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Face masks in class

Published Date: 22 Apr 2021

Mum and daughter in face masks

Maia’s lament this last year has been “It’s no time to be a teenager.” However, since being back at school on 8 March, this has become “It’s no time to be a deaf teenager.” We knew mask-wearing in classrooms would be tough on Maia so we swotted up on how best to overcome the challenges and Maia liaised with her teachers regarding her concerns and how they could best support her. Of course, there’s been no easy fix and it has been a frustrating return to school.

What worked:

It’s hard to see Maia face additional hurdles and mask-wearing in class feels quite unfair. However, her school has been incredibly supportive and it was decided that, along with her front-row seat, Maia’s Mini-Mic would be the best starting point. When Maia’s teachers and pair workers wear the Mini-Mic, their voices are streamed directly to Maia’s hearing aids and this helps combat some of the muffle incurred by masks and takes the pressure off Maia’s need to read lips and facial expressions. Despite a few teething problems and the faff of regularly sanitising the Mini-Mic, Maia has thankfully been able to follow her lessons.

What wasn’t so great:

Indeed, it’s one thing to manage 30 minutes of masked chat in Tesco but seven hour days at school were leaving Maia exhausted. Although the Mini-Mic helps her follow her teachers, she finds it a real struggle to know what other students wearing masks are saying. It’s been an isolating time for her, when she was so excited to chat freely with her friends again, to enjoy the banter and embrace pair/group work after months of Google Meet. She says she now feels nervous to contribute as she may not hear the response or gauge the reaction. This is so sad after all the effort she has made to master listening and speaking skills.

We knew some of Maia’s tiredness would simply be from the adjusting to going back to the classroom and we were hopeful she could persevere until the Easter break, but by week two something had to give. The effort required was impacting her confidence and stamina at a time when she, like all children, had already navigated so much. For the last week and a half of term, she attended school on a reduced timetable and while not ideal long term, this did feel like a positive shift and made the school day much more manageable for her.

What now?

While we support the role of masks in fighting COVID-19, as parents of a deaf child, we would love for them to be dropped in classrooms and for schools to revert to using them in communal areas only. We also feel it’s time to acknowledge the disruption and specific learning challenges deaf children and young people have faced since the start of the pandemic, especially for those preparing for examinations in 2022.

Should face masks remain in class, then there has to be a plan. We would wish for the government, schools and families of deaf children to work closely, implementing adjustments that can be made socially and academically, subject by subject, with each child’s wellbeing at heart.

There are times when we reassure ourselves of the benefits Maia will take from these recent weeks. She has gained a deeper understanding of her hearing loss, learned to advocate for herself, be kind to herself and has bravely asked for help. However, increasingly we feel ‘enough now’. It’s time to give young people a break. They need connection, support, purpose and a long overdue dollop of fun.

Josie

Josie and her husband Martin are parents to Maia (14) and Annabel (11). Maia has Treacher Collins Syndrome and wears bone anchored hearing aids (BAHA Attract).