It’s that time of the year! Family gatherings make a lot of people happy but for the Deaf & hard-of-hearing this also likely means the stress of having to follow group communications. And with COVID19, masks or use of online video aren’t making things easier for them.
Fear not! This Thanksgiving, our Deaf & hearing team wanted to share a few tips to help you make Thanksgiving more inclusive!
Tip #1: Face them when speaking, but no shouting
- Deaf & hard-of-hearing folks rely on your lips. Be aware of where they look at you and when they do, speak normally. Don’t shout, this makes lip-reading harder 🙂
Tip #2: Be patient
- You might help translating something they missed or wait while it’s happening. Fill them out on a joke or repeat something to make sure it was clearly said. That’s all good. You’re doing it right.
Tip #3: Come equipped
- As time passes, initial energy & accessibility efforts usually dwindle down. With their belly filling up people make less efforts to maintain access. That’s where using Ava is especially great: it’s a tireless companion!
Quick tips to use Ava for the holidays!
📱Seeing your family in-person?
Open the Ava app to start (free) a conversation and caption what people say. To have it color-coded per speaker, share your Ava Room link to 3 or 4 participants (1 phone for 2 people is fine!).
👩💻 Meeting online this year?
Check out the new Ava for Web, Mac & PC to follow what everyone says on their computer, with closed captions on top of your Skype, Facetime, Zoom or Whatever-Software-You’re-Using! This might be super useful!
🤟 We wish you a very happy & inclusive Thanksgiving 🦃
