Stocking Targetâs shelves in early 2020 was mostly routine for Lori Blackketter. Sheâd replenish the grocery section, helping out customers by reading their lips or using a phone to write notes back and forth.
When the pandemic arrived, so did a massive influx of face masks â posing communication problems for deaf people like Blackketter.
âAs soon as the pandemic became a huge concern, life dramatically changed,â the Watertown mother said.
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Though she said itâs a hard time for nearly everyone, hearing or not, those who speak American Sign Language (ASL) are learning to converse with others in a new way because of COVID-19.