Published on 12, July, 2020
Since being diagnosed, I’ve been finding ways to better manage my difficulties. One being phone calls - which thankfully I can avoid mostly by either using live chat or email, but sometimes there is no choice but to telephone. But when I’m speaking on the call I absolutely freeze up, and sometimes struggle with processing what the other people say. After giving it some time to pluck up the courage (usually days and after writing a script!) I can make a phone call, but I’ve been considering what other ways could work better as it’s exhausting having all this anxiety when I have to make a phone call. So I have been considering using Relay UK, which is a free service where someone else relays the phone call in text, practically turning it into live chat. This would make it so much easier and less daunting, and might mean I can deal with issues (e.g. phone call to DWP) a lot quicker. However on the other hand I’m conscious that relay UK is a service mainly for deaf people, and I wouldn’t want to take up this resource if that’s the case. To be fair, I can most of the time email or use live chat so can avoid phone calls, it’s just the odd occasions.
i was wondering if anyone else has used Relay Uk and isn’t deaf? is it wrong for me to use the service even though I’m not deaf?
I would encourage you to go ahead and use it. The following quote is from Relay UK's own customer satisfaction survey, published at the link below:
"This app has changed my life as somebody with Auditory Processing Disorder, and being Autistic with mutism, phone calls were impossible and I was feeling like such a burden constantly asking for calls to be made on my behalf by family and friends, but this app changes all of that."
https://www.relayuk.bt.com/assets/documents/relay-uk-satisfaction-survey-key-findings-nov-2022.pdf
Thanks Bunny, that’s very helpful