HLAA Convention Exhibit Hall - Part 4

By Lise Hamlin and Cheryl Heppner

- Oklahoma Court Reporters Association (OCRA)
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
- Sprint

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Oklahoma Court Reporters Association (OCRA)

I met Cassy Russell, CSR, RPR, CRR, CCP (OK, do you know what all those letters mean - without Googling it?!). Cassy represented the Oklahoma Court Reporter's Association. She has been working as a court reporter, doing depositions for 17 years now, and has just recently turned to CART and captioning work. When I asked her why she wanted to take on CART , as it takes a special person who is unafraid of having his or her mistakes projected on a wall, larger than life for all to see!, Cassy told me she does it because at the end of day, people who are hard of hearing or deaf who use her services actually appreciate what she does. I am forever grateful there are ungrateful attorneys, pushing more court reporters into the CART and captioning field!

Cassy told me OCRA had a booth at the convention to raise awareness about OCRA. She also had a cookbook for sale. For $7.50, you may purchase a cookbook of recipes collected from Oklahoma court reporters, judges, and attorneys. If you do, don't miss the recipe from Carry's grandmother for Hard Cinnamon Candy. She assures me that grandma knew how to make hard candy. You can still purchase a copy of your own by visiting: http://www.ocraonline.org/news.htm.

What are all those letters after Cassy's name?

CSR: Certified Shorthand Reporter RPR: Registered Professional Reporter CRR: Certified Realtime Reporter CCP: Certified CART Provider

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American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

Anne Oyler, AuD, CCC-A and Claudette Quashie staffed the ASHA Exhibit Booth. While I think of ASHA as a trade organization, there was a good deal of information there for consumers, including information on Cochlear Implants, Hearing Aids, Noise and IPods, information on where to locate an audiologist at their booth. They also gave away a CD which is full of information on a whole range of topics, including:

• Age-Related Hearing Loss
• Assistive Technology
• Common Causes of Hearing Loss in Adults \
• Communication Strategies: Tips for Improving Your Listening Experience
• Coping With Hearing Loss
• Funding Resources for Audiology Services and Hearing Aids
• Hearing Aids and Cell Phones
• Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids in Adults (Treatment Efficacy Summary)
• Otosclerosis
• Tinnitus
• Why Can't I Understand Speech?

I didn't see any mention of the CD on ASHA's website, but I did see that much of the material can be found right there on the site: http://www.asha.org. If you can't find what you're looking for on the website, you can call ASHA at: 800-638-8255.

When I asked Anne why ASHA wanted a presence at the HLAA convention, she told me that consumer education is a large part of what ASHA does, that it's not just a trade organization, helping audiologists get credentialed, although it does that too. In fact, many of the phone calls they receive requesting information come from consumers requesting information about hearing loss.

Anne has just completed her AuD and was telling me what a great experience that was. Like other audiologists I've spoken to who also went back for the AuD, she was resistant to going at first. Anne said she was an Early Intervention Pediatric Audiologist for many years, so has a great deal of practical experience in the field. However, she told me going back for her AuD provided her with a wealth of new information. She said she glad she did it.

Anne is working now as the Associate Director of Audiology and Professional Practice at ASHA. She told me she loves going to these conventions because, she says, "This is where what we do matters."

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Sprint

Sprint not only had a very prominent exhibit but also sponsored the convention's Internet Café. I enjoyed talking with Rex Moers and others on the Sprint team. During my time in the exhibit hall, I learned that they have good ideas for passing the slow periods, including games with their colorful stress balls.

Rex told me he was amazed at how few of the convention attendees are aware of the relay service, Sprint IP using AIM. Use your phone to dial Sprint IP 's toll free number, and give your AIM screen name to the operator when you connect. The operator will make your phone call and type the conversation of the person you are calling so you can read it on AIM. The only thing you need to do is add Sprint IP to your Buddy List. You can use this service on your PC, Mac, laptop or wireless pager - and converse in English or Spanish. Hearing users can call you through this service too.

Sprint had a well-designed six-page tutorial that showed:

- How to download Sprint IP Wireless on a BlackBerry
- How to make a call through Sprint IP Wireless
- How to add SPrintvrs.tv to a VP-100 or VP-200
- How to add Sprint IP to your Buddy List
- How to make a call through AIM Relay
- How to access www.SprintIP.com to make a call

Also featured at the Sprint booth was a special offer by Sprint Relay (not available through Sprint stores or its general website) for a wireless data only service plan for $29.99/month, which includes unlimited email, wireless web access, unlimited instant messaging and nationwide data coverage. The offer is good through September 23, 2007. It's paired with a BlackBerry 8703e for $99.99, a savings of $400 with a 2-year subscriber agreement. The BlackBerry is Sprint Mobile Broadband and GPS enabled, with a full QWERTY keypad, 64 MB of memory and color display. Or you can choose a similar offer with the Treo 700wx for $199.99 through July 14, 2007, which has Sprint Mobile Broadband, Windows Mobile 5.0 software, Bluetooth wireless technology,1.3 megapixel camera, and 128 MG of memory.

You can learn more about the special phone offers and all flavors of Sprint Relay -- Video Relay, IP Relay, IP Wireless, Sprint Using AIM, CapTel Relay Service, Traditional Relay, Conference Captioning at:

http://www.nextel.com/en/solutions/relay_services/index.shtml

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