Closed captioning for the hearing impaired and audio description for the blind are accessibility techniques used in media services that involve a translation process and are characterized by the interaction of a text (oral or written) with sound and images. However, these translations do not necessarily imply a change from one language to another. They are often examples of intralinguistic translation, in which the goal is to facilitate access to audiovisual products and content for sectors of society such as those with sensory impairments, composed mainly of people with hearing disabilities and the visually impaired. These methods are gaining popularity in the more advanced contemporary societies due to increasing public awareness of disabilities and favorable legislation.

Closed captioning for the hearing impaired (CC) is defined as a method of transfer between modes (from oral to written) and sometimes between languages. It is a method intended to allow people with hearing disabilities who cannot hear the sound of an audiovisual product to “read” it using subtitles. It is presented on the screen through written text that offers a semantic retelling of what is presented in the program in question. It describes not only what is said, how it is said (emphasis, tone of voice, voice sounds, accents and foreign languages) and who says it, but also what can be heard (music and ambient noise) and discursive elements that appear in the image (letters, legends, signs, etc.). The service is frequently available in Teletext, DVDs, Digital Terrestrial Television broadcasts and other multimedia formats.

Audio description (AD) is a service intended especially for blind or visually impaired people. It consists of condensed commentary which is inserted within the audio of an audiovisual product (television programs, films, plays, etc.) and uses the pauses to explain the action that is taking place in the scene, and to describe places as well as people, their clothing, body language and facial expressions with the goal of improving the visually impaired audience's understanding of the audiovisual material. In this way, AD becomes the way that people with visual disabilities can have access to movies, television and other visual arts.

Because STU is aware of these new realities in the field of accessibility, we have a select group of professionals who specialize in these new methods of translation and will offer unbeatable efficiency and quality in whatever accessibility translation services you may need.