Is Your Audience Really Listening?
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 16, 2010
Better Communication for your Clients with Hearing Loss
By
Martha E. Galindo, language translations provider
Lauren E. Storck, Ph.D., founder, Collaborative for Communication Via Captioning
Karen Yates, certified CART provider
Karen Yates, certified CART provider
Lauren E. Storck, Ph.D., founder, Collaborative for Communication Via Captioning
Martha E. Galindo, language translations provider
As people age, they often face changes in their abilities. One such change is the likelihood that they will develop hearing loss. Although hearing loss affects approximately 12 percent of the general U.S. population, that number rises to over 65 percent in the elderly. In any ethnicity. In any gender. Loss of hearing can interfere with a person’s enjoyment of his or her current and former activities, leads to isolation, and creates communication challenges in family, work and social settings.
Broadcast captioning – written text of the spoken word that scrolls at the bottom of television programs and movies – has gained acceptance and is much appreciated by people with hearing loss. In any language. What many people don’t know is that that same type of service is available out in the community, too. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is a word-for-word speech-to-text instantaneous interpreting service provided by trained professionals using machine shorthand (or sometimes voice recognition software) and computers equipped with special translation software. Many of these CART providers were first trained as court reporters, professionals very familiar to many who work in the legal system for example.
