Advocacy for Catholic deaf and hard of hearing
so they can have access to the Mass
so they can have access to the Mass
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."
St. John Paul II
Advocate for Yourself in getting accommodations:
This is very important because all too often, many of those with hearing loss like to hide it but in doing so, keeps us all in exclusionary circles. Each one of us can do our part. When you advocate access for yourself, you do much more. You help others get access. Speak up.
"Our Lives Begin To End The Day We Become Silent About Things That Matter'. -MLK, Jr.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." -Mahatma Gandhi
Did you lose your religion?
Did You Know?
Don't lose your religion. Ask for Access -
This is an interesting article how churches
could
could
provide better access for the deaf and
hard of hearing:
Did you lose your religion?
If Access is denied, keep raising awareness
“I plead with you – never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
Pope St. John Paul II
________________________________________
"People with disabilities are much less likely to
attend religious services than people without
disabilities. This is largely due to barriers such as
a lack of architectural, communication, or
attitudinal accessibility to churches and other
places of worship. "
attend religious services than people without
disabilities. This is largely due to barriers such as
a lack of architectural, communication, or
attitudinal accessibility to churches and other
places of worship. "
__________________________________________________________________________
“Just as with wheelchair access issues, advocacy is paramount,” Kasper wrote. “Staying at home to avoid problems or pretending to understand when we don’t will not help us or future generations, and joining with others in a cause can be rewarding in itself.”
(Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/hackensack-church-offers-captioning-for-hearing-impaired-1.1172320)
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Captioning Shares the Message
" If a house of worship is not doing CC,
however, then a major portion of the
dialogue will not be picked up by the
whole audience.”
___________________________________________________________________
"Another set of statistics, however, shows that a full 98 percent of those who are deaf or hearing impaired rarely or never attend church. " (Source: http://www.stenotype.edu/news/stenographer-goes-church/#sthash.T6dA2OpF.dpuf)
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"The key to deciding what aid or service is needed to communicate effectively is to consider the nature, length, complexity, and context of the communication as well as the person’s normal method(s) of communication." (Source: http://www.ada.gov/effective-comm.htm)
____________________________________________________________
"Statistics tell us that 98% of people with hearing loss
do not have a church home, and the deaf and hard of
hearing are the fourth largest unreached people group in
the world."
___________________________________________________________________-
Is Religion Key to Happiness?
Is Religion Key to Happiness?
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Religion, Accessibility and the deaf and hard of hearing
in church:
"CART {real time captioning} is classified as an assistive technology and is considered a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. It is a service provided in the academic setting for students with hearing impairment as well as in public settings such as conventions, churches, corporate meetings, funerals, police interrogations, etc. "
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Discrimination of the deaf and hard of hearing in churches:
Discrimination against the deaf and hard of hearing in which English is their native language in Churches,
Church events, or Church conferences is more common then you think, whether it is intentional, an oversight, or most likely a misunderstanding on how to be fully inclusive to all the deaf and hard of hearing:
A church event in a public place was offering sign language interpreter, spanish interpreter and almost didn't provide real time captioning (CART) which is translating spoken English into verbatim English in real time like interpretation does that allows the majority of the deaf and hard of hearing to be able to PARTICIPATE like the others! However, in the end, they were granted CART (real time captioning) that allows the same equal and effective communication access that ADA would support in secular society and acknowledge as a reasonable and effective accommodation.
_______________________________________________________________________________
"A sobering thought for religious leaders is that 90% of those with a hearing impairment may not attend services due to an inability to hear and participate." (Source: http://premiervisualvoice.com/index.php/blog/16-blog-8)
_________________________________________________________________________
" This {real time captioning} technology is primarily used by people who are late-deafened, oral deaf, hard-of-hearing,or have cochlear implants. Culturally deaf individuals also make use of CART in certain situations. "
______________________________________________________________
"The majority of people who are deaf and hard of
hearing do not know sign language. According to a
Johns Hopkins study, more than 48 million people in the
United States are deaf or hard of hearing, or a fifth of all
Americans. Of these, almost 99 percent lost their hearing
or were raised orally–not using sign language–and rely
on their residual hearing (aided by hearing aids or
cochlear implants), speech reading, and the printed
word for communication access. This group of people
are greatly aided by text forms of access." (Source: http://www.captionaccess.com/communication-access-101/?replytocom=41)
hearing do not know sign language. According to a
Johns Hopkins study, more than 48 million people in the
United States are deaf or hard of hearing, or a fifth of all
Americans. Of these, almost 99 percent lost their hearing
or were raised orally–not using sign language–and rely
on their residual hearing (aided by hearing aids or
cochlear implants), speech reading, and the printed
word for communication access. This group of people
are greatly aided by text forms of access." (Source: http://www.captionaccess.com/communication-access-101/?replytocom=41)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Catholic Mass for the deaf and hard of hearing:
"Arrange for seating the Deaf community in the
front, near the
speaker.
Arrange for interpreter or real time captioning
services at
least
two weeks in advance.
Utilize room amplification system or personal
amplification
system…"
(Source: http://www.dioslc.org/ministries/disabilities/guidelines-for-accommodating-people-with-disabilities)
________________________________________________________
who are deaf and hard of hearing?:
"However, in order to serve ALL deaf, hard of hearing,
the hearing impaired or people with hearing loss
(whichever terms you choose), all of these accessible
solutions need to be provided, and the Deaf and
hearing impaired should always be placed down front
where they can use their eyes to see to hear and the
audio amplifiers to be picked up by their assistive
devices. Captions should be on the wall or a screen for
those who need to read what is being said."
__________________________________________________
"When designing a space or
planning
an event, we need to strive for
universal access—so that all
members of our communities can
attend and participate. This means
that, in addition to ramps and
elevators, we need assistive
listening technology like hearing
loops and captions, and signage
that makes it clear that the service
is available. This is a goal that we
can achieve, but in order to do so,
we need to change the way we
think about communication and
hearing access. "
- See more at: http://agewisekin
gcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-Out.htm#sthash.em7Uhug6.nW91Nm7I.dpuf
(Source: http://agewisekingcounty.org/en/134/1/661/Too-Many-People-with-Hearing-Loss-Miss-
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"CART is a type of “accommodation”
service for people with disabilities. In
function, CART is similar to sign
language interpreting for people who are
deaf, because it transforms spoken
language into a visual format that is
appropriate for people with hearing loss.
But CART can be used by the 95% of
hard of hearing and deaf people who do
not use American Sign Language (ASL)
to communicate."
(Source: http://www.visiblevoices.com/faq.html)
service for people with disabilities. In
function, CART is similar to sign
language interpreting for people who are
deaf, because it transforms spoken
language into a visual format that is
appropriate for people with hearing loss.
But CART can be used by the 95% of
hard of hearing and deaf people who do
not use American Sign Language (ASL)
to communicate."
(Source: http://www.visiblevoices.com/faq.html)
________________________________
"Nearly one in five Americans has some
form of
disability, and many people naturally join
this group as
they grow older and experience loss of
vision, hearing,
or mobility, so the need for accessibility
can end up
benefitting many members of the parish." (Source: http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201312/ramp-it-how-parishes-can-increase-accessibility-28230#sthash.YfofSqWI.dpuf)
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"A growing number of churches, synagogues
and other places of worship are adopting
closed captioning for hearing-impaired
congregants." (Source: http://www.stenotype.edu/news/stenographer-goes-church/#sthash.5tWSYgfx.dpuf)
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This Catholic church has real time captioning (CART) for the deaf and hard of hearing. It is like what you see on TV (CC):
"St. Theresa Catholic Church in Ashburn, VA: HOMILY REAL-TIME TRANSLATION SERVICE NOW AVAILABLE VIA iPAD – Are you not hearing the Sunday mass homily as well as you’d like? Especially for the hearing impaired and deaf but open to all, you now have an amazing option to receive the Sunday mass homily, prayers of the faithful, and announcements via real-time translation (CART service) directly to your iPAD during mass! St. Theresa parishioner and professional court reporter Donna L. Linton has volunteered to provide the service (just like closed captioning on your television). Please contact Donna at CARTsttheresa@aol.com for information on mass times and how to join in. "
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Thinking Inclusion Conscious at the Mass
in the Catholic Church:
"Ministers during the Mass at Saint Vincent
de Paul Catholic Church in Salt Lake City will
include individuals with disabilities; there will
be live captioning on a screen and
American Sign Language interpreters for
hard-of-hearing individuals and the Deaf
;
and low-gluten hosts for those who are
gluten intolerant. "
(Source: http://www.icatholic.org/article/two-masses-scheduled-to-honor-people-with-disabilities-8976972)
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Last year, the Orthodox Union held 200 "karaoke-style"
readings of Megilat Esther during Purim for the hard of
hearing, deaf and elderly in synagogues across the US,
UK, Israel and Australia. The readings used PowerPoint
presentations projected onto giant projector screens,
enabling participants to visually follow along with the
words being highlighted on the screen."
_____________________________________________________________
"Accessible meeting space allows
everyone to participate."
__________________________________________
"There are people — right now — in your
churches (no exceptions!) who are
excluded
by their hearing loss. They may not tell
you. They may even minimize or deny the
extent
and impact of their hearing loss. Yet they
are out there, every Sunday, until it gets so
difficult they just leave. " (Source: http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/11/26/please-hear-those-us-who-cant -by Mary Dyer)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This article when talking about those with hearing loss in church states;
“If they can’t hear where it matters
most, they go home,” Diephouse said."
(Source: http://www.mlive.com/living/grandrapids/index.ssf/2010/02/area_churches_other_facilities.html)
__________________________________________________
“Most people with adult-onset hearing
loss who don’t grow up deaf tend to be
ashamed. They tend to not speak out and
challenge people."
__________________________________________________________________
" Many church members do not talk
about their hearing difficulty, and
some
end up leaving because they can no
longer fully participate in the
worship."
about their hearing difficulty, and
some
end up leaving because they can no
longer fully participate in the
worship."
(Source: http://www.livingchurch.org/back-loop -By Lauren Anderson)
________________________________________________________________
"An obvious benefit of closed captioning
is to allow everyone to have an equal
opportunity to participate in and enjoy the
benefits of a service, program or activity."
is to allow everyone to have an equal
opportunity to participate in and enjoy the
benefits of a service, program or activity."
_______________________________________________________
Demo of Real time Captioning (aka Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART):
Go to: http://www.acscaptions.com/subpages/CART.asp (scroll down to find demo video,
click on CC)
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“If we can start to understand how
“If we can start to understand how
people with disabilities respond
to the church, then we can see
how other people who might feel
excluded can be drawn in". - See more at: http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201312/ramp-it-how-parishes-can-increase-accessibility-28230#sthash.2NCKxs0O.dpuf
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"We depend on captions for television, movies, relay phone calls, live theater and meetings, etc. However, captions are lacking at churches and synagogues. As a result we no longer attend. We feel excluded from the spiritual communities." (Source: http://xpressivehandz.blogspot.com/2014/07/why-churches-and-synagogues-need-to.html)
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"It is essential that all forms of the
liturgy be
completely accessible to people with
disabilities, since these forms are the
essence
of
the spiritual tie that binds the Christian
community together," the bishops
wrote.
(Source: http://www.patersondiocese.org/page.cfm?Web_ID=1888)
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"Of all the barriers to full participation and inclusion, the barrier of unexamined attitudes is the most difficult to address," states Ginny Thornburgh, director of the American Association of People with Disabilities' Interfaith Initiative."
(Source: http://www.disabilitiesandfaith.org)
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Don't Just Sit There in Church!
"Listening is a most important form of active participation."
"It is the duty of all to listen."
Churches are encouraged to comply with ADA to reduce discrimination : http://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/02/09/religious-institutions-exempt-from-ada-but-encouraged-to-comply/
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Help for Catholics – a wonderful
resource for understanding Christ:
______________________________________
Why I'm Catholic: http://whyimcatholic.com
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US Bishop Statement:
'It is essential that all forms of the liturgy be completely accessible to people with disabilities, since these forms are the essence of the spiritual tie that binds the Christian community together' (Source: http://www.disabilityawarenesstraining.com/component/content/article/3/40)
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The purpose of this blog is to raise Diversity Awareness among those with hearing loss and deafness, and to raise awareness that many with hearing loss are being excluded from full participation at the Mass if the church does not have Captioning. Catholics with hearing loss deserve the fullness of their faith. Does your Diocese/Archdiocese have at least one Mass service in Captioning at a church that one who benefits from it can reasonably travel to in order to fully and actively participate at the Mass? Contact your Diocese/Archdiocese - find it here: http://www.usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm.)
Is your church or Diocese/Archdiocese inclusive to all those with hearing loss and deafness by providing Real time Captioning, Sign Language and Audio Loops? If not - Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is needed in order to share the joy of the gospel by applying Universal Communication Access. It is very important to share the Word of God with everyone. Let's pray for that!
Prayer of Inclusion: http://www.ncpd.org/ministries-programs/spirituality/prayers
"Ensure that the power of salvation may be shared by all" (John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, n. 16). "(Source: http://www.ncpd.org/views-news-policy/policy/church/bishops/welcome-and-justice)
"Be not Afraid, Open Wide the Gates" - Pope St. John Paul II (Source: http://jp2forum.blogspot.com/2013/12/be-not-afraid-resounding-from-1531-to.html)
CC-CaptionCatholic
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