Braille, Sign Language and Technology

Businesses, agencies, and organizations that provide public services are required, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide information in an alternate format if a person with a visual or reading impairment requests it or a sign language interpreter if a person with a hearing or speech impairment requests one.

Many groups do not know how to find those resources. The Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) has compiled a list of organizations that provide some of these services. See the listing on the left of this page for resources.

Some of these services may qualify as a tax credit for business. The Disability Access Tax Credit that was eliminated in 2011 has been re-established in the 2014 legislature. Check out the Tax Credit Brochure for the new information. KCDC always recommends businesses consult with their tax professional or lawyer when considering the use of tax incentives.

Sources for Braille and Alternate Formats

There are several sources in Kansas that produce Braille and alternate format documents. Please contact the provider directly for pricing information on putting tables, math, maps, science and other more complex information into Braille, etc. The table below lists a few reputable providers. These prices are being updated this year (2018).

Organization	Contact Person	Phone Number	eMail address	Other address	Braille Cost per page/side	Large Print (typically 18 font)	Computer disk or CD
Envision/ Print Division		Charlotte Lambert (316) 425-7123	[email protected]	2301 South Water, Wichita, KS 67213	$0.80 for 2-sided page ($.40 per side)	Yes, $0.20 per 2-sided pg.	Yes, prices quoted on how much computer times involved. $40 per hour. CD and Flash Drive only.
Independence, Inc.	Daniel Brown	(785) 841-0333	[email protected]	2001 Haskell, Lawrence, KS 66046	$0.40 per single sided page; small binder $1.50; large binder $3.00. $30/hour for formatting or editing of the document is required	Yes, $0.25 per page	No
KTBI	Randolph Cabral	(316) 425-7255			$0.80 o $1.25 per page. Set up fee varies
Prairie Independent Living Resource Center	Chris Owens	(620) 663-3989	[email protected]	17 S. Main, Hutchinson, KS 67501	$.50 per 2-sided pg.if no formatting required; $1.00 per 2-sided page if formating is required	No	No, use State Talking Book Library
Topeka Independent Living Resource Center (TILRC)	Angie Harter or Jolene Benham	(785) 233-4572	[email protected]	501 SW Jackson, Suite 100. Topeka, Kansas 66603	$1.00 per page if in text format	$1.50 per page to format & print.	$1.00 per page to read; $2.50 per CD; $1.50 per disk
Byington Advocacy Consulting of Kansas	Ann Byington	(785) 224-9769	[email protected]	909 SW College Avenue Topeka, KS 66606	$.25 per side for MS Word format (interpoint Braille (2-sided)) set up fee of $50/hour for re-formatting. All materials bound without covers. Covers available for an additional charge.	Please contact for details	Not available

Expand all

Sign Language

Statewide
Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) provides interpreter referral and coordination across Kansas. KCDHH helps state agencies, hospitals, law enforcement organizations, courts and businesses locate professional interpreters.

Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Phone: 1-800-432-0698
Phone Topeka: (785) 368-8034
Website
KCDHH requests that you call them within 24 hours of reaching out to someone on the list to double check that they are still providing qualified interpreters.

Kansas City Metro
Able Hands
Phone: (816) 751-0590
Web Site

Deaf Expression
Phone: (913) 268-3323
Web Site

Interpreting Solutions, LLC
Phone: (913) 980-4120
Fax: (775) 245-5231
Web Site

Johnson County Human Services and Aging
Accessibility Program
Phone Voice: (913) 715-8916
Phone TTY: (913) 894-8822
Website

Sign Language Specialist
Phone Voice: (816) 246-8770
Phone TTY: (816) 246-8569
Web Site

Topeka
Topeka Independent Living Resource Center (TILRC)
V/TTY (785) 233-4572
V/TTY toll free 1(800) 443-2207
Wichita
Sign Language Interpreting Services
Phone: (316) 773-7446
Telephone Access 711
- About TTY - a special device that lets people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired use the telephone to communicate, by allowing them to type messages back and forth to one another instead of talking and listening.
- Telecommunication Relay Services - Dial 711 or 1-800-766-3777.
- What is a Relay call? It is an operator service that allows people who are deaf, hard–of–hearing, speech–impaired, and deaf/blind to place calls to standard telephone users via a keyboard or assistive device.
- Kansas Relay Center - Hamilton Relay provides traditional relay services for the state of Kansas including TTY, Voice Carry Over (VCO), Hearing Carry Over (HCO), Speech-to-Speech, Spanish-to-Spanish and CapTel®.
- Kansas Telecommunication Access Program (TAP) - a telecommunications equipment distribution program. TAP provides specialized telephones FREE to those that qualify. Kansas residents with existing telephone service and income below $55,000 per year will qualify if they also have trouble hearing, seeing, speaking, remembering, walking, or holding a telephone.
Audio Description
Overview

Audio description make television programs, feature films, home videos, and other visual media accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Audio description covers key visual elements in a program, such as actions, costumes, gestures, and scenery, that a viewer who is blind or visually impaired would ordinarily miss.

Resources
- The Media Access Group at WGBH has pioneered and delivered captioned and described media for over 30 year to people in their homes, classrooms, at work and in the community.
- Narrative Television Network - makes movies and television accessible to millions of blind and visually impaired people by unobtrusively adding the voice of a narrator to the existing soundtrack.
Video Remote Interpreting Services
Overview
With video remote interpreting (VRI), a deaf person is in a room with video conferencing equipment. This equipment can be a computer with a web camera or a videophone. An interpreter is not in the room, but appears on screen. This remote interpreter, working in a call center, listens through a headset to what is being said and interprets it. The deaf person watches the interpreter on the screen. Likewise, the interpreter is able to see the deaf person via the camera and hear the conversation through a microphone. All conversations are confidential.

VRI is available 24 hours a day and works best for one-on-one meetings or for small groups. - Source: About.com

If you do not have access to a video phone or video conference equipment, there are several public locations that provide it free of charge. It these locations do not have free video relay service, so you would still need to paid for that service.
- Independence, Inc. in Lawrence, at 2001 Haskell, has a video phone and free video relay service people can use to access video remote interpreting. Please contact Daniel Brown for more information at 785-841-0333.
- All Workforce Centers have video conference equipment. Check our Disability Service Map to find the one nearest you. Map
- All Kansas public universities and community colleges have video conference equipment. Check the website for the Board of Regents to find a university, community college or vocational technical school near you to contact about using their services.
Resources
This list does not imply endorsement of businesses listed. Each business' credentials should be reviewed for the best fit and best candidate for your needs.

Alpha and Omega-- A video remote interpreting service that is purchased so that no prior arrangements are necessary to have the sign language services available on an as needed basis.

Birnbaum Interpreting Services (BIS) is a Deaf-owned and operated company offering sign language interpreting services for government, healthcare, legal, religious, business and entertainment environments.

SignOn Video Remote Interpreting is an easy-to-use video interpreting system that uses the latest web-based technology for on-demand access to sign language interpreting services without an interpreter onsite. With just a computer, webcam and a high-speed broadband connection, customers can have instant access to SignOn’s highly trained interpreters.

Sorenson Video Remote Services (SVRS)™ --a convenient, professional interpreting service provided by Sorenson Communications--enables deaf and hearing individuals who are in the same location to easily conduct conversations using a remote video interpreter, videophone technology, and a high-speed Internet connection. Sorenson VRI assists companies and organizations to comply with the current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations.
Closed Captioning
What are Closed Captions?

Like subtitles, captions display spoken dialogue as printed words on the television screen. Unlike subtitles, captions are specifically designed for viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing. Captions are carefully placed to identify speakers, on- and off screen sound effects, music, and laughter.
Source - MediaAccessGroup at WBGH

If you are interested in learning more about closed captioning, the Guide to Closed Captioning provides lots of information.

Resources
- Captioning Frequently Asked Questions
- Caption Services
  
  Closed Caption Maker
  
  Caption Sync - Automatic Sync Technologies
  
  Closed Captioning on YouTube
Accessible Software and Website
Overview
Ensuring that your documents are made in an accessible manner provides everyone with an equal opportunity to access information from your agency, program or service.

Accessible Software Resources
- Creating Accessible Microsoft Office 2010 Documents
- Making Accessible Microsoft Tables (a YouTube video)
- Creating Accessible Adobe PDF files - by Adobe
- Creating Accessible PDF files - by Microsoft Office
Accessible Website Resources
- Kansas Partnership for Accessible Technology - addresses web and information technology accessibility issues and provides related policy, standards, guidelines, and procedural recommendations.
Accessible Social Media

Improving the Accessibility of Social Media - Digitalgov.gov - Tips for making Facebook, Tweets and YouTube accessible.
Real Time Captioning

Communication Access Real-Time Translation, sometimes called Real Time Captioning or CART is the general name of the system court reports, closed captioners and voice writers use to convert speech to text. This services is often used by people who become deaf or hard of hearing later in life when use of the English language is well established, when someone's first language is not English, when speakers are from other countries and accents make it difficult to understand their speech or sometimes when there is too much noise to hear everything clearly.

CART can be provided on location or remotely via the Internet.

In Person and Remote Captioning

2020 Captioning
2020 Captioning

Piles Rpt Captioning
Jane Piles, Owner
785-266-1562
[email protected]

Caption First
719-941-9557
www.captionfirst.com

Braille, Sign Language and Technology

Sources for Braille and Alternate Formats

Braille, Sign Language and Technology

Statewide

Kansas City Metro

Topeka

Wichita

Overview

Resources

Overview

Resources

What are Closed Captions?

Resources

Overview

Accessible Software Resources

Accessible Website Resources

Accessible Social Media

In Person and Remote Captioning