The Service Tree lists all services in "branched" groups, starting with the very general and moving to the very specific. Click on the name of any group name to see the sub-groups available within it. Click on a service code to see its details and the providers who offer that service.
Interpretation/Translation
Programs that offer the services of individuals, often volunteers, who have been trained to provide audio descriptions of theatrical performances to increase the enjoyment of patrons who are blind or have visual impairments. The audio commentary, whether live or recorded, is relayed through an earphone by the describer who is situated in a soundproof area at the back or side of the stage. The narration conveys the settings, costumes, body language, and sight gags in a visual presentation or performance; and is inserted between portions of dialogue or song to help listeners understand important visual elements. Audio description may also be used by museums, planetariums, large-format theaters, docent-led or recorded exhibition tours, films, videos, arts performances and other theatrical productions. Audio described museum tours contain some of the same elements as an ordinary audio tour, but also include vivid, succinct descriptions of objects, and may prompt interaction with exhibit elements.
Programs that transfer materials that were originally written in English or another language into Braille, a system that uses raised dots to represent numerals and letters of the alphabet which can be identified by the fingers.
Programs that offer the services of trained bilingual individuals who are usually proficient in English and one or more foreign languages to help people whose command of English is inadequate to communicate their needs.
Programs that offer the services of people who are proficient in sign language, one of a variety of communication systems in which hand and body movements represent words, ideas, objects, actions and other concepts, to help people who are deaf or have hearing impairments and hearing individuals communicate with one another. Included are programs for individuals who are proficient in American Sign Language (ASL), Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) as well as those who use systems like Signed Exact English (SEE), Conceptually Accurate Signed English (CASE) which involve manually coded English, signed French which involve manually coded French, cued speech in which words spoken by lips are supplemented by cues which aid speech reading, and oral transliteration in which words spoken by an individual are silently mouthed to the deaf person accompanied by appropriate facial expressions and gestures to facilitate conveyance of the information. Sign language interpreters interpret in two ways: voice-to-sign and sign-to-voice. Voice-to-sign means the interpreter is signing to the deaf person what the speaker is saying. Sign-to-voice means the interpreter is voicing to the hearing person what the deaf person is signing. Some individuals want an interpreter who can perform both roles. Others prefer to speak for themselves and limit the interpreter's role to signing to them.
Telecommunication Relay Services
Programs that allow people who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech impairments to communicate through a communications assistant with people who use a standard telephone or the Internet. The communications assistant relays TTY (text telephone or telecommunications device for deaf and hard of hearing individuals) to the telephone user and types that person's response back to the TTY user. Three options when using a telephone relay service are voice carry-over (VCO), hearing carry-over (HCO) and speech-to-speech (STS). VCO allows a person with a hearing impairment to speak directly to the other party and then read the response typed by a communications assistant. HCO allows a person with a speech impairment to hear the other party and relay the TTY response back to the telephone user through the communications assistant. STS provides assistance for people with speech disabilities who have difficulty being understood on the phone. STS communications assistants are specially trained in understanding a variety of speech disorders, which enables them to repeat what the caller says in a manner that makes the caller’s words clear and understandable to the called party. The relay service allows individuals with communication disorders to communicate with all telephone users. Telecommunication relay services can be reached by dialing 711.
Programs that use video conferencing equipment to provide sign language interpretation services in situations where both the deaf person and the hearing person are in the same room and the interpreter is at a call center in a remote location. VRI is especially useful in rural areas where there may be a lack of qualified interpreters.