Guest Spotlight Blog: Caption Telephones- Colleen Van Rooy

It's the new year, a wonderful opportunity to begin afresh with valuable and helpful information that can positively impact your life! Read more:

This guest spotlight features Colleen Van Rooy, a phone installer for CaptionCall, by Sorenson, which helps qualified individuals get free caption phones for landline communication. Colleen herself, has hearing loss.

CaptionCall helps people with hearing loss understand phone calls. With Caption phones, you can communicate with family and friends, manage business calls, or seek help in emergencies. Best of all, it’s free, making it accessible for those who need captioned calls but can't afford them.

Yes, it's free because it's federally funded as an Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP CTS). To qualify you need hearing loss that requires captions to use the phone properly.

Colleen shared this great article about CaptionCall’s service for people with hearing loss.

CAPTIONED PHONES

Being able to communicate with family and friends can be difficult for some people with hearing loss. Some people have trouble using the telephone and prefer face to face communication only.

A captioned telephone or a captioning app is a very positive game changer. Captioned phones are available at no cost to people who qualify for them. Did you know that you can sign up to receive a no cost captioned phone at: https://captioncall.com/phone/ or at https://www.captel.com/ Both of these companies offer caption phones or a caption app that will work on smart phones. The captioned telephone service is provided by a federally funded program that is part of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Another great resource is: https://www.innocaption.com/ or www.nagish.com both of these app’s shows captioning on smart phones. All of these technologies require self-certification of hearing loss so that’s good news, you do not need to get professional certification of your hearing loss. The day you sign up for a captioning mobile app, you will be able to make and receive captioned calls! And you can forward your current phone number to your captioning app.

According to Colleen, an installer for CaptionCall, and current HLAA Wisconsin board member, this wonderful technology has brought many people of all ages back into the world of communication. There are other caption apps and phones but this article is on just some of the top-rated ones. CaptionCall does not require the internet or a landline. To get a CaptionCall telephone the minimum requirement is a cell phone with Bluetooth. CaptionCall can be paired via Bluetooth with your cell phone. Or if you do have a landline, they will plug it into your phone jack and include a splitter so you can still keep your current phone. The no internet is required is a game-changer for those who do not have the internet.

Phone installers, like Colleen, are working hard in an effort to get those who need captioned phones hooked up quickly. Both CaptionCall and Captel offer self installs in the event it’s not practical to have someone coming into your home, or if there are no phone installers in your area. It makes her feel wonderful to make a difference in someone’s life who needs a caption phone. Colleen said she always felt wonderful at the end of her work day knowing that she helped many people communicate over the phone.

This valuable service significantly assists your family, friends, and loved ones in communicating more effectively. You can share the informative links provided in the article for additional information on caption phones, and keep in mind that utilizing this service is completely free of charge!

I hope you enjoy this valuable resource! Happy New Year!

Blessings,

Coach Vee