Bob,

Do you have a financial interest in the expansion of this "service?"

Or are you showing what can occur with a singular dedication to a cause?

Steve M.


>From: Bob Segalman <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: "St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List"
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Discrimination Problems in Georgia,              Arizona and
>Oregon for people wtih speech disabilities
>Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 05:16:47 -0800
>
>There is discrimination in these three states concerning telephone
>access for people with speech disabilities.  Is there anyone living in
>these
>states willing to help fight the discrimination by sending an e-mail?  The
>service is described below.
>           Wisconsin and Georgia have established barriers to publicizing
>the
>service to people with speech disabilities.
>Oregon refuses to establish the service because of probably
>unconstitutional
>state laws.
>
>- Bob Segalman, Ph.D.
>
>please write me at
>[log in to unmask])
>
>
>PEOPLE WITH SPEECH DISABILITIES NOW HAVE A TELEPHONE SERVICE
>
>If you have a speech disability and live in: ARIZONA, CALIFORNIA, MARYLAND,
>NEVADA, SOUTH CAROLINA, WISCONSIN, GEORGIA, MINNESOTA and WASHINNGTON
>STATE,
>you can now use a new, free telephone assistance service 24 hours a day.
>
>This service, called Speech-to-Speech, provides "communications assistants"
>(CA) for people with difficulty being understood by the public on the
>telephone. We hope that the FCC will require all states to provide
>Speech-to-Speech in two years.
>
>If you have a speech disability, you can dial toll free to reach a patient,
>trained communications assistant who is familiar with many speech patterns
>and has excellent hearing and language skills. This operator makes
>telephone
>calls for you and repeats your words exactly. Users now make about 5,000
>calls a month nationally.
>
>Speech-to-Speech is also useful if you use a speech synthesizer.
>Speech-to-Speech provides the only way for many people to telephone others
>not accustomed to their speech.
>Many Speech-to-Speech users have Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy,
>multiple sclerosis, or Muscular Dystrophy. People who stutter or have had a
>laryngectomy or ALS also may use Speech-to-Speech.
>
>I have cerebral palsy and Speech-to-Speech made telephone use
>much easier for me. You can try out Speech-to-Speech, report
>problems or get more information by calling 800-854-7784 and
>asking the CA to call Dr. Bob Segalman at 916-263-8689 (W)
>or 916-362-0982(H)  See also the new web page on Speech-to-Speech:
>
>   http//www.stsnews.com/
>
>Here are the U. S. Speech-to-Speech access numbers:
>
>ARIZONA 1 800 842 6520
>CALIFORNIA 1 800 854 7784
>MARYLAND 1 800-785-5630
>SOUTH CAROLINA 1 877 735 7277
>WISCONSIN 1 800-833-7637
>GEORGIA 1 800 229 5746
>WASHINGTON STATE 1-877-833-6341
>NEVADA 1-888-326-5658
>MINNESOTA 1-877-627-3848
>
>Sweden has completed a Speech-to-Speech Trial.  Australia now has a
>permanent service. For Swedish information e-mail:
>[log in to unmask]
>(Inga Svanfeldt) and for Australian information e-mail:
>[log in to unmask]
>(Tom McCaul)

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