This year marks the 75th observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month
(October) and the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also,
of course, marks the outbreak in the United States of the novel coronavirus, which
has caused additional challenges for those who have disabilities鈥攆or instance, those
with hearing impairments.
鈥淗onestly, I never realized that I rely on seeing faces until masks were common,鈥
said Greta Reel, a first-year Communication major from Jeffersonville, Indiana, who
has auditory neuropathy. She wears hearing aids in both ears but also reads lips.
鈥淢asks also muffle what people are saying. When I'm in public, I often have to guess
what is being said to me and hope that I have guessed right. 鈥 The COVID-19 pandemic
has made me feel slightly less independent.鈥
To help Greta and other students with hearing issues, Bellarmine鈥檚 Office of Accessibility Resource Centers is providing clear masks or face shields for their professors, as well as FM devices
that use a wireless microphone to amplify the speaker鈥檚 voice. Greta places the device
on her desk or table in her HyFlex classes. 鈥淭he sound that it picks up goes to my
hearing aids,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd only I can hear it.鈥
The number of students receiving assistance is up about 7 percent compared to this
time last year, after initial accommodation meetings spiked 28 percent in the spring,
said Ronda Purdy, director of Accessibility Resource Center. Overall, the office served
13 percent more students in the 2019-20 academic year than it did the previous year.
While hearing-impaired students have great needs prompted by the pandemic, that number
of students at Bellarmine is relatively small, she said. The largest group the office
serves is students with ADHD and/or learning disabilities鈥攁nd they, too, are struggling.
鈥淪tudents with ADHD often have deficits in executive-planning skills鈥攕elf-motivation,
problem-solving, organization,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hey need a regular routine, knowing what
to expect every day, and we very abruptly interrupted their routine. They鈥檙e used
to getting up and going to class, but now it鈥檚, 鈥楴o, you are going to stay in one
place. This class is a Teams meeting and you log on at this time; that one is asynchronous.
Oh, and this one is just information on Moodle.鈥 You have to figure out the format
and how it鈥檚 going to be delivered and where to go.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a challenge for those students, not to mention the increased self-learning
in this online environment.鈥
The pandemic is also exacerbating students鈥 anxiety and depression, Purdy said. 鈥淩apid
change is increasing that anxiety. Students with depression already want to isolate,
and this is making it very easy to do just that.鈥
Increased screen time can negatively affect students with migraines or brain injuries,
Purdy said. Her office has worked with instructors to allow those students to take
tests in paper-and-pencil format, scan them and return them.
Having to conduct all sessions with students through Teams has posed challenges for
Purdy and office coordinator Jessie Voigt as well.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had to learn a whole new way to connect with new students,鈥 Purdy said. 鈥淎
big part is getting them comfortable with accommodations and with us鈥攖o be comfortable
using us as a resource. It鈥檚 made that 鈥榞etting to know you鈥 part really difficult
because there鈥檚 a screen there.鈥
It can also be awkward when students choose not to turn their camera on. 鈥淵ou want
to respect their privacy and it鈥檚 uncomfortable to say, 鈥楬ey, turn that camera on,鈥
but especially if it鈥檚 a student who is depressed, you want to see them,鈥 Purdy said.
The Teams format might help to account for the fact that while the number of student
requests overall is up, the number of ongoing consultations is down. But Purdy thinks
the added stress of the pandemic is more likely the reason.
鈥淏ellarmine attracts excellent students,鈥 she said. 鈥淥ur students with disabilities
are high-functioning students. I think that students who have a diagnosis but have
learned to manage鈥擟OVID just triggered this need for them. With the change in the
environment, suddenly they do need accommodations. It pushed those deficits.鈥