Many Deaf people do not use their voice to speak and/or cannot hear what another person is saying. If a Deaf person wants to talk on the phone to someone else there are many methods available.
Video Calling
As the pandemic has moved most social interactions online, video calling services have increased in demand and popularity such as FaceTime, Skype, and Zoom. These are good platforms as they allow us to see the person we are talking to in real time. Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) people can then read lips, analyze facial expressions, or use sign language to facilitate communication.
There are new updates to make these platforms more sign language friendly. In the recent Apple iOS 14 update, during group FaceTime calls, FaceTime can now detect when a participant is using sign language and will make their tile larger for everyone else. In the past, a participant tile only became larger when they talked with voice. This new feature acknowledges that a person is talking, just in sign language!
Image Source : Apple
Other video conferencing services are also moving towards increasing accessibility for Deaf and HoH users. Skype and Google Meet provide transcriptions and real-time closed captioning. Zoom allows multiple videos to be pinned so that a sign language interpreter could be pinned next to the main speaker. This allows the interpreters’ screen to be visible even if they are not producing any audio. These features can be beneficial to everyone during video calls.
However, how would a Deaf person call a business, service, or friend that only had a voice phone number? The answer, a video relay service.
Video Relay Service (VRS)
VRS allows Deaf and HoH people who use sign language to communicate in real time with voice telephone users. This service takes advantage of high-speed internet through a computer, tablet or smartphone with a webcam.
Here’s how a singing person would initiate a call:
An individual who communicates by sign language uses a videophone to connect to an internet-based video relay service. VRS users usually have a 10-digit phone number associated with their account to make and receive calls.
The videocall is then routed to a sign language interpreter, often called a communication assistant. The communication assistant usually wears black clothing and is in front of a solid color background so that their hands are easily visible
The individual then gives the voice number they would like to dial.
The communication assistant places the call and interprets as a neutral, non-participating 3rd party. A turn-making process is initiated, anything that the audio user says is signed to the video user, and anything signed by the video user is spoken to the audio user.
Image Source: Sorensonvrs.com
In Canada, the VRS is implemented and overseen by the Canadian Administrator of Video Relay Service and is called Canada VRS. This service is free to use, however only Deaf, HoH, or speech-impaired Canadians who use sign language can make outgoing calls. Canada VRS communication assistants are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) and English or Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) and French.
“Simple things like making an appointment, giving a credit card to a company – simple things like that would take us forever.” mentioned by Mr. Wyczalek, who was born deaf, to the Seattle Times. Followed up with “now we’re part of the world again.”
VRS allows fast translation of sign language to voice by trained professionals. This service empowers the Deaf and HoH community with tools to communicate better and provide them with greater independence.
Canada VRS has only been available since 2016 and has been increasing in popularity over the last few years due to the increase in front facing cameras on cellphones. Canada VRS operates 24 hours a day 365 days a year and the communication assistants are required to maintain confidentiality of the content and protect the privacy of the people using the service.
Image Source: Seattle Times
If you receive a call from a VRS, don’t hang up. It is very common for people to receive a call from the service and have responses such as “we’ve got someone on a VRS does anyone know how to use this”. The process is identical to calling a voice user. It is important to be patient and allow time for the communication assistant to interpret the messages.
There are many ways Deaf and HoH people can communicate over the phone such as video calls, VRS, SMS texting or other communication methods. More accessibility features are improving the uses of these platforms and new services such as Canada VRS are empowering the Deaf and HoH community.
What other accessibility features would you like to see in the video calling platforms you use? Comment below!
References
FCC Consumer Facts. “What Is VRS?” Rit.edu, www.rit.edu/ntid/radscc/sites/rit.edu.ntid.radscc/files/VRS.pdf.
Guzman, Monica. “Using a Phone When You Can't Hear or Speak? Here's Who Makes It Possible.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 19 Apr. 2014, www.seattletimes.com/business/technology/using-a-phone-when-you-cant-hear-or-speak-heres-who-makes-it-possible/.
HealthBridges. “How to Use VRS (Video Relay Service).” HealthBridges, 8 May 2020, healthbridges.info/how-to-use-vrs-video-relay-service/.
Hearing Review. “Canada Launches First Internet-Based Video Relay Service for Deaf.” Hearing Review, 3 Oct. 2016, www.hearingreview.com/inside-hearing/people/canada-launches-first-internet-based-video-relay-service-deaf.
“IOS 14 - Features - Apple (CA).” Apple, www.apple.com/ca/ios/ios-14/features/.
Lekach, Sasha. “Zoom Catches up with New Accessibility Features for Sign Language Interpretation.” Mashable, Mashable, 23 Sept. 2020, mashable.com/article/zoom-video-accessibility-features/.
Tiphanie, et al. “The Pain and the Pleasure of Captioning Telephone Calls.” 121 Captions, 2 Dec. 2019, www.121captions.com/2017/04/03/pain-pleasure-captioning-telephone/.
“Video Relay Service.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_relay_service.