Deaf/HoH Services for Students
Defining ASL, CART, FM Systems and Captioning
American Sign Language (ASL)
ASL Interpretation is the most prominent type of interpreting used today. ASL Interpreters provide cultural and linguistic expertise in their interpretations between American Sign Language ASL and English.
ASL services available: on-site & remote
Computer Aided Real-time Transcription (CART)
CART refers to the real time translation of spoken word into English text by a trained CART specialist. Utilizing humans, not robots, can allow CART specialists to be certified to type up to 260 words per minute with 98% accuracy and above. Real-time text translations may be displayed on a user’s computer, projected onto a screen, combined with a video presentation captions, or other display systems.
Cart services available: on-site & remote
FM Systems
FM stands for frequency modulation. An FM System decreases background noise such as pencils tapping, paper ruffling, or side conversations happening. An FM System allows students to focus on the individual wearing the FM Microphone.
FM Systems allow for the presenter’s audio to be amplified and sent directly to a student’s assistive listening device i.e. hearing aid or Cochlear Implant.
For students without hearing loss who may have auditory processing disorders or are neurodivergent a hearing device that does not amplify audio may be provided to offer focus and decrease extraneous noise.
FM Systems may be used simultaneously with CART Captioning or an ASL Interpreter
Closed Captioning
Captions are a key aspect of building Universal Design for learning. Remember, accessibility benefits everyone! Providing multi-sensory information has been shown to improve knowledge retention in students.
Auto-Captions utilize automatic speech recognition technology. Accuracy depends on little or no background noise, minimal grammatical errors, limited mispronunciations, and excellent audio quality. These extraneous factors are NOT regulated by humans resulting in 50-90% accuracy. As a result, we recommend automated services for general use only, and not for instances where an individual has requested accommodation.
For instances where a person has requested a captioning accommodation, auto-captions may be reviewed and edited manually or a professional captioning service may be used. For an effective captioning accommodation, captions should be 99% accurate.
HOW DO I REQUEST SERVICES?
Students looking to request either ASL or CART services will need to fill out the Interpreting/Captioning service request form no later than 5 business days before the scheduled event or class. The Office of Disability Services will attempt to fulfill requests submitted later than the required time, but due to availability of the ASL or CART, it is highly recommended that students stick to the 5 day prior timeline.