Assistive Technology for the Deaf: Communication & Daily Life

Modern technology enables deaf individuals to participate in every aspect of life and communicate more efficiently than ever before. Some technology helps them in everyday life--such as doorbells and alarm clocks--while other inventions allow them to communicate without sound.

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

• A Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TTD, or TTY) is essentially a telephone typewriter that allows deaf people to type messages on a keyboard and send them to others via telephone lines.

Video Phones

• Mobile ASL (American Sign Language) allows deaf individuals to communicate with sign language using cell phones that feature video.

Alarm Clocks

• Deaf alarm clocks include strobe lights and/or bed and pillow vibrators that wake up a deaf person without the auditory beeping of an alarm clock.

Doorbells and Fire Alarms

• Doorbells and fire alarms for the deaf feature flashing lights as an alternative to auditory alarms.

Captioning

• Closed captioning allows deaf individuals to watch television and movies with subtitles, while real-time captioning--which displays spoken words on a screen as they are being said--allows deaf individuals to communicate with hearing people at work meetings and similar gatherings.