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to Aging Horizons. On today's show, we'll be
talking about communications, particularly for
individuals who have limited hearing abilities,
or the ability to read. They have, we have
a program called the Montana Telecommunications
Access Program, which can help you or a loved
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guidance and support. - Hi folks, welcome
to Aging Horizons, which is brought to you by the
Department of Public Health and Human Services. I'm your host, Brian LaMoure. And as I mentioned earlier, we have the Montana
Telecommunications
Access Program, which we'll refer to as
MTAP from here on out, and how they serve
Montanans with, being able to communicate
in a more efficient and easy manner,
throughout the state and throughout the nation. Joining us today is Mary Taylor. You're the director of MTAP. Welcome to the show. It's great to have you here. - Thank you. - Great, well, let's
start at the top. You know, this
agency was designed by the Montana legislature. It's under the Department
of Public Health and Human Services. But what was the original
goal or idea in forming your division? - Well it was started,
like you said, as part of the 1989
legislative session. And that was a
result of the ADA, which was a mandate that was
sent out to require everybody to be able to use tele, be
able to have that capability to use phones. And so, we wanna make sure
that not just some people, but everybody, people
with disabilities are able to communicate
through the telephone. - Through the telephone. You mentioned that,
I think it was 1988, and things have really changed, (laughs) 20 plus years. So how do you meet
that objective? How do you help individuals
to communicate through the use of a telephone? - Well, we have a couple of
technicians that work with us, and our program, and we go
right into people's homes, and we set up phones that
have higher amplification for people. Or we have captioning phones
where they can read the text on the phone. We offer some special
devices for some people, like electrolarynxes, if they can't
communicate on the phone. So, and then there's
of course the TTY, which was one of the original
things that people used. And then in some cases we're
able to provide cell phones, especially if people
use sign language as their primary form
of communication. So, there's just a number
and a variety of things that we do to make sure that
whatever it is that they need, that they can use that to
communicate through the phone. - Right, well, I remember
early on we did a show about the TTYs, and we got them into all
the agencies in the state of Montana, but tell the
people what a TTY is, and how it helps an individual? - Well, a TTY is
a tele typewriter, and it actually looks kind
of a lot like a typewriter. And, people who are deaf are
able to type the words in, and communicate to other
people who may not necessarily be deaf or if they are deaf. And we use the relay
service involved in that, if you do need to communicate
with someone who's not deaf, to be able to get
that message across. So, not a lot of people use
the telecommunication devices in the original
form as they were. But a lot of people do
a lot of texting now, on their cell phones. So, that's kind of evolving,
but it's still out there. And there are some agencies
that are actually required still in some cases to use those, especially things like public
safety answering points, the nine one one call centers. - Yeah, you have to have all
everything that's available. Now, you know, you
mentioned the relay, and the relay has been
there for a long time, but for the people who don't
know what the relay is, could you describe it better? - Well, relay is really, I'm a third person that's
involved in a phone call to make sure that the person
that is making the call is able to communicate
with the other person. So, when a person
makes a phone call, there's a third
person on the line, that listens to that phone call, and then relays that message, so that the person who is
deaf is able to communicate to the other person. So, this surface is offered
through a contract that we have, and it's offered 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. So, anybody who needs to use
the telephone through relay is able to do that
by dialing 711. - And that allows an
individual who has some hearing impairment or
communication impairment, to actually communicate
with another person by going through the relay. - Exactly. - Yeah, and that 711 that's
kind of a state nationwide, right? - Yes. So, let those people
probably know all about that. - I would hope so. - I would hope so. But, we wanna make sure
everybody does know so. are available to individuals
at a age a five plus. are available to individuals
that at a age a five plus. I'm just kinda surprised here, degeneralize me and although
I think that is an older issue not being able to communicate,
but when you say five, it brings in a lot more
people, doesn't it? - Absolutely, and
we wanna make sure but I mean if there's people
who have speech challenges, but I mean if there's people
who have speech challenges or mobility challenges that are
keeping them from being able to use the phone, that we make sure that
we help those people, and sometimes those
things happen at birth. So, we wanna make sure that
we're able to help everybody who would need to communicate
through the phone, you know, whether they
be five years older, a hundred years old. - Yeah. And we have an 800
number we can put up, but you're also on Facebook,
and probably a TTY number to your place too. I don't know if we'll (murmurs),
but when people call you, what are some of the first
questions they might ask you about a loved one's
ability to communicate? - I think some people
just wanna know partially, you know, what the income
core requirements are, if there's a
limitation on if that. And we do have an income
guideline that we use, but it's based on 250%
of the poverty level. So, it's a pretty generous
income requirement. So, they wanna know that,
they wanna know, what sort of, how can they qualify? So, they need to
have a hearing heart. They need to be hard
of hearing deaf, and we usually have them
provide the name of somebody and we usually have them
provide the name of somebody that can verify that, usually a doctor or
a speech therapist, something like that. And then, beyond that,
be a Montana resident, be a resident of Montana. And then, just to
qualify income wise and fill out the application, it's a two page application. It's very easy to fill out. So, once they've done that, we can usually get back to
them within a week or so, and we send them out a letter
and let them know whether or not they're eligible. If they come into our
office sometimes we're able to do it all right there
and get them all set up. - That's great. And you know we have some
more questions to talk about, And you know we have some
more questions to talk about the Montana Telecommunication
Access Program, or MTAP. It's available in 182
cities throughout Montana, they're serving about
1500 clients right now. So, this is a big issue and
it can come on with age, but as she mentioned,
it can come from birth. We'll discuss that a lot
more in our next segment. So, stay tuned. (upbeat music) - I was the last guy you'd
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powerfultoolsforcaregivers.org - It's amazing the difference,
a little training can make. - Hi folks. Welcome back to Aging Horizons. I'm your host, Brian
LaMoure, and we're continuing our discussion about, the Montana Telecommunications
Access Program, which we'll refer to as MTAP. And we'll be talking about
how you can access these services. Rejoining us is Mary Taylor. You're the director of MTAP, and we have an 800 number
we'll be putting up during the show. Someone thinks that
either themselves, they need it or maybe
a loved one needs it. They call the 800 number
and the process starts. Tell us about the process. - Yes, so when they call us, we can either guide
them to our website, where we do have an
online application that they can fill out. And if they're
comfortable doing that, they can do it right then. And then that application
is reviewed by our staff. And then we make
the determination of whether they're
eligible or they can, we can send them out an
application if they prefer that. And once they get that
application filled out, a letter will come back
to them letting them know either way, if
they're qualified. And then shortly after that
we will be in touch with them to set up a home visit
to meet with them, make an assessment on whether,
what kind of phone they need, which one would
work best for them. And then we would go ahead and
set that phone up for them, train them on the phone,
answer any questions they have, you know, program
at all in for them. And then, you know, it's,
that's not the end of our visit. Sometimes we come back again
if something didn't quite work right or they don't like
the settings that they have. So, our technicians are
available to come back and train them again, or change any settings
or fix anything, so. - And you know, and the break
you showed me the application form is very simple, (laughs) really easy to fill out. And there is an income
qualification to receive some of your devices, but you, you'll
offer these services to individuals who
may be are over it, because you want them to be
able to communicate, right? - Exactly. So, if they don't
qualify income wise, we do still go and
have a technician that would be willing to go out, and make an assessment
and tell them, show them what they think
would be the best for them. And if they go ahead
and purchase that item, then we can come out and
install that item for them, and train them on it. So, we really wanna
make sure that, even if they don't qualify, that they still get services
that they need to be able to communicate. - Now, a lot of people
that are watching, they're probably thinking, well, you know, that's
just a special telephone, but your devices, if you have
a lot of different devices to help people communicate
in various ways, can you tell us
what they are based on the individual's needs, because it's not just
a ring ring phone. - Yeah, so, one of them,
our most common phones that we do give out is just
the simple amplified phone. And we can give out
a cordless phone, which a lot of people use those
more than the corded phone. But we have both available. We also give out
captioning phones, which have the words that
come up on the screen, so you can read it and, - Does that do voice
recognition to put the links in or do you have to type them in? - it's, yeah, it's
a third party. - Okay. - Yeah, so, those
phones are, yeah. Given out in special
circumstances, usually it's people who
are deaf that want those, because, if you do, if you are able to
hear a little bit, you will both hear and then
the words will come up, and maybe not at
the same exact time, so it can kind of throw
you off a little bit. So, we just do an assessment
to make sure what, what works best for the,
for that individual. And then we provide
that, that product. And if that's not the
one that's working, we'll come back and give
him something else, so. - So, you make sure that
the individual's needs are addressed irregardless
of income eligibility, but if they do
qualify income wise, you'll make sure they
get the right device. But even if they don't qualify,
you'll help them set up the devices they need to
purchase on their own, right? - Absolutely, absolutely. And then those devices, they can keep those devices
as long as they need them, once they're done or they
decide that they don't need them anymore, you know, we ask
that you return them, 'cause they are
a state property, but they're available
for them to use, as long as they need to. - And how is this funded? Is it through a fee
on our telephone bill? It is. There's a 10 cent
fee that's assessed. It's a special revenue - For each month. So, you're able to generate
adequate funds to go to a hundred and
82 cities, right? - Exactly. - Well, how many staff
do you have in order to meet these objectives
that travel all over? - Well, we have two
communication technicians, one works at the billings
and covers the Eastern side of the state. And then one works (murmurs) and covers the Western
side of the state. I work here in our office. I do set up some of the phones, so, I kind of cover
the Helena area, but otherwise we have
those two technicians And then we have another
person who works in our office, that is our
administrative person, and also handles some
of our clients as well. - Okay, well, you know, like I got hearing aids, because my sister told
me I need some help. (laughs) I didn't recognize
I needed help. But is that pretty common
that a third party says, you need a little bit of help, and then do they contact
you like a loved one of the person who has
a hearing problem? - It is quite common for us to
hear from a son or a daughter of a client that you know,
has recognized this need, whereas, you know,
the individual may
either be in denial or just don't want, they
don't wanna tell anybody that they're having a problem. And so, we've had
so many people, once they've actually
gotten our phone and can actually hear, just thank us a million times
over for how well it is now, to be able to communicate
with their loved ones and family, and you
know, the public, but they need to
make appointments or
things like that, so. - And their kids or grandkids. - Exactly. Yeah. - (murmurs) love
to hear from them. - Yeah. - Many times I know, they
have a on the phones now, you can actually see them, and you can talk to them, and - Yes, - See them in person,
that's wonderful. - Yes. - So, let's see. So, now you need a landline
in order to get a lot of these services right
versus a cell phone? - It is, yes. A lot of our, especially our amplified
phones do require a landline, they work best that way. if they're, you
know, everybody's
individual situations are different. So, our technicians
are able to come in and assess and kind
of tell them exactly what they might need based on what they're the
best thing for them. So, for the most part,
landlines are usually something that we start with. - Yeah, because it's
there and it's reliable and they've got a
big network set up. Well, we've drawn to a
close on our second segment, so soon. We'll be back in for
our third one shortly. But we wanna encourage everybody to give a call to
the 800 number. If you have somebody
who's hearing impaired or they have problems
communicating, we do have some solutions, and Montanans want to help
these individuals out. So stay tuned. We have a lot more coming. (upbeat music) - Gentlemen, this is a
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myself on quitting, but it's different now. I wanna be here for her
and for my daughter. - Hi folks, welcome
back to Aging Horizons. I'm your host, Brian LaMoure. We're continuing our discussion about the Montana
Telecommunications
Access Program, or MTAP, that is available to
Montana statewide, they're in 182
cities in Montana. If you have or a loved one
has problems communicating over the phone or to
other individuals, Rejoining us is Mary Taylor. You're the director of MTAP. But let's start at the top. You know, there's a lot of
fine tuning of the services that you provide to people. It's more than just, people
have outgrown their hearing aids, isn't it? And tell us more about that? - Yeah, so, in addition
to just, you know, the people that need it for
the amplification of the phone, we also have people who come in and they're possibly
in a wheelchair, and they aren't able to use
their hands to call somebody. So, in some of those
circumstances we're
able to provide, tablets or different
things like that, that they're able to use
to as their speech device. And so, we've had, let's see, I've had an individual just, just a couple of weeks
ago that I went out to, and this person did
need an amplified phone, and I provided that
phone to her and she was, she couldn't thank me enough
about being able to talk to her brother as one
of the few people left, that she was able to talk to, but he lives in another state. And so she was just, she
couldn't believe how, how exciting it was to
just be able to do that. So, it's just really, really, we really feel good
about going away and knowing that we
help somebody be able to just do something
that we don't even think about every day. So, let's see, there's just
so many different cases that we've had recently where
people were not being able to use like some, for
example, they can't, if some people can't talk, well due to a condition
like MS or something, we actually have a number
that people can call. And we provide a speech
to speech service, where we have trained,
relay people who can listen to them and understand
what they're trying to say, and relay that message
to the other person. So, I mean, there's a
vast variety of things that we can offer to people
that some people don't even know are out there. And so, I'd really
encourage people to check out our website, and see all those
different services that we do offer through
relay and otherwise, and give us a call. - Yeah, you know, I had
a coworker who had MS and I got very good
at understanding
what he was saying, and I became kind of
an interpreter for him, because you get used
to it after a while. So, that's why
it's so important. But I think a lot of people
don't realize the impediments people have to communicate, and not having the device
and living at home alone without any communication. Its really lonely. - It is, and we
also have, you know, tablets that we
give out that have, you can tap the words to
speak for you as well. So, there's just a number
of things that we can do, based on your current
and your situation, and try to make sure that
you're able to communicate just like anybody else. - Well, that's fascinating, the use of technology
and how far its coming, and over 30 years that a
them MTAP has been providing this service to people, and who knows what
the future will have. But now, Mary, let's kind
of recap how an individual, I guess with through the show
they become aware of what is available, but by calling the 800 number
or going to the website, an individual's
communication issues, or a loved one looking out
for him or a professional, they can call or
hit the website. If they call or if
they hit the website, what kinds of information
do they get just to start the ball rolling? - There's information out
there that tells them, how to apply, what the
eligibility requirements are. There's a lot of
information about some of the equipment that we offer. And then, like I just mentioned, the different services that
we offer through the relay. So, and we also go out and
we attend outreach events. So, we go out to a lot
of the public events, that we were just at
an nice hockey game. And you know, when we
go to wellness fairs and different things. And so, we try to get our word
out there a number of ways to make sure that people
are aware of this program. And so, out on
our Facebook Page, we keep an event list of
where we're gonna be next. So, a good thing to connect
with us on Facebook, just to see what
we're doing out there, and possibly go and see,
see what we have to offer right out there. 'Cause we'll have all
the phones displayed, and we'll be able to show
them what we have to offer. - You can actually touch them. - Absolutely. - I know I signed my
uncle up for this, and he made more money than the, make them eligible
for the program, but they gave him or
informed him about devices that could really
help them a lot. And they did. So, it's important to note that
even if you're not eligible, you're there to help
the individuals out, and you go into the home
and you assist them, right? - Exactly. - Yeah. - Yes. - To figure those things out. - Absolutely. - Well, you know, too late, we looked at the application
process during a break, and you don't need
a lot of information from these individuals is very
simple to fill out and apply. - It is very simple. I've had people come in and
fill the application out right there, and we could tell them
right then whether or not they were eligible, if they had all their
information with them. I mean it was very simple. - Very simple. And you can tell them
what kind of devices. That's an important thing too. But now, they kind of need a
referral from a professional, right? Or they have to have a
documented a reason for this. - They do have to have,
on the application. It does mention that they
need to have somebody to verify it. But I mean, it could be
a hearing specialist. It could be a (murmurs)
rehab counselor, could be an (murmurs)
staff if we are no aware, aware of this person and
we've communicated with them enough. But in many cases it's
a licensed physician. - Could it be a
frustrated spouse? (all laughing) - Well, that would be
an individual decision that we have to make. - Or my sister. (all laughing) Okay. Now we're drawing to a
close on this show Maryanne, can you do this, give us a
little summary of what you do and how you help
individuals out? - Yes, so again,
we are here really, to just help people to
be able to communicate, who have full mobility speech, deaf or hard of
hearing challenges, to be able to communicate
on the same level as anybody else
through the phone. And so, we're just
wanting to make sure that, that is not something
that stands in the way, especially with, you know,
a lot of disasters happening and things like that. It's gonna be very
important for people to, be able to communicate
and in any situation, including emergency situations. So, we just hope that you, if you think that you might
qualify for our program, we just really encourage
you to give us a call, or check us out, and, you know, we're,
we're gonna help in whatever way we can. - And you'll take it from there. Well, thank you for
everything that you're doing, helping Montanans, and for our viewers. Thank you for joining us. (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Special
thanks to the Department of Public Health and Human Services for
their continued support. Posts on Aging Horizons, our program specialists at
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