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Vendors & Service Providers

Harvard University explores requests for reasonable accommodations from individuals with disabilities. We encourage that you build accessibility in on the front-end, in both practice and budget planning, as you would catering, AV or other event needs.

Please find below a listing of vendors that may be useful in your office’s exploration of an individual’s reasonable accommodation request.

Note that it is the responsibility of each individual school, department or event sponsor to be responsive to all requests as well as to cover the cost of accommodations provided to an individual/general audience at their event or program. No cost is passed onto the requesting individual and cost should not be a factor when exploring accommodation.

For further questions or consultation during this process, our office may be reached at disabilityresources@harvard.edu.

ASL and CART

In order to streamline the process to request services, the following referral agencies can respond to interpreter and CART requests for Harvard affiliates and guests who are Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing. The two agencies identified below offer remote services for ASL or CART. Remote may be a helpful option to consider for the implementation of last minute requests.  

UDR has a model contract available for university partners who are hiring effective communication service providers.  Please contact our office to obtain this information or if additional assistance is needed to explore these resources.   

Hands in Motion

ASL Services:

    1. Contact the agency to request service. They will guide you through the request process and answer any questions you may have.
    2. Be prepared to answer whether parking, mileage or transportation will be paid for the service provider, by your office.
    3. Please ensure that you are aware of the details of the cancellation policy of the agency.
    4. After services are provided, the agency will send the invoice directly to you or your designee. Kindly look over all invoices for accuracy and forward to the appropriate office within your school for payment processing.  Should you have any questions about an invoice please feel free to contact the agency directly.

    Audio Description

    Audio description, also referred to as a video description is an additional narration track intended primarily for blind and visually impaired consumers of visual media (including television and film, dance, opera, and visual art).

    • For an internal listing of providers with Harvard experience, please contact disabilityresources@harvard.edu
    • Please note: there is an associated cost for hiring service providers.

    Braille

    While Harvard does not have a preferred vendor for Braille services, any of the three vendors below listed below can create braille materials such as programs, brochures, or business cards:

    We’d be happy to consult if you have any questions during this process.

    Captioning

    HUIT and UDR offer guidance to schools and departments looking to add captioning to video resources.

    While there are numerous captioning vendors available, the following have been evaluated by the University. Below are selected available vendors. More information on exploring and hiring service providers may be found on the Digital Accessibility website.

    Vendor

    Cost

    Accuracy

    Turn-around time

    Suitable use cases

    How to

    3Play Media

    (High) Harvard negotiated pricing

    very high (99%+)

    Standard: 48 hours

    Premium: 24 hours

    Preferred Vendor.

    Use for videos that need high degree of accuracy, such as for a student who needs captioning for a course lecture or videos to be made public. Offers a wide range of services and formats.

    Instructions: 3Play

    Rev

    $1/min

    Very high (99%+)

    24 hour turnaround if video is 20 minutes or less.

    Used for videos that need high accuracy, such as for a student who needs captioning for a course lecture or videos to be made public.

    Instructions: Rev

    Cielo24

    On per minute basis

    Very high (99%+)

    24 or 48 hours

    Combination. Can be integrated with video platforms.

    Instructions: Cielo24

    Live Captioning

    Live Captioning or Realtime captioning may be provided at a live event and is displayed as lines of text across the event video screen and/or via the event livestream. There are several vendors that may be contacted for Live Captioning Services:

    Please note: there is an associated cost for hiring service providers.

    Equipment Loan or Rental

    Equipment Loan

    Our office has two wheelchairs available for loan to the Harvard Community. Additional equipment and software may be available for loan through the UDR Lab.

    Harvard Art Museums, HMNH, and the Harvard Information Center also have wheelchairs available for visitor use on-site, on a first-come first-served basis.

    Equipment Rental

    There are a number of equipment rental companies in the local area. Wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, and other equipment may be rented from local vendors that provide short term loans for a cost.

    Belmont Medical Supply
    http://www.belmontmedical.com/
    185 Belmont Street, Belmont, MA 02478
    617-484-3888

    Boston Orthopedic & Respiratory Equipment
    http://www.bostonorthoresp.com/
    175 Main Street, Charlestown, MA
    617-337-5133 or (800) 854-6370