlet the possibility of captioning television
136 programs at a time when hearing view- ers rejected the prospect of embedding open captions on television networks: the solution was to produce closed cap- tions—captions that could be turned on by people who want to view them.
Alfred Weinrib In 1986, Alfred Weinrib, a captioning columnist for ‘The Silent News’ pays an impromptu visit to Hollywood from New York City, and meets with stu- dio executives - leading to widespread Art Roehrig captioning of home video movies. One Art Roehrig has spent his career ad- year later when NBC stopped caption- vocating for people who are deafblind, ing its popular soap opera, “Search for often presenting workshops on mental Tomorrow,” fearing similar action by health issues. He began to participate in other broadcasters, Mr. Weinrib again the activities of the National Association led efforts to convince the Peacock of the Deaf-Blind of America in 1975 Network to restore captioning on the which is now the American Association daytime serial. of the Deaf-Blind (AADB). While rep- resenting AADB, he has attended every single meeting of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network (DHHCAN) since its founding.
One Thing Led to the Next - The GAINING STATURE Real History of TTYs. Bill Graham Bill Graham and his friends founded Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) at his apartment in 1987
137 during a party featuring some well- known Chicago pizza. ALDA members have made it clear that they prefer to have real-time captions as a commu- nication support service for assembly meetings. For a time, Bill worked as an editor at Microsoft for Encarta CD pro-
gram in the days before Google, and he made sure that the digital encyclopedia Dr. Frank G. Bowe had captions on all of its embedded vid- As a well-respected national disability eo clips. He also published a children’s book, One Thing Led to the Next - The advocate, the late Dr. Frank G. Bowe Real History of TTYs f ew to Japan and South Korea, in 1989, and successfully persuaded TV manufacturers to include built-in closed captioning chip to replace the old set- top TeleCaption decoder. Congress then passed the TV Decoder Circuitry Act in 1990, requiring every television set manufactured or sold in the U.S. with screens measuring 13” or more diago- nally to have built-in captioning capa- bilities. The Act has since been amended Jim House by the CVAA to apply to any digital In September of devices that play back video. In addition
GAINING STATUREGAINING 1987, Jim House and to televisions, this includes iPads, smart- John Long, a vice president (father of phones, and other devices. a deaf son), succeed in their efforts to begin Washington, DC’s f rst local re- al-time news captioning on WJLA TV-7, an ABC aff liate. After many months of research and fundraising, the captioned news show was nearly ready to go on the air. Jim recruited local deaf and hard of hearing community leaders to form an ad hoc committee, and guide the sta- tion in their local community outreach Toby Rae Silver efforts. In 1990, when the downturn in the
138 economy began to affect the television YouTube Channel in American Sign industry, WJLA Channel 7, an ABC-af- Language, and with captioning and f liate in Washington, D.C. “downgrad- voiceover, for America’s Deaf and Hard ed” its captioned news from real-time to of Hearing taxpayers. It now continues electronic newsroom captioning. As pre- into its 10th year. TDI commended the dicted, this move spurred angry howls IRS for producing online video clips from deaf and hard of hearing viewers. sharing tax tips produced by IRS Pro- To address this critical problem, these ducer/Director Toby. viewers who depended on captioning banded together to create the Television for All (TVFA) Coalition, chaired by Toby Rae Silver. TVFA included rep- resentatives from more than 20 local, state, and national organizations based in the Washington, D.C. area, including TDI. NBC’s f agship station, WRC-TV Sean Markel Channel 4 was the f rst newscaster to In 1998, Sean Markel pushed for provide real-time local news caption- ing due to TVFA’s advocacy. To honor Toby’s advocacy efforts, WRC named a new captioning placement control system called “Television Online Bi- Screen Information”, or TOBI for short, to ensure that captions do not block or interfere with emergency text crawls in the same area on the screen. WJLA then returned to real-time captioning, and two other DC newscasters followed suit: W*USA (CBS) and WTTG (FOX).
WJZ (CBS) in Baltimore also began GAINING STATURE captioning their news live. In 1998, the FCC required real-time local news cap- tioning for newscasters located in the top 25 TV markets. Later in 2009, the Internal Revenue Service implemented a dedicated IRS
139 live event captioning at the Baltimore person to earn a master's degree at New Ravens NFL football stadium. He also York University where he specialized in worked with the Maryland Association vocational guidance and rehabilitation. of the Deaf to install highway signage During his tenure at the Helen Keller with the TTY symbol, noting which rest National Center (HKNC), Smithdas was areas had a payphone TTY. He followed an advocate for deaf-blind education up with the installation of caption- and employment, retiring in December ing for live events at the University of 2008. Barbara Walters considered her Maryland - College Park (UMD) Xf nity time in 1998 with Robert and his wife, Center, and the Capital One Field to en- Michelle Smithdas her "most memora- sure captioning on all screens at UMD ble interview". sports facilities and online videos of Terrapin (Terp) sports games, and other live events.
Pam Holmes Sheila Conlon Mentkowski Robert J. In 1997, Pam Holmes, Chair of the Smithdas NAD Telecommunications Committee established a thriving online chat group
GAINING STATUREGAINING Robert and Michelle Smithdas have a for the NAD Telecommunications Advo- conversation during a 1998 Barbara cacy Network (NAD-TAN). She found Walters interview on ABC News 20/20. and recruited over 80 key communication (Credit: ABC News) access leaders around the country. The Born in Pennsylvania, Robert J. Smith- committee met entirely online with year- das was the director of Services for the round action, responding to US Access Deaf-Blind at the "Industrial Home Board and FCC and DOJ proceedings as for the Blind" in New York for a long rules and regulations were being written time. He began his career there in 1950 for the ADA, TRS and TV captioning. The after graduating with a Bachelor of role of members was to take action when Arts Degree, cum laude, from St. John's proposed rules were released for com- University in New York. Three years ment. NAD-TAN was often cited in f nal later, he became the f rst deaf-blind rule documents noting comments submit-
140 ted and decisions that supported those advocacy comments. In February 2005, the NAD renamed the group to the NAD Technology Group [NAD_TC] and asked Sheila Conlon Mentkowski to become chair, a task that she continues today. This online group on Yahoo also discuss policy changes in relay services and captioning, share their Dr. Jeff Bohrman experiences in trying out new products A chemist-turned-vocational rehab and services, as well as keep up with FCC counselor and advocate, lent TDI his announcements. There are about 70 NAD expertise with Braille machines as TDI members in the group at the present time. worked with Washington State during 2001, in an attempt to develop an elec- tronic Braille TTY that can stand up to the daily wear and tear from using the device to communicate on the phone and talk face to face with other people.
Carol Finkle A passionate mother of two deaf chil- dren, Carol Finkle, Founder and Execu- tive Director of Creative Access, orga- nized a protest where more than one hundred people assembled in front of Randy Pope a United Artist theater in Philadelphia. Randy Pope is a widely acclaimed deaf- Actors, disability activists supported blind advocate for a nationwide program deaf patrons to exercise their rights to for support service providers (SSPs), and GAINING STATURE have access to movies at their neighbor- more communication facilitators (CFs) to hood cinema. Carol now has a different help deafblind callers when they use the crusade where she keeps school admin- video phone. A CF reads the other party’s istrators on their toes when it comes to signs on the screen and relays it to the bilingual education and early language deafblind caller who could not see the acquisition without deprivation. screen. The deafblind person signs direct-
141 ly back to the other party. Randy was also an invaluable resource who provided great insights on deafblind issues in emer- gency preparedness as a subject matter expert for CEPIN in 2005.
Dr. Roy Miller Late deafened at age 47 from surgeries removing tumors on his hearing nerves, Dr. Roy Miller, who has Neurof broma- tosis Type II, made the transition from Russ Boltz teaching political science at Southern Illinois University to administering the During the mid-2000s when Russ Boltz state Commission for the Deaf and Hard tried to rent some DVD movies, he often of Hearing in Missouri. Now retired, found that in many DVDs, only the movie as a result of his leadership and active itself was captioned, but not the special networking with state legislators, Missou- features, such as director interview or rians who are deaf and hard of hearing comments from the cast and crew. He benef ted from a streak of extraordinary sued f ve major studios, and settled out- legislative accomplishments that included of-court. The studios agreed they would laws that allowed people with hearing ensure the DVDs come out with either loss to have a “J88” placed on their driv- captions for both the movie and other er’s license to indicate that they used al- special features, or be accurate in label- ternative communication (2001), required GAINING STATUREGAINING ing for f ve years if the features were not that interpreters be provided to individu- captioned. als who are deaf in juvenile detention and correction proceedings and facilities in Missouri, (2002), required auxiliary aids Congratulations TDI on your 50th Anniversary! and services to be provided so that deaf and hard of hearing people could serve on petit and grand juries (2004), mandated that American Sign Language (ASL) be counted toward satisfaction of any for- eign language or language requirements in any public school or public institution of higher education in Missouri and that 301 W. Preston Street, Suite 1008A • Baltimore, MD 21201 800-552-7724 (Voice/TTY) • 443-453-5970 (Video Phone) • mdrelay.org ASL be accepted for meeting any for- mrh-259 TDI Gala ad 3.596x2 august 13
MDRelay_3.596x2.indd142 1 8/13/18 1:11 PM eign language entrance and graduation not knowing the police would arrive at requirements in any public institution of her home 15 minutes after she left. Sheri higher education in Missouri (2005). f led a complaint with the US Department of Justice alleging a Title II violation for being denied direct access to city emer- gency services. Richard Ray was then involved in providing technical assistance to the Los Angeles Police Department on how the 9-1-1 system should be imple- mented - a TTY in each position. After her complaint was settled, Bob Mather, an attorney at the Civil Rights Division Nancy Linke Ellis went on to make settlements with many Public Safety Answering Points around Nancy Linke Ellis was the driving force the country for failed 911 calls by deaf to get Hollywood to provide open-cap- people using TTYs. tioned f lms for showings throughout the country. In 2009, as more movie theaters Twenty years later, in 2014, Sheri was began to provide closed captioning, she frustrated with many glitches while helped set up a website, Captionf sh, that making video calls to people that had lists open and closed captioned movie different videophones. She made a vlog showings all around the country. rallying the deaf community and urging that the FCC make VRS a standard relay service. Within two weeks, more than 5,000 signed the petition asking the FCC to provide VRS 24/7, validating vlogs as a powerful advocacy tool.
Sheri Farinha In 1993, Sheri Farinha, a deaf mother GAINING STATURE from Northern California became des- perate when her three-year-old son fell and sustained a severe cut on his head. John Waldo, Wash-CAP Holding her son, she called and con- nected to 9-1-1 but was hung up several John. Waldo is another attorney who times. Finally she gave up when no one has won a string of landmark ADA came and drove her son to the hospital lawsuits throughout the country that
143 brought about more captions at the mov- gon City Council to enact an ordinance ie theaters, as well as live captioning at requiring televisions in public places to stadiums and other venues. He and other display closed captioning during busi- advocates set up the Washington State ness hours, or risk a hefty f ne. During a Communication Access Project (Wash- town hall forum to discuss the captioning CAP), and a similar group in Oregon ordinance, nearly all the spectators in (OR-CAP). WashCAP has about 200 the room wore “Portland: Turn on the members at the present time and it works Captions Now” stickers made by Phillip on behalf of people with hearing loss to J. Wolfe, with a rose and the CC symbol try to create greater accessibility. It's eas- that were passed out by the group. The ier for an individual to be a member of visible endorsement in the room ensured Wash CAP and have the organization f le the passage of the ordinance in the City a lawsuit against movie theaters than for of Roses, despite the sole opposition of one person to f le a lawsuit as a named the local restaurant association. Another individual. It can also be more effective compelling reason was that by having cap- because you have a structure in place that tions on all the time was so that everyone can monitor continued compliance with would have timely access to emergency the outcome of what you have done. bulletins announcing severe weather or wildf res. The Portland City Council members were strong proponents of equity than equality. Equality is when you can ask someone in a bar to turn on the captions, and they will gladly do it. Equity is when you can just walk in the door and watch Jim House, Carol Studenmund, any TV set on the premises, and you GAINING STATUREGAINING David Viers wouldn’t have to ask. Jim House said that advocacy runs in his blood (from “Portland: Turn on the his many years in Washington, DC and Captions Now” stickers his work at TDI), and he wanted to give used to show support for something back to his native city. Since the captioning activation the ordinance was passed in 2015, the ordinance requiring public televisions to cities of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Roch- display captions during business hours. ester, New York also followed with similar A grassroot effort led by Jim House, “turn on the captions” ordinances. The Carol Studenmund, the owner of LNS state of Minnesota also passed legislation Captioning, and David Viers, a prominent requiring television sets in public areas advocate, persuaded the Portland, Ore- of medical facilities to show captioning during the hours they are open.
144 (ASAD) attempted to contact the local TV stations to alert them they needed to have live captions for emergency alerts or warnings in Hawai’i. At f rst, it seemed the TV stations attempted to tell her Hawai’i is not in the top 25 market and therefore were not required to provide captioning for weather or emergency alerts. Darlene contacted various orga- nizations including TDI and the FCC. She was informed the top 25 market rule only applied to regular newscasts and not emergency alerts. She also learned to Mark Hill f le consumer complaints with the FCC As President of the Cerebral Palsy related to the lack of captioning during and Deaf Organization (CPADO) Mark Hawai’i’s severe weather events such Hill trains video interpreters on how as hurricanes, volcano eruptions, that to relay calls for deaf people living with happened in 2018. Meanwhile, as her cerebral palsy when signs sometimes complaints were being processed at the become more diff cult to comprehend. FCC, she and other ASAD members took Mark also volunteers his time on estab- it upon themselves to produce vlogs in lishing an Off ce for the Deaf and Hard ASL on ASAD’s Facebook page to alert of Hearing in Oregon. deaf residents in Hawai’i of the various disasters and the proper precautions they need to take in response to each alert. Looking Ahead... There are many more advocates and activists who have not been recognized, yet their contributions to access in tele- communications, media, and information Darlene Ewan on Facebook Live video services are very much appreciated. Do GAINING STATURE giving updates about Hurricane Lane that share your story with TDI. TDI hopes posed a threat to the islands. that the advocates of yesteryear and to- Darlene Ewan day will help inspire the advocates during the next 50 years. Who knows what an In May 2018, Darlene Ewan, President accessible world will look like in 2068? of the Aloha Association of the Deaf
145 THE FUTURE ALWAYS COMES TOO FAST AND IN THE WRONG ORDER.
– ALVIN TOFFLER Our Future Depends on the Never-Ending Advocacy from TDI
ur future depends Several years ago when keyless igni- on the never-ending tion were available in some new cars, advocacy from TDI. it became easy for a deaf person to It seems like new leave the car, even though the engine technology is always was still running. In theory, the engine immediately in front could continue to idle until it runs out Oof us. Sometimes new products and ser- of gas. If the car was parked in a garage vices are accessible the minute you take attached to the house, the occupants them out of the box. Many manufac- are at high risk of inhaling the exhaust turers build in accessibility by involving from the car, which can be odorless, users with disabilities, especially those and there have been tragic reports of who are deaf and hard of hearing, from GAINING STATUREGAINING the concept stage through development people succumbing to carbon monox- by asking for guidance in building prod- ide poisoning. TDI contacted some car ucts the right way. manufacturers to point out the deadly problem, and collaborated with them to However, the advent of new technol- f nd a solution. ogies can come at a dizzying pace, and at times without any accessible features. Below are some of the areas you, your This reminds me of Alvin Toff er, who children, and grandchildren can expect wrote the classic book Future Shock, to see from the fruits of TDI’s dedicat- and remarked, “The future always ed advocacy. None of this will happen comes too fast and in the wrong order.” without ongoing support from the gov- This quote alone justif es TDI’s exis- ernment, industry, and most of all, you tence for the next 50 years. - the consumers and the community.
146 Smart Cities Cities are developing what is being called smart infrastructure. Highway Internet of Things systems are monitored at a control center by staff who are always on the alert for The Internet is no longer just a network accidents and congestion. Utility compa- of computers connected to each other. If nies are rolling out smart electrical grids you have a printer, chances are that it has that can help optimize energy consump- its own connection to the Internet and tion. Soon every aspect of our daily rou- can print from your computer or smart- tine while we are downtown will become phone anywhere in the world. Refriger- automated. ators with an online connection can keep track of what food you use and let you know when it is time to buy more food at the grocery store. Transportation shelters have screens that let you know when the next bus will arrive.
Access to Video Games and Virtual Reality A virtual world of excitement and Self-Driving Vehicles fantasy awaits you! During certain games, GAINING STATURE multiple players can talk AND type to Someday you will not need to actually their teammates to discuss strategy. drive your car. The car does all the driv- ing for you!
147 Glass Touch Technology See how your day begins and ends with glass. From the moment you wake Multi-Modal TRS up and through your day at work, There is one type of telephone relay for school, medical appointments, and eve- every user. But some users use more than ning entertainment, glass is becoming one type of TRS. Some that use ASL as a a part of our day-to-day information primary language might want to refer to technology. a text screen to capture important infor- mation that can be hard to follow such as phone numbers and credit card accounts that can be conveyed, understood, and retained if they were typed out. Global VRS has the distinction of being the only VRS provider that allows the video inter- preter to type the message to a deafblind caller to read in large print or Braille, then the deafblind person can sign back to the interpreter. People who use GAINING STATUREGAINING Next Generation 9-1-1 speechreading can see the other person’s facial expressions and also read text. We hope it never happens to you, but if you ever need to call for help, We envision a future when for any the Next Generation 9-1-1 system will VRS call we make, we can read captions connect you to emergency responders created by automatic speech recognition through voice, text, and video on your (ASR) based on what the interpreter smartphone, tablet or on your comput- receives from us and relay to the hearing er. If you need an interpreter, the public party, as well as conf rming what the safety answering point (PSAP) or 9-1-1 hearing party says against the interpret- call center will summon one for you. er's translation in sign language. Text-to-9-1-1 is being rolled out across For captioned telephone users, real the country as an interim f rst step to time text can be added as a feature, for restore direct access to 9-1-1 services.
148 the hard of hearing person who wants Since then, the quality of auto caption- to ensure a phone number, a social ing has improved, only if best practices security number, or a credit card num- were followed, and humans are there to ber is correctly exchanged during the ensure that quality remains high. Im- telephone transaction. proved algorithms can detect speech pat- terns and tell sentences apart. In NTID/ RIT teachers now generate their own captions through Microsoft Translator where the captions show in the Power- Point slide. The error rates have declined, but the captions are not considered broadcast quality where the best steno captioners can hope for a 98 or 99 per- cent accuracy rate. If it was 90 percent, Automatic Speech Recognition then ten words can be spelled wrong for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) every 100 words transcribed. in some forms may be the solution We can applaud the ASR industry to bring access to telephone calls and for making progress, but we cannot be streaming videos. Most captioned phone satisf ed with the status quo. TDI as our services rely on ASR to transcribe re- watchdog organization, needs to work sponses from hearing speakers so the with industry to maintain high quality of hard of hearing or deaf viewer can read access in the absence of federal regula- the text on the screen. TV broadcasters and online streaming video producers tions. looking to cut costs associated with At any time, we must not accept sug- captioning look to “voice-writing” where gestions for a lower level of accuracy if a trained speaker will revoice whatever is the information is not critical, thus we being said to be converted to captioning must not give license to program devel- at a lower cost. opers to permit haphazard “craption- In 2010, YouTube launched its auto ing”. Where does one draw the line, on captioning feature. The f rst videos whether any one piece of information is showed run on sentences without punc-
important or not? GAINING STATURE tuation or capitalization. The captioning was hard to read by many viewers be- Welcome to the Future cause of its high error rate. However, the ...and there is a whole lot more more captions were in close synchronization beyond our imagination! From all of us with the audio, and it will match if you at TDI, thank you to industry for your upload a transcript when you upload the innovation and support, and welcome video. to the future!
149 Acknowledgements The book “A Phone of Our Own, The Thanks to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin Deaf Insurrection Against Ma Bell” by (D-IA) for background information on Dr. Harry Lang as a source providing a his deaf brother Frank’s relay call with substantial amount of information used President William Clinton in this book. Thanks to Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski The book “A New Civil Right: for proofreading Telecommunications Equality for Deaf Thanks to Lauren Fleming and Matt and Hard of Hearing Americans” Danielson at Electronic Ink for their by Karen Peltz Strauss as a source layout providing a substantial amount of information used in this book. Thanks to Steve Austin, Billie Kornegay, Ho Pham at Silver The book “Memories and other Communications for printing this book Memorable Events in Our Lives” by Paul and Sally Taylor as a source Last but not least, thanks to Eric Kaika, providing a substantial amount of Director of Public Relations, TDI for his information used in this book. coordinating work with sponsors and others for their ad placements in the The book “Playing Catch with historical book. Strangers: A Family Guy (Reluctantly) Comes of Age” by Bob Brody as a source providing a substantial amount of information used in this book. The website of Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation at www.smecc.org courtesy of Ed Sharpe as a source providing a substantial amount of information used in this book. Congratulations
AT&T values its long-standing partnership with
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TDI. Congratulations on 50 years of impressive ClearCaptions is achievements and we look forward to 50 more. a proud sponsor of TDI’s 50th Anniversary! YEARS © 2018 AT&T Intellectual Property. AT&T, Globe logo, Mobilizing Your World and DIRECTV are registered trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. clearcaptions.com All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
150 About the Authors
Jim House
Jim House is the Disability Integration Manager for the Coalition on Inclusive Emergency Preparedness at the Washington State Independent Living Council. Jim was the former Director of Public Relations at TDI from 1998 to 2013. During his tenure, he started as the guest editor for the TDI GA-SK 30th Anniversary Issue, and then brought sophistication to TDI’s publications, the annual National Directory and Resource Guide, and the quarterly GA-SK, then TDI World magazine, with a layman’s understanding of “how things work”. Jim is the 2013 recipient of the Robert H. Weitbrecht Telecommunications Access Award.
Claude Stout
Claude Stout has served as the f fth and current TDI Executive Director since January 1997. For more of his bio, go to page 60. ABOUT THE AUTHORS THE ABOUT
151 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
HamiltonCapTel.com/apps
Voice and data plans may be required when using Hamilton CapTel on a smartphone or tablet. 072618
FEDERAL LAW PROHIBITS ANYONE BUT REGISTERED USERS WITH HEARING LOSS FROM USING INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP) CAPTIONED TELEPHONES WITH THE CAPTIONS TURNED ON. IP Captioned Telephone Service may use a live operator. The operator generates captions of what the other party to the call says. These captions are then sent to your phone. There is a cost for each minute of captions generated, paid from a federally administered fund. To learn more, visit fcc.gov. • Hamilton CapTel may be used to make 911 calls, but may not function the same as traditional 911 services. For more information about the benefts and limitations of Hamilton CapTel and Emergency 911 calling, visit HamiltonCapTel.com/911. • Copyright © 2018 Hamilton Relay. Hamilton is a registered trademark of Nedelco, Inc. d/b/a Hamilton Telecommunications. CapTel is a registered trademark of Ultratec, Inc.
152 First TDI Board Meeting
1972 TDI Board & Staff
2018 A PATH TOWARD AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD A PATH TOWARD “America is well into the so-called “Information Age.” The best-paying and some of the fastest-growing jobs and careers involve collection, analysis, AN ACCESSIBLE WORLD and interpretation of information. All of us are bombarded daily with more information than were our parents; sifting the wheat of knowledge from the chaff of information is a crucial skill in daily life today.” Dr. Frank G. Bowe - Winter 1997 GA-SK Newsletter 1968 - 2018 “We want that little hand-held gizmo with perfect speech recognition capabilities that we can point to a speaker and be able to read the text of TDI’s 50 Years of Service and Contributions to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community what he or she is saying instantly. We’d like CART (computer-aided real time translation) to be within a hair of 100% accurate and give us ALL the information going on around us, including sound effects … I’m just getting warmed up. Stop me now!” Cheryl Heppner 1998.1 GA-SK Newsletter
“The original founders of APCOM (the company formed to manufacture
acoustic couplers) and TDI were pioneers in advocacy. Their communication 1968 - 2018 methods were different - some of them were f uent in sign language, the rest did not sign for one reason or another. In spite of this difference (remember - diversity!), they all learned to work together to plead their cause before federal agencies and industry. Not only did they talk about their situation, they also came up with possible solutions to problems and acted on them. As their network grew, they cultivated friends and allies who then helped make things happen.” Jim House 1998.4 GA-SK Newsletter
From a Board Views column, titled “We Want You!” by in Volume 47, Issue 4 (2017) - “It is important to welcome new members of all ages and hearing loss while retaining loyal members so we can more fully represent the great diversity of our country. We need a larger base of younger members to carry out our mission and vision.” Sheila Conlon-Mentkowski, Board President TDI World Magazine Volume 47, Issue 2
“There are some times, when we try to convince industry and government that our access needs can be met as readily achievable, simply through extra effort, and with much less expense. Equally important, we have to take into account some constraints that industry has had with its resources, or A TDI World Anniversary Commemorative Edition government with its regulatory responsibility.” Volume 49, Issue 2 Claude Stout, Executive Director TDI World Magazine Volume 48, Issue 3
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.