Hearing World
The Federal Relay Service (FRS) was established not only for people
who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf-Blind, and/or people with speech
disabilities, but for hearing government employees as well. As a
hearing government employee, you may find yourself needing to call
peers and coworkers who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, Deaf-Blind, and/or
coworkers with speech disabilities on a daily basis. The FRS is
available to assist in that purpose. If you don't have a TTY,
the device deaf people use to make phone calls, you can still use
the FRS. It is as simple as picking up your phone and calling 1-800-877-8339.
That call puts users through to a Communication Assistant (CA) who
will then relay the call between a standard (voice) telephone user
and text-telephone (TTY). The CA acts as a transparent conduit for
the transmittal of information.
Calling Protocol
Dialogue Examples
"I want to learn Sign Language!"
So you want to learn Sign Language...There are TONS of resources
available to you through the Internet, within your local community,
or even within your own government agency. The best, and maybe easiest,
place to start would be within your agency. Get to know some of
your deaf coworkers and let them know of your interest to learn
sign language. Native users of the language are the best teachers!
See if you can set up a brown bag lunch session once a week or once
a month for sign language classes. You can also contact your local
Community college and inquire about Sign Language courses. Sometimes,
even your community center will have a schedule of classes that
are taught there. Last, but definitely not least, is the Internet.
There is an INFINITE amount of information about learning sign language
on the Internet. Click on the link below to take you to deafness
related sites. Included in some of these sites you will find online
tutorials as well as information on where you can go to learn American
Sign Language (ASL).
Sign Language Resources
Where can I buy a TTY?
If you are interested in purchasing the equipment necessary to
communicate with coworkers who are Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, or have
speech disabilities, click on the link below. It will take you to
several resources for purchasing TTYs or computer programs you can
install on your PC, that act as TTYs.
Where to purchase TTY hardware and
software
What is DHHIG?
Did you know there is an organization called Deaf
and Hard-of-Hearing in Government (DHHIG)? DHHIG is a national non-profit
organization whose purpose is two-fold. It serves as an employee
support group for Federal employees who are either Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing
and as a resource organization for the nationwide Federal government.
DHHIG coordinates and collaborates with external forces such as
OPM, EEOC, U.S. Congress, the White House, President's Task Force
on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, Self Help for Hard of
Hearing People (SHHH), National Association of the Deaf, Alexander
Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, and other entities. The internet
address is http://www.dhhig.org.
Check it out!
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