'Our way of communicating and our culture, everything relies on touch,' said Ashley Benton, deaf-blind services coordinator for the state of North Carolina. Deaf-blind Americans survive by touch: hand-over-hand signing to communicate; fingers scanning braille public signs for mobility; hugs
For tens of thousands of deaf-blind Americans, who have severe hearing and sight impairment, the scope of the outbreak and its new normal have posed unique challenges to daily life.
"This is a big problem," said Jorge Aristizabal, a deaf-blind man living in Seattle."The requirement to stay 6 feet away from other people is actually not safe for me. As a blind person, I need to touch my guide." "I have not gone off campus since March 18. I only come out of my dorm to get food, get the mail, and that's about it," said Philip Wismer, a first-year student at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
"I lost a friend two weeks ago to COVID and she was very young -- early 30s -- and it kind of prompted me to go ahead and get my advance directive and my will together," she said. "I would be deeply terrified I would not get communication access, that I would not get the care I needed if I were to get the virus and go to the hospital," Girma said."There have been several states that have considered putting people with disabilities on the back of the line for treatment."
Many deaf-blind Americans are finding ways to help their communities and each other during this time.
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