HLAA-SLC met yesterday from 10a-noon at the Sanderson Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  Our topic was Asking for Accommodations.  Kathy led the discussion talking about; the difference kinds of advocacy, finding the right person to ask to receive accommodations and filing complaints where needed to enforce the ADA.

Here’s the list of advocacy resources she passed out to everyone.

Advocacy Resources

Federal Communications Commission – FCC

• Website: https://www.fcc.gov
• Regulate interstate and international communications
  • Television
  • Radio
  • Wire
  • Satellite
  • Cable
  • Telephone
  • Internet
• Establish policy
• Process Complaints
• See For Consumers tab for most of our needs
• Find details by using Search box
• Try typing in Hearing Loss and see what comes up
• Closed Captioning problems? See the FCC VPD registry (Video Programming Distributor) at http://esupport.fcc.gov/vpd-search/search.action#scrollThere to see how to contact the offending station or company.

Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing

• Website: http://www.dopl.utah.gov/
• Look for File a Complaint in the Online Services box (pink).
• Notice that there are standards, statutes and rules for both Audiology and Hearing Instrument Specialists. Applicable laws are linked to their pages.
• Notice the requirements for selling hearing aids at http://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title58/Chapter41/58-41-S17.html?v=C58-41-S17_2015051220150512

Americans with Disabilities Act – ADA

• Website: https://www.ada.gov/

• Try searching for specific areas of interest

  • Captions

  • Assistive listening

  • Auxiliary aids

• The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) provides publications and other technical assistance on the basic requirements of the ADA. It does not enforce any part of the law.
• In addition to the Department of Labor, four federal agencies enforce the ADA:
  • The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces regulations covering employment.
  • The Department of Transportation enforces regulations governing transit.
  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces regulations covering telecommunication services.
  • The Department of Justice enforces regulations governing public accommodations and state and local government services.
• Good interpretations of the law can be found with Google searches
  • Americans with Disabilities Act, theaters
  • Americans with Disabilities Act, hospitals
  • Americans with Disabilities Act, hotels
  • Etc.

Air Carrier Access Act

• Websites: http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/ACAAcomplaint.htm , http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/disabled.htm
• Ask for the airline’s Complaint Resolution Officer when your needs are not met.
• File a complaint after the fact with the airline and the Department of Transportation.

Zoo, Education and Parks (Salt Lake County funding from tax dollars)

• Who receives funds? See http://slco.org/zap/who-receives-zap-funds/

Resources for talking points – then add your own story or experience:

Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) at http://hearingloss.org/

American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

• Website: http://asha.org/ (especially under The Public in the orange box)

American Academy of Audiologists at http://audiology.org

Asking for Accommodations

One of the difficult aspects of having a hearing loss is asking for the accommodations we need to be included in whatever we are attending. Whether it is a weekly bridge group, a family dinner, worship services, a political debate, a theater production, a television or internet broadcast – we need help to participate in a way that is meaningful to us.

Our HLAA meeting this week will help you phrase those requests in ways that are most apt to get you the results you want with the good-will you need. We will spend part of the time composing our personal requests, so bring your laptop or tablet to make that easier for you to do – we’ll also have paper and pen available for everyone. Kathy Evans is the presenter.

If there are specific questions that you would like her to address, please email us ahead of time so they can be included in the examples. (hearinglossutah@gmail.com)

Our meeting is Saturday, October 15 from 10 AM to Noon. We’ll be in the Conference Room at the Sanderson Center, 5709 South 1500 West, Taylorsville. We’ll have light refreshments and time to visit with each other, too.

Hope to see you there!