Most of the time, I don’t mind being deaf. I really don’t. But there are times that I am frustrated with my deafness. Like right now. Both of my babies are sick- Snicklebritches has a tummy bug and has been vomiting all over, but Wigglebutt has a very high fever which of course makes his seizures much worse than usual. During the last seizure, my little boy bit his tongue and he’s being brave about it.
*sniff* I’ve been trying all day to use the relay service to call their doctor and Wigglebutt’s neurologist, but relay service being what it is, once you navigate the whole press one if you want this, press two if you want that system, once I get to where I am, they hang up on me because they think I am a salesperson! Come on!!! What kind of salesperson would go to the trouble of navigating that system?! My best luck is to call them after hours, there is an answering service that answers. But then they ask for me to give them my phone number.
Er… I am deaf.
Yes, I’m aware of that, what’s your number?
NO, you don’t understand- I can’t hear. Does the doctor have an instant messenger or email?
No, Ma’am, but I can have the doctor call you back.
*sigh* Here’s my sister-in-law’s number, she’ll try to relay it back and forth.
(hangs up)
See what we deaf have to contend with when navigating the relay system while making phone calls. And it’s even more stressful when I have two sick babies I am worried sick about!
There was a time I had to call 9-1-1. My goodness, what a disaster that was! They said they could not take my call because I should use my landline. So I use my landline and click my spacebar over and over. Nobody picked up. So I hang up and call through relay again and said listen now, I have a son who has epilepsy, send an ambulance to this address immediately. Also, you need to train your staff better with answering TTY 9-1-1 calls if you are going to refuse relay calls.
Have you had similar experiences? I’d like to hear about it.
Dianrez said,
November 11, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Yes, all the time. What helps is a two prong approach: first I tell the doctor’s staff (one I gave a yellow handout that I wrote myself) how I use the relay system and how to reach me. After a few times, it goes smoothly. Another approach is to use video relay which somehow works better because it is more spontaneous.
A problem is the doctor’s answering service which may not understand in emergencies…they hang up. or take a message and the doctor on call keeps calling ME instead of the relay service. It takes longer and chasing back and forth before it finally works. Thankfully that’s only happened once, but that was enough!
Love the nicknames for your kids! You should write childrens’ books!
SuzieQ said,
November 12, 2008 at 12:10 am
Hehehe cute nicknames for your lil ones.
Ouches about the relay call as I know for the fact that many places are using the automatic system with those press 1 for this blahhh.
What I usually do when calling the relay operator, I will give my reason for calling and so on then the operator will know which # to press. For example, call for blackberry tech help, needing my mobile number, name, and the plm then the Relay will know if its tech plm or billing.
Godspeed to you poor lil ones.
SuzieQ said,
November 12, 2008 at 12:13 am
Speaking of 911, the purpose of using the landline so they can find the location or address. Well sometimes tty is a pain even to any bank as well. So what I was told here was that dial 911 directly from landline then just bang the headset on something and leave it off the hook. They’ll come immediately!!
Tishia said,
November 12, 2008 at 1:11 am
Diane, I am currently working on a book, but it is not for children. Maybe I’ll write a children’s book later on. (smile)
and Suzie, the thing is they won’t know if I need the police or an ambulance when seconds count. That day, they sent me a fire truck which was not what we needed, but there was a trained EMT on the fire truck so that sort of worked out until the actual ambulance got there.
Mother of Bilingual Deaf and Hearing Children said,
November 12, 2008 at 5:56 am
Hopefully, getting phone calls and messages will be easier when IP Relay and VRS providers give you a regular 10-digit phone number so people can call you by using that number (without needing to dial the relay service first). This should happen by the end of this year.
Also, to get your 10-digit number, you will give your IP Relay or VRS provider your location address. That way, when you need to call 911, they can connect you with the correct 911 emergency call center.
As for working through those answering systems, they are a pain . . . for everyone. You may want to practice non-emergency calls to your health care provider so you can know what numbers to select in advance and to educate your health care providers about relay services . . . before you have an urgent need to contact them. You can also give your health care providers information about relay services, such as the factsheets available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trs.html.
As for the 911 TTY call system . . . please contact the office responsible for your 911 calls. Tell them what happened. Learn how they process 911 TTY calls. Ask them for permission to practice 911 TTY calls with you (maybe designate a date/time for your practice 911 TTY calls) so they can test their system and you can be confident your 911 TTY call will be answered.
Just some thoughts.
Starbeam227 said,
November 12, 2008 at 10:45 am
I’ve had many many similar experiences – especially being hung up on because the other party thinks I’m a salesperson… How I usually handle this: before the call is placed, I instruct the relay operator to NOT introduce themselves (This is Video Relay Operator 1234″) and NOT go through the typical introduction (“Have you experienced a relay call before??”) – I brief the terp on what the call will be about then tell them to flat out skip their regular script and introduce themselves as me and then either I will explain VRS myself through the interpreter, or allow the terp to do their regular script later on in the call once rapport with the other caller has been established.
VRS interpreters are totally cool with that… It puts me in the driver’s seat and it’s a LOT less frustrating… Calls to anyone in a service profession are oh! so much smoother! Especially if you land a really good terp for the call.
Best of luck with the kiddos! Hope they’re feeling better soon!
Hope this helps!
Karen Putz/ DeafMom said,
November 12, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Those numbering systems can be so frustrating! I use VCO with VRS so I’m able to punch in the numbers but every now and then, by the time I get through the numbering system, I’ll end up with a hang up. I’ve learned to just punch one and then navigate to a live rep.
Hope your little ones feel better soon!
SuzieQ said,
November 12, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Right its always the Fire Truck come to rescue first most of the time and they have trained EMT like you said to get started before the police and others.
I know a lot of places that provide tty do not get many tty calls so they don’t bother or they aren’t trained or a big turnover or they are a chicken to use the system lol. Sigh!!
SuzieQ
SuzieQ said,
November 12, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Starbeam, I think its their policy that they have to do the introduction and their ID # for purpose if you have a plm with one or whatever reason you can have proof. We can’t tell them to not do that cuz maybe other office or jobs they are required to give out the company name and their name when they answers the phone. Sometimes I get lucky to get some regularly knows how I do it or their service is great.
CODATerp said,
November 13, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I work for Video Relay and I can tell you that it is NOT required for us to announce to the hearing caller. They would prefer that we did, but it’s not a rule. I, for one, love it when the Deaf caller takes over like Starbeam does. It can be confusing if my gender doesn’t match the caller, however, so be mindful of that or just request an interpreter who matches your own gender…problem solved!
Jen D. said,
November 16, 2008 at 6:13 pm
when I worked 9-1-1, we had to do a tty practice test every month unless we had a real tty call. It’s definitely something to meet with your local agency to discuss implementing. It was never really a bother to test it out, BUT, we had a new computer system that integrated the entire phone into a computer complete with tty. It wasn’t hard to practice. With the older archaic, put-the-phone-in-the-reciever-deal it was a lot hard.er
Jen D.