Download Webinar: Can You Hear Me Now? Telephones and Cell Phones for

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Webinar: Can You Hear Me Now? Telephones and Cell Phones for People with Hearing Loss
Thursday, September 27, 2011
1:30-3:00 p.m.
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Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication
accessibility and, therefore, may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
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>> KATHRYN WYETH:
And we're back and we started recording.
And I would like to now turn
the presentation over to our -- the first two of our lovely presenters for the day.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Liming.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Liz Kobylak and I am here with Ann
We are both members of the Hearing Loss Association of Michigan and we are volunteers with
the Hearing Technology Resource Specialist program.
people with hearing loss.
And we are talking today about telephones for
And the reason we see so many requests for information about this is because
when people lose their hearing and cannot use conventional technology, that disconnection, that loss of
independence, and that loss of empowerment that they feel, makes a big impact on their quality of life.
So hopefully what you will learn today will help the people with whom you work.
We are going to go to Slide Number 2, please.
And this is just a review of the topics for today.
tossing around.
We will talk about first terminology that we'll be
We will offer information on land line telephone options with an explanation about what
you can expect from those options.
We will discuss coupling devices, cell phone options for people with
hearing loss, and especially cell phones for seniors.
And we will also spend a little bit of time talking
about captioned telephones.
I think we -- Ann and I would both like you to chime in with a question at the beginning if you have
something that you would like us to cover that perhaps is not -- we have not included in this presentation,
if you let us know now we can rearrange things to provide the information that would be most useful to
you.
Okay, so we are going to go to Slide Number 3 now.
Under helpful terminology we're going to review what hearing aid compatible telephones -- what
that means.
We're going to be talking about the telephone coil, or the t-coil.
We will define coupling
devices and also Bluetooth.
So we will continue on to Slide Number 4.
Hearing aid compatible.
In order for a telephone to be hearing aid compatible it has to contain a
telecoil that detects or is compatible with a similar t-coil in the hearing aid.
together.
These two communicate
By law, telephones that are sold in the United States now have to be hearing aid compatible.
So this is what it means.
Although the phone is hearing aid compatible, the user also has to have a
t-coil, an active t-coil in their hearing aid.
If someone is using a -- an older hearing aid that does not
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contain a t-coil, or if they have a t-coil that is not activated, a hearing aid compatible phone will not
provide the access that they expect.
You see a picture there of what a t-coil looks like inside a hearing aid.
It's very small.
We will continue on to Slide 5, and I'm going to turn this over to Ann Liming at this time.
>> ANN LIMING:
Okay, as you look at Slide 5 and it talks about coupling devices, I just want to
point out that all of these devices that we have pictured here will work with a corded or cordless phone as
well as with cell phones and are most effective for most individuals.
Some of them will work with a t-coil, but not all of the pictures -- those pictured.
And the ones
that do work with a t-coil are the neckloop, the ear hooks, and the silhouettes.
All of these devices have to have a -- well, I shouldn't say probably they have to have, but the
standard -- the standard jack on a – on a telephone is a 2.5, so for these to work without having to add
an adapter, they need to have a 2.5 plug on them.
And most of the devices today when you purchase
them are coming with a 2.5 plug, but they also come with the 3.5 adapter which is used in many other
devices.
Many of these things have multiple uses, and so while they work with a phone they will work
with many other devices such as listening devices and all as well.
Okay.
The headphone and the earbuds, they can be used with a hearing aid without a telephone
coil or with someone who doesn't wear hearing aids at all.
One of the things you’ll have to be aware of
with the headphones is that often if you're using them with a hearing aid they could cause a feedback and
you could get a loud squeal.
And another thing that can happen is that when the person turns up the
volume to be able to hear whatever it is that they're trying to listen to, like a speaker on a telephone, is
that sometimes that volume of course is going to be leaked out through the hearing aid and the people
around them are going to be hearing just as effectively as they are.
We're going to go to the next slide, Slide Number 6.
And this talks about the telephone coil, which Liz described for you just a few moments ago.
as she stated, it is a very small copper wire that is actually wrapped around a small rod.
thing, the whole array, is smaller than a dime.
And
And that whole
And the thing that is important here is that when a person
is using a telephone and they're using it with their t-coil in their hearing aid is that it's eliminating almost
all of the background sound, you know, all of the room sound, anybody talking and all.
depending on how loud it is.
You know,
It's not going to cut out all of it possibly, but generally it eliminates most all
of it so that you can hear the caller and hear them really quite well.
When Liz was talking about a t-coil, it's -- she mentioned it may not be activated.
that's very important to know.
And I think that
Because a lot of people have hearing aids with -- with t-coils in them and
they don't know they have a t-coil, simply because it hasn't been activated.
And they can always go back
to their audiologist and have the t-coil activated.
The other thing about t-coils is that in recent years they have started putting what is called an
automatic t-coil in some hearing aids.
And this works really, really well for many people who are using
like their -- their telephone receiver and they're coupling the receiver to the hearing aid, because it will
automatically -- as they bring the receiver toward their ear and toward the hearing aid, automatically
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activates that telecoil.
coil.
However, if they're using the loop around their neck, that may not activate the
So sometimes they think there's something wrong with the t-coil or that they don't have one and it
may simply be because it's activated -- or not activated, excuse me.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
working for people?
This is Kathryn and I just wanted to ask a question to see if the chat is
I wonder if anybody in the audience uses a hearing aid and, if so, do you have a
t-coil?
Or maybe you don't know...
(Laughter).
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Okay, I would just -- this is Liz speaking.
about the automatic t-coil.
I would just like to add a little bit
It does sound very nifty, but it really depends, as many things with hearing
loss, about who's using it, who is the consumer, who is the patient, who the client is.
the automatic t-coil, has to have the phone in a specific position.
Because the t-coil,
If someone goes out of range, that is
automatically disconnected, and it could take another second to get reconnected.
So depending on the
physical or manual dexterity issues or if someone is doing something else when they are speaking on the
phone, that automatic t-coil may not be as convenient for the individual as a regular manual t-coil.
So a
lot of these things when working with a population that has hearing loss really have to be adapted
specifically for that person's unique situation.
Okay.
>> ANN LIMING:
Okay, we'll go to Slide Number 7, to Bluetooth.
And probably most people have an understanding of what Bluetooth is today, a radio frequency
signal with limited distance.
We often compare it to like WiFi, except you have to stay within a range of
about 30 feet from the Bluetooth source.
So there are land line phones today that have Bluetooth in them.
Land line phones that are
manufactured specifically for people with hearing loss, as far as Bluetooth being available, there's a
limited selection.
We'll find that there are far more cell phones with Bluetooth, you know, that are
already available than there are with the land line phones.
So the Bluetooth devices then, sometimes a person has hearing aids that have a Bluetooth device
that comes with it.
I'm going to speak just personally because my hearing aids have a streamer.
And so
that streamer makes it extremely easy for me to make calls over both a land line phone and over a cell
phone.
And it gives me much clearer reception of a phone call than I usually can get without using the
streamer.
I understand better.
I can -- it's louder for me even than a phone that has -- already has a
volume control and all.
So the Bluetooth is really very helpful to many people who – who do have a hearing loss and use
either cell or land line type of phone.
I do have to say that I have noticed that hearing -- or hard-of-hearing people who are receiving a
call from someone using a Bluetooth have a much more difficult time understanding the speech.
And
with a Bluetooth device you can -- you can pair it to, you know, many different sources, Bluetooth
sources, such as having it paired both to your land line and your cell phone at the same time.
You just
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can only use one at a time obviously.
Okay, we're going to go to Slide Number 8.
And this slide, the title says it's examples of cell
phone connectors, but these connectors can be used with corded and cordless phones as well.
And I'm – I’m actually going to start on the non-Bluetooth side of the slide instead of the Bluetooth
side.
And I simply want to point out that the two devices that you see, that show like the start of the
neckloop at the top, the top right one is made by Clarity and the lower one is made by GMart.
And both
of these will plug directly into the phone jack, either on a cordless hand set or on a corded phone, or they
will plug into the phone jack on a cell phone.
And, again, they will have the 2.5 millimeter plug.
And both have volume control on them.
The microphone is at the top, is located at the top.
The other device that you see there is like a silhouette, and so you have the earpiece that is
placed -- actually it can go between the person's head and the hearing aid or it can go outside the hearing
aid, you know, next to the ear.
And so all of these will work with a telephone that, again, you're using a telephone coil and using it
with a compatible phone.
On the Bluetooth side you're going to see a device at the top, which is actually called the Quattro,
and that is spelled Q-U-A-T-T-R-O, Quattro.
And this is used like with a neckloop and it can be paired to
a phone as well, paired to the cell phone, land line phone, or whatever.
Bluetooth.
So it is a source of using a
So if someone does not have a hearing aid that has a special Bluetooth device that is
manufactured to work with that hearing aid, this Quattro would work quite well for them.
Beneath that is the picture of a -- actually it's called a Beetle.
It's a very small little thing, and I
suppose somebody thought it looked a little bit like a beetle and so that is what it is named.
And you see
here that it has earplugs, but it can also be purchased with ear hooks, and you can get it in a monaural or
binaural earplugs or hooks.
And my recommendation to people is if you're thinking of purchasing these
or if you're recommending them to people, just to become really familiar with vendors.
And don't
hesitate to call and talk to them sometimes about which of these devices will work best with which
telephones and all, because they do have that kind of experience.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
We have a question:
Is there any way to improve the output quality for
persons using a Bluetooth phone connector?
>> ANN LIMING:
Liz may know something that I don't, but to my knowledge there is not.
There's no way that I know of at this time.
I do know that there are some devices that you can improve
the volume of the output, but in the situations where I have used it and it's been a problem, the volume
hasn't been the problem.
It has been understanding the words that are being spoken that have been the
concern for the other person, so -- but I am not aware of any way of improving that at this time.
Are you, Liz?
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
By output quality, can you clarify what it is that you are asking?
I think that
any time microphones are involved, there's going to be a difference in the quality of the microphones from
one device to another.
So my advice would be that if one connector is not effective, then perhaps change
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to a different connector or see if there's any kind of microphone improvement that can be made for output
quality.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
She was typing.
It should show up pretty soon.
The person who asked
the question, I'm waiting for the -- there it is.
You stated that persons talking using a Bluetooth had trouble with the output quality.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Okay, thank you for clarifying.
>> ANN LIMING:
Excuse me, the person talking?
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
I think she's referring to a comment that you made that in your experience you
have found that people who are receiving or making phone calls to the person who has the Bluetooth
connector...
>> ANN LIMING:
Thank you.
Did I answer it?
Okay, good.
Okay, I believe we're ready to go on to Slide Number 9, and Liz is going to adjust this
topic.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Claudette says thank you.
Okay.
So on Slide Number 9 we're going to review some of the options that
people encounter when on a land line phone.
wonderful thing.
You know, technology -- as we all know, technology is a
And it's -- it can be a challenge sometimes to match the right level of technology to the
specific individual so that that technology gets used effectively.
Otherwise it's -- we missed the boat.
When I talk to people about purchasing an amplified telephone they look in a catalogue or they go
to a store and it's overwhelming.
phone?
So very often if I ask them, do you want a corded phone or a cordless
That eliminates half of the possibilities, and already they feel stronger about making the choice.
So corded phone or cordless phone, that's a good way to start.
And people need to be aware that
the amplification levels or amplification capabilities of amplified telephones varies from 25 decibels to 60
decibels.
And decibels are the units of measuring loudness.
So the person making the purchase or the person who will be using the telephone really needs to
be aware of the type of hearing loss they have.
If someone has a severe-to-profound hearing loss, as I
do, and they purchase a telephone that only has an amplification of 25 decibels, it will not be sufficient for
them.
They will be frustrated.
They may not want to try again.
So really it's important to be informed
and educated at the start of the process so you have the greatest sense of success possible.
All phones will have a volume control.
I would be -- okay, some phones also have a tone control.
That tone control feature can be very deceptive.
I think we all expect so much from that little button for
our tone control.
I have been -- I have been disappointed.
And people get disappointed.
People -- the
feedback that I get is that the tone control feature on the phones that people are trying is not very
effective.
Hearing aid compatible, we did review that or talk about that a few slides ago.
hearing aid compatible. That's mandated by law.
The phones will be
But we have to be aware of what the person who will
be using the phone is wearing on the ear.
The other thing that I just wanted to mention briefly about this, going back to the t-coil, is that if
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someone is working with the audiologist, as they should be, if they have that t-coil program on their
hearing aid, if they are in a -- say, in a work environment where they need to be answering the phone
quite often, they can ask for a setting in that program that blends the t-coil setting feature with the
environmental feature, so that not all of their environmental sound is cut off.
And, again, it just depends
on who the client is.
Visual ringer alert is a very handy feature for many people, especially at night, because we don't
wear hearing aids -- those of us who wear hearing aids don't wear them 24 hours a day.
reassuring to know when the telephone is ringing.
So it's
And the ringer can be a large light or a small light, but
when the phone rings you have a visual alert.
Some people with hearing loss really benefit from a speaker phone.
I'm finding that people who
have severe-to-profound hearing loss, if they have limited technology, there's very limited benefits to
what their technology provides for them in terms of speech recognition.
information going to both ears instead of one.
And it works.
A speaker phone provides
It's more information for the brain to
process so they are more successful.
A speaker phone is also helpful because the greater percentage of the people who have hearing
loss actually don't wear hearing aids.
hearing loss wore hearing aids.
For whatever reason.
That is not the case.
It would be wonderful if everyone who has a
So speaker phones, especially for people who don't
wear hearing aids, is a very strong option to consider.
Adjustable ringer and volume control, there are people who actually can speak on the phone with
success, but they don't hear the phone ring.
Okay?
So they would need or benefit from an adjustable
kind, like you can have not just loudness, how loud the phone is ringing, but you can have lower tones or
higher tones to alert you when the phone is ringing.
Okay, I'm reading a comment from Sue B.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
phone?
Yes.
Is that what you're pointing to, Kathryn?
Can you explain positioning the ear piece of the phone when using a
The hearing aid used is new, has part of it in the ear, part behind the ear, likely t-coil. We've
heard the phone ear piece needs to be held higher than the typical positioning.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Yes.
This is a very good question, actually, and it means trial and error.
It
sounds as if the client has a behind-the-ear hearing aid, so the microphone and the technology is behind
the ear.
The part that is in the ear is actually an ear mold and is connected by a tube.
It does take trial and error for patients who are new hearing aid users.
And one good thing that
has worked as a suggestion for others is to call a good friend or have that friend, while on the phone, read
a newspaper article, just something consistently so there's a source of sound, and the person who is
trying to find the best spot, the sweet spot, is not distracted with trying to answer questions or participate
in the conversation.
But play around with that phone, raising it up a little bit higher, changing positions,
to find at -- in which position the signal is the strongest.
And take note of it.
And that's your sweet
spot.
You all are not here to hear -- but with one hearing aid that I had, my best spot was actually below
my ear and towards the back of my head.
That just happened to be where I heard the strongest.
And
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so people would look at me and say, what is she doing?
something trial and error.
But that was my sweet spot.
It is definitely
Encourage the person not to give up, just find the spot that works for them.
And it will vary from one hearing aid model to another, from one client to another.
That was a very good question.
>> ANN LIMING:
May I just add that sometimes you also have to change the positioning of your
head because of the position of the t-coil in the hearing aid.
just the telephone.
And that t-coil is used for other things than
There might be loops around the room and they may be on the floor, and so, you
know, the t-coil positioning works better in one position for the phone and better than other positions for
the loop around the room.
So sometimes just moving your head up or down is something that will help
you find the best spot as well.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK: And I think -- this is Liz again.
I think it's also important to remember, and it
will be encouraging to whomever you are working with, just patience and keep trying.
not -- you can explain that not all t-coils are created equal.
hearing aids.
And that
And not all t-coils are positioned equally in
So for instance it may be an experienced hearing aid wearer and they've just gotten new
hearing aids and they already had their sweet spot for a few years and now they got a new hearing aid
and that sweet spot is not working.
Encourage them to experiment and find the new sweet spot that
works with the new technology.
(Laughter).
Okay.
Are there any other questions about that?
Okay,
I see that -- thank you for giving us that feedback.
We will try to raise the volume without
blasting you away from your machines.
Is that better?
be the reason that the sound is weaker.
But please let us know if this is better or if we need to do
anything else.
We are both here in one microphone; that could
Thanks.
So the next feature is to ask the client, do they want a built-in answering machine or do they want
an answering machine that stands alone.
The reason for this again is that depending on the individual...
(Lost audio temporarily).
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Yay!
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
This is Kathryn.
Okay, I hope we're back.
Oh, thank goodness.
I am so sorry.
I've never had that happen before.
I actually had to go out of the program and reload it.
So, hey, technology...
(Laughter).
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Don't touch anything, ha ha!
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
So let's move on.
Okay.
You were on -- somewhere on this slide.
Are you able to hear me now with this?
Because I'm a little bit further
than Kathryn was from the microphone.
That's great, okay.
The jack for the coupling device, if the person who will be using the phone is motivated to use the
coupling device or can be encouraged to use the coupling device, that's a great feature.
If for some
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reason you don't think that they will pursue that, it's just not a – it’s a non-factor in the decision making
process and other features may be more important.
And there is a bed shaker option to some telephones that lets you know when the phone is ringing
by shaking your bed.
So the bed shaker is connected to the telephone and is placed between the
mattress and the box spring.
And when the telephone rings, boom, the bed shakes.
I just wanted to let you know that if you go -- if you follow the list of resources that you've been
sent about vendors who provide devices for people with hearing loss, HARC, H-A-R-C, is one of them.
They do in their catalogue, as well as their online catalogue, have a comparison shop chart for corded and
cordless phones with some features, not all of them but some.
And also, some catalogues, when
speaking -- before they describe the telephone, will actually say for which range of hearing loss that
phone is developed.
So that's a very good thing if the patient or client or consumer knows whether they
have a mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, severe, or severe to profound hearing loss, when they're
browsing the catalogue they don't have to pay attention to the -- too much attention to the phones that
don't apply to their particular level of hearing loss.
Okay.
So I will turn now to page -- Slide Number 10, please?
And this is about captioned telephones.
about this as well as commercials on TV.
by itself.
The phone itself is not magic in terms of providing captions all
It's the service that's involved with the captioning.
phones you do need a special phone.
$100.
And perhaps you've seen advertisements in magazines
And the phones, you do -- for captioned
And depending on what model you choose, they start at around
And you plug it in and there is a special method to completing a captioned telephone.
involve a third party.
And it does
And what that means is that if I'm going to call my friend Ann using a captioned
telephone, I just have to engage the captioning feature on the phone -- which is also a very good
amplified telephone -- and I dial her number.
And when she picks up the phone, everything that she says
is repeated by a third party, who is part of this telephone.
That caption provider uses voice recognition
software to speak and repeat that into the computer and that , whatever is spoken into the computer,
appears as text on my captioned telephone.
So there is always a third person involved.
or divulge what was spoken.
That person has a code of ethics.
They cannot repeat
They also cannot get involved in the conversation itself.
However, if for some reason, Ann is not speaking clearly, they -- that caption provider will not tell
Ann, speak clearly, they will -- there will be a message that appears on my screen saying “speaker
unclear.”
At that time it's my responsibility to tell the person to whom I'm speaking, can you repeat that,
can you clarify or speak more clearly, whatever is needed.
So it is a great, great feature.
There are analog caption telephones and digital caption telephones.
Not every part of the country has Internet service, so in some parts of the country analog captioned
phones are a very good thing.
If the person is using an analog phone, and let's say Ann wanted to call me, Ann would need to
first dial an 800 number to activate that captioning service, because the phone itself is not magic.
need that third party at this time.
We
The voice recognition software has not progressed to the point that it
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can recognize universal speech.
Okay?
So I will turn now to Slide Number 11.
And I will go out of order a little bit here and talk about Web CapTel.
I can testify to this myself because I use this at work.
Protocol.
phone.
And this is great.
Actually,
And Web CapTel uses Voice Over Internet
And what it does, the way it works, is that you don't need any special phone.
You can use any
And in order for a person to use the Web CapTel service, they have to register with the providers.
In Michigan there are two companies that provide captioned telephone services.
Hamilton.
They have Sprint and
You go to their website and you can just Google “captioned telephones” and all those options
will come up for you.
You register, you establish a username, and a password.
When I want to make a telephone call using Web CapTel, I log in with my user ID and my
password and there will be a prompt on the computer that I'm using and it asks for the number that I'm
calling from.
I type that in and then it asks me to type in the number that I am calling.
The CART -- or
the caption provider dials my number first, to establish the connection, and I see it right on my computer
screen.
“Dialing… such and such a number.”
number of the person whom I am calling.
When I answer the phone then they proceed to dial the
And it will appear on the screen, “ringing once, ringing
twice...” as soon as my friend Ann answers, everything that Ann says appears on the screen.
The beauty of web CapTel is that you can change the size of the font, the color of the font, the
color of the background, really make it useful for whoever is the consumer.
special phone.
You can use any phone.
Also, you don't need a
You can use a cell phone, you can use a work phone, a home
phone, while you're out of town, as long as you have an Internet connection and an account.
are no – there are no extra fees for this service.
This is paid for by the FCC.
And there
Our tax dollars at work.
Now, if someone wants to call me using Web CapTel, it's important to remember that I need to be
logged in.
And I have to give people who may be calling me at work the 800 number that they have to
call in order to activate this service.
So while Web CapTel is great for me in my job, especially for the
phone calls that I initiate, it may not be the best option for other people if they are receiving phone calls
from great many different sources and those people don't have an 800 number to dial to activate the
service.
Okay, so I will pass this on to Ann now to talk about Mobile CapTel.
>> ANN LIMING:
When you're looking at Mobile CapTel, you can also use the same two
companies, Sprint and Hamilton Relay, but there are other companies that also offer Mobile CapTel
services.
them.
And I should probably say mobile captioning services.
I think there's -- Clear Call is one of
And you can actually go on the Internet, you know, and just plug in the question about companies
providing mobile captioning and those companies will come up.
And I think people have to really spend
some time reviewing what the requirements are of each of those companies, because they differ, and they
differ based on whether or not a person has, you know, a droid type of phone or an iPhone.
And so if
you're going to -- if you're going to sign on to, let's say, Hamilton Relay through your cell phone and you
have an iPhone, you're going to do that in a specific -- a specific manner of doing that if -- the
requirements are going to be maybe even different.
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I have an iPhone.
And so I tried to set it up -- although I don't use the CapTel at all at home or in
any way because I -- I use the Bluetooth -- but for me to sign up on my iPhone I would be required to
have both a voice and a data plan and to have a simultaneous voice and data plan, and that's not always
supported by other like 3G phones.
Another friend of mine who has a droid type phone and who goes
with Sprint does not have a voice data program at all now.
He uses Total Captioning and is very pleased
because he saves $30 a month on his phone bill by not having voice.
So, you know, they're all going to function very much like Liz described in terms of having a third
person who is using the voice recognition software and also, you know, as far as the ethics and everything
that are involved.
And it's going to be free, again, it's supported by the Federal Communications
Commission and all, but it's going to vary with each type of phone, each phone company, so you're going
to have to really research that to make a decision about what will be best for -- for the person who is
looking into this.
The other thing that I think is important to realize is that when someone who is using mobile
captioning needs to call 9-1-1, when they dial 9-1-1 it's going to – it’s going to bypass the captioning.
It's going to go immediately directly to the 9-1-1 office and you're going to have to tell the person that
you have a hearing loss.
You may not be able to hear back the questions that they're asking.
have to provide them with as much information as you can.
currently working on improving that system.
situation.
Okay?
All right?
So you
Now, I believe that there are people
But to my knowledge, to this day that is the
That is what I have found currently on the websites for the various carriers who
provide the captioning.
Okay.
I think in terms of Slide 12 probably Liz pretty much described that when she was talking
about the CapTel phones.
So we probably can go on to --
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
-- to Slide 13?
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
Change to 12.
And this is the Caption Call phone.
And this is --
Slide 13.
You've got it, okay.
And this particular caption phone is much newer on the
market and works very much the same way as does the CapTel phone.
You still have another third party
who is using the voice recognition software and all.
Now, the Caption Call phone is -- it's -- the phone itself right now is free.
very important thing, something that really will appeal to people.
Okay?
And that's a
And if you go on to the Internet and
you're looking up caption call phone, you're going to find many different places where you can order the
phone from.
I personally would just recommend that you go -- I think it's captioncall.com -- and you'll be
able to order the phone probably all from their website.
It says that it's free for a limited time period, so
I have no idea exactly what that will mean.
Also, Caption Call prefers to send one to your home or to your workplace to set up the Caption Call
phone, although I have known people who have set them up on their own.
But they prefer to send
someone to set it up.
Some of the basic requirements are high speed Internet connection, standard home phone
11
connection, and of course an ordinary electrical outlet.
And I just -- just set it up, you're going to see that it offers the same types of options as the
CapTel, and in terms of the display, the size being easy to read, et cetera.
in the home, though.
This phone can be anywhere
You can use it with a wired or wired Internet connection (wireless connection) and
again you have the range of volume and it is compatible with the telecoil loop.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
What's the eligibility?
There is no eligibility associated with it.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Okay?
Good to know.
That's a good question.
hearing loss to purchase this phone.
You don't need a doctor's note or some proof of
And, as Ann said, the company that is distributing this phone is
making it available free because they aren't making money off the phone.
Okay?
Their money is made
from providing the services.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Mm-hmm.
So keep that in mind.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
So this is Kathryn.
For the service there's eligibility requirements?
No?
No, there are none.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Right.
How are they making money then?
Well, the Federal Communication Act says it's mandated by the ADA so the
Federal Communication Commission pays the fees for the caption providers.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Well, cool.
Everybody learns something new every day.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
Okay.
I'll tell ya, that's new for me.
You know, it is a very nice phone.
I have a CapTel and -- and the Caption Call
set up side by side in an office here in Lansing for demonstration purposes, and they -- they are very -two very nice phones, both work very, very well and everything.
It's probably difficult to sometimes
make a choice, excepting that the fact that the Caption Call is free is going to be very desirable.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
Is the phone free for business use at the work site or just personal use?
To my knowledge, I believe it would be free to businesses.
Like I said, I
have -- I actually have it set up in a business, and that's so that I can demonstrate it there.
And they
first told us that they couldn't set it up in that particular business because of all the Internet connection
and everything that was needed.
And I already had the CapTel set up there and I mentioned that to
someone who is in Caption Call, works with them, and he said, we'll send someone out and take care of it,
and it was connected just like that.
Okay?
And there was no -- no requirements for that business or anything.
So I think – I think a business could have the phone.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
I apologize.
I changed to Slide 14 a little prematurely.
That’s okay (laughing).
So the one thing that I just wanted to mention before we go on, before we
12
leave the Caption Call topic, is that they are new in the game.
And so some -- they do not have
necessarily enough staff to install phones in person's homes and businesses at this time on demand.
So
if someone is not tech savvy and they can’t do it themselves and they need to have it installed by a
representative from Caption Call it may take a while.
my place of employment to install it.
I myself am still waiting for Caption Call to come to
Because when I got it several months ago they -- the
representative was only in Michigan every once in a while to complete the installation.
So I -- they were
very quick with sending the phone, one to my home and one to work, but it's the work environment that's
challenging.
They offer great support, though.
Online support is absolutely wonderful, quick and very
knowledgeable.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
it hasn't been too difficult.
Great.
And I understand from people who have set it up themselves in their home that
I think a place of business would be a very -- a very different situation,
though.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
>> ANN LIMING:
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Okay, we'll move on to Slide 14, which is a cell phone for seniors.
And this was -- this was manufactured specifically for seniors and so you're going to see the
options are very -- very geared to a person who might also have some vision loss along with a hearing
loss.
But the screen is usually large, the lettering and all on the screen, the numbers and all will be
larger, there's a volume control.
It is hearing aid compatible so there's reduced background noise.
It
also works with Bluetooth and has caller ID.
This one, the Jitterbug, comes preprogrammed.
You take it out of the box, I think you have to
make a phone call to register it, and you can use it right away.
And it has an M4/T4 hearing aid
compatible rating, and that is something that we will be discussing a little bit later in our – our
presentation.
And the service is as low as $14.99 a month.
One thing that's important to realize with any of the technology, any of the phones and all that
we're talking about today, is that generally if you purchase these, especially if you purchase them from a
vendor who sells specifically to the hard-of-hearing community, you can return usually the equipment
within 30 days and get your money back.
With the Jitterbug, if you've not used more than 30 minutes of
the time on it, you also get some of the fees back for the activation and that type of thing.
On Slide Number 15 is another phone, cell phone that has been developed for senior citizens.
this is sort of the new kid on the block.
It's just come out very recently.
And it is called the Clarity Pal.
And so you'll notice it has a lot of the very same features as the other phone.
high quality speaker phone for people.
It is supposed to have a
You can send and receive short text messages.
one-touch emergency button on the back.
It has a
And when you look at the picture there of this particular
phone and you look at the back, you can see the little red – little red square or rectangle there on the
back.
It has a little heart in it.
And
And all that a person has to do if they're—they’re having any type of
13
physical distress, is they just push that button and it is set to cycle through five different phone numbers
and will keep cycling through until it reaches someone to come and to give the person help.
Again, it has a loud vibrating and flashing visual ringer, which is very nice because sometimes
people with hearing loss, especially if they are not able to hear in a high pitch frequency range, will not
hear the phone ringing.
they will know.
So if they have it on their person and it's vibrating, then that is one way that
Another way is that a lot of times if you have it sitting near you on a table, on a shelf or
something like that and it vibrates, it makes its low kind of humming kind of sound that – that people will
recognize and know that their phone is ringing as well.
Okay.
And I just want to mention, too, like to purchase this particular phone, if someone is – is
interested, I think both of the phones might cost around $99 to purchase, but this one could be purchased
at claritypal.com, so it's really quite easy to obtain and to set up for use.
Okay, we're going to go to Slide 16.
And we're going to be talking about options for cell phones for people with hearing loss.
And as
you look at the options you're going to see that there are many the same as Liz reported on earlier for
someone who has a land line phone.
Depending if they have a speaker phone, the volume, the vibrating,
you know, controls, you're going to have telecoil compatibility, Bluetooth, texting, TTY for those people
who want it, again, the ability to make captioned calls.
You have a port for a coupling device.
And since
I have an iPhone, I mentioned I've used it with a Bluetooth device, but I've also used it with the ear hook
and it just worked wonderfully well for me.
I actually have to turn down the volume.
The other thing that is so wonderful to me about cell phones is that, you know, you know there are
so many apps out there today to put on a cell phone.
otherwise inaccessible accessible to a person.
my area I could call Captionfish.
And some of these make information that would be
Like if I wanted to know if there were captioned movies in
But with an application I can go to Captionfish, which I can also do on
the computer, and I can look up to see if there are any captioned movies
in the Lansing area.
Now, if I
were doing that on a phone I might have difficulty hearing the names of a theater or something like that.
So it makes that -- it makes that information available to me.
Other information is I would have difficulty with the GPS in a car, especially one that's giving you
voice directions, because I couldn't understand the GPS and I hate taking my eyes off the road to look at
the GPS, okay?
(Laughter).
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
That's good.
So I have GPS on my -- on my cell phone, and using my Bluetooth device, my
directions and all, you know, preparation for making a turn, what street I'm looking for, everything, comes
right directly into my -- my ear, and I'm not looking away then from -- from the road, from driving and
all, to get that type of information.
Is there a question or something I should be getting at this time?
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
No, not right now.
Okay.
Also one of the things is that you can have face-to-face communication.
14
And of course you can do that on a computer.
face-to-face with.
And there may be some other phones that you can do
I'm not really certain about land line phones like that.
With the iPhone you have
face-to-face with another person who owns an iPhone, but there are also apps like Tango where I could do
face-to-face with someone who has some other type of Smartphone.
And that is helpful to the person
with hearing loss because then they're going to be able to speech read that individual.
Another feature that I think is just so helpful -- and I haven't gotten this loaded on my particular
phone yet but know people who do -- is you can have voice-to-text transcription.
So if someone calls and
you don't happen to be available to answer your phone and they leave you a voice message, that can be
transcribed to text for you.
It's certainly not 100 percent accurate, but some that I have seen has been
very, very good, and it's very easy to figure out, you know, what the message is about, if there's
any -- any little errors in it at all.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
And what?
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> ANN LIMING:
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
>> ANN LIMING:
And sometimes it's humorous.
And sometimes it makes mistakes that are humorous.
Oh, it does.
(Laughing).
Sort of like captioning on the TV.
So hearing people don't know what they're
missing sometimes.
Okay.
And then you can also do video conferencing with the cell phone as well.
So, you know,
one of the things I -- I sort of included in the program some facts that are actually an argument for the
cell phone.
So going to Slide Number 17, just some -- some statistics.
In February of 2012 nearly 50 percent of the population surveyed owned Smartphones, like an
Android or an iPhone.
And only 12 percent of the people surveyed did not own a cell phone.
And in
2010 Smartphone shipments surpassed the shipment of personal computers.
And if you go to Slide Number 18, more than 3 of every 10 American homes, that's 32 percent,
had only wireless telephones during the first half of 2011.
One of the things that that makes us think about is the young people growing up in those homes,
they will grow up never knowing what a land line phone is.
rotary dial phone and all of that.
And so it's kind of going to go the way of the
Because that's a 2011 statistic and so it's probably much higher today,
because there's no evidence that this is going to be reversing itself.
The other thing is that younger people are more likely to live -- okay, like I said, already in
homes -- but be about 58 percent of adults age 25-29 live in homes that are dependent on wireless
phones.
The percentage goes down with age.
you've got 8 percent.
year ago.
And so as you look at people who are over the age of 65,
And I just wanted to remind you again that that's a statistic from a little over a
And I would not want anyone to -- to sort of, you know, just mark older people off from using
– using these types of phones.
Because I am over 65 and in love with my iPhone.
15
(Laughter).
So, you know, especially with the baby boomers coming behind us and more and more people are
into technology today, you're probably going to see more and more people using the Smartphones and
the iPhones.
Now, the low income homes are generally more likely to have a wireless phone, but the reason for
that is that it's -- it's less costly.
And the other thing that's nice about it, especially for young people, is,
you know, most -- most students in high school today have cell phones of their own.
home, when they go away to college, they don't have to get a new phone number.
When they leave
They graduate from
college, they live somewhere else, or they move across the United States or something -- I'm not sure if
you move that far away if you have to get a new phone number – but, you know, the thing is you can
keep your phone number and don't have to go through the hassle of having to change it, you know, with
not only with your friends but with all the businesses that have that number as well.
Okay, moving on to Slide 19.
We've talked about the hearing aid compatibility and wireless handset devices.
And I believe Liz
might have mentioned it earlier that manufacturers are required by law to make their phones hearing aid
compatible.
And for many, many years, digital -- or the cell phones which are digital were – were not
compatible.
And there was interference, like maybe from the antenna inside the phone or some other
component within the phone.
And so in more recent years, there's been Federal legislation passed that
requires that manufacturers make certain that a certain percentage of their wireless phones are going to
meet the standards of accessibility.
And those standards are set by the American National Standards
Institute.
Now, going to Slide 20, we have to know that we -- we take in the speaker on a -- on a cell phone,
we take them in in two different ways.
We can take them in by an acoustic coupling, which simply means
that they put the receiver to the phone, you know, up to their ear, they're not using a telephone coil.
They might possibly not even be using a hearing aid.
Okay?
However, that wouldn't -- wouldn't really
apply if they weren't really using hearing aids, but they're not using a telephone coil.
microphone then and the handset in the cell phone, has to meet a certain standard.
So for the
And if it does then
it's going to have either an M3 or an M4 rating. So M3 means that it satisfies the requirements of the
standard; M4 means that it exceeds the requirements of the ratings.
Now, if a person is using the telecoil when they, you know, bring the cell phone up to their -- up to
their hearing aid, okay, then they're using that electromagnetic signal.
And so then we look for the
telecoil rating and the telecoil, if it is a T3 rating, satisfies the standard; if it's a T4, it surpasses the
standard.
So the question is then:
How will you know?
When you're looking for a cell phone to buy, how
will you know if it is going to be accessible to work with your hearing aids, either with or without the
telephone coil?
So when you go to Slide Number 21, the law also requires that the telephone companies make the
ratings available on the outside of the packaging.
So the box that the phone comes in is going to have
16
the rating on that box.
It also requires that there be detailed information in the -- in the package
and -- or else in the -- included in the product manual.
And then it requires that the manufacturers list
the rating on their websites as well.
Now, some of the telephone companies, when you go to buy a cell phone, you go to a Verizon
store, you go to a Sprint store or somewhere, they will have little -- little labels right beside the phone
itself that gives you the rating.
And I thought at one time that that was required, but I cannot find it
anywhere in the phone -- in the law anywhere on the Internet.
So I don't believe that it's required but
some of them still provide it.
But you want to go, you know, prepared to ask for that information, and also asking for an
opportunity to be able to try the phone to make sure that it is going to work with your hearing aid and
that it is going to be compatible.
Okay.
We'll go on to Slide 22 and Liz.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
Okay, so this is just in summary telling a little bit about our Hearing
Technology Resource Specialist Program.
regards to funding.
help.
We are a part of Michigan's Assistive Technology Program as
We are a team of trained volunteers.
We have received trainings.
We do it because of passion and a desire to
And we don't sell equipment.
We -- and I think that
gives -- provides a measure of reliability and confidence to the people to whom we present.
We do comparison demonstrations where, with equipment that has been purchased with the
contract funds over the years, we can actually go out into the community, someone with a hearing loss
and they can compare the functions of similar technologies hands-on without having to buy anything, and
that reduces some of the stresses associated with the process.
And because they know we are not trying
to sell anything, they're very open in their questions and their criticisms of certain products as well.
these are some of the things that we do.
program.
So
And we do provide trainings for people who are part of the
And we can go into a community and do trainings or presentations about a variety of hearing
assistive technologies to make people aware of what is out there for people with hearing loss, whether the
audience is composed of consumers, people who have hearing loss, or their family members, or
professionals, this is just our way of -- one of our missions is to raise awareness about the availability of
hearing assistive technology, kind of demystify the process and share some of our own stories and
information.
I think we did forget to mention one thing about telephones, and that is inline phone amplifiers,
and that is another option, whether for business phones or personal phones.
If you look through any of
the resource websites, inline phone amplifiers are sometimes a very, very good option for people who
have hearing loss, whether it's in a home or in a work environment.
I'm sorry we forgot to mention that
earlier.
Thank you very much.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
Hi, this is Kathryn again, and originally we were going to shut off the mic
for a minute -- I don't dare do that anymore -- so that Michele could get situated here, but I'm going to
turn -- now turn the presentation over to Michele, who works with the Assistive Technology Loan Program
17
at UCP Michigan.
And she will further introduce herself.
>> MICHELE SEYBERT:
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
Good afternoon.
I'm going to move to Slide --
My name is Michele Seybert, and as Kathryn stated, I've been working with the Michigan Assistive
Technology and the Employment Loan Funds for quite some time now, about seven and a half years, and
have completely taken over the program about a couple of years ago.
So I'm happy to assist anybody
with that and I'll be talking about that a little further here in just a minute.
Part of what I wanted to do today was just give you some ideas of some possible funding sources.
And so the list here that I have is on phone resources, nonprofits and associations, government agencies,
some local program ideas of where you might go in your local communities, and then of course the loan
program, which is what I deal with, and then give you a couple of other suggestions of possible loan
programs, too.
Okay, we could go to 24.
Now, I'm sure I will destroy pronouncing this... but one resource that I looked up was the
Weitbrecht Communications.
>> LIZ KOBYLAK:
I looked this up online and I believe --
Don't ask the hard-of-hearing person how to pronounce something properly.
(Laughter).
>> MICHELE SEYBERT:
Now I don't feel so bad.
They do offer reduced rates for Michigan residents for CapTel phones.
As they mentioned earlier
in the presentation, that of course you do have to have phone service, a basic phone service, and high
speed Internet access to be able to use this.
But also I just want to point out real quickly, too, that we
did offer you a resource page, which I believe Kathryn sent to you ahead of time, so this would be listed
on there with the website information and so forth and they can give you a little bit more of the details.
I'm not sure if the reduced rate may just be for a limited time also as they spoke of earlier.
that's the case.
Sometimes
But just check the website and they can give you a little more information.
Also, just another idea was the Telecommunication Relay Services just to make people aware, and
I believe they've already covered that today, to, but allowing people with hearing and speech disabilities
to place and receive calls.
And there is no cost to the user, important to know.
And I believe they
already mentioned this, too, but the TRS providers then are compensated from some state and Federal
funding and then that's how they're paid.
to you.
But the most important part of course is that there is no cost
That's an important thing to note.
Okay.
Moving on to 25...
So I also did a little research on some nonprofits, different associations, that might be helpful.
Now, also to mention that a lot of these are more for hearing aids, but I think that's just important to
have that funding source information available to you, too.
So Audient Alliance was one that I discovered.
the country.
It's a national program, so it actually works across
I know sometimes you have to be careful when you're checking on some of these websites,
too, to make sure that's going to apply to the area you live in.
But there are quite a few national
18
programs out there actually.
And then again many of them are going to be geared toward low income
families, which is usually the case.
This is also offered in collaboration with a local hearing aid provider.
participants then.
And they are what is called
They become a participant with this program.
And once again all of these you can find on that resource sheet with further details for you.
Hear Now is a private nonprofit.
important to note, too.
It provides hearing aids then to adults and children.
That's
A lot of times there's many programs out there for children, but this one does
cover both adults and children so I thought it was important to mention that.
All other options must be exhausted first.
That's pretty standard with many of these programs,
though.
They are distributed through -- with healthcare providers nationwide.
And it's available at the
website with the information on that sheet again.
The Firsthand Foundation, another nonprofit, this assists children.
with health related needs.
hearing loss.
This is very specifically children
So it's things other than for hearing loss, but, yeah, it certainly includes
And once again, your insurance, other resources, you would have to prove that you at least
contacted them and tried to go through that resource first.
Okay, and then the Disabled Children's Relief Fund, another nonprofit.
specifically with hearing aids, and once again this is just for children.
This provides assistance
And they also will provide TTY
services for children with hearing loss.
And the next one we have on the list is The Hike Fund, provides hearing devices for children with
hearing impairment, and this one's specifically for newborns through age 20.
They have those specifics
set on this one.
Once again, you must show financial need.
And the website should provide specifics.
Sometimes
it's a sliding scale, that type of thing, for income.
Okay, the Foundation for Sight and Sound - Help America Hear Program.
It provides hearing
aids -- actually, this one provides hearing aids for men, women, and children, and once again with limited
financial resource.
That seems to be a standard theme throughout.
And I also just wanted to mention the AARP many of you know that acronym, but the association
of retired persons.
hearing aids.
They actually will provide a 20 percent discount on a different range of some digital
So if you are a member, that's worth checking out that source.
There is a special 15
percent discount, too, on assistive listening products at a website called The Hearing Shop that cooperates
and works with AARP.
So that's good to know, for any seniors.
Okay, we can move on to 26.
So this is actually an agency I work with quite a bit and I think
there's a few of you on the call today that work with Michigan Rehabilitation Services.
spoken to a few of you before.
So -- especially more this year.
Maybe I've even
We are getting more and more requests for hearing aids.
We've had four that we've worked, I believe, through Michigan Rehab
where we've had a cooperation that Michigan Rehab paid half and then they were able to take a loan with
19
our loan fund, and I'll tell you more about that here in just a minute.
They may assist with a portion of the cost of hearing aids.
It's worth checking with them.
And
the hearing loss in this case must be specifically interfering with a job performance or holding someone
back from securing a job.
And the Veterans Administration certainly, if a vet, is worth checking out, too.
with the cost.
Then again that's going to vary.
investigating through the VA.
They may assist
I'm sure it's done on a case by case basis, but worth
Now, you must have a documented service-related hearing loss.
That's
just important to note, too, that it must be definitely service related.
Okay.
Moving on to 27.
And this actually -- I just wanted to put this slide in here for some local programming.
I don't
have specific names, but things to think about as to who you might contact, even looking through a local
phone book or going through the web for your area, keying it to that local area that you live in.
So health centers for children, you know, they may be willing to be able to provide some type of
service or funding.
Speech and hearing centers, check out those that are close to your area.
older adult organizations other than AARP certainly worth checking into.
Deaf and hard of hearing.
Religious organizations.
possible religion that you're affiliated with.
Okay.
Any other
Organizations obviously for the
I think that was a good tip.
You may check with a
Or hearing aid banks that may be located in your area.
Moving on to 28, this is the Michigan Assistive Technology Loan Fund that I spoke of earlier
that I've been managing now for a while.
We do have low interest loans for hearing aids, and I also want
to make clear to you that we certainly can fund other types of AT, but even other types of AT specifically
for hearing loss.
So actually any of these phones or things they were speaking of today, any -- anything
that would be connected with a hearing loss, certainly we can take a look at helping fund that.
The program is administered by United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan, which I believe Kathryn
mentioned, and we are also a part of Michigan's Assistive Technology Program.
And the only requirement, really the most basic criteria, is that you must reside within Michigan
and you must have some form of disability to use these funds.
I also wanted to mention with Michigan Rehab something I didn't put on the slide here, is that
actually when it's been employment related -- this is kind of new within the last year or two -- that we are
actually using what's known as the Michigan Employment Loan Fund now, if it's helping relieve a barrier to
employment, which obviously the hearing aids have -- are definitely part of that program.
Very pleased
that we have four people, actually seven total this year, of Employment Loan Fund people that we've
helped, and out of those, four of those have been for hearing aids and have assisted them.
Just to give you an example of the type of occupations – excuse me -- a nurse.
help a nurse continue with her work.
We were able to
Obviously was finding it increasingly difficult and needed some
assistance with hearing aids to be able to speak with her patients.
We also have a security officer that,
once again, worked through MRS and collaborated with us so that MRS covered, I believe, 50 percent of it.
And then they were able to take the loan out for the other half.
A real positive that I’d like to mention here, too that I always to plug is that in doing this many
20
times, and it's not always the situation that they have to build good credit, but it certainly never hurts.
And in many of these cases what we're helping do is establish credit for these people, too, when they're
taking a low interest loan.
And even if it's a thousand or two thousand dollars that they're borrowing to
pay for their portion of that hearing aid, it's making a real difference in building their credit, too, which is
a real part of our mission as to what we do with the Loan Funds.
We also had a self-employed builder, was finding it increasingly difficult to work with clients, so we
were able to assist him, along with MRS.
who had worked with MRS also.
And then an administrative assistant also came to us, I believe,
And we were able to help her out this year.
I do want to just real briefly mention a couple of others here, because we do get people asking me
questions about them quite often, is Care Credit, which is another option.
They do provide possibly no
interest loans for hearing aids, but the limit normally on these is about 12 to 18 months.
an important thing to point out to people.
time is a little bit too high a payment.
And that's just
For some people spreading the payment over that amount of
So they have difficulty with that.
But if that -- if that works for
your budget and works for you, you know, that's fine.
Also a really important point that I like to pass on to people that sometimes they don't think of
until something comes up is that if during that grace period for any reason if you're even a day late all
that charged back -- charged interest will definitely show up on your bill and that sort of defeats the idea
of the zero interest.
So just to be really aware, that if you feel there could be a possibility whatsoever
that you may not be able to make a payment, that that plan probably would not work very well for you.
And also the hearing aid dispensers themselves, something to keep in mind.
Many times this is
only offered by the larger companies that dispense hearing aids, but it might be worth checking with
them.
And also with that one, too, you must have a really good credit history.
So sometimes that's a
drawback, too, to some applicants.
So I believe that's about it for me.
Are there any questions that I can answer for you, especially
about the Loan Fund?
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
>> MICHELE SEYBERT:
Or the Employment Fund.
Either one.
And we certainly have worked with -- certainly have worked
with MRS on using both of those types of funds.
It's generally on a case by case basis and depending on
the situation.
>> KATHRYN WYETH:
I'm going to go ahead and move to 29.
With our little gap in having to
restart we're almost at time here, so...
We have a final thought from Ann, and I apologize because this -- I didn't get permission from Ann
on the picture...
(Laughter).
…she says she has a much better picture of herself.
I think it's pretty nice, though.
(Laughter).
So the importance of being able to make and receive phone calls on her own, I think we can all
agree that that's a really important thing since we can't use telepathy to communicate with each other.
21
We need our phones.
So I want to also encourage you, if you have any questions, that you think of now
or later on, you can send them to me at mdrc -- let me get this typed in here, excuse me while I move the
computer around here -- [email protected].
I'm putting it up in in the chat.
And I'll make sure that
the questions get to the person who can answer them.
I also wanted to mention that as far as the Jitterbug phones, the Michigan Assistive Technology
Program does have three phones that are activated that are available for demonstrations.
One is in the
UP, one is in Lansing at the Capital Area Center for Independent Living and the other is that the Disability
Network at Oakland Macomb Counties.
demonstration.
Those are where we have three Jitterbug phones activated for
We'd love to get more equipment but we do what our budget will allow.
So just contact me if you're interested in finding out more about the demonstrations or if you have
other questions.
I thank you so much for bearing with us and thank you so much for our wonderful --
three wonderful presenters today.
And that's... signing off.
***
Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication
accessibility and, therefore, may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.
***
CART Services Provided by:
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M. Kate Miller, CSR-6921, RPR
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