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ADVOCATES FOR DEAF children have warned how mask requirements for primary-level pupils will detrimentally impact the development of those who are hard of hearing.
New measures which came into effect on Wednesday require those aged nine and older to wear face masks in schools, shops and public transport.
The move follows a recommendation by NPHET last week in response to high incidence of Covid-19 among five to 12 year-olds, and is subject to a review to take place in mid-February.
However, parents and advocacy groups have said that Deaf and hard of hearing children in primary school will be left behind by the requirement because it will leave them unable to lip-read.
Brendan Lennon, head of advocacy at Chime, says the measure will exacerbate socio-emotional challenges among Deaf and hard of hearing children if it becomes the norm.
“This has to do with being able to make friends,” he explains.
“The age of nine to twelve is a critical period, not just for learning in school, but to be able to engage with your peers, make friends, and have the craic.
“And if you can’t do that, you feel left out and isolated. You might develop long-term mental health and well-being issues that go with adolescence, which could have lifelong implications.”
Chairperson of Our New Ears Laura Grant, whose ten-year-old son James is profoundly Deaf and uses a cochlear implant, feels he has been “thrown under the bus” by the requirement.
She explains that the issue is not with her son wearing a mask but with all the people around him wearing them: her son will be unable to lip-read and will also have difficulty in picking up the sound of voices via his implant because face masks will muffle them.
“If a teacher – wearing a mask – asks a question to the class that’s put out to the floor, a hard of hearing pupil has not got a hope of hearing what the question is, or the response from pupils, who are also wear masks,” she says.
“When this was meant to be for two-week period, I thought ‘Oh my god, let’s just do our best for the next few weeks’. But now we’re looking at two-and-a-half to three months. That’s a whole term of school.”
Grant also says that her son began to worry about going to school wearing a mask, even before the requirement for primary pupils to do so was introduced.
“He’s worried about Friday because he has his spelling test. He’s saying: ‘How am I going to know what the teacher calls? How am I going to do my work in school?’
“What I’ve had to do, which I found really hard, was to message the class parents’ WhatsApp group and explain how challenging this is going to be for him, and to ask them to ask their kids to help James if they don’t think he’s heard something in class.
“We’ve spent last seven years trying to help him become part of the gang and part of his class. And I felt like I was making him different. I have to do this for him, but it broke my heart. I sat in the kitchen and I absolutely bawled my eyes out for 20 minutes.
“He’s just been thrown under the bus, I feel, by the Department of Education.”
Grant also clarifies that she is not “pro-mask or anti-mask”, but that she is wondering why other avenues of preventing Covid-19 circulating among school children haven’t been fully tried out.
“This is our fourth wave of Covid. They’ve had the opportunity to get HEPA filters sorted during the summer: it didn’t happen. What about putting screens put up in schools, which happened in some schools and not others?
“Why has this not been exhausted? The least vulnerable to Covid are taking the burden for everybody, especially children with special educational needs. It’s just appalling.”
Sinn Féin’s education spokesperson Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said his party had previously called for children who are hard of hearing to be considered in any guidance around mask-wearing and possible exemptions around doing so.
However, he described as “disappointing” the fact that such children were not listed on exemptions to the guidelines.
“The Minister acknowledged that flexibility must be shown by schools in this circumstance,” he said.
“This is welcomed. However, we believe the Minister should consider providing funding to schools to provide masks with clear panels to the teacher and classmates of a child who is hard of hearing.
“This would allow the child to continue to lip-read and remain fully involved in their class.”
Labour’s education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said that the handling of advice to parents by the Department of Education this week was “absolutely ridiculous”.
“All of this should have been teased out over a number of days, possibly weeks, if this was deemed to be absolutely necessary,” he said.
“It’s been implemented, and now we have to chase all of these issues. It’s just poor communication after a whole litany of poorly managed situations, and principals and school communities are feeling completely disrespected.”
The Department of Education was contacted for comment, but did not respond to The Journal by the time of publication.
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The government won’t fork out money for Hepa Filters in schools but gave 17 million in funding to Greyhound racing.We can see who they prioritise.
@Tracy Dunbar Evans: what are you talking shout ? The amount of money on PUP with no questions asked. Estimated at 30bn cost of Covid so far with unforeseen expenditure of mica and mother and baby homes payouts ..
@Tracy Dunbar Evans: there are about 3,300 primary schools and 750 post primary schools in Ireland, giving at a Conservative estimate 31,000 class rooms. €17 million across those classrooms equates to €500 per classroom. This Ignores bigger schools with multiple classes per year, unused classrooms for a particular period in post-primary, and then all the other rooms used by staff/students. A Hepa filtration machine might cost €500 a month to rent, let alone to purchase, your €17 million won’t go far
@D. Memery: dude, fake news. Please stop. Portable HEPA filters are cheap, don’t need to be “installed”, and have been proven to work.
@Tracy Dunbar Evans: just heard on RTE Brendan O Connor show HEPA filters for schools could cost upwards of €80m. So if the government were to say sod it we’ll do it there’d have to be a tendering process which could take months and by then that €80m could hit €100m to €150m given this countries track record with quotes. I’d say that’s the reason government don’t want HEPA filters even Luke O Neill thinks they’re the gold standard
@Mac Muinteoir: The technology has improved over the past 18 months, so you are correct, they don’t need to be ‘installed’, portable options are now available. The filters thenselves maybe cheap, they are a consumable after all, but the portable industrial scale ones required for larger spaces like classrooms aren’t that cheap.
The portable units are an option, but let’s not delude ourselves that every classroom can be kitted out for €17 million.
By the way, just because you don’t like a comment doesn’t make it ‘fake news’, stop channelling your inner Trump.
@D. Memery: the portable units aren’t “an option”, they are *the* option. No need for expensive “industrial scale” units – as Prof Orla Hegarty points out, 2 or 3 smaller (and cheaper) filters in a classroom is better than one larger filter. https://twitter.com/Orla_Hegarty/status/1461400699296788487
Channelling Trump is a pretty good description of someone who keeps repeating the same misinformation over and over again, even when it’s been explained how and why they are wrong. But to really fit the grifty, Trumpy pattern, there’d need to be some financial benefit to the whole thing. Like, say, if the person repeatedly trying to rubbish the notion of using cheap filters, and instead going on and on about expensive industrial-scale installation, worked in that industry? Now that’s Trump.
@Mac Muinteoir: actually, I’m not repeating the same things, my understanding develops, in one case thanks to yourself. Previously I thought the only option for HEPA were fixed systems, you corrected me by providing links to suitable portable units, bigger than your link above however, and I’ve accepted that and amended my thinking accordingly.
HEPA filters are indeed ‘an option’ as no one approach will guarantee 100% protection, it requires a multi-layered response, HEPA, social distancing, public health restrictions, hand hygiene, sanitisation of rooms post potential exposure, etc, and by building up the various mitigations you approach 100%. I also don’t work in the industry manufacturing or selling HEPA, I’m a potential end-user, like yourself.
@D. Memery: portable units are the option under debate, not large installations. Of course other mitigations are needed too. Reinstating contact tracing, for starters.
While yes there may be a difficulty with deaf children specifically with lip reading .. let’s not use a complete outlier case to make such a decision.. benefits of children wearing masks in school massively outweigh the negatives as a whole.
@Ciaran: you try been deaf and though all this covid I’m a deaf adult and it’s been ya d enough it’s so difficult for children as it is typical people unless it’s happening to you well I’m alright jack
@Ciaran: I’d like to see your reference for that claim
@Ciaran: cochlear implant doesn’t work then?
@Ciaran: Agreed Ciarán, it’s a Pandemic. You can’t please everybody. My God we really are a bunch of whingers.
@Geraldine Clarke: I’m in the same boat as you. Hard of hearing with about 50% loss in both ears. Since the start of covid and people wearing mask it can sometimes be soul destroying trying to work out what people are saying to you half the time.
@Ciaran: while I understand the need to wear masks, it’s difficult enough for adults who are deaf like myself who have struggled a lot these last years since covid. As a kid it was hard enough in school, forcing kids to wear masks without a thought for deaf children pisses me off to no end. There has been NO help, supports or anything for deaf people since covid hit
@Tom Brophy: I’m 90% deaf and now have to rely on my husband when we are out to hear for me
Poor kids have a raw deal through all this and kids with special needs are pushed to the side
Like everyone else we do all we were asked but it’s to much to give a teacher and a child a mask that the child can lip read
Our children are entitled to an education
I’m sick and tired of people whining moaning and bitching about night clubs and pubs what about the poor kids their education messed up no social interaction and there are people who have no common sense and make sweeping statements
They should use clear plastic or other clear materials in cases like this.
As an English teacher living abroad.
My only real problem with masks is that I can’t demonstrate mouth movement while correcting pronunciation.
It’s so important even for people who have no hearing problems.
Special cases need special answers.
Surely it’s not beyond the government to solve this in a day or so.
@Linus Robin: clear plastic? That would be interesting to see after 5 minutes on a 9 year old.
@Tracktrack: It would be the teacher wearing it, not the kids, and I agree with him. As an English teacher myself I’ve met other teachers who had face coverings with clear plastic windows so their mouth movements were easy to see.
@Tracktrack: very low credit given you 9 year olds. Mine wears masks, disinfects her karate training gear and lots of other responsibilities for her own protection.
Maybe a little parental ownership wouldn’t go astray
@Tracktrack: I teach about 400 Vietnamese 9 year olds a week.
Can’t imagine I’d have many problems if the schools brought in new mask regulations.
Point is.
The deaf community should be looked at and dealt with differently in terms of mask wearing and maybe everything that impedes their everyday life.
I think the answer to the problem above at least short term is clear plastic visors.
Maybe I’m wrong.
@Linus Robin: Also texting, it’s invaluable. I used to teach a course to bring adults up to speed with technology. One told me that being able to text her deaf child made such a difference in her life. It was an unexpected bonus & very moving to realise how much it meant to adults to be able to use email, Google, Skype, etc. They had missed out on all PC related stuff and discovered the meaning of jargon like “download” & so on that had been a closed book to them for a lifetime.
@Tracktrack: I’ve seen it everyday for two years with kids. No problem.
@albhbc: well if it works I fully support it.
Agree totally with the views expressed in this article, My daughter is post cochlear implant 26 years. We travelled to Nottingham as the programme in Ireland at that time was not implanting children. Three years of travel until she was finally accepted, it changed her life immeasurably. She still lip reads in noisy environments , profoundly and hearing impaired deal children should be exempt under the Special Needs rules for mask wearing. Thanks for highlighting.
@Veron Elliott: Unfortunately Covid doesn’t discriminate. There are clear shields, plastic fronted masks etc available.
I’m
Sorry to hear at that time you had to go through so much to get your daughter looked after, shame on us as a country for not doing better. Your a terrific parent
@Tony Gordon: Thank You, because of visual impairment it was so important for her, a battle because she has physical disabilities too but it was wonderful for us to hear the team in Queens Medical say to us” she’s paved the way now for other children with additional needs” she makes us so proud every day.
@Veron Elliott: it’s other people’s mouths they need to see. A deaf person has no advantage in lip-reading by not wearing a mask.
@Veron Elliott: you wouldn’t be saying that if your child was to pick up the virus
Reviewed in February they say. But we all know this will probably continue indefinitely. I agree we need to do something with this unknown variant and because of our shambolic health system in the run up to Xmas however doing more long term damage to children and our hospitality industry doesn’t seem wise.
There’s a pandemic, in case you haven’t noticed. It’s not easy on anyone
Sign language should be compulsory for all children in primary school.
Imagine everyone knowing it, it would be useful in more ways than we realise.
It’s a pity sign language is different in different countries.
Surely with this masks and hand sanitising our children’s immune systems are not going to be as robust in adapting to viruses and other contaminants if we keep them from interaction. This momentary blip because of the current pandemic made lead to additional issues for years to come.
@Twitruser2021: how times have changed.. I remember the pox partys, no proper heating, jumpers for goalpost in depths winter lol.. Kids now days i feel so sorry for them.. Immune systems have not a hope.
@Twitruser2021: They are not compulsory! Let the school know of your decision and talk to your child. It is important the aspect of discrimination between children, now about masks. Build confidence in child about the decision.
@Colin Conlan: “let the school know of your decision and talk to your child” what if the child wants to wear a mask? We all know in most cases its not the children who have a problem with masks it’s the parent.
@Sam Harms: I believe I said to talk to your child? I did not enforce any order of events. I started with the school to emphasise that one is free to communicate any decision.
I will revise. First talk to your child, then communicate any decision reached to the school.
The whole point is that at least 9-12 mask wearing is advisory only. And one can take any decision in the family about it.
€500 per classroom would buy two of these portable HEPA filters:
https://www.homedics.com/totalclean-deluxe-uv-5-in-1-extra-large-room-air-purifier/
There’s no expensive installation, you literally take it out of the box, plug it in and switch it on. The reason this isn’t happening isn’t cost and it isn’t logistics, it’s ideology, and stubbornness.
Time to reverse the school year 2/3 months off during the winter, school in the summer when the virus doesn’t spread as easy
@eoin carroll: might have problem with teachers on that initiative
@Jonathan O’Riordan: Also anyone with severe allergies – nightmarish enough to sit exams when you have that issue, as many do.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: Some may, not many do.
“New measures which came into effect on Wednesday require those aged nine and older to wear face masks in schools, shops and public transport.”
Incorrect. Should be “asks” not “require”
@Colin Conlan: *) ask
@Colin Conlan: I can see the catch now. “nine and older”. Primary school thrown together with the rest. To erase the clear distinction that “new measures” for 9-12yo are advisory only.
Give them an extra 2 weeks Christmas holidays , it will massively reduce case numbers and leave the masks until they return in January.
‘Unused classrooms in post primary’ – lol
This, as well as inclusivity and equality, is why Sign Language should be taught in school, from an early age
Better than throwing him in the back of an ambulance.
Problem solved…. Did we need a whole article?
You can get masks which have plastic at the front specifically for this reason.
@xDemo17: “EDITORIAL NOTE:
This study is based on a survey regarding the adverse effects of mask wearing in children. Due to multiple limitations, this study cannot demonstrate a causal relationship between mask wearing and the reported adverse effects in children. Most of the respondents were parents, and the survey was distributed preferentially in social media forums that, according to the authors, “criticize the government’s corona protection measures in principle”. The limitations of the study include sampling bias, reporting bias, and confounding bias as well as lack of a control group. The use of masks, together with other precautionary measures, significantly reduces the spread of COVID-19 and is considered safe for children over the age of two years old.”
@xDemo17:
Where is the study of the fun they had a gradma’s funeral…
She may put up or shut up if nephet adivse that masks must be worn then they must be worn simple as that
I love to see the concern for HoH students being expressed by teachers lately. I just hope this will continue after masks have gone away, and it’s not just an anti-mask excuse – because I went through the whole school system with zero support for being HoH! Some tips for those who are serious: louder doesn’t necessarily equal clearer – think enunciation, not shouting. Consonants are key. Get a microphone and use it. Plonking your HoH student in the front row and leaving them there is not support. Let your HoH student say where they hear you best – and experiment with seating if they don’t know yet. If another student asks a question or makes a point, repeat it clearly, don’t expect your HoH student to strain to hear them from the other side of the classroom. Remember that oral is not the only form of communication that exists. Most importantly, listening is tiring – your HoH student is not “not paying attention”, they’re having to work twice as hard as everyone else, please be aware of that and acknowledge it!
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