Project Summary
We have spent much of the current Covid-19 pandemic reflecting on our own experiences: I have spoken a lot about the ways the pandemic has affected me, but haven’t had the opportunity to do the same level of reflection on how the pandemic has affected those different from me. I have been immensely privileged during this pandemic, and wanted to explore how the pandemic affected others that don’t have the same life experiences that I do. I saw an article about the challenges mask wearing posed to Deaf people who relied on lip-reading, and asked my mother, who has a hearing deficit, if she had noticed any effects of the pandemic on her own hearing and communication. She said that she had. Having a personal connection to the topic, I was even more interested in further researching it. I had also always wanted to learn ASL (American Sign Language), and thought it would be perfect to do while conducting my research, to allow me to better understand the unique challenges that came with only speaking ASL. Originally my main goal in my project was just to study ASL, but as my project went on I found myself more drawn to the research portion of it. My project has since evolved into more of a research project in which learning ASL served mostly to bolster my research. Learning ASL allowed me to see the challenges that Zoom brought to ASL communication, as frequent frozen screens made it more difficult to see one’s hand movements. Learning ASL gave me more insight into the language, which requires the use of facial expression almost as much as hand movements, something else that, along with lip-reading, is difficult to do through masks. I decided to compile all that I had learned through taking ASL classes, interviewing people, and conducting my own research, onto my March Madness website so that my research could be viewed in a more dynamic and easily understandable format. I hope to continue my study of ASL, and believe that going forward I will be more aware of the challenges Deaf people face in a world that is largely designed for hearing people.
