911 Overview and Particular Methods Used for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Calls
Date: Tuesday, March 5 Time: 7 - 8 PM Presenter: Steve McMurrer, ENP, 911 Information Systems Division Chief, Fairfax County VA 911
This presentation will give an overview of the Fairfax County 911 Center and how it is organized, along with a brief discussion of how 911 operations staff handle different types of calls today. A glimpse of future technologies will also be presented.
Technologies have changed so much in the past 20 years, giving Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers better access to the world around them than ever before.
From telephones for the home to flashing signal systems, and listening devices to apps for a tablet or smartphone, join Debbie Jones, NVRC's Technology Manager, as she discusses assistive technologies that you can take advantage of at home or on the go. Information about the Technology Assistance Program and other resources included.
On July 25, 2023, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), author of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16) announced the reintroduction of the Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility (CVTA) Act.
This bill would update and strengthen existing accessibility regulations guaranteed through Senator Markey’s CVAA to stay up-to-date with the boom of new technologies—from video conferencing platforms to artificial intelligence—which have become commonplace since the CVAA became law in 2010.
Specifically, the CVTA would:
Improve and expand closed captioning and audio description standards for television programming and online video streaming platforms to ensure people with disabilities have equitable access to the wide range of programming available to the general public;
Update current requirements to ensure viewers can easily activate and select preferred settings for closed captions and audio description on their video programming devices, such as televisions, smart phones, laptops, and tablets;
Improve access to video conferencing platforms for people with disabilities;
Ensure people with disabilities have equitable access to 9-1-1 emergency services; and,
Empower the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure accessibility regulations keep pace with emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and augmented or virtual reality platforms.
YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO PASS THIS IMPORTANT LEGISLATION! Contact your federal representatives and ask them to support the CVTA in Congress!
The CVTA is endorsed by AccesSOS, Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell), American Council of the Blind, Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Blinded Veterans Association, Carroll Center for the Blind, Center for Advanced Communications Policy, CommunicationFIRST, Communication Service for the Deaf, Deaf in Government, Hearing Loss Association of America, Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, National Federation of the Blind, National Association of the Deaf, National Association of State Agencies of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NASADHH), Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc., Perkins School For The Blind, United Spinal Association, and Voiceitt.
In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please be advised that beginning April 8, 2020 through June 10, 2020, all NVRC contracted services with and funding from the Virginia Dept for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, including technology equipment, presentations, training, information & referral have been frozen.
If you are seeking information regarding VDDHH services, please contact the VDDHH at 1-800-552-7917 (Toll Free) or 804-662-9502, or 804-325-1290 (VP), or email at info@vddhh.virginia.gov and leave a detailed message. Virginia Relay users may contact VDDHH by dialing 711 before dialing the toll free or local number. Be sure to include your full name, address and telephone number with your area code. Due to telework, you may experience minor delays with a reply. Services shall remain frozen until June 10 unless determined otherwise through Governor of Virginia executive action. We apologize for any inconvenience you may experience.
However, please note that, while NVRC has lost the funding for VDDHH/TAP for the next few months, NVRC is still serving the community through our other funders, and donations from the community, and we hope to resume TAP services in the next couple of months.
To reach NVRC staff by email:
Eileen McCartin execdirector@nvrc.org Bonnie O’Leary boleary@nvrc.org Debbie Jones djones@nvrc.org Bruce Greenfield bgreenfield@nvrc.org Andaleeb Elayan accounting@nvrc.org Leah Atwah interpreting@nvrc.org
We can also be reached by phone 703-352-9055 Voice 571-350-8656 VP 703-352-9056 TTY We will all get through this together!
COMPUTERWORLD
APPLE HOLIC
By Jonny Evans
Jul 6, 2016
I’ve come across a compelling story that shows how Apple Watch can make a huge difference to enable deafblind people to live more independent lives.
It's all available in this extensive post written by Usher Syndrome sufferer, Lady Usher. The author is London-based and gets around with the aid of a cane, a guide dog and an iPhone, but Apple Watch is transforming her life.
Empowerment
“My new Apple Watch has made things so much easier,” she writes. “I simply key in my route on my phone, pop it in my bag and the watch, hidden safely on my wrist, vibrates to tell me to go left and right using two different tactile pulses. Another signal lets me know when I have arrived at my destination. It is such a simple idea and so damn enabling.”
“Just three weeks after I got the watch, my guide dog and I entered a month-long team steps challenge at my work place. Together, we walked almost 200 miles through the busy streets of London, simply by following the vibrations of the AppleWatch and the simple on screen instructions. For the first time ever, it felt like we owned the streets. The whole of London has opened up to me for the first time since I lost my sight.”
Please join us in welcoming Eric Raff as Deputy Director of the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (VDDHH)! Eric joins us from Washington, where he was the director of the Washington State Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for 12 years.
As Deputy Director, Eric helps oversee all VDDHH technology and outreach programs, including Virginia Relay and the Technology Assistance Program (TAP). Virginia Relay is a free public service that enables people in Virginia who are deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind or who have di culty speaking to communicate with standard telephone users. TAP provides no- cost telecommunication equipment to quali ed applicants who are unable to use a standard telephone.
Those with synesthesia claim to “see” sound as color. A tech-focused fashion house has developed a shirt that helps deaf people process music in another non-traditional method -- by feeling it.
CuteCircuit created something called the Sound Shirt, which translates sound into sensations felt across the wearer’s body. Different notes create different feelings across corresponding areas of the garment; in theory, it could provide the deaf with a whole new way of internalizing something they cannot hear.