This technology is primarily used by people who are deaf and persons with hearing loss, but it is also utilized by people with learning disabilities, with central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), and those for whom English is not their primary language. CART services are provided to students in elementary through post-secondary classrooms and labs, in government and private industry workplaces, in public and private meetings, conferences and conventions, and many other venues. CART transcripts may be viewed on laptop or tablet screens, monitors, or large room-size screens, either through direct connection to the CART provider or remote connections such as the Internet. 

The most important aspect to recognize is that CART provides equal access, allowing consumers to receive the same information as anyone else present, thus affording them the ability to interpret the meaning for themselves and permitting full interaction in any setting. CART provides complete communication access by capturing the spoken word as well as any environmental sounds. As a result, the consumer has the opportunity to fully participate.”

National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA)

https://nvra.org/

The above definition has been communicated in many different ways but we find this is the most informative way to describe CART and the service that we provide.

We have been providing CART for close to 20 years and find that our on-going training and dedication, professionally as well as personally, have brought us to a level of skill that we could have only imagined. We have worked in hundreds of venues and many more universities throughout our careers and enjoy the diversity of our students and class lectures. Community meetings and seminars are events that we have always added to our repertoire of experiences. In the United Nations, we provide CART and transcripts for many countries from around the world….and we feel privileged to do all of the above.

Our community service and dedication is what we are proud of, spreading the word about people who are CART consumers whether they are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, have Auditory Processing Disorder or foreign language users. Why isn’t it utilized more often? Consumers and advocates just don’t know or understand the need. Some just don’t care….and quite honestly, the “powers that be” just don’t want to spend the money. They want a “Bang for their Buck” and guess what? They got the bang! More on that in the future….

We believe that just in the definition of “Hard of Hearing” is the word “Hearing” (thank you Kelly Walsh for that realization). So many people just take it for granted that these people can hear. If they don’t use sign language to communicate and rely on lip reading, well, then, they are considered just fine (why poke the lion). Just ask A. Colombo. She was repeatedly blocked from timely services during her academic career because she chose CART as her mode of communication. Other students we worked with in the past were told “we called you but you didn’t respond to my message.” Even though, she did have less hearing than the “Deaf” students (who used sign language in her class). At times she was told to rely on a note-taker for access. They left messages on her phone…sheesh. Kudos to A Colombo for advocating for herself and others, earning her BA (and for learning some sign as well). Some Deaf/deaf rely on C-Print or Typewell for equal access. I am sure there are other services out there- Please no hate mail, just send us your thoughts. We would love to see them and post them.

The point here is “One size does NOT fit All”. There are different strokes or vocs (see what I did there – it’s a steno/voice pun!) for different folks. CART is CART, CPrint is Cprint, Typewell is Typewell, sign language is sign language. (There are many different sign languages on the continuum. Thank you Mary Bachellor for the amazing education!) I guess the other point is this; We all should come together to realize that we are “cousins” providing services to the various communities. There have been some instances where we suggest a consumer might need two support services in certain situations. Or that CART is not for the student, maybe they need a different type of service . We provide communication- Period – end of story. Well, not really the end.

This will be an ongoing education for us all… stick a fork in us when we are done. (no, don’t take that literally.) We would like to continue working to educate ourselves and everyone/anyone who is interested. (If you do stick in a fork, we will just start another blog about that….)