Assistive Technology for Telecommunications

The following list of equipment is drawn from a number of government, industry, and consumer sources.  Descriptions have been included where necessary.  Some of these devices are no longer available commercially.

TTYs

TTY modems and software.  These plug into standard computers and allow the computer user to communicate with standard Baudot TTYs.

TTY answering machines

Integrated (VCO) phones.  These phones include a display for incoming TTY characters and a regular voice handset.  They allow users who can speak to speak during their turn in the conversation, and then read the reply typed by the other party on a TTY. 

Telebrailles.  A Telebraille (brand name) is a TTY that uses an electronic braille display instead of a visual display.

TTY public phone.  These are pay phones that include a TTY keyboard and display.

Public TTY enclosure

TTY trainer.  This allows two TTYs to connect side-by-side without using a telephone line, for training purposes.

TTY bulletin board system.  This is a turnkey system that delivers menu-driven information to TTY callers.

Large display for TTY

TTY-compatible voice mail/audiotext. This allows TTY callers to leave and receive voice mail messages as well as receive menu-driven stored messages.

TTY-compatible conference call systems

TTY call screeners and identifiers.  These systems identify incoming TTY calls for handling by TTY-equipped operators, distinguishing them from voice calls on telephone lines that receive both types of calls.

Environmental control units (ECUs).  These allow users to turn on and off appliances, lights, television, etc.  They require the operation of special switches or other input devices.  They often include telephone capabilities.  Some systems are software-only and require a user-provided computer.

Special switch-controlled phones and phone dialers

Voice dialing telephones

Emergency alert systems

Amplified telephones

Amplifying handsets

Phone amplifiers

Hearing aid accessories

Audio loops

Headsets

Large button add-on.  These sit on a regular phone keypad and have larger buttons with larger, higher contrast lettering.

Big button phones

Phone holders

Phone mounting accessories

Amplified ringers

Visual ring signalers.  These include lights or other highly visible displays that either plug into the phone or are acoustically coupled to it.

Vibrating signalers

Call waiting signal lights

Speakerphone accessories

Dialing aids

Light indicator for line identification.  These allow users to know which lines are in use by sweeping across the line buttons; the device delivers a tone when light is detected.

Touch tone messaging systems.  These allow users to enter touchtones during a call to transmit messages to a user at the other end, whose display is controlled by the coded tones.

Anti-feedback accessories (for hearing aid users).  These usually create an insulated separation between the handset and the user’s hearing aid, reducing the feedback caused by proximity.

Hookswitch accessories.  These devices control the hookswitch buttons on a standard telephone, usually by a lever or weight that can be easily moved to activate or deactivate the line.  These allow users to keep their handsets in a permanently convenient mounting position.

Braille labeled telephones

Dual-channel headsets (phone and PC).  These allow a user to listen to synthetic speech from a computer and converse on the phone at the same time.