COVID19 has changed the lives of everyone in the world in terms of school, work, everyday life and taking care to stay physically and mentally healthy. It has also had a profound effect on the deaf and blind communities. We wanted to raise awareness on how to be mindful of those who have low vision and/or are deaf or hard of hearing.
LOW VISION
While people with low vision are not at higher risk to COVID because of their vision loss, what led to their vision loss might put them in a higher risk category (e.g. diabetes, age, etc.). According to the World Health Organization, there are more risks to someone with low vision such as:
Inability to quickly find the hand sanitizer
Being required to use someone’s elbow to guide them (where people are now coughing and sneezing into)
Having to touch things for orientation and identification
Taking public transportation (crowded and infrequently running) since there are fewer Lyft and Uber drivers
How can we help keep people with low vision safe?
Social Distancing - If you see someone with a cane, kindly give them their space. Someone with low vision also might not see you coming. Please don’t assume everyone has the same vision as you and if someone is not moving, please do so yourself. Sometimes someone with low vision will carry a cane marked with red which indicates they have some vision, but not all do so. Let’s all do our part to keep one another safe.
Offer Your Assistance - If you see someone looking for something, offer your assistance, from a distance. Hold doors open for people.
Hearing Loss
Combined vision and hearing loss is caused by Usher syndrome. There are 600,000 people in the U.S. who are completely deaf and 13% of Americans 12 and older have hearing loss (National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness). People who are deaf or hard of hearing sometimes rely on lip reading to communicate, including our troop leader. The required use of masks makes it difficult to communicate.
How can we help those who are deaf or hard of hearing?
Speak loudly and clearly when wearing masks if you understand someone has a hearing problem. If you are able, wear a mask with a clear panel.
