Social Security Choices for
Blind or Deaf
by Jim Czechowicz
About 28 million Americans
are deaf or hard of hearing, and more than 8 million are blind or
visually impaired. Many of these individuals are older Americans,
and over the next 30 years, as the baby-boomer generation ages, the
number of adults who are visually impaired or who are hard of hearing
is expected to grow substantially.
Social Security is at the forefront of government agencies working
to make all information and services available to these individuals.
For the deaf and hard of hearing
Deaf and hard of hearing individuals are encouraged to visit Social
Security’s
Web site at www.socialsecurity.gov to
file for benefits or to find information about a wide range of Social Security
topics.
People who are deaf
or hard of hearing also can call Social Security at its TTY number,
800-325-0778. They can ask for information, or may immediately
file for retirement, survivor’s and Medicare
benefits without an appointment using a TTY/TDD machine. Callers
applying for benefits should have certain documents in hand, such
as their birth certificate, most recent W-2, military service and
bank account information.
The paperwork completed
by TTY/TDD during the initial contact will be mailed to the applicant
for review and a signature. Along with the signed form, Social
Security also needs certain documents, such as a person’s
birth certificate and proof of citizenship or residency to establish
eligibility for Social Security benefits. An applicant can either
mail or take these items to a local Social Security office.
For the blind andvisually
impaired Blind or visually impaired individuals who have personal
computers with screen readers can access information at the Social
Security Web site, www.socialsecurity.gov. Screen reading programs “read” text
on the screen and convert the text to speech through a speech synthesizer
or sound card. More detailed information about this technology is
available at www.socialsecurity.gov/accessibility.htm.
Visually impaired visitors
to our Web site can quickly change the text size on their computer
to make the information easier to read. This is done through the “Web Eyes” plug-in,
which is available free on the homepage. Web Eyes can increase
text size from 10 to 144 points, in two-point increments.
The Social Security Web site
also lists publications for blind or visually impaired people. Materials
are available in Braille, audio cassette tape, disk, or enlarged
print form. Free copies of a publication can be ordered online or
by calling 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778).
Jim Czechowicz is a Minneapolis specialist in the Office of Public
Affairs with the
Social Security Administration. He can be reached at
james.c.czechowicz@ssa.gov
