Neither the visor, nor the surgical or fabric mask is suitable for Angélique to express herself. The president of the Rouen-Normandie Metropolitan Association of the Deaf (ASMRN) speaks sign language. Now, in this language, facial expressions matter as much as hand movements. Transparent masks, approved to meet health standards at the end of August, could therefore be useful.
She speaks through the voice of her interpreter Lisa Lejeune, from ARIS Normandie. “When you can’t see the face, _this can cause confusion. For example the words ‘bread’ and ‘bath’ look alike_. And facial expressions are essential for understanding the grammar of sign language “, explains Angélique.
Deaf people adapt to understand each other with a mask, but this remains difficult. Likewise, making oneself understood outside, in the supermarket or at the bank is not easy. For Angélique’s daughter, going back to school is complicated: “She is fitted and needs lip reading. When she comes home, she tells me that she hasn’t understood everything. For example, when there is homework to do, you must first find out what the teacher has given as homework before you can start the exercises “.
Transparent masks soon to be provided to teachers
Sophie Cluzel, the Secretary of State for Persons with Disabilities, promised on September 6 that 100,000 masks would be provided to teachers with a deaf child in their class by the end of the month. In Rouen, the metropolis plans to distribute 2,200 masks in municipal nurseries and schools, in cases where children are hampered in their learning by the surgical mask.
Some teachers have equipped themselves, but not all. For the president of ASMRN, it is still too much _“rough draft”and this situation creates “anguish” _.
Angélique also plans to order these transparent masks approved for its members. But you have to wait at least three weeks before delivery, or even four or five.
An investment for associations
The approved transparent window mask costs around 11 euros. The Beethoven center in Rouen, an associative support center for deaf and hard of hearing children, will order nearly 300 in the next few days. The goal is to equip all employees, such as speech language pathologists, educators and physicians.
“We are going to take from the association’s budget. _This represents several thousand euros_. And the masks are resistant to 20 washes so you will have to repeat orders “, says Khaled Djekboubi, director of the Beethoven center.
But for him, this investment is essential for “regain a more normal contact between speech therapists and children”, separated for the moment by a plexiglass window.
In Normandy, masks of this type are produced in Evreux, by a company of the APF France Handicap association.
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