Posted by: Mary Bifaro ®
03/13/2007, 13:53:10
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Dear Karen,Good luck with your disability hearing. Thanks for sharing the detailed information about the relay service with our NSDA community. I had heard about it but wasn't aware of the particulars. I plan to share this information with other members of the SD community (from my local SD support group). Sincerely, Mary Bifaro
Abductor SD since 1987
Charlotte, NC
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Posted by: snowie ®
03/13/2007, 16:50:55
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Hi Karen,Good luck on the 15th! .... we will be thinking of you.
Let us know how it goes ... With best wishes, Snowie,
AB SD, London, UK
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Posted by: Wilma P Myers ®
03/17/2007, 18:19:10
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Greetings again, and to all that have problems with the phone. ..which is 90 % of us. I have had SD/AD/Tremors and all the complications, surgeries, etc. since 1985. Long before many of the new SD'ers. I have tried just about everything available. When I was teaching, I used a microphone, but even that got to be a pain. The best item I did find was a volume control handset, you should be able to obtain free from your local telephone Assistance. Or they can direct you to a source. The TDY, Telephone Relay System has been around for years. It is primarily for deaf persons, but many others with voice cancer, etc. use it. It is a very SLOW service. If I have to make a phone call, I first find out if there is an email address, or website I can contact them on. I do 95% of my business email. If you explain your problem and add the Spasmodic Dysphonia URL most people will be very helpful. I also have a comment about the BOTOX IMMUNITY. My Dr. and I both feel that possibly I am now immune to the Botox. I have had so many, and the scar tissue from so many injections makes it very hard for the excellent Dr. to puncture the skin. Botox does help the tremors in my vocal cords, but I have absolutely NO Voice. I have to whisper, or YELL, which is very startling to some people. GRIN! If there are any SD'ers in the Tucson, Green Valley, AZ , or surrounding Area who would like to meet and help each other, please contact me. I was recently asked to be the Tucson email contact person, for NSDA. I felt it an honor to help. I am a very stong advocate about SD, as I have had it for so long. My best defense is a small business card that I present FIRST to everyone I have to do business in person with. It has all of my information on it, plus, a short sentence that says, 'Please listen carefully, to me.' After they say OK, I then say in a whisper with a big smile! ' If you want me to buy something, you will have to listen!' They laugh and that makes it more comfortable. If you have any questions please email me .
Wilma P. Myers
wpm_7@cox.net
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Posted by: kitten ®
03/25/2007, 15:23:45
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Wilma,Just to make it clear, I was talking about an internet-based relay phone service to make phone calls not a TTY telephone device. The only equipment you need is your computer and an internet connection. The person receiving the call only needs a telephone (landline or cell phone). The website is: www.relay.att.com For those who missed my post, you actually make the phone call from your computer with no special equipment required, including a phone line, as long as you have an internet service. I have broadband internet but no landline phone service. I shut off my telephone to save money while waiting on my disability hearing for the last three years. I did not like the TTY when I saw it demonstrated at my local vocational rehab office. I decided it was not going to suit my needs at the time. A TTY does not answer incoming calls that are not placed through the relay service. That was a major reason I wanted it, thinking an operator would answer my incoming phone calls and I could type the response on the TTY device. I receive more calls than I make. The website does not answer a call either, but will help you make calls to anyone, even if they have no computer. The relay operator does the typing back and forth of what was typed by you or said by the party you call. It is the same relay operators from AT&T phone service, just a different format of typing the conversation from your computer keyboard instead. An advantage of this website over a TTY is it does not require special equipment, a telephone, or even a phone line by you. Many people today are going to cell phone service exclusively as their only telephone. The TTY device requires a doctor's prescription, waiting for approval, then you are required to go for training on the equipment before you receive it. I was supposed to drive 35 miles to Peoria, Il. for training, but had already cut off my phone to save money. The website relay service may not be any quicker than the TTY,(it depends on how fast and how much you type) but it will get the job done on business calls, or brief personal calls. I thought people would like to know there is a simple method to get assistance making a phone call to provide or obtain information.
Karen - ABSD, Illinois
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Posted by: Will Blum ®
03/30/2007, 08:20:43
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I noticed that information about TTY is located in the front pages of my telephone directory. It says, "When receiving a call from the relay center, the Relay Operator will provide a brief explanation of the service if the person has not previously used it."
Sometimes I use an answering machine to answer my incoming calls. So it is no problem receiving incoming calls if I had TTY. With some telephone companies, you have to call the company and request they brand their dedicated lines so that ITT calls can be answered.
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Posted by: wilma p myers ®
03/31/2007, 20:13:16
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Karen, and all the rest who responded to this post.
Thanks for clarifying the Relay service. i did not know there was another one, and I am going to look into it.
I had a uncomfortable experience with a termite inspection company last week. The young women kept telling me she could not understnd me, It was either a whisper or me yelling on the phone. Yelling is very uncomfortable, and then the person said, You do not need to get angry. I told her I could not talk, and if they had a website, I could email her. I finally had to get a friend to call for me.
Thank heavens for good friends!
I enjoy reading the posts, We are all in the same boat, and we learn so much from one another.
To all: Keep your spirits up, go forward, and fly!
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Posted by: Joanne ®
03/18/2007, 19:13:07
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What you are decribing has been around for the "Deaf" for a very long time. At one time, my voice was just so bad that I decided to take up American Sign Language in case I couldn't use my voice. I learned Sign and finished an Interpreters Program, which took me a total of four years to do. We learned all about Deaf communication and while I was learning about it, I was thinking to myself how many forms of communication systems the Deaf use, someone with severe SD could use too. I am not sure how you would go about getting it put into your home, but maybe if you get a doctor's note, I think the phone company will honor that request. You would simply be treated as a Deaf person and you would type in what you want to say. The only trouble I can see with that is for the other person speaking to the operator, they have to speak very slowly and clearly as the operator is typing what is being spoken. I don't know if the phone company offers a one way system where you would type, the operator would speak what was typed, and then the person would speak to the operator and you could hear what was said from the operator. It makes it difficult to carry on a conversation because the operator is the middle man and the conversation just doesn't "flow", but it has to be better than people hanging up on you all the time.. Hope this is making sense, but it is surely something to look into. Good luck and keep me posted.
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Posted by: TammyE ®
03/20/2007, 11:58:42
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I have a sister who is deaf and uses this service all the time. You are rignt about it being hard for the person on the other end. It does comes in very handy if you have to make Dr. appointments and business calls. She now uses a handheld device that is like a pager where she can send text messages directly to a phone or a computer. A lot like instant messaging. It is great. I have questions about your Interpreters Program training. I am considering making a similar career change but would have to go back to school. Have you been able to find work in that field? What are the opportunities?
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Posted by: Joanne ®
04/02/2007, 19:32:45
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You may certainly contact me at JWADSD@yahoo.com, I will be more than happy to discuss things with you. Joanne
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Posted by: Valerie Handelsman ®
04/03/2007, 13:37:14
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Thank you for this information. The exact same thing happens to me. I avoid telephones whenever possible.
Good luck with your hearing. I recently won my SS disability and my state disability retiremnet as I was once a teacher. Now I am in battle with Unum Provident as they are asking me to return $43,800.00 in disability payments made through my school system when I was away from my job. Hang in there and keep fighting.
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Posted by: Peace2u ®
07/04/2007, 12:16:38
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Hi Karen,I've begun using this relay service regularly. It's wonderful! The only problem I've had was the time a pre-recorded message came on and the CA [communications asst] decided to end the call. Frustration I guess. Peace2u
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