The TTY, or Text Telephone is widely known among the deaf and hearing impaired community. Although it is an extremely effective form of communication, it was actually difficult to locate around the city of Boston. The first stop I made was a regular T station. There was not one there. I thought there may be one in a bank, no luck. I then traveled to a major bus station where I found one TTY but it was unusable. Having the TTY broken made me wonder, what would I do if I was deaf? Where is the nearest one to here? What if there was an emergency? Realizing the difficulty in finding a working TTY gave a bit of insight into what the deaf and hearing impaired must go through when they are in public places and the inconvenience they face when there is a lack of facilities that are suited for them.
The TTY can come in several different forms and sizes. Some are in payphones, some desktop. All have a keyboard in order to type out the information a person needs to relay to the person they a
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A person making a TTY call should allow the phone to ring a little longer than a regular call because a person with a TTY may be alerted by a light signal and it may take them longer to realize the TTY is ringing. Do this as soon as a person types a greeting. Since the TTY conversation is written out, it is necessary to indicate if someone else is there with you while you are making a TTY call. Next, place the phone handset in the acoustic cups. This makes it easier for the recipient to understand. If you need to tell the person to hold on, you type “PLS HD” Always ask the person to repeat if anything is unclear. They are located in most public buildings and many businesses use them in order to contact their customers who are deaf or hearing impaired. Dial the number and watch for a steady signal light. Although the TTY can be used by anyone, there are certain rules that apply to using a TTY. Also, to show you are at the beginning of a new sentence, hit the space bar a few times. Conversations can be printed but must be thrown away after the conversation, out of the respect for the other person. To show that it is the other person’s turn after you have written your message, type “GA” which stand for “go ahead” After a question type “QGA”.
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689
Approximate Pages =
3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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