T
Toonces
Guest
An Extreme Humanitarian Act
HITEC Group International, Burr Ridge, Ill, a distributor of assistive listening devices, was recently asked to be part of ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EMHE) team for a special show that will air on October 24, 2004.
In the episode, the EMHE team will take 7 days to transform the home of a Detroit couple who are deaf and the parents of two children, a 12-year-old blind/autistic son, and a 14-year-old son, who has learned at a very young age to communicate for and take care of his parents and brother. As the 14-year-old prepares to enter high school and then move to college, he has concerns about his family and their ability to communicate over the phone, since their primary method of communication is American Sign Language (they do not communicate verbally).
For this episode, the mission of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and that of the team they assembled was to give this family every high-tech communication and safety solution that is available to individuals who live with hearing loss.
According to Michele Ahlman, vice president of HITEC and president of ClearSounds (the manufacturer of HITEC's new signature line of ALD products), "This project presents us with a great opportunity to use our knowledge and expertise and to find innovative ways in which to deal with this family's special needs in order to make a difference in their life. We are proud to offer our unique product solutions, designed to make their everyday living much easier, safer, and more enjoyable, as well as to enable them to be more connected to and involved with the outside world."
Ahlman continues, "HITEC's tech team includes such high-profile names in communication as SBC Communications Inc, NXI, and MCI, which recognize the importance that technology plays in the lives of people with special needs. Our plan is to create a unique system that will allow the parents to communicate with each other using sign language, even when they are in different rooms. In addition, this system will enable them to communicate with friends and family outside the home. We will install a communications system with video capability, which will allow the family to make high-speed, real-time (TTY) phone calls using their natural ASL language; in addition, the universal design will allow their 14-year-old son to use the computers to do homework and surf the Net. Our tech team will also install a variety of signaling devices for the convenience and safety of the family."
.....Kewl! I'm gotta watch this episode on Oct. 24th!
HITEC Group International, Burr Ridge, Ill, a distributor of assistive listening devices, was recently asked to be part of ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (EMHE) team for a special show that will air on October 24, 2004.
In the episode, the EMHE team will take 7 days to transform the home of a Detroit couple who are deaf and the parents of two children, a 12-year-old blind/autistic son, and a 14-year-old son, who has learned at a very young age to communicate for and take care of his parents and brother. As the 14-year-old prepares to enter high school and then move to college, he has concerns about his family and their ability to communicate over the phone, since their primary method of communication is American Sign Language (they do not communicate verbally).
For this episode, the mission of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and that of the team they assembled was to give this family every high-tech communication and safety solution that is available to individuals who live with hearing loss.
According to Michele Ahlman, vice president of HITEC and president of ClearSounds (the manufacturer of HITEC's new signature line of ALD products), "This project presents us with a great opportunity to use our knowledge and expertise and to find innovative ways in which to deal with this family's special needs in order to make a difference in their life. We are proud to offer our unique product solutions, designed to make their everyday living much easier, safer, and more enjoyable, as well as to enable them to be more connected to and involved with the outside world."
Ahlman continues, "HITEC's tech team includes such high-profile names in communication as SBC Communications Inc, NXI, and MCI, which recognize the importance that technology plays in the lives of people with special needs. Our plan is to create a unique system that will allow the parents to communicate with each other using sign language, even when they are in different rooms. In addition, this system will enable them to communicate with friends and family outside the home. We will install a communications system with video capability, which will allow the family to make high-speed, real-time (TTY) phone calls using their natural ASL language; in addition, the universal design will allow their 14-year-old son to use the computers to do homework and surf the Net. Our tech team will also install a variety of signaling devices for the convenience and safety of the family."
.....Kewl! I'm gotta watch this episode on Oct. 24th!
....I see that the episode about the deaf family in Detriot will definitely be aired on Nov. 7th. 
