While reading Paula Brown Glick’s article on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I understood that not all places, especially those in urban settings, may be equipped with assistive listening devices (ALDs) and in compliance with the ADA. The Americans with Disabilities Act was made effective in 1992, with the main goals of removing communication barriers and providing aids and services for those with disabilities. (46) With consideration to the ADA, the goal of this assignment was to request an assistive listening device and ultimately determine whether or not the place of business was in compliance. Accordingly, I chose to request an assistive listening device from a Fulton bank in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Admittedly, the task of requesting the device was unnerving. The bank was fairly quiet, with only two other customers ahead of me in line. Finally,
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In order to limit communicational boundaries for a deaf or hard of hearing individual, I would first start by instituting training in awareness and sensitivity to people who are hearing-disabled (53) for the bank employees, if this training has not been implemented yet. Next, I would recommend training dedicated solely to locating and operating the assistive listening device for all of the bank employees. If this training were extended to more employees, deaf and hard of hearing individuals (and myself included) would have a better experience at the bank. In the reading, Glick did mention that communication might be difficult in banks due to the security boundaries. (58) Consequently, I can imagine that a deaf or hard of hearing individual would experience difficulties due to the raised teller platform in combination with the clear divider between the customer and the teller. With consideration for the bank’s security, this obstacle may be
In order to limit communicational boundaries for a deaf or hard of hearing individual, I would first start by instituting training in awareness and sensitivity to people who are hearing-disabled (53) for the bank employees, if this training has not been implemented yet. Next, I would recommend training dedicated solely to locating and operating the assistive listening device for all of the bank employees. If this training were extended to more employees, deaf and hard of hearing individuals (and myself included) would have a better experience at the bank. In the reading, Glick did mention that communication might be difficult in banks due to the security boundaries. (58) Consequently, I can imagine that a deaf or hard of hearing individual would experience difficulties due to the raised teller platform in combination with the clear divider between the customer and the teller. With consideration for the bank’s security, this obstacle may be