state and local governments and people with hearing loss
State and local governments provide a variety of services for people
with hearing loss. I plan to eventually get comprehensive information concerning state and
local support posted. In the meantime, here are a couple of the better
known services and how to access them.
The Telecommunications Relay
Services offered by the states provide communications access for
people with hearing loss. These free services allow a person using a TTY
or a voice carry over phone to conduct a phone conversation with a
person using a standard voice telephone. A relay operator or
communications assistant (CA) does the "translation" necessary
between the two modes of communication.
Many states also offer a Telecommunications
Distribution Program, which distributes telephone equipment to
people with hearing loss. Some states distribute the equipment at no
cost, while others do so at reduced cost.
Each state operates a Vocational Rehabilitation
program which is intended to assist people to secure and maintain
employment.
Many state and local governments (as well as the Federal government)
also provide emergency warnings of various dangerous situations via
radio. Special radios allow notification of people with hearing loss.
December 2007 - Should States Fund Hearing Health for
Children?
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December 2007
If a child can't hear - something that may not be
discovered for many months - that child can't learn to communicate, i.e.,
to understand others and to be understood verbally. Consequently, a child
with an untreated hearing impairment will develop language skills at a
slower rate, which, in turn, will slow the child's learning rate
throughout the school years and into adulthood. The solution is simple.
Outfit children with hearing loss with hearing aids as soon as the problem
is diagnosed. The sooner the better. Infants, just weeks old, can be
fitted with hearing devices that enable them to acquire speech, learn at
the rate of their classmates and live within the "hearing" world. That's
why more and more states - Maine, Texas, Alabama and others - are passing
laws to ensure that all children have access to hearing aids when needed.
Sure, it is the compassionate, humane thing to do. But communities are
beginning to discover that it's also the smart thing to do.
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