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Bringing Spoken Word to the Deaf (Wed. 11-8-2006)
Not everyone can say they have a career they love that helps someone besides.
But that’s how Stephanie Piratzky feels about a job she said she’s been “privileged to have” for a dozen years. She provides verbatim transcripts for deaf and hard of hearing college students.
Imagine sitting in a classroom and being unable to hear the teacher lecture. That’s when Piratzky can be of service as she receives the lecture and types it in stenographic shorthand. It is translated to standard English and shows up on the student’s computer screen.
As a plus, the transcript can be printed to give the student a record of the lecture.
With a degree to teach business courses, Piratzky told the Herald from her home here last week that she was teaching courses at a court reporting school when her employer at the time mentioned how deaf students might benefit from written transcripts.
Because of her background, she said, “I thought it was right down my alley. I’m a teacher. I love education.”
That got her interested in pursuing it as a career in Indiana where she lived before relocating here in June 2001, with her husband Thomas Piratzky, an administrator at Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, and their two sons, 14 and 12.
While still in Indiana, Piratzky would often sit in class with a student and perform CART writing, which stands for Computer-Aided Real Time Translation, she said.
By using the faster shorthand technique of stenography that is used by court reporters, a lecture can be typed and with the aid of a server translated for the student to read on a screen.
Piratzky still provides services to about eight students in Indiana, including some at Indiana University, but she does it here from home. She hears the lecture over a headset connected to the Internet that is fed from a live link in the classroom that goes through a server at Minot University in North Dakota.
She transcribes it, sends it back through Minot where it is sent to the student’s computer, with about a two-second delay. Most of her work is done from home through direct CART services or by her management of others providing the transcription service.
She also works with the Disability Service Board in Bergen County by providing transcription services for some of its members at meetings. She has also done work for Bergen County College. She is one of 13 CART reporters listed on the state Division of Deaf & Hard of Hearing (DDHH) Web site.
Besides being her vocation, she said her experience in this field has enlightened her to what equal access really means.
“It is so incorrect,” said Piratzky, “the perception that someone with a hearing loss may not be so smart.”
It’s the hearing loss that prevents learning, she said, not an individual’s capability.
DDHH estimates that the number of those who are deaf or hard of hearing in the state may be as high as 720,000.
Despite the fact that this technology was “cutting edge 12 years ago, it still amazes me that people don’t know that they can have this service,” she said. She was involved with the technology from the outset, having done Beta-testing for the equipment as part of its development team.
Because she can do this remote work anywhere, she has been able to maintain her ties to Indiana. She said she spoke to Stockton College but was told there were no students there who needed this assistance.
Anyone who believes they can benefit from it should contact the disabilities’ office at their school, said Piratzky. Typically, the student does not have to bear the cost, she added.
Has her work had any impact on her sons?
“They have an understanding that not everyone is the same as they are,” she said. They now know that some are “differently abled.”
Not only is she adamant that those who cannot hear have equal access to what the hearing public takes advantage of, she also is starting to take a close look at what bills are pending to require insurance companies to pay for hearing aids.
“There’s very little help,” and they can cost thousands of dollars, she said.
“These are people that, with the right assistance, can be meaningful contributors to our society,” said Piratzky.
Baby boomers who are “losing their hearing will need to be advocates,” said Piratzky. Unlike those who may have been deaf from birth or lost hearing in childhood, those who experience hearing loss later in life don’t have the benefit of having learned American sign language and will depend on hearing aids.
As to her work with over 50 college students, Piratzky said she has helped many complete undergraduate degrees and has gone on to assist with studies in law school and other graduate programs. She has even gone on to assist some in their work.
She has taught just about everything including physics and math. The hardest subjects are those that deal with medical terms, she said.
She once did a class in veterinary science, she said that was very difficult. Many of the words sounded alike and in that case it helped to preview the material beforehand.
Even with English classes, having written materials can be a big help, particularly in something like a Shakespeare course, she said.
One job benefit is that she is always continuing her own education, she said.
She said she has told her husband whose job responsibilities included attending social functions, “I can talk about just about anything at a cocktail party.”
Not everyone can say they have a career they love that helps someone besides.
But that’s how Stephanie Piratzky feels about a job she said she’s been “privileged to have” for a dozen years. She provides verbatim transcripts for deaf and hard of hearing college students.
Imagine sitting in a classroom and being unable to hear the teacher lecture. That’s when Piratzky can be of service as she receives the lecture and types it in stenographic shorthand. It is translated to standard English and shows up on the student’s computer screen.
As a plus, the transcript can be printed to give the student a record of the lecture.
With a degree to teach business courses, Piratzky told the Herald from her home here last week that she was teaching courses at a court reporting school when her employer at the time mentioned how deaf students might benefit from written transcripts.
Because of her background, she said, “I thought it was right down my alley. I’m a teacher. I love education.”
That got her interested in pursuing it as a career in Indiana where she lived before relocating here in June 2001, with her husband Thomas Piratzky, an administrator at Burdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, and their two sons, 14 and 12.
While still in Indiana, Piratzky would often sit in class with a student and perform CART writing, which stands for Computer-Aided Real Time Translation, she said.
By using the faster shorthand technique of stenography that is used by court reporters, a lecture can be typed and with the aid of a server translated for the student to read on a screen.
Piratzky still provides services to about eight students in Indiana, including some at Indiana University, but she does it here from home. She hears the lecture over a headset connected to the Internet that is fed from a live link in the classroom that goes through a server at Minot University in North Dakota.
She transcribes it, sends it back through Minot where it is sent to the student’s computer, with about a two-second delay. Most of her work is done from home through direct CART services or by her management of others providing the transcription service.
She also works with the Disability Service Board in Bergen County by providing transcription services for some of its members at meetings. She has also done work for Bergen County College. She is one of 13 CART reporters listed on the state Division of Deaf & Hard of Hearing (DDHH) Web site.
Besides being her vocation, she said her experience in this field has enlightened her to what equal access really means.
“It is so incorrect,” said Piratzky, “the perception that someone with a hearing loss may not be so smart.”
It’s the hearing loss that prevents learning, she said, not an individual’s capability.
DDHH estimates that the number of those who are deaf or hard of hearing in the state may be as high as 720,000.
Despite the fact that this technology was “cutting edge 12 years ago, it still amazes me that people don’t know that they can have this service,” she said. She was involved with the technology from the outset, having done Beta-testing for the equipment as part of its development team.
Because she can do this remote work anywhere, she has been able to maintain her ties to Indiana. She said she spoke to Stockton College but was told there were no students there who needed this assistance.
Anyone who believes they can benefit from it should contact the disabilities’ office at their school, said Piratzky. Typically, the student does not have to bear the cost, she added.
Has her work had any impact on her sons?
“They have an understanding that not everyone is the same as they are,” she said. They now know that some are “differently abled.”
Not only is she adamant that those who cannot hear have equal access to what the hearing public takes advantage of, she also is starting to take a close look at what bills are pending to require insurance companies to pay for hearing aids.
“There’s very little help,” and they can cost thousands of dollars, she said.
“These are people that, with the right assistance, can be meaningful contributors to our society,” said Piratzky.
Baby boomers who are “losing their hearing will need to be advocates,” said Piratzky. Unlike those who may have been deaf from birth or lost hearing in childhood, those who experience hearing loss later in life don’t have the benefit of having learned American sign language and will depend on hearing aids.
As to her work with over 50 college students, Piratzky said she has helped many complete undergraduate degrees and has gone on to assist with studies in law school and other graduate programs. She has even gone on to assist some in their work.
She has taught just about everything including physics and math. The hardest subjects are those that deal with medical terms, she said.
She once did a class in veterinary science, she said that was very difficult. Many of the words sounded alike and in that case it helped to preview the material beforehand.
Even with English classes, having written materials can be a big help, particularly in something like a Shakespeare course, she said.
One job benefit is that she is always continuing her own education, she said.
She said she has told her husband whose job responsibilities included attending social functions, “I can talk about just about anything at a cocktail party.”