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Many obstacles, including their deafness, are getting in the way of a planned study to the United States and Britain for Angela and Shelia.

Television New Zealand has begun experimental transmission aimed at introducing a new service which will improve viewing enjoyment for the hard of hearing. Called Teletext, it is intended for daily transmission by next year.

Teletext, TVNZ’s new information service for disabled and general users, will be introduced on February 1. It has cost about $1 million to set up and part of the money came from the 1981 Telethon.

TVNZ says that several hundred pages of detailed information can be made available and rapidly selected by the viewer. The information ranges from frequently updated news and weather, both national and regional, to travel and consumer and social services media.

People who can hear as well as see 'Reasonable Doubts' (TV3, 9.50pm Saturdays) might be surprised to learn that Deaf New Zealanders can understand deaf lawyer Tessa Kaufman’s sign language little better than they can. ASL, used by Deaf actor Marlee Matlin, is a foreign language here. My Deaf friends give it the thumbs up. But the failure of television in New Zealand to provide anything in NZSL is described as “a running sore” by Hilary McCormack.

Some Television New Zealand news bulletins are to be subtitled for hard-of-hearing viewers, but no titles are planned for TV3 news.

Deaf and hearing-impaired Kiwis are about to get a lot more choice in what they watch on television thanks to closed captioning being introduced on 10 new channels.

Fifty deaf people registered a silent protest outside the Auckland Magistrate’s Court yesterday about what they say is the subtle discrimination of New Zealand against deaf people.