Video Relay Services
A Video Relay Service (VRS) is a service
that enables Deaf and hard of hearing people to use sign language to make
and receive calls using video equipment. This service provides access to a
Video Relay Service (VRS) operator who functions as an interpreter for when
the VRS user wishes to make a call to or communicate with another individual
who may not know sign language fluently or at all (de Sa, 2011).
When a VRS user dials the
number of their state’s relay service using a television or computer with a
video camera and high speed internet connection for the sake of signing, the
VRS operator answers the call, and then places a call to the desired contact
person of the VRS user. The operator is simply the “interpreter” and relays
information between two parties (Gotherstrom, 2004 & de Sa, 2011).
VRS operators have been
trained to facilitate communication for Deaf and hard of hearing. Many are
certified interpreters. For example, Sorenson Video Relay Services
specifically guarantees that their interpreters are certified by the
National Association of the Deaf or Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf,
hold a state interpreter certification, or hold a Masters degree in sign
language (Burdett, 2011).
Since video relay services
involve the use of a third party, a big concern raised with using these
services is privacy. The VRS interpreter is usually (but not always) a
stranger to the VRS user. The confidentiality of a VRS user’s conversation
is at stake each time a person uses this service. The seriousness of this
matter is evident in an information sheet printed by the Illinois Department
of Public Health which states, “Accommodation services are covered by the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) so that
confidentiality is protected” (Quin, 2011). Additionally, Interpreters have
been obliged to abide by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Code of
Ethics and the Federal Communication Commission’s regulations to help assure
privacy for the VRS user. These protections help reduce the likelihood of
confidentiality being violated by the third party when using VRS, so much so
that VRS services are said to be more secure for communication purposes than
using email (Quin, 2011).
Over the years, VRS has become an
extremely well-known and popular service among the hard of hearing and the
Deaf. VRS offers benefits that previous text-based communication devices
never could, namely: the user is able to communicate in their
language (American Sign Language), conversations are much shorter and
quicker when done through VRS, and when using VRS, conversations are much
more fluent and natural in that users can interrupt one another like a face
to face interaction (de Sa, 2011).
Video Relay Services and related technology enable members of the Deaf and
hard of hearing community to go about daily life in a much more streamlined
manner and to communicate with others through their preferred mode of
communication, American Sign Language.
References:
Burdett, Ron. (2011, June).SVRS interpreters.
Sorenson Video Relay Service. Sorenson Communications. Retrieved 7, July
2011: <http://www.sorensonvrs.com/svrs/svrs_interpreters>.
de Sa, Paul & Karen Strauss. (2011, May 5). Video
relay service reform. Federal Communication Commission. Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau. Retrieved 8, July 2011:
<http://www.fcc.gov/blog/video-relay-service-reform>.
de Sa, Paul & Karen Strauss. (2011, May 5). Video
relay services. Federal Communication Commission. Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau. Retrieved 8, July 2011:
<http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/video-relay-services>.
Gotherstrom, Ulla-Christel, Jan Persson, & Dick Jonsson.
(2004). A comparative study of text telephone and videophone relay services.
Technology & Disability. 16, 101-109.
Quinn, Pat. (2011, July 8). Video relay service (VRS).
Illinois Department of Public Health. State of Illinois. Retrieved 8, July
2011:
<http://www.idph.state.il.us/idhp/VRS_FactSheet_rslfinal_9_10.pdf>.