Caption telephones work like a standard telephone but with the addition of captions. This allows the caller to read what the other person is saying throughout the conversation via a panel on the phone. For individuals who have some hearing ability the call can also be listened to whilst reading the captions.
This is a well established service in the USA which utilises a telephone captioning service where the caller is required to dial into the captioning service when they make a call to a hearing person. The service then transcribes everything that is being said during the conversation by the other person so it is visible on the captions panel.
In Australia, the Australian Communication Exchange are currently trialing a web based version of the technology called Captioned Telephony, and are also about to launch the telephone handset version of the captions service which will provide captions on the screen of the phone. With Web Captioned Telephony, a person can also be displayed on a computer screen where the caller can read what the other person is saying. This service is also compatible with some mobile phones. For more information on Captioned Telephony please access the link under related links.
Workplace solutions and adjustments
Caption telephones may be useful for people who:
- have some degree of hearing loss and find it difficult to understand telephone conversations
- use hearing aids or assistive listening devices
- are deaf or hard of hearing and have clear speech abilities.
Captioned telephone calls can also be useful in a conference call situation although these calls will need to be booked with the captioning service in advance due to the current trial phase.
Other services that may also be of benefit in the workplace include:
- Communication Access Real-time (CART) software
- Captioning and Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services
- Interpreting, captioning and reading services
References
Australian Communication Exchange 2009, ACE CapTel, Australian Communication Exchange Ltd, Brisbane, viewed 30 April 2010, <http://www.aceinfo.net.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=17>.
CapTel 2010, How it Works, Ultratec Inc., Wisconsin, viewed 30 April 2010, http://www.captel.com/how-it-works.php.