Can't Hear the Catholic Mass?


Does your diocese or church have this in their newsletters and
bulletins to make it known that their churches are accessible?


Are you deaf or hard of hearing?  Can't hear the Mass?  Audio
induction loops, CART, and sign language is available upon
request.  Contact your diocese at...........or ask your pastor for
further information.

"The leadership of a church needs to adopt a Church Disability Policy that includes adhering to the ADA to end disability discrimination--and make it known. The church can end its disability discrimination by pro-actively utilizing universal design, that is, by designing things and activities in a way that includes people who have impairments and pro-actively making accommodations available to people who could not otherwise participate—and making known what is available."

source:  http://network.crcna.org/disability-concerns/q-ada-church-and-americans-disabilities-act

                Are the Churches Prepared? 

"The Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1992, changed the landscape of accessibility to public places in the United States. In general, churches are exempt from ADA. The law applies to the church if it has 15 or more employees and one of them has a disability. ADA also applies to the portion of the facility a church rents for a fee, which must then be accessible to people with disabilities.”

Nevertheless, ADA has had an impact on churches by creating a set of standards for accessibility. Church leaders who desire to make their facilities accessible to all people now have a benchmark that they can meet—or exceed—to accomplish this goal."

Source:  http://www.churchlawandtax.com/web/2013/march/prepare-way.html?start=4

"Various ways exist to accommodate the needs of deaf or hard-of-hearing worshipers. Signing is one alternative that provides an attractive and public volunteer ministry for interpreters. Another is called "real time" closed-captioning of songs and sermon wording on a video screen. This will require investment in a computer, software, caption encoder, and a stenographer with the skill level of a court reporter to enter the data. Some churches feature amplification systems for people with hearing impairment but who are not deaf.”

Source:  http://www.churchlawandtax.com/web/2013/march/prepare-way.html?start=4

My comment:  You don’t need to buy all that real time closed captioning system.  An ASR CART transcriber can provide that, or a steno  CART transcriber, or a voice writer  CART  transcriber – the three forms of CART real time captioning.  Its part of the price of their service.  The only thing that is needed is any cell phone, tablet, laptop on the clients part that has internet connection.  Either 4G cell phone/tablet, or wifi/laptop.  The person views real time captioning on their cell phone or tablet.

While screens can be placed on the wall or projected on a screen, more and more people are using the cell phone and tablet to view real time captioning.

               The deaf and hard of hearing lost in the shuffle

"Oral deaf and hard of hearing people often resent being viewed as being part of the Deaf community which is often the result of a mainstreamed confusion about the provision of accommodation. In addition, the hearing population can be puzzled by the myriad of communication options and communication supports resulting in situations where a needed accommodation is attempted, but falls short. For example, non-signing people with hearing loss regularly arrive at events advertised as accessible expecting appropriate amplification or text-based access, only to find a signed language interpreter standing by but no captioner or amplification technology. "

Source and see more at https://www.chs.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/beyond_ableism_and_audism_2013july.pdf