Comments on: Do we need TTYs anymore?

By: nathan

nathan — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:01:42 +0000

I still use TDD, some state office like S.S. , EDD, and other goverment level still have them and it easier than getting a busy line when you use relay.. but again very rare

By: leah

leah — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:25:16 +0000

wow! this is something i have talked about, and feared, a lot at work, but hdnt looked up online untill recently, and i think this really sucks (you see… i am a tty relay operator, and i LIKE my job,…no…i LOVE my job). SOOO it saddens me to realize this, although, i’m excited for my deafie friends who are able to communicate…and as i read this i think… you know..i have many deaf friends but i dont think i have ever TAKEN a relay call before… i mean they never call me that way, we’re all on tmobile and text all day. Something that interests me is this: there are a lot of people who are deaf that work at my company (office staff, supervisory staff, janitorial staff, etc) and also some of the relay operators are blind (they use a brailex attatchment neither of the parties on the phone ever know a difference) we have “little people” (formerly known as midgets), multiple wheelchair bound people, all agents/operators, thats one of the things i LOVE so much about my job… not ONLY am i helping people, but work place is SOOO integrated, at other jobs there might be ONE deaf person…or ONE blind person…or ONE person who was paralyzed or partially so, and at relay it is so amazing to work with such a diverse group of people and everyone mesh together so well!! i will hate the day when there isnt a need for tty relay anymore.

something else to consider, that wasnt covered in this… when you say “deafies” i think of people born deaf or deaf from an early age… people that use asl, but a TON of tty relay users dont know sign language,.. i dont know any official stats on it, but i’d be willing to bet more than half of the tty users have “later in life hearing loss” (old people who go deaf in their 60′s or 70′s or even 80′s, and THEY dont know how to sign and usually have arthritus so bad they wouldnt be able to sign, they use VCO phones because they cant even really type, and the older crowd usually has wants the transmission speed around 30wpm, BUT they cant use video relay because they cant sign, and they re too old to understand texting on regular cell phones much less how to use a mini qwerty on a smart phone. eventually that will all change but for now, thankfully, there is still a market for ttys!

By: Ron Keebler

Ron Keebler — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:15:28 +0000

There are deaf in rural areas that still need TTY due to lack of technology skills, culture limitations and mobile access. I attended a Deaf Mennonite church (all deaf) in Lancaster PA where members preferred varied levels of technology. Most used TTY back then, some had old converted teletype machines that looked like mailboxes.
Also during the 9/11 crisis in NYC much cell phone connectivity was lost while some landlines worked. I personally was able reach my family using my Blackberry.

By: mike standard

mike standard — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:28:07 +0000

I like deaf.

By: M. Johnson

M. Johnson — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 22:55:38 +0000

I don’t have a tty since three years! Why? Me ASL user not writing! About calling 911? I use my fax included dialing machine! I use fax for business purposes…

By: M

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:14:36 +0000

Even tho SK cost 30 dollars per month, say, we have two deaf adults in household, that comes to 60 per month, plus phone for my hearing kids. I guess, with each family or household, the need versus cost varies. TTY is still essential for now. Maybe in future, that need will change due to better costs or technology. Right now it seems there’s always something else that adds up to the cost like high speed internet line. I agree, though, that with the internet, we don’t use tty as
much as we used to.

but think about it…what about other services we expect from police, ambulance, hospitals, etc. They would still need tty if we expect to be able to contact them directly instead of going through third party. Third party communication is always not the best.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:00:47 +0000

We are keeping our ttys for 911 purpose. Calling from our phone line with or without tty will guide police to our house real quick. One day last year when our friend was calling 911 for an ambulance and the police got there before she gave them her home address.

By: Peter Brown

Peter Brown — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:21:34 +0000

This sounds oppressive to those of us that don’t use email or sidekicks. Not to mention this is a direct insult to those deaf people who don’t know sign. It is a typical comment from a typical “deafie”.

By: Lantana

Lantana — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 01:45:06 +0000

I do not think it is well known that SK and various pagers’ providers do not work in small, out of the way communities. We do not all live in New York, Denver, Atlanta, etc. etc.

I am wondering how the deaf that have only minimum language skills make out text messaging with their “pagers”??

With a tdd, the police’s version of GPS will guide any emergency vehicle right to your door. I know because I have had to use it. Priceless!

Lantana

By: debby

debby — Sun, 11 Mar 2007 00:37:30 +0000

Also, keep TTY for different reasons.