HOW TO MAKE TECHNOLOGY WORK FOR YOUR CHILD
Phone technology has come a long way in the past few years and visual communication has grown in ease of use and accessibility due to the pandemic. Most of today’s phones, both Smartphones and Androids, have FaceTime features to video chat and Bluetooth capabilities to stream the conversation directly into your child’s device. In addition, texting has become the norm for all phone users which has increased communication accessibility by leaps and bounds for hearing aid and cochlear implant users.
Google Meet, Facetime, Zoom and other video chat options are now popular and common modes of communication for individuals. Most computers come equipped with Webcams, or an external Webcam can be purchased for the computer. When both users are sitting in front of the cameras, they can be connected through the Internet and are able to view one another while they talk. This mode of communication has been very popular for those individuals who use ASL to communicate or Total Communication, as it allows persons who are deaf to contact one another via the Internet and communicate with sign language. This way, both users can view one another while communicating with sign language or reading lips.
All major platforms for video calls now support Closed Captioning with the click of one button making a transcript of the conversation easily accessible to the user. Most computers have Bluetooth capabilities that can be used during a video call allowing the conversation to stream directly into your child’s hearing device. In addition, these video calls can be recorded in case information was missed so the participant can go back to review the conversation.
Open captioning is a new technology growing in popularity at movie theaters to make movie going more accessible, less intrusive and more enjoyable for deaf and hard of hearing children. Open captioning is similar to subtitles where the words appear on the screen and cannot be turned off. Theaters are having special show times that include open captioning. If open captioning is not available, DHH movie goers can request Closed Captioning, in which the language is displayed on an electronic device the theater provides. Finally, Bluetooth technology with direct streaming capabilities is in the close future for movie theater shows.