8List.ph
  • News
    • Showbiz
    • Opinion
    • Sports
    • Profiles
    • Weird
  • Adulting
    • Career
    • Money
    • Health
    • School & Learning
    • Relationships
  • Pop
    • Movies & TV
    • Music
    • Books
    • Games
    • Theater
    • Retro
    • K-World
  • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Nest
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Pinoy
  • Videos
    • 8List Asks
    • Pagsubeks
    • Kaya Today!
    • Archives
      • 8list Plays
      • 8List Explores
      • 8List Presents
      • 88 Seconds
      • 8secs
      • Filgood
      • Isabuhay Ang Panata
      • #8MinutesWith
      • YOUth DECIDE
      • Str8 Up with Delamar
      • Toughest Job 2016
  • H8 Mondays
  • Breathe
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Archive
  • Bitesized.ph
  • Windowseat.ph

 

 

 

8List.ph is published by ID8, Inc.

Subscribe
8List.ph
8List.ph
  • News
    • Showbiz
    • Opinion
    • Sports
    • Profiles
    • Weird
  • Adulting
    • Career
    • Money
    • Health
    • School & Learning
    • Relationships
  • Pop
    • Movies & TV
    • Music
    • Books
    • Games
    • Theater
    • Retro
    • K-World
  • Lifestyle
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Nest
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Pinoy
  • Videos
    • 8List Asks
    • Pagsubeks
    • Kaya Today!
    • Archives
      • 8list Plays
      • 8List Explores
      • 8List Presents
      • 88 Seconds
      • 8secs
      • Filgood
      • Isabuhay Ang Panata
      • #8MinutesWith
      • YOUth DECIDE
      • Str8 Up with Delamar
      • Toughest Job 2016
  • H8 Mondays
  • Breathe
  • Breathe

How Are Our Friends from the Deaf Community Coping with the Pandemic?

  • Posted on Nov 16, 2020Nov 16, 2020
  • 4 minute read
  • AIESEC De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and Beatrice Quirante
Total
13
Shares
12
0
1

It’s the end of Deaf Awareness Week, and while many of us are (understandably) wrapped up in our own concerns and issues right now, this week is a great reminder for us to strive for inclusivity, especially when it concerns the disabled community. Let’s take a look at how our friends from the deaf community are doing during the pandemic:

 

The grind never stops

Via Green Chameleon/Unsplash

With face-to-face interactions discouraged, we now look toward our screens for classes online. While this new setup is challenging enough for the vast majority of students, hearing-impaired students face unique challenges.

In a limited study conducted by the University of Malaya, researchers found that hearing-impaired students had four main learning challenges due to the pandemic:

  • Hearing devices are unable to pick up speech or sound completely and accurately during online lessons, and lip-reading needs extra focus and effort.
  • Some hearing-impaired students also have motor skill issues, and so typing quickly is a struggle. Many disabled students also need more time to digest lessons.
  • Unfamiliarity with technology was also an issue, and many students also do not have the resources to purchase an online device.
  • Many students were also affected emotionally due to the pressures of keeping up with online classes and having to acquire expensive gadgets.

In spite of these challenges, some hearing-impaired students, like KVC, an Applied Deaf Studies student in DLS-CSB, continue the grind online.

 


Bravely taking the leap

Via Alexis Brown/Unsplash

Though it’s understandable why many students — disabled and otherwise — have opted to take a break during this new normal, some have decided to keep going. KVC, for one, hasn’t let the pandemic affect her drive to excel. She is also a member of the Benildean Deaf Association, an organization for the student leaders of DLS-CSB’s deaf community. She is only one of the many deaf students who chose to take on their online classes with open arms and continue their studies while on lockdown. KVC says this new normal is testing her patience and challenging her to be responsible.

 

When it becomes too much

Via Yuris Alhumaydy/Unsplash

Although KVC is gamely facing the new normal, she’s not invincible. Sometimes, she has trouble sleeping at night, and the overfatigue makes her feel dizzy and throw up. Thankfully, she says that the stress from being required to stay at home hasn’t affected her school work.

How to Pick Yourself Up After Going Through a Rough Burnout
How to Pick Yourself Up After Going Through a Rough Burnout
Kyzia Maramara | Jan 29, 2020

 


Finding motivation

Via Jude Beck/Unsplash

As more of us Filipinos experience anxiety with this pandemic, it’s no question that continuing one’s studies is one of the boldest decisions one could make. Some find support from friends and family — KVC says she was motivated by her mom to push through with online classes.

We can find motivation by staying connected to our support network and taking care of our mental health, but it’s also important to note that in these exceptional circumstances, productivity isn’t everything.

Gentle Reminder: It’s Alright If You’re Not 100% Productive Right Now
Gentle Reminder: It’s Alright If You’re Not 100% Productive Right Now
Kyzia Maramara | Jul 27, 2020

 


What about mental health?

Via Jude Beck/Unsplash

We all experience mental health issues from time to time, and in this pandemic, they’re even more prevalent. In these uncertain times, we should remember that the deaf and disabled community experience this too.

Mental health writer Marcia Purse mentioned in her article “Deaf Community and Mental Health Care” that their common mental health issues include anxiety and depression. According to multiple studies, deaf people suffer from mental health issues at around DOUBLE the rate of the general population.

 

Why is the deaf community so vulnerable to mental health issues?

Via fotografierende/Pexels

One study found that 41% of hearing-impaired individuals attribute their mental health issues to communication problems, family stresses, and overall prejudice.

Purse expressed that the challenge extends to the difficulty in looking for deaf interpreters, and communication issues with health care providers. Based on her findings, she emphasized the relevance of deaf professionals, sign language, and mainly, lack of inclusive services.

 

Simple ways to help

Via Dan Meyers/Unsplash

Hearing individuals can help by carefully understanding the messages of our deaf friends passed on whatever mode of communication it may be — writing, lip-reading, phone messages, notes, and etc. And oh, don’t forget to be inclusive in hosting events — simply including a deaf interpreter while speaking in a well-paced manner could greatly help!

Schools can also make an effort to include closed captions or subtitles in their video materials. They can also make presentation slides readily available to their students. Lecturers should also be mindful of their hearing-impaired students’ challenges.

 

Practicing self-care through learning

Via Christin Hume/Unsplash

To cope with mental health issues, KVC recommends exercising, eating healthy food, and having a gratitude list (for things you’re grateful for),  asking for assistance, and practicing time management. But hearing-impaired individuals could also make the most of the many readily available free mental health seminars for the deaf community. One is the “Online Learning Session: ECQ Self-care” of Rochelle Martin, a faculty of the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies in DLS-CSB. Here, she gave coping tips similar to KVC’s recommendations, such as having enough time to rest and taking deep breaths.

 

Regardless of who we’re communicating with, each one of us is experiencing a battle we know none of. The best thing we could do is to be understanding, compassionate, and, most importantly, inclusive to everyone we encounter.

So, what can we do for a more inclusive society?

 

Are you from the deaf community? Do you have a loved one who is hearing-impaired? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below!


Total
13
Shares
12
0
1
Avatar photo
AIESEC De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde

AIESEC is an international youth-run, non-governmental, and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development, cross-cultural internships, and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a progressive social impact.

Avatar photo
Beatrice Quirante

Passion for leadership and the sense of fulfillment from helping others have always been behind Beatrice's drive to put her best efforts into everything she does.

Previous Article
  • News

Bayanihan: These Companies Stepped Up to Help Kababayans Affected by the Typhoon

  • Posted on Nov 16, 2020Nov 16, 2020
  • Kyzia Maramara
View Post
Next Article
  • K-World
  • Pop

These Korean Celebrities Could Pass Off as Twins — Can You Tell Them Apart?

  • Posted on Nov 16, 2020Sep 12, 2022
  • Meryl Medel
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Breathe

Here’s How Burnout Physically Changes Your Brain

  • Posted on Mar 23, 2023
  • Arianne Melendres
View Post
  • Breathe
  • Relationships

Intergenerational Trauma: Can Trauma *Really* Be Passed Down?

  • Posted on Feb 24, 2023Feb 24, 2023
  • Arianne Melendres
View Post
  • Breathe

How to Take Care of Your Mental Health During the Holiday Season

  • Posted on Dec 21, 2022Dec 21, 2022
  • Meryl Medel
View Post
  • Breathe

8 Things You Shouldn’t Say to Someone Going Through a Difficult Time

  • Posted on Nov 3, 2022Nov 3, 2022
  • Edgardo Toledo
View Post
  • Breathe

It’s the Little Things: How Romanticizing Your Life Can Help You Cope with Stress

  • Posted on Oct 10, 2022
  • Kyzia Maramara
View Post
  • Breathe

8 Things To Do When You’re Feeling Lost

  • Posted on Sep 22, 2022
  • Jeremiah Santos
View Post
  • Breathe

Here’s How NOT to React After Someone Attempts to Take Their Life

  • Posted on Sep 15, 2022Sep 15, 2022
  • Kaira Guererro
View Post
  • Breathe

Keep Calm: 8 Things to Do When You’re Overwhelmed by Life

  • Posted on Sep 7, 2022
  • Edgardo Toledo

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get the l8est delivered right to your inbox.

8List.ph
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Archive
  • Bitesized.ph
  • Windowseat.ph
Your daily dose of entertaining, useful and informative lists.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.