Deaf Phones

In the past there was the Pony Express, newspapers, Morse code, letters, and telegrams as a way of spreading and sharing information without being face to face. There was a whole variety of options for sending messages, but after the telephone was invented every company, organization, and home acquired a phone number and that became the easiest and quickest way for communication. The telephone was limited mainly to the hearing although it became the most common way that people contacted each other. Now with modern technology there are even more ways to communicate long distance, but it was a hundred years before the telephone became available to the deaf as well. Alexander Graham Bells invention of the telephone began as an attempt to make the deaf hear. Bell wanted to make sound visible to the deaf. In his research Bell saw an application for teaching deaf youngsters (18, Winefield). There was a definite influence from his interest in deaf education that showed in his experiments with telegraphy. From his research and experiments he eventually invented the telephone, which had a huge impact on the entire world. The telephone could be used to call another country across the ocean, another state, or the telegram office. But the telephone was basically a shut door to the Deaf

for communication. Someone else like a neighbor, friend, or family member had to make phone calls for them. Unfortunately lost in the annals of time due to its lack of fame, the first telephone accessible to the deaf was actually created by Elisha Gray, Bells rival for the telephone patent. Gray invented the telautograph around 1893 which was a visual telephone device. A message could be handwritten at one end of the telautograph and be reproduced automatically by a pen on the other end of the device. Unfortunately the telautograph failed to become as popular as the telephone and so faded away. It was almost a hundred years after the invention of the telephone that text communication became possible over the telephone. A dentist called Dr. James C. Marsters heard through the friends of a friend of a scientist named Robert Weitbrecht who was an expert in electronics with a fascination for radios. Since they both had the commonality of being deaf, Dr. Marsters felt that Weitbrecht would be perfect in helping him achieve his decades long goal of making the household telephone visually accessible. Weitbrecht, Dr. Marsters, and Andrew Saks as the investor created the company Applied Communications Corp (APCOM) to make this invention possible. In 1964 Weitbrecht developed the acoustic coupler modem that could translate spoken words into written words when connected to a teletypewriter and a phone placed on the coupler. All this together was called a TTY. The acoustic coupler modem did not connect directly with the phone line to avoid legal problems with AT&T that would also cause a complete stop of phone services. The legality of plugging directly into the phone line had been a major issue

for Dr. Marsters, but with the modem it easily connected to any household phone instead of the phone line. The Deaf community snatched up recycled teletypewriters from the military, the government, or ones discarded by companies that were not destroyed to have their own TTYs. AT&T was still reluctant to have TTYs near their phone service and argued against the use of TTYs. After a court battle with AT&T TTYs became more easily available if you could afford it. TTYs could be hundreds to thousands of dollars, but with distribution programs and the expense qualifying as a deductible in taxes it was made more affordable. The first generations of TTYs were large and cumbersome, but with their popularity, they gradually turned into sleeker, streamlined cheaper models with an LED or LCD screen that could easily fit onto a small desk. Their smaller size and portability made it possible to use them in phone booths. In 1974 a Braille TTY was shown to the public, which made it possible for the deaf-blind to communicate by telephone. TTYs by the 1980s became such a staple that they were in schools, airports, stores, offices, companies, and homes. A TTY etiquette developed because they were so common. TTY relay services also grew since TTYs could only communicate one way if the other person did not have a TTY as well. TTY relay services became nationwide in the 1990s, which coincided with the Americans with Disabilities Act that made equal accessibility to all a requirement. Although the TTY was an incredible invention they seem almost as antique now as having a home phone. Since 1929 AT&T had been experimenting with video telephone technology. They gave demonstrations over the decades of what they called the Picturephone, but never actually put it on the market. It was very disappointing, but despite that video relay services (VRS)

developed without the Picturephone because of the internet. An interpreter can be speaking on the phone and signing over the computer camera. VRS began to grow just like TTY relay services had. The choices for communication have far surpassed the Pony Express with the birth of the internet, tablets, and cell phones. Its unusual or less the norm for a household to have a home phone when usually a cell phone is all thats needed and wanted in modern times. The Deaf were one of the first to take advantage of the newest and latest technology. Computers can be used as free video phones through websites and programs such as Skype. There is a multitude of ways to connect now with anyone across the world with emails, online chats, and Facebook. Cell phones themselves have cameras that can be used for a video conversations since they are little computers now. Cell phones have become compatible with hearing aids or cochlear implants and can also include options for TTY along with texting and emails. With the growth and changes in technology the most common way to contact another is through the internet or texting. Now there is software and tons of different types of technology that makes communication fast and easy. The telephone is now only one of many choices. Cell phones and the internet along with some of the old technology thats still around like letters and Morse code, whether hearing or deaf, are available. After over a hundred year history the telephone has become accessible to all, but is no longer the quickest easiest way of communicating. Telephones have stopped being

the most common form of communication, but with the laws that are in place that require equal accessibility for all the telephone is finally an option.

Bibliography Lang, Harry G. A Phone of our Own: The Deaf Insurrection Against Ma Bell. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 2000. Print. Naturale, Joan. FAQs and General TTY Etiquette Tips for New TTY Users. Rochester Institute of Technology. N.P., 17 August 2004. Web. 10 May 2013. National Association of the Deaf. N.p., N.d. Web. 10 May 2013. Winefield, Richard. Never the Twain Shall Meet: Bell, Gallaudet, and the Communications Debate. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press, 1987. Print.