COVID-19 brings additional challenges to the classroom for hard of hearing students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worldwide health precautions have led nearly everyone to wear a face mask in public. While this is better for public health, it can make staying engaged in the classroom difficult for hard of hearing students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to speak louder because we are in a COVID-sized classroom now,\u201d Karen Corker, assistant professor of business administration, said. \u201cEspecially with the plexiglass, which can give a glare, you have to speak louder. You feel like you are screaming sometimes, but you are really not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harding made the decision to alter the classrooms for the fall semester due to the health crisis. Classes meet in larger classrooms and all desks are topped with a plexiglass shield to prevent unnecessary cross contamination. These necessary precautions, Corker said, make it difficult to effectively communicate for students and teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haydn and Hunter Corker, seniors at Harding Academy, were born deaf. They rely on their cochlear hearing implants and watching mouth movements to understand the world around them. Harding Academy has taken the same precautions as the University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOn the high school side, we have microphones that they can use, so a lot of teachers started using those so we can hear through the face mask, and we had some teachers using the face masks with plexiglass, but it started fogging up,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While a face mask with a clear front seems like an obvious fix, it has proven to cause more problems, according to Haydn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe face mask kinda fogs up, and there is a glare,\u201d Corker said. \u201cOnce you get past 5 or 6 feet, it gets really hard to see it. So, if you were going to have a hearing-impaired child in a classroom, you would want them in the very front.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The microphones used in their classrooms are part of a Redcat hearing system. The amplification system makes it easy to hear from all parts of the classroom. In addition to the amplification system, their teachers try to check on them to ensure they understand the instructions correctly. Outside of the classroom, the brothers shared the ways they navigate the masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lot of times if we are in a big crowd, we have to ask people to repeat things, or lean in closer,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since people with hearing disabilities also rely on watching lips, the brothers also recommend speaking clearly when wearing a mask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes people already speak quiet, so it would help if people spoke more clearly,\u201d Haydn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Corker said the changes being made by the coronavirus create many obstacles, but it also provides opportunity to better accommodate those with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the whole [COVID-19] environment, it becomes more critical to identify your hearing-impaired kids,\u201d Corker said. \u201cSo identifying those kids, and making sure you have those services, is important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jan Traughber, assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, shared more ways the University accommodates these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFaculty and staff are recognizing the potential challenges that individuals face while wearing a mask,\u201d Traughber said. \u201cI know faculty and staff have implemented strategies, such as wearing see-through face masks, providing transcripts of online classes, using closed captioning for materials, and sharing instructional videos.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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