How They Did It

Nonprofit Organization:
Financial Accountant

PROBLEM: Last month, with a new director at the helm of the Hartford United Way, the office began holding weekly staff meetings, which take place with 15 people crowded around a long conference table. It quickly became clear that Jacob Sandstone, the staff accountant and a valued 10-year veteran employee, was having trouble participating.

While most staffers were aware Jacob wears a hearing aid (and assumed it was sufficient to help him), what they didn't realize is that Jacob also relies on visual cues to help him understand what people are saying. In the new meeting environment, Jacob found it difficult to follow conversations. The people at the farthest end of the table were the most difficult to understand. He would sometimes ask the same question that other people had already asked, which was embarrassing. (Of course, he laughed along with jokes, even if he missed the punch line.)

BACKGROUND: Jacob, 35, who has had moderate hearing loss since childhood, specifically selected the accounting profession because he thought that he would be able to perform well and compete fairly, considering his disability.

Throughout his tenure at United Way, he has received consistently high performance reviews. Most of his communication consists of one-to-one meetings with boss and co-workers; he has no supervisory responsibilities. On the phone, Jacob hears well when using his amplified office phone and hearing-aid telecoil. The phone, which cost $100, makes a loud ring and provides 20dB boost in conversation volume. Like everyone else in his office, he also has access to office e-mail and the internet.

SOLUTION: Jacob told his new boss that he was feeling increasingly isolated--and frustrated with missing part of what was said at the meetings. So the director asked him to do a bit of research, referring him to an assistive-device demonstration center that he'd identified through the Job Accommodation Network.

Jacob returned with suggestions about new products that could help him. Together, they selected a small FM transmitter system which, together with two small conference microphones, allows Jacob to fully participate in meetings. The mikes, which cost about $100 apiece, sit at each end of the long conference table, picking up sound and allowing Jacob to hear everything that is said through the neckloop attached to the FM transmitter. The transmitter itself cost about $700.

In addition to the assistive listening system, the staff has become more understanding. Now, a written agenda distributed at the beginning of the meeting helps him follow along. Colleagues also make sure they have Jacob's attention before they begin to speak with him.

And Jacob--who had quietly begun looking for a new job when the meetings started--has decided to remain because of the support he's received.