On Thursday, May 4, students in ASL IV Honors completed their final project, being “Deaf for a Day.”

From waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, the eleven seniors in the class wore a pair of earplugs for the entire day, simulating the typical daily experiences of an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. To successfully complete the project, the students had to wear earplugs and learn how to communicate with their families and teachers in ways other than oral conversation.

ASL IV Honors teacher, Leianne Kilmartin, completed this project when she was in high school, and she found the experience to be very impactful and eye-opening. She wanted her students to also complete this project and simulate the experiences of a deaf high school student, in order to recognize how one must overcome daily language barriers in order to communicate with others. She hoped that the project would instill a deep sense of empathy in her students as they had to navigate communication as someone who is deaf or hard-of-hearing would.

“As much as you can read and talk about different cultures, it’s just entirely different to put yourself in their shoes,” said Kilmartin, discussing the significance of her students completing this project. “It gives the students a little bit more perspective, walking in the shoes of a deaf or hard-of-hearing person for a day.”

The project posed challenges for the class of seniors, as so much of high school culture revolves around verbal communication and socialization. Students had to find ways to communicate with teachers during class and socialize with friends at lunch even though they had a weakened sense of hearing.

“The hardest part of doing the project at school was not being able to talk to my friends,” said senior Abbi Edelhart. “I could tell they would get frustrated trying to talk to me because I had to act as if I couldn’t hear and couldn’t talk.”

Students taking AP exams and participating in AP test prep were allowed to remove their ear plugs for that given time period, but had to resume participation in the project as soon as their AP assignment or test was completed.

Despite the challenges that the project posed throughout the course of the school day, the students were eager to successfully complete the day because of the project’s significance in appreciating deaf culture. The final allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals.

“I gained a sense of appreciation for the deaf community from this project,” said Edelhart. “I noticed myself feeling very frustrated and isolated throughout the experience so I can only imagine what the deaf community faces throughout each day. As a hearing person, I need to ensure I am being inclusive and I will definitely work on including those around me in conversations.”

“I definitely gained a new understanding around the deaf community and subtle things in our society that make it harder for the deaf community on a daily basis,” said senior Emma Rasmussen. “It gave me a new sense of empathy and compassion and while my experience is nowhere near the experience of an actual deaf person, I’m very happy I did it to gain that perspective. This experience has motivated me to want to advocate more for accessibility not only in our school, but in our community.”

The second part of the student’s final project is a written report and reflection, detailing their experiences and the challenges that they might have faced throughout the day with reduced hearing. Kilmartin said that the students had time in class to discuss, but she looks forward to reading about each student’s individual experiences while completing the project.