Accessibility Tools and Adaptive Technology for Deaf, Deafened and/or Hard-of-Hearing Employees

In today's inclusive work environment, it is important to recognize the needs and abilities of all employees, including those with hearing impairments. They can often face communication challenges, making it essential to provide them with the necessary accessibility tools and adaptive technology to enable full participation in the workplace.

According to Statistics Canada, in 2016, 40% of adults aged 20 to 79 had some form of hearing loss, and 78% of adults 60-79 experienced hearing loss.

Various accessibility tools are available for Microsoft 365 users to support deaf, deafened, and hard-of-hearing employees enhancing their professional growth and fostering a more inclusive work environment.

Windows setup to fit your hearing

• Make the device easier to use without sound by displaying audio as text by customizing the color, size, and background of closed captions in Windows to better suit your needs.
• Having trouble hearing audio alerts or reducing noise? Display audio alerts feature lets the user see notifications on the screen instead of hearing them.
• Take more time to read notifications stick around longer.

Watch instead of listening

• By modifying your settings in Windows, you can receive visual indications rather than audio notifications.
• Generate Auto Caption feature and transcript for Microsoft stream videos.
  (*Microsoft Stream (Classic) will be retired on February 15, 2024, and replaced by Stream (on SharePoint). Functionality in Stream (Classic) will be changed and removed leading up to the retirement date.
• Add closed captions or subtitles to media in PowerPoint.
• Teams can recognize what is said in a meeting and show subtitles in real time.

Loan Bank service at ESDC

The use of Adaptive Technology (AT) in the workplace plays a key role in empowering people with disabilities, showing that it is supportive of the workforce's accessibility needs. The various adaptive technologies available can help remove accessibility barriers and provide support at work for Deaf, deafened and or hard-of-hearing employees.

Part of ESDC's IT Accessibility Office, the Accessibility Center of Excellence (ACE) maintains, reviews, and procures adaptive technology for short-term loans to employees. Items loaned are evaluated to determine if they are useful to individuals with hearing impairments. By developing a strategy suited to everyone's needs, the ACE team can help determine the best adaptive technology made available for client use.

To access this service for either yourself or for one of your employees, please submit a service request either by filling out this Intake Form, by opening a ticket through the National Service DeskInternal link, or by directly sending an inquiry to the ITAO GD mailbox edsc.ti-it.a11y.esdc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.

Learn more about Adaptive Technology and Accessible Information and Communication Technology.Internal link

-By the IT Accessibility Awareness Team