Oral VRS Users 

A "DeafAndHardOfHearing" Article

In Issue 3 (July 16, 2005) we discussed an EE Times article entitled "FCC Adopts New Rules to Improve VRS for Hard-of-Hearing", and we lamented the fact that this headline misinforms even more egregiously that the normal claim that Video Relay Service (VRS) provides accessible communication to people who are DeafAndHardOfHearing. (We use the term "DeafAndHardOfHearing" to indicate that the term is used as if it were a single word and without thought to its meaning. The term is generally used to indicate that hard of hearing people are incorrectly grouped with Deaf people in a situation that really includes only Deaf folks.) The article included a letter asking the EE Times Editor in Chief to correct the misinformation; we have not received a response.

However I did get three responses from people who claimed that VRS really is for hard of hearing people, because they use it to lipread. Two of the responders were indignant that I could even suggest that VRS doesn't serve people who are hard of hearing!

So I turned to the best source I know for information about living with hearing loss - you! If people are using lipreading as a means of communicating over VRS, you would know. Last week I asked for your feedback on this issue, and specifically for information about non-signers who communicate over VRS by lipreading. I got three very interesting responses, which I'll share in a minute.

I also decided to get the opinions of the people who provide VRS services. Do they consider their services to be appropriate for non-signing lipreaders? I searched the websites of the following VRS providers for answers: Communication Access Center (CAC), CSD, Hamilton Video Relay, Hands On VRS, Sorenson VRS, and Sprint. Here's what I found:

Communication Access Center (CAC)
From http://www.cacdhh.org/video_relay_interpreting_services.html
" This service allows a deaf or hard of hearing person to communicate in ASL to a sign language interpreter using a computer camera."

Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD)
http://www.csdvrs.org/ - see "What is VRS?"
"With VRS, a caller using sign language can communicate with a live video interpreter by using a video connection."

Hamilton Video Relay
http://www.hamiltonrelay.com/internet/vrs/ - See "General FAQ"
"Who can use Hamilton Video Relay? A: Anyone who uses ASL . . . "

Hands On VRS
https://secure.hovrs.com/abouthovrs/
"Hands On Video Relay Services, Inc. (HOVRS) provides a new communication tool that allows the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community to communicate effectively and naturally with the hearing world through American Sign Language (ASL)."

Sorenson VRS
http://www.sorensonvrs.com/ - See "What is VRS?"
"Sorenson Video Relay Service (VRS) is a free service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community that enables anyone to conduct video relay calls with family, friends, or business associates through a certified ASL interpreter"

Sprint VRS (I tried to access www.sprintvrs.com, but I couldn't even view the site unless I allowed them to download ActiveX (required for their VRS service) onto my computer. So I found their government VRS site.)
http://www.sprintbiz.com/government/relay/video.html
"Video relay service (VRS) enables American Sign Language (ASL) users to communicate via videoconferencing."

Hmmm . . . Lots of discussion about how hard of hearing people can communicate over VRS using ASL (I noticed over a dozen such claims), but not a word about lipreading.

Thinking that I might have missed those references I went back to each of the sites and searched for the terms "lip reading", "lipreading", "speech reading", and "speechreading". Still no luck! Apparently the VRS providers do NOT claim that lipreaders can use their services.

But what about our readers who responded to my request for information about lipreading using VRS?

Rob Abbot reported that he lipreads the interpreter as she signs. (For those who don't know, an ASL user conveys a lot of information on the face, so watching the face while they sign is standard practice.) So I asked him if he would be able to follow a conversation using lipreading only. I also asked if he would be comfortable discussing a legal or medical (or other equally important) matter in this manner.

He replied, "I consider myself an excellent lipreader and in general conversation, where I know the speech pattern of the person really well and the topic, there is still a good 40 to 60 percent that I just can't get. That means that we have to make assumptions as to what is being said to get the general gist of the conversation. In a legal and medical environment or other critical environment, it would be dangerous indeed."

Nan Asher replied that the agency where she works has a videophone and she has tried to using it to lipread. Here's her report:

"Will the video phone work for hard of hearing people who don't sign? Well, the videophone does have a microphone jack. [A friend] and I have experimented with talking and speech reading using the video transmission. It doesn't work very well. The video is not fast enough for speech reading. Interestingly, the voice transmission is about a second faster than the video. So, if I miss what she says, I can speech read her a second later! However, this leaves us with a disconnected feeling, like watching a movie with the voice/picture choreography off just a tad. We seem to be having a problem with the microphones echoing also. Perhaps we are using the wrong mics and will have to continue experimenting."

Finally Dave Pearson reported that he signed up for CSD VRS, and a technician came out to his house to install the equipment. But when the installer learned that Dave doesn't sign, he removed the equipment and told Dave that someone would contact him!

When no one did Dave contacted them and got an email from Jason Smith, Consumer Relations Manager of CSDVRS. Mr. Smith affirmed that VRS is intended for "deaf and hard of hearing ASL users", and (as stated on the application) people who don't sign are not eligible to receive the free equipment.

Curious I went back to the CSD website and found the application form
(https://ssl.c-s-d.org/vrsdb/freeform.asp), which states:

"To qualify for the equipment:
1. You must be deaf or hard of hearing,
2. Use sign language in order to communicate,
3. Be a legal resident of the United States,
4. Have high-speed internet service."

To summarize:
1. My request for information about people lipreading over VRS failed to produce a single person who does so successfully or knows of someone who does.
2. The VRS companies apparently acknowledge that VRS is NOT a viable technology for lipreaders; at least one company will not provide equipment to anyone who does not sign. (I didn't check the policy of the other providers.)
3. The VRS providers continue to claim that VRS is intended for hard of hearing people, even though they don't claim that it supports lipreading.

The attitude of the relay providers continues to amaze me. I've contacted several of them about advertising their IP relay services to the Oral Hearing Loss (OHL) community. I point out that every Deaf person in the country already knows all about all the various relay options, but almost no OHL folks realize that (for example) they can make a relay call using their computer as a TTY. There's a HUGE market just waiting for one of these providers to seize.

I rarely get a reply to these inquiries, and when I do, the reply is that they don't solicit the OHL market, because so few OHL folks use their services!

Hello??!?!?!

Maybe if they'd quit telling OHL folks to use ASL over VRS, and inform them about a service they could actually use, they'd have better success!

And those of you who claim that VRS is used by lipreaders, please stop! That misinformation perpetuates the myth that OHL folks have access to adequate services, and hinders the development of services that actually do serve them.