Mom Goes to Press for Captions

It never ceases to amaze me how strong moms raising special needs children are.

This morning, my local newspaper ran an editorial by a mom infuriated by the lack of captioned movies at local theaters. Read the entire Captioning Editorial. A portion of the editorial is also included at the end of my post.

Her words, which captivated me most were, “I thought the Americans with Disabilities Act would improve options for my daughter and many other like her, and in many cases, it has. So why are the theaters exempt?”

Transcript of Mom’s Editorial to Local Newspaper

“I fail to understand how it is required for television and DVDs to be captioned for the deaf and hearing impaired, but movie theaters are exempt. The only accessible theater in·Kansas City at this time is the·Regal Cinema at the Ameristar.

“AMC previously captioned movies at four different locations, and then stopped this practice over six months ago while the company upgraded its theaters to digital. I have been speaking to various representatives at AMC who give me different versions of why captioning is no longer available; such as problems with software and so on.

“Captioned movies are a necessity for my deaf daughter who has now been excluded from theaters, and they are also necessary for many older adults who can no longer understand the dialogue, even with hearing aids. I thought the Americans with Disabilities Act would improve options for my daughter and many other like her, and in many cases, it has. So why are the theaters exempt?”

Lipreading Mom Asks…

Why ARE theaters exempt from the ADA?

What makes TV and DVDs the only consistently chosen entertainment form to be captioned?

Is anyone as infuriated about this as me and the mom of the lipreading child are?

Will you write your newspaper and ask why your theaters aren’t captioning all their movies?

Will you advocate for me?

7 thoughts on “Mom Goes to Press for Captions”

I love how strong mothers are, but it upsets me when I hear of stories like this. We have enough on our plate without having to battle red-tape as well.

Maybe we should voice our opinions at a higher level so that theaters are included in the ADA. If we can find the people to write to in Washington, we could all mail letters the same day in a special color envelope to get their attention.

I speak out as often as I can, such as my PCP doctor’s office will not use email or text me for communication. I let them know that they are way behind times because many companies are now accommodating my requests of email or texting me. KCPL even will text me when they are 30 minutes from meeting me. MO Gas Energy will not. Radio Shack texts me with info about a product I want. The alarm company texts me when I need to know they are arriving for appointment. Other doctors use email to tell me which medicine is the best for my child. I let people know how much I appreciate it.

Thank you for following LipreadingMom.com. Moms do have many responsibilities, and advocacy watchdogs are among the roles we special needs moms must play. Like you, I welcome the day when my children and I can sit in a movie theater and watch the movie we want with captions.

I fail to understand how it is required for television and DVDs to be captioned for the deaf and hearing impaired but movie theaters are exempt. AMC previously captioned movies at four different locations and then stopped this practice over six months ago while the company upgraded its theaters to digital. Captioned movies are a necessity for my deaf daughter who has now been excluded from theaters and they are also necessary for many older adults who can no longer understand the dialogue even with hearing aids.

Monex/Jeanette – I applaud you for writing the letter to the editor. Send me an e-mail sometime, and we can discuss theater captioning issues and what the local Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Chapter is doing to advocate for captions. -Shanna