Transcribing

Those who are hard of hearing might use hearing aids or other devices to assist them. In addition, some use a technique known as speech reading (formerly known as lip reading). There are situations such as business meetings, conferences or training sessions where a captioning service would help those who have hearing loss including those who are deaf and do not understand sign language. Hearing Bridges offers communication access and note services through two different types of programs.

The Typewell Educational Transcription System (Typewell) is a real-time transcription service. A trained typist uses a meaning-for-meaning system. In other words, the transcriptionist does not type every word that is said but may condense language used while maintaining the full meaning intended by the speaker. The transcription may appear on a laptop in a one-on-one setting or on a larger monitor for group settings. If the computer screen is sufficiently enlarged, Typewell will help Deaf-Blind individuals who cannot see well enough to benefit from a traditional sign language interpreter. Users can also type questions or comments to the transcriber as well as take notes on their own computer.

Hearing Bridges also provides the option of CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) services. CART is a verbatim (complete translation) of all spoken words and environmental sounds, not a summary transcription service. We contract with only the top quality CART providers in middle Tennessee to provide communication access for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities in environments where the demand is for scrolling text to be viewed by participants. This service may be provided for individuals or in large group settings.

The requesting facility would be responsible for providing a monitor or projector/screen for situations with larger audiences.

To inquire about Typewell or CART services, contact Debbie Shirley, 615-248-8828 or info@hearingbridges.org.