By Peterborough Charity launches scheme to support deaf residents during covid crisis
As facemasks are now mandatory on public transport and the general public are choosing to wear them while out and about, those who are deaf and hard of hearing and communicate by lip reading are having problems coversing.
Because of these issues the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association (CDA) have launched a badge to help make people more aware of the communication problems caused by facemasks.
Their ‘I’m a lip reader’ badges have been created to help others find different ways of communicating.
This could be by using gestures, writing things down or communicating from behind a screen.
The Cambridgeshire Deaf Association do not advocate for people to remove masks as this could increase the spread of COVID-19.
Andrew Palmer, Chief Executive of the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association said:
“A lot of people are concerned about the impact of face masks on their ability to communicate, this is especially true on public transport or in workplaces. People’s anxiety is already high and being unable to communicate won’t do anything to help.
“The main issue is that people who are deaf and have hearing loss rely heavily on visual clues for effective communication – that includes body language, gestures, facial expression and lip-reading.
“These badges are just a quick and easy reminder to people that the person that they’re facing might not be able to hear them and may need to rely on reading their lips. It will also give them an opportunity to socially distance whilst trying to find alternative methods of communication.”
The badges and t shirt are available from the CDA’s website.
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