RSS
Home
Janice Schacter: Advocate for the hard of hearing
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Janice L. Schacter Chair, Hearing Access Program
Janice Schacter is a one woman power house. A fervent advocate for the hard of hearing, her goal is to make every museum, theater, stadium, subway information booth and even taxi in New York City accessible for people who wear hearing aids or who have a cochlear implant.
For Janice, this is more than just a job. Janice's passion was born out of a mother's love. Janice's 15-year-old daughter, Arielle, was diagnosed with a hearing loss at age two and a half. Living in the culturally rich city of New York, Janice grew frustrated when her daughter struggled to understand a museum guide, the actors on stage or the dialogue of a movie even when wearing her hearing aids. Determined to make a change, Janice began researching and found that museums, theaters and arenas could provide better hearing access without completely overhauling their sound systems. Relatively cheap technology like the induction loop, a coil placed around a room that wirelessly transmits amplified sound to a hearing aid, could make a huge difference.
In 2002, Janice founded the Hearing Access Program (HAP) which is the only organization dedicated to helping the world's corporations, cultural and entertainment institutions, government agencies, and mass transit organizations improve their accessibility for people with hearing loss. In just seven years, HAP has worked with more than 60 organizations worldwide to establish or enhance their hearing access programs. HAP's clients range from large corporations like Apple and Disney to cultural institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The American Museum of Natural History. The NYC Transit department and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey also consult with the Hearing Access Program as do the World Champion New York Yankees.
Janice wants to "change the conversation" when it comes to hearing loss. She wants to eliminate the stigma associated with it. One way to do this is by making all hearing access symbols (assisted listening, induction loop, open captioning, closed captioning, large print and qualified interpretation) as recognizable as the wheel chair symbol. "If access is universal then it's there and it's not a big deal." For Janice, these symbols are another way of promoting and generating awareness. Janice looks forward to the day when her job is obsolete, when every place is accessible to the hard of hearing and when hearing loss is considered no big deal.
For more information about or to contact the Hearing Access Program (HAP), e-mail Janice Schacter at jschacter@nyc.rr.com
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
