As indicated in NYSED’s Recovering, Rebuilding, and Renewing the Spirit of New York State Schools Guidance, for instruction or interventions that require visualization of the movement of the lips and/or mouths, students and staff may use alternate personal protective equipment (i.e., face coverings that are transparent at or around the mouth) (e.g., speech therapy). These alternate coverings may also be used for certain students (e.g., hearing impaired) who benefit from being able to see more of the face of the staff member. The New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of Special Education is sharing the following resources on considerations when instructing and communicating with students who are deaf or hearing impaired. These resources are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute NYSED endorsement. Please be aware that websites listed may change. The information provided is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
- The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the major operating components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has issued Additional Considerations for the Use of Cloth Face Coverings Among K12 Students, which provides suggestions for adaptations and alternatives, such as clear masks, for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, or rely on lip reading to communicate.
- The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) is a technical assistance and dissemination center federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to provide evidence-based strategies at the local, state, and national levels. NDC is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic with customized resources, tips, and events for deaf youth and the educators, disability services professionals, vocational rehabilitation counselors, parents and others who support them. NDC’s Communicating With a Face Mask: What Colleges Need to Know for Deaf Students (and Everyone) identifies the key communications concerns on campus regarding face masks, as well as strategies to overcome those barriers and ensure effective communications for all. Although focused on colleges, NDC’s guidance addresses several frequently asked clear mask questions and provides helpful tips to ensure effective communication with deaf students. NDC’s Your Questions, Answered addresses frequently asked questions on many COVD-19 related topics including face masks.
- The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), conducts and supports research in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. As cloth face coverings and distancing pose communication challenges for many individuals with hearing problems including obscuring facial features, disrupting speech perception and the emotion conveyed by the speaker, NIDCD has developed 8 Tips for improving Communication When Wearing a Face Covering.