Dan -

             No, I am not talking about the TTY relay as that requires
typing and many people with speech disabilities can not type easily.
Speech-to-Speech allows a person with a speech disability (like me with CP)
to talk to a communications assistant (CA) who is trained to understand
difficult speech.  The CA makes phones calls for me and repeats everything I
say.  If you give me your phone number, I'll call you and demonstrate STS.
Here's the basic info again for your convenience.

            Maryland is one of the nine states providing STS, but I'll
gladly explain to people how to bring it to their state.

                    - Bob

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 is
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. Other users include
people who stutter or have had a laryngectomy or ALS.

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)



----- Original Message -----
From: lawrence keplinger <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, December 12, 1999 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Telephone Access for People with Speech Disabilities


> are you just talking about the maryland relay system for deaf people?  the
deaf
> person uses a tty,  awn operater then speaks what was type to to person
and the
> other phone.
>
> dan
>
> Bob Segalman wrote:
>
> > Mag - The Speech to Speech Communications assistants (CA) are recruited
from
> > among the TTY CAs.  Most of them are young women
> > as young people hear better and men don't listen (smile).
> >
> > - Bob
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Magenta Raine <[log in to unmask]>
> > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Sunday, December 12, 1999 10:35 AM
> > Subject: Re: Fw: Telephone Access for People with Speech Disabilities
> >
> > > bob, where do the crs / sts find these interpreters? just curious.
> > >
> > > mag
> > >
>