WROCC at WOU: Telecommunication Options


	Postsecondary institutions prepare deaf and hard-of-hearing students for the content of their careers. There are other requirements related to getting and keeping a job that may not have much to do with mastery of the content. Before an individual can prove herself on a job, she must be able to get the job. From the earliest phone contact with a prospective employer to returning phone calls and getting messages, being able to navigate telephone interactions is a skill no deaf or hard-of-hearing person should be without. Phone use may even be an essential function of the job. Postsecondary institutions provide training in content areas, but issues around phone use are never addressed in training and must be learned “on the fly."
	Inability to effectively communicate over the telephone is one of the leading reasons hard-of-hearing individuals give for leaving a job, either by choosing to quit, taking early retirement, or by being fired. Hearing employers and consumers themselves may not understand options that are available to hard-of-hearing and deaf individuals for telephone communication. If phone use is an essential function of the job, a lack of understanding in this area may lead employers to believe that this person is not "otherwise qualified." This presentation will spell out a variety of issues around phone use, from not being able to hear the ring, to picking up messages from an answering machine. For many problems a variety of possible solutions exist.

	A word to the reader: This presentation covers a broad range of options available. It does not, however, recommend one brand or company over another. In order to get brand names and specific options on different devices, including pricing, request catalogs from manufacturers and retailers. Catalogs are a great way to find out what is available and what might suit individual needs. To find out what other deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals like about equipment they may have had experience with, contact the local SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing People) chapter, ALDA (Association of Late Deafened Adults), the SHHH National Technical Assistance Center, CIAI (Cochlear Implant Association, Inc.), or sign up for e-mail lists developed by and for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, such as Beyond-Hearing, Say What Club, Cochlear Implant Forum and Deaf-L. These groups are all made up of hard-of-hearing and Deaf individuals and others who are dedicated to helping others cope with their hearing loss. Contact info for all these groups, as well as catalog information, can be found at www.wou.edu/nwoc/ald.htm. For updates to the information in this module, check http://www.wou.edu/nwoc/telecomm.htm.