6. C-Print® captioning.

C-Print® is a software that allows well-trained captionists to type with high rates of accuracy at high speeds (100 to 225+ wpm and more) in real-time. I type using an abbreviation system that is very similar to that used by court stenographers and in legal shorthand. The C-Print® software expands the abbreviations I type into the actual words on my laptop screen. The client can read everything that was said in the room. The abbreviations and words used can be customized by the C-Print® captionists in real time, as they work.
I am a real-time C-Print® captionist for university students and for law students who are deaf. I type all spoken words in the room in real time -- so that a client who is deaf can read them on my laptop screen (or their own laptop) in real-time. This allows my client real-time access in a hearing environment. Some of my clients are deaf and some have other special needs that are met through the way C-Print® provides access to information.
My clients have benefited from C-Print® captioning in various settings. I have captioned in many settings with many methods of delivery: live performances, while on stage with the captioning projected on a wall for everyone to read, during meetings using projected captioning, church services on a laptop for people seated next to me, walking tours of an art galleries, in a darkroom for photo developing, in a plaster room wrapped in plastic, outdoors seated on the ground with a glare blocker around the screen, as part of a live art exhibit where I was wrapped in tons of string while I captioned, at a Murder Mystery Dinner, for student teachers where I projected the student comments on the back wall so my client could present to the class and see their responses while facing them, remotely so that my client could remain connected remotely at the podium and read the audience questions on their own laptop, for live presentations so my client could connect remotely while presenting, and for seven remote classrooms at one time where my client was in a different location from me, etc.
I refer to my clients as "my students", much like a teacher refers to their students. I spend a lot of time each day for years in classes with each student, and we get to know each other pretty well. I really come to think of them as my students. I walk side by side with them through years of education, and by the time they graduate, it feels like a child earning their wings and leaving the nest. It is a special relationship that requires a high level of responsibility, high devotion to duty, reliability, and willingness to stay on the cutting edge with techniques and technology. Each captionist follows a strict Professional Code of Ethics and adheres to ADA, 504, and privacy laws. My clients are all different, and that has been an education for me in my career. I take great pride that my university and law school strive to offer the latest accommodations for special needs students. Many universities and higher graduate level institutions do not offer such extensive, outstanding accommodations for special needs. It goes without saying that most medical institutions do not offer these accommodations at all yet. People are just learning about real-time captioning and the need for it. I hope that one day, all medical appointments will allow for this necessary source of communication.
Many people don't realize the differences in deafness that exist. Some people are deaf, but do not read lips or sign. Some are not oral, meaning they prefer not to speak or can not speak. Some people hear, but do not speak. Some people do read lips, sign and speak. Some use Cued Speech. Some use home signs, which is a sign language unique to their family. Some use a combination of any or all of those things. Someone who can speak can still be completely deaf. Someone who can read lips may not sign, and vice versa. Some people may sign and be able to speak, or speak and not be able to sign.
New uses are being discovered for C-Print®. Some people have learning disabilities, processing disorders, social challenges, brain injuries, dyslexia, Usher's Syndrome, etc.  They may benefit from using transcripts during and after class. Some people may be blind or have visual challenges and benefit from listening to transcripts after class with a text to speech software, or they may convert the transcripts into Braille.
Other newer uses for C-Print® are related to languages. ESL (English as Second Language) students may benefit from the real-time captioning and availability of transcripts.  An English-speaking student can follow a foreign language course through C-Print®.  Courses that do not have a graded oral requirement can be helpful for a non-oral deaf student who has to fulfill a foreign language requirement.  Latin is one course that often has no oral requirement.  A student may demonstrate mastery of a language in written form if that is allowable.  Captionists have captioned Spanish, French, and especially Latin courses in real-time.
As I said, there are all kinds of "deaf," and there are many uses for C-Print® captioning. Maybe captioning will be helpful for you or someone you know right now. Maybe you will find a need for it later. I'm glad that now you know about it. Get the word out!


~See Print