Lorin MacDonald, who depends in part on lip-reading to communicate, finds herself increasingly shut out of conversations as the widespread adoption of opaque masks takes hold across society.
As Lorin MacDonald watched the COVID-19 pandemic transform the world around her, she avidly hoped attitudes towards her and her fellow deaf and hard-of-hearing Canadians would undergo a similar shift.
MacDonald said it's been disheartening to watch pre-existing barriers facing the hearing loss community get exacerbated rather than addressed, a sentiment increasingly expressed by disabled advocates around the world. MacDonald said explanations of her hearing loss and requests for store employees to lift their masks for easier lip-reading are often met with either outright refusal or a dismissive wave.
"Most Deaf children, teens, and adults rely on the Deaf community for their needs, including socialization and linguistic exposure," said Constantin, an executive with the Canadian Association of the Deaf. "This extended period of time at home is leading to more isolation which is having untold effects, especially on Deaf youth whose families may or may not sign. Their education and their mental health will most certainly be negatively impacted because of this.
Estey said a surge of optimism he felt early on in the outbreak as he watched governments incorporate sign language interpretation into their public health briefings has receded entirely as the issues of most disabled Canadians, the deaf included, appear to have fallen off the radar.
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