21-Year-Old Student Creates Transparent Face Masks For The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing

Published 5 years ago

Nowadays it seems like all the countries in the world are suffering from at least some sort of medical supply shortage – especially face masks. This has lead to people creating improvised masks to protect themselves. However, 21-year-old student Ashley Lawrence noticed no one makes masks for the deaf and hard of hearing who rely on lip reading for communication. This prompted the woman to start making specialized see-through face masks herself.

More info: Facebook

Student Ashley Lawrence noticed no one makes masks for the deaf and hard of hearing who rely on lip reading for communication

Image credits: Ashley Lawrence

In an interview with Lex 18, Ashley said she saw people were making masks on Facebook for everyone to have instead of the throwaway masks. This made her think about the deaf and hard of hearing population.

Image credits: Ashley Lawrence

With the help of her mom, Ashley started creating face masks with a transparent plastic window in front of the mouth.

Image credits: Ashley Lawrence

“I don’t know if you have seen Virginia Moore on Andy Beshear’s things at five o’clock, but she’s very emotive, and if half of that is gone because you’re wearing a mask then half of what you’re saying is being missed, so even if it’s not physically talking and just using ASL, then you need to have that kind of access,” said the student.

Image credits: Ashley Lawrence

After posting her creation on Facebook, Ashley started receiving numerous requests for these transparent face masks and is trying to keep up with the demand. In the future, the woman plans on giving away free patterns so people could make these masks for themselves. Ashley has even started a GoFundMe campaign so people could support her cause.

Aušrys Uptas

One day, this guy just kind of figured - "I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?" - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that's trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that's too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!