Developments within the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Community

    Over the course of the years, the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities have had a lot of progress that has gained them more access. Different pieces of legislation have also been passed to help these communities. One example of this is the Americans with Disabilities Act also known as the ADA. This piece of legislation, passed in 1990 helped give people hearing problems an easier way to communicate. 

The impact was monumental. Employers were no longer allowed to discriminate against those who were deaf or HOH. Relay services allowed some to make phone calls for the very first time, no longer needing to rely on hearing friends and neighbors call their cable company or make a doctor’s appointment. Captions appeared below the anchors during the nightly news, and schools and hospitals began providing interpretation services for those who use American Sign Language. The communication chasm between the hearing and non-hearing worlds began to narrow (Robyn Correll). 

    This is a major achievement and has helped many people gain the access that they need. 
    
    People passing legislation to help out the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities isn’t the only advancement. Companies have updated their policies to help accommodate the deaf and hard-of-hearing. One of the companies, Instagram, has created automatic captions of their Instagram TV videos also known as IGTV. Another company bridging the gap between the two worlds is Zoom. They now have features to help sign language interpreters. For Zoom calls, you can now pin multiple videos at a time so that the interpreter is next to the person speaking on screen. This is just one of the three newly added features. The other two include: being able to move around the windows to move the interpreter closer and another feature which allows you to pin multiple videos at once. According to mashable.com, this last feature is "a resource-heavy ability intended for people who need it to see what someone is saying while on a Zoom Call" (Sasha Lekach). This is a great new tool that Zoom uses. It can help make it easier for interpreters to be seen on the screen.

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