How deaf children’s days out have been affected by new Covid regulations: lived experiences
Deaf Awareness Week (3-9 May 2021) is a good opportunity to take a deep dive into the lived experiences of families with deaf children on days out at visitor attractions in the ‘new normal’.
Did you know that there are 50,000 deaf children in the UK? How have their experiences been affected by Covid-19, and what improvements would parents and carers like to see implemented at UK visitor attractions?
Experiences of deaf children at visitor attractions
The National Deaf Children’s Society put us in touch with two families with deaf children who told us about their recent experiences with visitor attractions. Chante Williamson and her 12-year-old daughter Amelie, who has moderate partial hearing loss in one ear and slight hearing loss in the other, live in the West Midlands. Dr. Angela Walsh and her 11-year-old daughter Bella are from the northwest of England. Bella is deaf, has learning disabilities and ASD. She is also on medication for kidney issues.
We asked Chante and Angela about recent family days out that didn’t go as well as they’d hoped – what went wrong, and what could have been done better? It’s clear that for Amelie and Bella and thousands of other children like them, some of the changes brought about by the new Covid-19 rules and regulations aren’t working out so well.
Amelie relies on lip-reading and subtitles to help her communicate. A family day out to a wildlife park was negatively affected by an inadequately signed one-way system. “A few times Amelie went ahead of us and went the wrong way. Other visitors or staff asked her to go back, but of course, she couldn't hear and because of the face masks, she didn't realise people were talking to her,” says Chante. “If this had been signposted better it wouldn't have happened. Of course, to a child, any stranger telling them off or that they've done the wrong thing can be embarrassing and upsetting, especially if they are sensitive like Amelie. It took away some of the enjoyment of the day, which was a shame.”
On another day out to an outdoors activity centre, the family’s satisfaction with the overall experience was lessened by a Covid-induced change to the initial training, which was no longer carried out face-to-face. Instead, an audio recording of instructions was played to the visitors about to embark on a climb. “Amelie could not hear and, like many deaf children, was too embarrassed to put her hand up and say that. It is especially difficult to hear audio when you are outside and there is a lot of background noise. Plus, with it just being audio she was not able to lip-read. This made her quite anxious.”
For Angela, the issues started much earlier in the booking process, when she tried to arrange a visit to a screening at an outdoor cinema. “Before I book anything, I always call the venue to check whether or not they have a hearing loop and that we can sit near the toilets (due to Bella’s kidney problems). I ask if we can be seated nearer the front of the venue if it does not have a hearing loop so that Bella can lip-read. I want to know where the nearest parking for Blue Badge holders is. I also ask about steps at the venue as there are occasions when I need to take my daughter out, if the show overwhelms her. An 11-year old is too big for me to carry now so it’s unsafe to take her down steps if she’s having a ‘meltdown’.”
Unfortunately for Angela, the Visitor Attraction staff member she spoke to over the phone was not able to answer her questions fully or correctly, and a promise to arrange a call back from someone on the Access team was not fulfilled. The visitor attraction has since tried to rectify the situation but for Angela it’s a case of too little, too late. “I was left feeling that it’s just ‘lip service’ that [the visitor attraction] pays to disabled people. I feel as though we are just an afterthought. It’s hard enough caring for a disabled child without venues putting more obstacles in our way. We just wanted to go to the cinema – something that able people take for granted.”
Key takeaways: simple changes can help deaf visitors feel more valued and looked after
Clear masks/visors: It’s relatively easy to avoid situations like these. For Amelie, staff wearing clear masks or visors, as her school teachers do, would mean that she can see when she is being spoken to, and even lip-read what is being said. “More awareness is needed on the impact of masks on deaf people,” says Chante.
A wider range of instruction formats: It would have made all the difference if the new instructions process at the outdoors activity centre was done face-to-face with appropriate social distancing in place, via video with subtitles or even just with written instructions made available.
Updated staff training: Bella could have enjoyed a trip to an outdoor cinema if call centre staff had been better trained in the facilities for disabled visitors. Outdoor activities such as outdoor film screenings and adventurous activities are proving to be more popular than ever in the new normal – for all visitors, regardless of ability. Staff “need to be fully trained in dealing with learning and physically disabled people and their carers and the questions that may be put to them about accessibility,” points out Angela. All staff should be brought fully up to speed with provisions for visitors with disabilities at all new experiences.
Download the New Visitor Experience guide
