If you have a speech disability and live in the United States (including Puerto Rico), you can now use a new, free telephone service 24 hours a day. This service, called "Speech to Speech" (STS), provides communication assistants (CAs) for people with difficulty being understood by the public on the telephone. It is a form of relay service and is provided through the TTY relay in each state, though unlike TTY, STS enables people with speech disabilities to communicate by voice through a CA, as many people with speech disabilities have difficulty typing.

For more information, contact Dr. Bob Segalman at 800-854-7784, Katherine Keller at info@stsnews.com to be placed on the STS List Serve, and visit the STS Web site at http://www.ncpad.org/658/2675/2004-03-01#8. For a list of U.S. Speech-to-Speech access numbers, go to http://www.ncpad.org/658/2675/2004-03-01#9. Access STS by dialing 711 and ask for Speech-to-Speech. If a CA cannot place an STS call for you, please e-mail Dr. Bob Segalman (bob@dor.ca.gov) with your name, date and time of call, location, and telephone number.