Hearing Impaired

[lsyorke]

This question was put to me by friends of DH. They are going to become DVC members and plan on bringing nieces and nephew who are hearing impaired. Does Disney have any special aids for the hearing impaired??

 

[Talking Hands]

Disney has wonder access for the deaf and hard of hearing. ASL Interpreters, Assistive Listing Devices, Reflective captioning, Close captiioning. If you want to see a few pictures of the interpreters check the Photo Gallery and check out my pictures so you will recognize them. If you are planning dinner at the Luau or Hoop Dee Doo you can set up interpreters for that as well. Contact Mark Jones to request this at least 2 weeks prior to your trip. The more lead time the better.

 

[welovedis]

Here are some good links to more information regarding services for the deagf and hard of hearing:
http://www.wdwig.com/asl.htm
http://www.wdwig.com/listen.htm
http://www.wdwig.com/reflect.htm

As someone else mentioned you can arrange for individual interpreters for certain attractions or events. Depending on the extent of the children's hearing loss they may rely on the interpreters or might just need the reflective captioning and the listening devices.

Here is the link to official Disney site with that info:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/waltdisneyworld/home/faqindex?id=WDWGuestswithDisabilitiesFAQGrping

HTH!

 

[Talking Hands]

There is really no reason for her to go to these since she has the source right here. That's right. The source is here on DIS. The ASL article is mine and I sent Deb the other info which I get from Mark Jones regularly.

Be sure to get the schedule for the interpreters each time you go. They do change, sometimes on a weekly basis. For example, MGM was complletely different this week from last.

Reflective captioning is not available at the venues that have interpreters. Interpreters are used for live shows, rides, and backstage tours.

The link to Mark Jones is really all that is needed as he is the contact person at Disney for setting up interpreting, getting the schedule and all the other information. He emails it to you on the Wednesday before your trip so you have a current schedule. And he does like to know when deaf are in the park so he can give the interpreters a heads up to look for them.

Welovedis I don't know if you are deaf or hard of hearing but I am and use the services of all the deaf access several times a year. (8 times this year) I will be glad to answer any questions on deaf access people want to ask.

 

[lsyorke]

"Disney has wonder access for the deaf and hard of hearing. ASL Interpreters, Assistive Listing Devices, Reflective captioning, Close captiioning. "

I can't thank you enough for the information!! I wasn't aware that so much was available. I will refer this couple to these boards and to you Talking Hands and the link that you included.Thank you once again. If they have anymore questions Ill have them start another thread for your assistance.

 

[Talking Hands]

Glad to be of help. Tell them to feel free to ask any questions they might have.

 

[welovedis]

Talking Hands-sorry if I stepped on your toes. My DH is profoundly deaf and we have used all the services WDW offers for him.

I was merely providing additional resources for the OP to check out & I did realize that the page on Deb's site is filled with your info as I read this & many other boards so I figured that out long ago. I always feel that the more info someone has the more they know, sorry again if this offended you. Logic would tell me that if you are contributing to a web page you must find the information helpful or you wouldn't be putting that info out there, right? I did not think that you were the only person who could offer advice or information here.

I wish you were here back in 2000 when I was searching for info--I think I got one reply to my post -2 weeks after I posted it and was gratetful for the information I did receive. That is why it never hurts to post additional info, IMO. Thanks for your expertise and knowledge, I think I'll head back to a less hostile board.

OP-sorry if the information I posted confused or misled you in any way. I meant in regard to the interpreters that some deaf or hard of hearing individuals make different choices based on what is available to them and what they feel comfortable with. DH would never ask specifically for an interpreter for most things because he is an excellent lip-reader. Others might feel differently and would want an intrepreter for everything they could have interpreted. The bottom line is I'm glad you found the info you were looking for and best of luck to your friends and their family!

 

[Talking Hands]

Karen,
I used to be that way myself because I speech read well but I finally realized that even though I am good at it I still miss about 50% of what is said when I am not aided. And frankly I hate to wear my hearing aids. At least at PI I find the background noise over powers the voices so interpreters are a must. Dinner shows you need an interpreter because you are not close enough to lip read. Backstage tour guides constantly move so it is difficult to speech read them. Disney will provide oral interpreters for some things. I prefer ASL but others prefer more English.

I wrote the first post at 1 in the morning having just arrived back from a week long trip to WDW and taking my QA written. (I'm also an interpreter working to get state evaluated and then nationally certified. First step finished) I was planning to add more when I got back on line in the morning. Plus the schedule that is on the webpage is now topsy turvy. One needs to contact Mark Jones and get the current schedule as they change week to week.

 

[welovedis]

Talking Hands-to each their own. You prefer one thing and someone else prefers something else, that why these boards are so great because everyone has something to offer. When it comes to a person's preferences there is no right or wrong answer I would think.

As I posted the links were certainly helpful to us and other deaf & hard of hearing friends and relatives so I didn't think it was a big deal to pass that info along to someone else in hopes that they might find some useful tips. If you don't think the info is of value then maybe it should be there at all. I realize that Mark Jones is the person to contact to make arrangements for what is desired at WDW. I also like to know what info is out there so I can at least have a basic understanding when emailing or contacting someone.

Just my .02!

 

[signtalker]

I can only back up what Lisa has said, Im an interpreteur here in England, my husband is deaf and my son HOH.
Disney came up trumps with all their assistive devices, the only down side for me is that shows are interpreted in ASL and obviously we use BSL, but im sure if I work on Mark hard enough something could be sorted(perhaps I could be disneys BSL interpreteur!!!!!!).

Jules

 

[Talking Hands]

Jules
I have seen one of the interpreters interpret in ASL but add the fingerspelling of things the guest did not understand in BSL. She did this for a child at TOD one night. So at least one of them knows the BSL alphabet.

 

[signtalker]

Lisa could make for a long conversation if we have to spell everything in BSL LOL!!!

Jules

 

[Talking Hands]

So true. There is an old method of teaching the deaf that was used alled the Rochester method where everything was fingerspelled. Tedious to say the least.

 

[tripletvan]

How much of a pain is it if you are park hopping and have to go to guest services at each park?

 

[Talking Hands]

If you need Assistive Listenig devices I guess it might be a pain. Fortunately most are near the entrance of the park making it less of a problem.
For the interpreting schedule Guest Services prints up the week's schedule. Interpreting is at one park each day. So I usually stay at that park for the day or until all the interpreted stuff is done then park hop to another park.

 

[IndyJammer]

This is a wonderful thread & one of the main reasons that I love this site! My DS8 (I had to change that from DS7 today - It's his B-day!) has a severe Hearing loss & we love to hear of any stories or hints that might make his visit more enjoyable!

We went last summer and he the time of his life! But, we were unaware of all the wonderful things that are made available for guests with disabilities. We have contacted Mark Jones and have greatly researched things that we think would make this trip even better.

We understand that we need to get a GAC to help explain what is going on, but we still have a few questions. He wears hearing aids, but he is also in the 90th percentile for reading lips. The main reason we want the GAC is to get up-front seating for the live shows so that he can see the CM's lips. How do we go about informing the CM's at the various shows? Is it necessary to arrive extremely early for the shows?

We plan on getting an Assistive Listening device for him to try, also. But, we are unsure if he will want to wear it - he doesn't like the ones available at Movie Theatres & I would imagine the ones at WDW are similar.

I guess, what I want most of all are stories of people who have "been there" & "done that"! And, also to let everyone know how much these posts help!

 

[Talking Hands]

Does your son sign? It is extremely hard to speech read at the live shows because even up front you are a fair distance from the performers and they are constantly moving. It is why I am so glad I have both options. The interpreters tend to be prettty ASL at the live shows so they are not really mouthing a lot. At the rides like Jungle Cruise they tend to transliterate more and therefore mouth the words.
At the other shows I would suggest reflective captioning over assistive listening devices. I hate the ones at the movies myself btw. Very uncomfortable and don't really help for me. Also I believe that if he is using hearing aids with a T-coil you can just switch to that setting in the shows that offer assistive listening devices. Note that these shows are like the movies in that there is no person that you can speech read just a audio output.
Yes it is necessary to arrive early for the shows especially live shows beccause seting may be filled and they will not move a guest once seated. Just show the GAC to the castmember and they will escort you to your seat. They may ask a question or not. Depends on the CM.
Finally there is the PDA that scrolls the words on selected rides. Really good but ask if you can ride the ride twice. Once to read the dialog and once to see the ride.
I also have the doc file from Mark if you need now. He usually emails that the Wednesday prior to your trip.

 

[shovelhd]

We are counting down the days until we leave on May 16th. Everyone is very excited about our first trip to WDW.

Both of my kids are profoundly deaf, implanted, and do not sign. An interpreter, sign or oral, is of no use to them.

I have gone through this board and have yet to see a FAQ or guidebook or any kind of list of procedures on how I can get access to the events for my kids. If there is one, can someone point me to it?

ALD's won't help. They don't work well with implants. Rear Window and the handheld captioners are great. Preferred seating near the front helps a lot. They are both good speechreaders and they get a lot of input from their implants.

I have questions, but is there someplace I can go to get the treaty on this? Or should I email the person mentioned in this thread and ask him?

If I have to ask question by question, my first one would be what is this GAC and where do I get it?

Thanks,

Chris

 

[SueM in MN]

I have gone through this board and have yet to see a FAQ or guidebook or any kind of list of procedures on how I can get access to the events for my kids. If there is one, can someone point me to it?

I think that what you are looking for (sad to say) doesn't exist. The information in the official WDW Guidebooks for Guest with Disabilities for each park are rather sketchy for all disabilities and they are even more sketchy for services for the deaf. My expertise is mobility and developmental disabilities, but as a nurse, I'm a little aware (and very interested) in a bit of everything. Maybe Lisa (Talking Hands) has some better information, but I think your best option would be to contact Mark who coordinates the Interpreting at WDW. He would be the most aware of what other things are out there. I don't remember if Lisa had contact info for him in this thread, but I think that's the email you were referring to.

For some shows, being front and center would help, but many shows have cartoon costume performers or audioanimatronic performers. Some of those have reflective captioning, which sounds like your sons could use. For many of the shows with live cast (like Beauty and the Beast, or the Festival of the Lion King), the live performers are mixed with cartoon type and they are also moving around the stage a lot (sometimes with their back to part of the audience). The front seats also tend to be low compared to the stage, so you are looking up at the performers (sort of looking at the mouth of a person while seated 3 or 4 feet below their foot level). I don't know how that impacts lipreading, but I imagine it is challenging.

To answer the easy question: A GAC is a Guest Assistance Card and it is a way to let the CMs quickly be able to know what sort of assistance someone with an invisible disability needs. In your sons' cases, it might be front and center seating for shows or to be seated where they will be able to se the reflective captioning. You can request one at Guest Services in any of the parks. It will be good for your entire length of stay and is usually issued for the person with a disability plus up to 5 members of their party.

 

[Talking Hands]

Actually many inplanted people use oral interpreters so I wouldn't dismiss them so lightly. They mouth the words the speaker is saying as well as changing words when needed for more clarity. They do not sign but will use some natural gestures to help convey meaning. Obviously if they do not sign a sign language interpreter will not help.

You can still contact Mark Jones about what shows have the handheld PDA captioning devices ane which have reflective captioning. The handhelds are picked up at Guest Services at each park.

As I pointed out before speechreading is difficult because of the distance involved is too far even when seated near the front. This from personal experience as I am an excellent speech reader
myself so much so that I have been refused an interpreter when hospitalized because I don't sound or appear hard of hearing. Also some of the shows use autoanamatronics which means you don't have true speech patterns to read.

I do have a copy of the list of rides that use the PDA or reflective but it is old and Mark can provide one that is up to date.