AzTAP: AzTAP’s Initiative on Aging:Assistive Technology and Aging in Place
Article 3 - Free Telephones. Honest!
Randy Collins, M.Ed
Training and Outreach Coordination, Arizona Technology Access Program
[ Download 
| 
]
Someone, perhaps someone wise with age, once said, “If you live long enough you are certain to need assistance with two things: vision and sight.” We are going to add assistance with speech to that and call it assistive telecommunications technology. And in just a few minutes you are going to learn how to get it for free. No gimmicks, free.
For those of us who don’t hear quite as well as we used to the technology couldn’t have gotten here soon enough. One particular area of frustration for those of us who have a hearing loss is telephone communication. So very much of what we do just to function in today’s world depends on the telephone. Telephones are vital in our daily lives. In addition telecommunication poses a particular problem for those of us who have difficulty talking due to a stroke, Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS), cerebral palsy or other challenges.
You are about to learn how people who have difficulty with speech, hearing and/or vision loss are eligible for free telephones, TTYs for deaf and speech impaired, and augmentative communication devices for speech impaired.
Briefly, here is how you qualify: You must be hard or hearing, deaf, deaf-blind or speech impaired and a permanent resident of Arizona.
That’s it! Pretty simple isn’t it? So what type of assistive telecommunications technology can you get? The types of devices available to you are too numerous to mention here but following are some of the devices you may choose from:
Hard of Hearing - Hard of hearing people can hear well enough to use telephones but voices are often too soft or fuzzy. It makes conversation difficult.
Amplified telephones. These phones have volume control so that you can adjust the sound level to suit your particular need. Many of these phones also have tone control options. Tone control often helps clear up the fuzziness when volume isn’t the problem. You can also get cordless volume control phones.
Voice Carry Over telephones (VOC). Voice Carry Over phones can be used as a standard phone and also have a text screen so that VCO users can read the word, which are spoken by the other party and typed by an Arizona Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) communications assistant. At the end of this article you’ll find out how to learn more about VCO and TRS.
Deaf – People who are not able to benefit from amplified telephones often use text telephones (TTY) or (TDD). Looking much like a typewriter keyboard with a text screen, a TTY allows persons with hearing and/or speech loss to make or receive telephone calls by typing their conversation via two way text. The conversation is read on a highlighted display screen and/or a paper printout in the TTY. You also have a number of TTY models to choose from. Portable, Turbo Speed, Direct Connect and Printers. People with vision impairments may benefit from large screen TTYs.
Speech Impaired – People with speech impairments may be able to hear perfectly fine on the phone but are not able to speak loudly or speak clearly. Amplified voice phones increase the volume of the speaker’s voice. Some people who have difficulty speaking clearly choose to use TTY’s. Others may choose to use augmentative communication devices. These devices that often resemble a keyboard are text to speech devices that talk for you. Augmentative communication devices connected to a telephone permit the speech impaired user to use the telephone. Options include pre-recorded messages.
Deaf-Blind – There is one telecommunication device available that includes a TTY and a refreshable Braille keyboard for people who are deaf-blind.
The telecommunications devices are provided by the State of Arizona through the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. If you’d like to know more about the program, if you want to review all the devices available or you’d like to receive an application packet here’s how:
Arizona Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program
1400 W. Washington, Room 126
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Voice/TTY: (Phoenix area)(602) 262-6875
Voice/TTY: (Outside Phoenix Area)1-866-223-3412
Fax: (602) 264-6914
E-mail: info@acdhh.state.az.us
www.acdhh.org – Here you may view and download all the information in the information packet including the application.
This is the third in a series of articles designed to educate people about assistive technology and its benefits to older Arizonans.
For more information: Randy Collins can be reached at:
Voice: (602) 728-9533
TTY : (602) 728-9536
Toll-free: (800) 477-9921
Website: http://www.nau.edu/ihd/AzTap
Support for DES-AAA/NAU/AzTAP’s collaborative project Assistive Technology and Aging in Place is provided by the NAHB Research Center’s National Center for Seniors’ Housing Research through a grant from the U.S. Administration on Aging.
DES, Aging and Adult Administration: Aging, if it’s not your issue…it will be.
Please fill out our survey here.
