Digital Accessibility is an oft-overlooked aspect of modern-day life, and as such, it’s more important than ever to discuss and highlight.
With so much of our lives being conducted online, from doctor’s appointments to food shopping, it’s essential that everyone has access to online services, and we don’t just mean having an internet connection. Read more →
Well, unfortunately, it looks like there’s a second lockdown on the way.
While rules are different across each member nation of the UK, the end result is the same; stay home if you can.
For millions that means working from home, with many people just beginning to return to work after the first lockdown.
But for businesses, it represents an opportunity to learn from their mistakes the first time round.
With Zoom meetings, Skype calls, and online conferences taking over the business world, it makes sense to get the most out of a bad situation by implementing live captioning. Read more →
The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by surprise, with practically everything about modern life changing as a result.
Some things that happened were obvious, such as the airlines having a hard time staying afloat with all flights being grounded. But other things happened that no one expected. Read more →
“Access to Work tell me to use X. I prefer Y.”
“Access to Work have told me to use a typist.”
“Why don’t you get a telephone with a flashing light? It’s cheaper.”
“My Access to Work adviser says I can only have up to £xx/hour for captioning.”
Sound familiar?
Requesting funding from Access to Work can be a minefield. What are you allowed to ask for? How can you get the type of captioning service you need? What are the differences in the captioning services available and how do they work? Can I use different providers? We look at answers to these questions and more in this article.
Access to Work will grant funding according to (1) the most economical service that (2) meets your minimum needs. However, the cheapest service is not necessarily the most appropriate one; it should also adequately meet your communication support needs.
If you are in a professional level job and require equal access to work with your colleagues, then you will require verbatim captioning to put you on an equal footing with them. You will need verbatim steno captioning, also known as speech-to-text, which can keep up with fast speakers. This is different from respeaking, which is not verbatim and cannot keep up with fast speech.
If you’re a lipreader and require minutes of your meeting (as a lipreader can’t lipread and take notes at the same time), or you are a sign language user, or you simply do not require a word-for-word account of what is said, you can choose specialist electronic notetaking. An electronic notetaker is not verbatim. They can write a meaning-for-meaning account of what is said, rather than word-for-word.
Verbatim captions are provided by a speech to text reporter (stenographer or palantypist) in the UK, or a CART provider (Communication Access Real-time Translation: stenographer) in the USA. This person uses a shorthand machine. They listen and process what is said in their brain, then write words on their machine. So the accuracy comes from their brain, not the machine, just as if you’re typing. It’s not relying on software to get it right. Therefore, this service is de facto much more accurate than voice recognition software. They are able to keep up with fast speakers and write every word.
The stenographer is able to correct any words after they appear on your screen, they can just go back and edit them. Any errors will be made from hitting the wrong keys or from not having a word in their dictionary – they can then finger spell a new word.
The latency is 1 or 2 seconds which means you would be able to take part in a meeting just like a hearing person, with a very small delay. This is important for your professional reputation at work; you need to be able to keep up with your hearing colleagues.
Respeaking uses voice recognition software such as Dragon. It’s not very accurate. Much depends on how well the software recognises the respeaker’s voice and translates it into English. They have to speak at a slow steady pace for the software to understand what is being said. Respeaking does not work well when there is a fast speaker in your meeting, the software just can’t keep up.
An editor is needed to correct the errors, so a respeaker and an editor work in pairs. This slows down the latency i.e. The speed at which you receive the words, to 8 seconds. It’s still inaccurate as they are relying on the software to get it right, not their brains. This may mean omitting words and sentences in order to keep up. They also can’t go back and correct a word on screen if it comes out wrong, because the end result of the process, when the words appear on your screen, is the end of the process; they have already “edited” it. You are also paying for 2 people.
This blog post explains the differences between respeaking and stenography.
An electronic notetaker will listen and write what they hear on a Qwerty keyboard, which is used with software that has shortforms added to enable them to write the gist of what is said. The notetaker, like the speech to text reporter, is relying on their brain for accuracy, not their software.
Speech to text reporters and electronic notetakers offer the client protection under NRCPD. Respeakers do not – and they do not understand deaf voices. Communication support works both ways; it benefits hearing people at work too.
You are allowed to choose your preferred communication support provider, providing you choose one who is the least expensive and also meets your minimum needs. The government have imposed a yearly cap on communication support of £60,700 per year; this can be used for a mix of different support needs, and rolled over from month to month.
Access to Work are not allowed to dictate which service provider you should use or how much you can spend per hour; the choice is yours to make. If Access to Work try to make you choose a provider you don’t want to use because they say they do not meet your needs, they are putting barriers in your way, and you can take your case to PHSO. The PHSO team are very experienced in dealing with deaf Access to Work clients and they understand the differences between communication support services.
As 99% of deaf people do not use sign language, your minimum need is likely to be for verbatim English, because you need to have equal access to your hearing colleagues. You need to explain why you need a verbatim service to your Access to Work adviser.
If your preference is for a summative transcription, then you need to explain your choice to your adviser.
If you’d like further advice on how to obtain the appropriate support from Access to Work, contact Darren Townsend-Handscomb at Deaf ATW, or contact us for advice on captioning support.
If you have hearing loss some of your day-to-day activities might be more of a challenge than for your hearing colleagues.
There’s no need to struggle. A Government scheme called Access to Work can help you get the equipment and communications support you need to manage your hearing loss at work.
Step 1: Check you’re eligible for Access to Work support:
You can ask for an Access to Work assessment if:
• Your hearing loss affects your ability to work, and
• You’re 16 or older, and either
o You’re about to start a job or work trial, or
o You’re already in a paid job or self-employed.
Your hearing loss must be a ‘disability’ – defined as ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [your] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
Step 2: Speak to your manager
Unless you’re self-employed you’ll need to explain to your manager that you need extra support because of your hearing loss. This is because your organisation may need to contribute towards the cost of whatever help Access to Work recommends you receive.
Access to Work will pay 100% of the approved costs if you:
• Are self-employed or
• Have been employed for less than 6 weeks.
If not, the amount your employer pays depends on how many employees it has. To find out more read the Employer’s Guide to Access to Work
Step 3: Apply for an Access to Work assessment
It’s easy to apply for an Access to Work assessment of how your hearing loss is challenging you at work. Simply:
Email: atwosu.london@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0345 268 8489
Textphone: 0345 608 8753
Top Tip: if you don’t have a textphone, but your hearing loss means you struggle to use the phone, let Access to Work know that email is your preferred contact method.
Step 4: Prepare for your assessment
Don’t worry, your Access to Work assessment is not an exam. But it is your opportunity to tell your assessor how your hearing loss is affecting your work, and discuss what might help. So have a think about the support you want.
If, for example, you struggle with hearing teleconferences, webchats, presentations and training, live captioning from 121 Captions could make a huge difference. Get in touch and we can discuss a free, short demo to demonstrate the benefits of our live captioning services.
Step 5: Make sure the recommendations are put in place
Top Tip: if you don’t agree with the Access to Work recommendations, you can appeal. Details are on the award letter you receive.
Once you receive the recommendations from Access to Work, encourage your manager to get them in place as soon as possible. The quicker you get support for your hearing loss the more productive you will be as an employee.
To find out more about the support 121 Captions provide for hundreds of people with hearing loss at work, contact us.