CART: Bringing the Spoken Word to Veterans with Hearing Loss Sharaine J. Rawlinson Roberts, MSW NTID Technology & Deaf Education Symposium June 23, 2010

Session Goals Definitions Statistics Empowerment Demonstration of Remote CART

DEFINITIONS CART: Communication Access Realtime Translation Realtime word-for-word text Alternative speech-to-text methods use Meaning-for-meaning Tinnitus: Ringing in the ears

Statistics 70,000 veterans who served in war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus An additional 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss 1 “Hearing loss is the most prevalent service-connected disability in the VA.”

More Statistics 60% of veterans who are exposed to blasts experience permanent hearing loss and 49% ALSO experience tinnitus _4A9IACA_v19.27c9c61.html 08_4A9IACA_v19.27c9c61.html

More Statistics Number of service men and women on disability for hearing loss is expected to grow at 18% a year, costing $1.1billion annually _4A9IACA_v19.27c9c61.html 08_4A9IACA_v19.27c9c61.html

An Aside: ESL & CART Imagine being a veteran and having served your country, and speaking English as your second language… Now imagine losing part or all of your hearing and trying to understand what people are saying …

ESL & CART CART provides access to that which a veteran with hearing loss might otherwise have missed, especially as he tries to lipread English, his non-native language.

Getting Veterans Back to Work: Communication Access CART services enable veterans to communicate with ease by delivering all the words and interactions taking place in the classroom or office. Veterans feel empowered to fully participate because they are confident they are receiving all of the information.

CART Technology Onsite services –Sit with consumer –Separate computer or shared computer –Displayed overhead –Discussions Remote services –Remote CART through Internet –Integrated with video conferencing/online learning systems (Adobe Connect, Genesys, EPOP, Elluminate) –One consumer or many –Displayed overhead or on computer

CART Technology Audio options Live in room Phone line with speaker phone Skype or VoIP Through Web integrated system Cell phone

Becoming Empowered Classroom Internships Job fairs Interviews Meetings Collaborate w/service providers Research service providers –Certification –Years of experience

Wrap up Definitions CART technology onsite and remote Empowerment Questions?

Contact Information Sharaine Rawlinson Roberts, MSW Marketing & Account Manager Caption First Website:

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, VETERANS!