
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 25, 1990                   TAG: 9006230234
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Tammy Poole
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DEVICES DESIGNED TO ASSIST HEARING IMPAIRED

Q: I recently learned of a computer printer for the deaf. The instrument works with the telephone. I'm told when the deaf person receives a call, what the calling party says is printed out on the device rather than being heard on the phone. It also lights up for the ringing of the phone and for the door bell. Have you heard of this? If so, do you know where it can be purchased? - J.S., Millboro

A: You are talking about a couple of different devices, said Bruce Sofinski, telecommunications programs coordinator for the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The Telecommunications Device for the Deaf works like a computer over the phone line, so the hearing-impaired person can read a conversation rather than hear it. However, there must be a TDD at both ends of the phone, unless the conversation goes through a dual-party relay service, a third party that enables a person without a TDD to talk to someone with a TDD.

House bill 928, recently passed by the General Assembly, empowers the Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to establish a statewide dual-party relay service that should be completed sometime this winter. This will enable more people to communicate with others with a TDD.

The other device you referred to lights up when the person's telephone or doorbell rings. It is called a visual ring signaler. (For those with other handicaps, there are audible and tactile ring signalers available.) Another device available for the hearing-impaired is an amplified handset for the telephones.

Any resident of Virginia who is hearing- or speech-impaired is eligible for the department's Telecommunications Assistance Program, which charges for a TDD or other hearing device based on the family's monthly gross income. More than 70 percent of applicants get the devices for free, Sofinski said. The most an individual would have to pay is a one-time fee of $75.

If you or someone you know is eligible for the Telecommunications Assistance Program, contact the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Attn: TAP, 101 N. 14th St., Richmond, Va. 24219-3678. Or call the toll-free number, (800) 552-7917, and ask the receptionist for an application.

by CNB