Most of us know what closed captions are – the text on the TV that helps deaf and hard of hearing people understand dialogue and sounds. But outside of the world of TV, there’s another system that helps this group “hear.” It’s called Communication Access Real-Time Translation, or simply CART, and it provides real-time translation of conversations in a variety of settings – the classroom, workplace meetings, weddings, court proceedings and more.
It is estimated that 36 million Americans are living with some form of hearing loss. CART benefits all types of individuals with hearing loss, including those who are late-deafened, hard of hearing, oral deaf, or who have a cochlear implant. For this group, it can be difficult to follow what’s going on audibly, especially in group situations, where more than one person is talking.
With CART, a third party provides the “live” speech-to-text interpreting service. A CART provider uses special equipment to transcribe all of the spoken words and background sounds in a given situation. The words can be sent to a personal computer or a large monitor for group settings, such as a place of worship. The entire “conversation” can then be saved electronically or printed for later review.
On-Site CART services are available wherever there’s access to an electrical outlet. CART can also be provided remotely when there’s an Internet connection and a phone line.
“Being Deaf myself, I know first hand how beneficial services such as CART are for people who can not hear, because they give them a chance to ‘listen’ without having to hear,” says Myrna-Orleck Aiello, CEO of TCS Associates, which provides CART and other communications services in the Washington, D.C. area.
The cost of CART isn’t cheap: CART providers generally contract their services for around $150 to $200 for the first two hours, and then around $50 for each additional hour. But these are highly trained professionals who train for up to two years to master the unique software and hardware – a stenography-like keyboard that is based on phonetics.
Another perspective is how the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws figure CART into their “equal access” provisions. Any public institution, including schools, the workplace and hospitals are required to provide accommodations for individuals with a disability. The ADA recognizes CART as one assistive technology. Other accommodations include sign language interpreters, note takers and TypeWell, which is a less expensive transcription service but isn’t as sophisticated as CART.
As more people learn about CART, demand for this service is bound to grow. Alas, there is a shortage of CART-trained professionals in the field due to the stringent requirements for training and licensure. The website CARTinfo.org has a list of schools and service providers.
In an ideal world, the deaf would have automatic speech-to-text translation on their mobile phones. Until then, CART is a valuable service for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
By Carissa Aiello
Thank you so much for posting this! I’m a CART provider in New York City, and many Deaf and hard of hearing people I’ve talked to have never heard of CART. Some of them know it by other names, such as “classroom captioning” or “academic stenography”, but many people, including those who would find it very useful and who have a legal right to it under the ADA, don’t even know it exists. I’ve been subscribed to this blog for ages, and I always enjoy reading it, but it gave me an extra thrill to see a great explanation of my own profession up there on my screen. Everything you said is spot-on, though I should note that your estimate of charges seems a touch on the high side, even for NYC, which is on the upper end of the market. Also, in most cases, clients do not have to pay for charges out of pocket; as with ASL interpreters, many organizations, such as colleges, universities, doctor’s offices, and others, are legally obligated to hire and pay for a CART provider if requested by a Deaf or hard of hearing person.
Thank you Mirabai. CART is an important component in the classroom and workplace and I am always looking for ways to make more people aware of it. This service wasn’t available to me until I was in graduate school and is so much better than oral notetakers!
Suzanne