10-20-2008, 01:00 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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The Importance Of Text Messaging For The Deaf
"Text messaging is something that just about everyone is doing these days. I have spoken with many friends who admit that texting has become their primary means of communicating with their kids when they are out with friends. I can't estimate how many times I have been sitting in my house and watched at least two family members sitting texting on their phone. It's more commonplace than out of place these days."
jkOnTheRun has some interesting insights to how text messaging has become an important method of communication for the deaf. I hadn't really thought about it before, but SMS seems to be almost tailor made for the deaf as a means of remote communication. Do you know anyone that is deaf that relies heavily on SMS?
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10-20-2008, 04:14 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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I don't know anyone who's deaf (unless it's online and I'm not aware of it), but I think this is such a great story - I think technology is at its best when it unites, creates, builds, and expands human relationships.
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10-20-2008, 05:21 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 195
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I'm partially deaf in both ears and wear hearing aids to help. I find text messaging such a fantastic easy tool for communicating with friends and family quickly and for specific information I need. I can use the phone as well, but often when I am on the phone to someone and they are trying to pass me some info such as a name and address or a phone number I will ask them to text me the details as it is so easy to mishear the little things that maybe others take for granted such as numbers which can sound the same (two and three) or letters (N and M) for example.
If I'm meeting some friends for a beer, I'll simply text and ask which pub they are in, or what time. If I ring them and they are in the pub, chances are with all the background noise I won't hear them.
While I am not totally deaf and I can talk with people fine as long as I can watch their lips and listen, texting makes communicating remotely considerably easier.
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10-20-2008, 08:04 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 74
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for the deaf
Our family works closely with the deaf community in Western Canada, and sms has become the defacto method of communication for the deaf. All I've met use Blackberries, though it is sms not email that is being used. I haven't seen any PPCs, perhaps because there isn't a need for multimedia functions (think about it), and it is easier to walk into Rogers or Bell and communicate your need for a BB as they are so popular here. Another reason that surprised me as to why Blackberry was more popular however was that the vibrate feature is so strong compared to other units, key for when that is your only way of notification.
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10-21-2008, 04:02 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 630
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We have a friend who is deaf. She can only hear a few tones. Texting is her chief means of communicating when not around people. She is very good at reading lips and sign language. I believe her phone has a slide out qwerty keyboard. I wonder if 'regular' phone calls are converted if you call her... Hmmm. I 'll have to ask.
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10-21-2008, 07:21 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 171
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>> I wonder if 'regular' phone calls are converted if you call her <<
Depends on the state, but, historically, voice calls went to a "service" where an attendant translated voice to text (originally tty) then would read the text response back to the caller.
It's fairly simple for tech to translate text to voice but it is takes a lot more to do the reverse, so, assume the push would be to move hearing callers toward using text messaging or im in place of voice calls.
It is interesting that there are so few posts on public forums related to this potential, and, very interesting that Blackberry has become the focal point, especially considering the above statement that hearing impaired don't use WinMobile devices since they don't need multimedia.
In the early 80's, I tried to work with a friend who taught at the School for the Deaf here to promote and introduce the community to computer/modem as as an alternative to tty which would enable much simpler communication with those in the hearing world since the "bulletin boards" of the pre-web era meant that there was a steadily increasing pool of communication options.
After several months of essentially zero response, as an outsider, I was finally introduced to the widespread feeling within the deaf community and the Texas school that casual communication with the hearing world should not be facilitated for a number of reasons.
It is my sincere hope that the current tech options may be changing that approach.
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10-21-2008, 10:30 PM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BevHoward
...very interesting that Blackberry has become the focal point, especially considering the above statement that hearing impaired don't use WinMobile devices since they don't need multimedia.
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Interesting point. Can you not rip DVDs with the closed captioning information? Don't know - never tried.
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10-21-2008, 10:36 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
Interesting point. Can you not rip DVDs with the closed captioning information? Don't know - never tried.
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You definitely can, at least with the proper software.
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10-25-2008, 05:32 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 43
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My company has a high number of deaf people working there, and I see them texting constantly. Mostly with Sidekicks, though some have other devices. For others in the company that cannot sign, it also helps them all communicate, using them as a makeshift notepad.
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