How this teacher who reads lips has navigated mask mandates

Amy Nicholas knew she wanted to teach ever since she was a little girl, soshe couldn't wait to start her career when she graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2019.

But just six months into her first teaching job with the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB), the pandemic hit.

And thoughitchanged life for just about everybody, it'sbeenparticularly challenging for Nicholas,who is hard of hearing and reads lips to communicate.

She hasn't been able to return to a physicalclassroombecause masks preventher from communicatingwith her students.

Nicholas was born with a rare platelet disorder that causes sensorineural hearing loss. The condition affects the inner ear andruns in her family,impacting two of her three brothers.

An audiologistestimatedshe and her siblings have 90 per cent hearing loss in both ears.

"I don't have any recollection of having [full] hearing," she said.

Growing up in England, Nicholasand her brothers learnedsome British Sign Language. Buther late mother Colleen Lawn-Nicholas, who dealtwith a related form of hearing loss, emphasized speech development and lip reading asprimary means of communication.

"That was really important to her, because she knew exactly what it was like [to grow up hard of hearing]," Nicholas said.

"We would use some basic sign language, butreally we would read lips."

That all had to changeasCOVID-19 circled the globe.

When mandatory mask-wearingwasintroduced, Nicholas could no longerreadlips, limiting her ability to communicate with students in person. She's been teaching online ever since.

• How COVID-19 is unmasking my hearing loss

In the early days of the pandemic, Nicholas pondered whether to asklocal school boards about clear masksto get her back into a physical classroom, but she soon realized it wasn't realistic.

Not only are clear masksmore difficult to wear and fog over time, shefound they were difficult to acquire, evenfor her own family and friends.

Making virtual connections

So instead of returning to the classroom, Nicholas has been workingas an occasional teacher at OCSB's Blessed Carlo Virtual School, where she's found her stride primarily teachingGrade 3students.

Thoughshe misses being in a physical classroom, Nicholas saidshe'senjoyed getting creative with art projects and body breaks, and looking for ways to incorporate more technology into her lessons.

In some ways, the tech she's employedhas enabled her toconnect better with students online than in person.

She uses a device called a ComPilot that connects her hearing aid to her laptop via Bluetooth so she can hear her students more clearly.

For students and their parents, that's translated to a strong connection.

"I think what I like the most is her caring, that comes across virtually," said parent Rehanna Ramdath.

"She's very comfortable with the kids and she's always available to them."

Still, Nicholas admitted it isn'tthe same as building face-to-face relationshipswith her studentsand she's heard from some parents that their kids have struggled with the barriersofvirtual learning.

"I think it was hard for the kids all year becausekidslove to hug. Especially my kids they want to be part of the community," said Linda Scaffidi Argentina, a mother of twins who were in Nicholas's class last year.

"But I think [Nicholas] always made them feel [a part of things]," she said. At the end of the year"they actually were saying, 'I hope we have her again next year!'"

Masks difficultoutside schoolas well

The mask mandate poseschallenges for Nicholas outside of the classroom, in particular afterher late mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late 2020.

While Lawn-Nicholaswas in hospital, restrictions were tight. She was only allowed one visitor at a time and they would bothhaveto keep their masks on, making communication nearly impossible.

"I definitely found it very frustratingbecause it was like nothing was taken into account," Nicholas recalled.

Lawn-Nicholasdied in February 2021.

Uncertainty ahead as mask mandates lift

Ontario's mandatory mask-wearingpolicy in schoolsislifting on March 21but Nicholas said she still doesn't know what lies ahead.

She'd love to go back to teaching in person butknows some students may prefer to keep their masks on inclass, making it unclear when a physical return might bepossible for her.

Thoughin some ways she's feltrobbed of the teaching experience she pictured when she graduated, she saidvirtual learning has broughtunexpected benefitsand allowed her to pursue hercareer in a difficult time.

"I think if there hadn't been virtual [learning], then I would have been forced to try to do some other job in the meantime, and wait for things to change," she said.

"In some ways, it turned out to be another way I could use my skills as a teacher and do my job."