Increasing 911 Accessibility

What happens if you are - or your child is - nonverbal and there is an emergency?

I think about this a lot.  If my daughter were lost, she wouldn't be able to tell anyone her name, let alone where she lives or any other identifying information.  And what about others in a similar situation - perhaps with more life-threatening conditions - where minutes count, but are lost because of communication gaps?

There are emergency communications options out there - but they are imperfect at best.  If you use sign language, the operator can't see you.  If you have limited vocabulary, you may not be able to convey the nature of the problem.  If you have a hearing impairment, you may have to wait precious minutes while the operator's questions are translated into text via TTY technology.  One non-verbal adult I know, who also has a daughter with special needs, has set up a "caller profile" on her home phone with her local 911 responders so they know speech-impaired individuals live in the house.  She has established protocol Yes/No questions (e.g., "Is any one hurt?  Do you need CIT police (crisis intervention team)? Do you need paramedics?")  Once a year, she verifies this system with the local responders. 


There's got to be a better way.  What if she has an emergency outside of the home?  What if the clock is ticking and the protocol questions aren't getting to the heart of the problem? 

This is why, as part of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, the FCC has been charged with updating the nation's emergency system to better meet the needs of the disability community.  As part of that process, the FCC has released a survey open to everyone with a disability over the age of 13.  Here's the link to the survey: FCC 9-1-1 Survey.  It's open until April 24, 2011, and I would encourage everyone who faces these types of issues to complete the survey and get your input included. 

They've asked some thought-provoking questions that highlight the challenges, in general, of trying to make technology accessible to the wide-ranging disability community.  What will work for the hearing impaired will not necessarily work for those with limited mobility, vision, or cognition. 

Should the new system operate directly with 911 operators, or through a relay?  (Would this mean that 911 operators would need new training?)  Is the ability to text enough?  (What about the mobility impaired - might not be able to type or speak.)  If an individual texts 911, should the operator be able to see the text in real time or should the individual have to hit "send" before the operator sees it?  Should the individual be able to contact 911 from his or her primary communication device, or, just through a regular cell phone, if that's a different device?

I welcome your thoughts and comments - but more important than telling me is telling the FCC! (Hey, I'm a poet and didn't even know it!)