During this Coronavirus distress, wearing face masks has become imperative. Initially, it was only for healthcare workers and doctors but now everyone is being encouraged to cover their faces when they go out. For deaf and hard of hearing people, this can prove to be a roadblock in communication because many of them rely on lip reading to understand what the other person is saying. Communication suffers if they cannot read lips or see facial expressions.

Keeping this issue in mind, Ashley Lawrence, a student majoring in deaf education, has created a new mask that is transparent around the mouth to allow deaf people to read lips. Ashley created this mask using bedsheets. She and her mother are also trying to create masks for people who wear cochlear implants that could possibly wrap around their neck.

Ashley started a GoFundMe page as well to raise money for Hands & Voices, a not for profit dedicated to supporting families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. On her GoFundMe page, she mentions she will be posting a tutorial on how to make these masks very soon.

Source: Interesting Engineering

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