TTY

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TTY
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TTY Training Objectives

• Demonstrate the correct way to answer a 9-1-1
  telephone line.
• Discuss the concept of professional control.
• Explain the application of the five Ws in call
  taking.
• Discuss the correct way to close a call.
• Correctly identify a TTY caller and demonstrate
  how to operate a TTY machine to correctly process
  the call.

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CALL RECEPTION

• Answer after the first ring, ideally
• Always answer within three rings
• Treat all calls as an emergency until determined
  otherwise

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Acceptable Answering Phrases

• As determined by agency policy
• "9-1-1, where is your emergency?"
• _________ County communications, is this an
  emergency?"

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Professional Control
Control your emotions Control your behavior
RESPOND TO THE NEED, NOT THE BEHAVIOR!!
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The Five Ws
?
?
?
?
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CLOSING THE CALL

• Correctly confirm the address or location where
  help is needed.
• If asked, tell the caller that units will be
  there as soon as they can or as soon as possible.
• Let the caller make any and all decisions
  regarding personal safety.

www.relayservice.com.au/multiattachments/2307
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CALL DOCUMENTATION
At a minimum, all calls should be documented with
the following information

• Nature of call
• Location
• Complainant/Call back number
• Time of occurrence
• Call taker
• Date
• Time called in, dispatched, unit(s) arrived,
  unit(s) cleared
• Unit(s) assigned
• Disposition

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TTY Operations

• As of 01/26/92, all public entities were required
  by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) to
  provide direct and equal access to 9-1-1 for
  persons with disabilities, who use TTY's.
• An entity may provide a separate seven-digit
  number for TTY calls still providing direct,
  equal access to TTY callers.
• Different communications centers have a variety
  of technical arrangements for TTY/TDD
  communications.
• The TTY is a device that is used in conjunction
  with a telephone to communicate with persons who
  are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech
  impairments, by typing and reading text.

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PHONE PALS PROGRAM

• PSAPs desire to reach out to the deaf and hard
  of hearing community
• Make weekly test calls to the PSAP, which are
  random to each shift
• Calls are kept short
• Caller always informs that this is a test call
• If the center it too busy for a test call, the
  caller will call back

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PHONE PALS PROGRAM

• Some goals of the program
• Establish an outreach program
• Garner participation and support for the agencies
  mission
• Build trust in the agencies commitment and
  ability to provide direct and equal access to
  9-1-1 services
• Provide communications personnel the opportunity
  to train
• Ensure maintenance of TTY equipment

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Receiving a Call

• Electronic Tone
• Silent Call
• Synthesized Voice
• A Relay Announcement

www.atarizona.com/Images/PhotoGalleries/4/YavapaiC
ottonwood/CTNcouplerstyle TTY15.jpg
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Communication Choices

• Voice Carry Over
• Caller speaks
• You type
• Hearing Carry Over
• Caller types
• You speak

www.atarizona.com/Images/PhotoGalleries/4/YavapaiC
ottonwood/CTNcouplerstyle TTY15.jpg
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Using Your TTY

• Check that the power source is on
• Place the handset in the acoustic couplers
• Type or trigger your agencys announcement phrase
• Wait for a response, followed by GA (go ahead)
• Continue one-at-a-time exchange

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Using Your TTY

• When you are ready to complete the call
• Type GASK or GA to SK (go ahead and stop
  keying)
• Allow the caller to decide whether to continue
  the conversation or to end it
• When you see SK on the screen, you have the
  option of continuing or disconnecting, if you
  have nothing further, type SK or a salutation and
  SK then disconnect
• After ending the call, turn off the power

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Placing an Outgoing TTY Call

• If following up on a disconnection, follow your
  center protocol for responding to hang-up calls
• Check the power, connections and coupler seal of
  the TTY
• Check to see if the line is answered by voice,
  TTY or silence
• Identify yourself and the purpose of your call
  and type GA
• Process the call and disconnect

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COMMON ISSUES

• Reluctance to call 9-1-1 for service
• Difficulty understanding your instructions
• Unfamiliar with their TTY machine, leading to
  slow communications
• Interactive dialogue is not possible
• If the caller is deaf, they may not
  know that help has arrived.
• Emergency responders may not be
  able to communicate with the caller.
• A hard of hearing person's
  language is not based on English
  syntax word order.
• English is their second language.

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TTY Protocols

• Always follow your agenys policies
• Let the caller lead regarding the usage of
  abbreviations
• Follow correct language formats for standard
  English, but be aware of ASL Gloss
• Use the same customer service etiquette for these
  callers as with any other caller

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American Sign Language Gloss
www.harriscomm.com

• Defined as the writing of one language in another
• Type the main thought first, followed by
  descriptors
• Do not use verb tense or connecting words
• Time references are first

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• Ask clarifying questions, one at a time.
• Use vocabulary that is easy to understand.
• Keep sentence structure simple.
• Avoid using English idioms.
• Process the call just as calls are processed for
  hearing callers.

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• Each call taker must have their own TTY
  equipment.
• Establish standard operating procedures for
  responding and transferring TTY calls.
• Test the equipment and the ability of
  telecommunicators to use the equipment.
• Develop or update a TTY training program for all
  staff, involving retraining every six months.
• Remember that TTY equipment only allows for one
  person to type at a time.

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Remember
TTY's are portable and calls can come from pay
phones and cellular phones. There is an estimated
27 million Americans that have a hearing or
speech impairment.
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TTY Training Objectives
Review

• Demonstrate the correct way to answer a 9-1-1
  telephone line.
• Discuss the concept of professional control.
• Explain the application of the five Ws in call
  taking.
• Discuss the correct way to close a call.
• Correctly identify a TTY caller and demonstrate
  how to operate a TTY machine to correctly process
  the call.

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QUESTIONS