DOUG: Hello. My name is Doug Roland from The Feeling Through Experience. I'm speaking with Ryan Odland today from the Helen Keller National Center. We're using the virtual space as a platform to continue our collaboration with Helen Keller services in addressing timely topics connected to the DeafBlind community and beyond. Today there's isn't a more timely topic to discuss than COVID. And we will be speaking on how the DeafBlind community is dealing with COVID, a community that relies largely on touch, and how that community is dealing with a time where touch is pretty much prohibited. So we're going to just go to you Ryan, if you would give a real quick introduction of who you are and what you do and we'll jump right into that topic.
RYAN: Hi, everybody. I am Ryan Odland. I work for Helen Keller National Center. Often referred to as HKNC. I am a regional representative responsible for the mid western region. I am a DeafBlind individual. I was born deaf. My vision was good. As I got older I started to lose my vision and it's progressive so now I'm almost completely blind. I can see very little just right in front of my face. I use American Sign Language to communicate. As I've lost my vision I've transitioned into using tactile American Sign Language. I have a master's degree in deaf education and I work with DeafBlind individuals to provide support and access and different resources in their will home communities. I am married, I have two kids, my children are almost 6 and almost 2.
DOUG: Just to jump right into it as a man who is DeafBlind yourself and is used to relying on tactile communication, how has recent times with Coronavirus impacted your life personally?
RYAN: This is Ryan. My life has changed quite a bit since Coronavirus has started spreading. I can't get close to people like I normally would because of physical distancing so because we have to stay six feet away from each other I can't communicate through tactile sign language. Instead I'm using email, face time, Zoom, texting people whether I can. Instead of going to stores I have been ordering things on line a lot. I have been heavily reliant on Amazon and DoorDash for food delivery. We've been ordering a lot of takeout. Instead of going food shopping at the grocery store we've been ordering groceries to get delivered to our house to cook at home. In my home I can get close to people because we're a family unit so I'm having no issues with my wife and kids but I'm very limited to what I can do out of the house now. And as far as work goes that has been pretty much a complete 180. My whole job is to work with people and meet people and have conversations with them. I travel a lot for work. I attend a lot of meetings in person with other DeafBlind clients and now I can't. I am working from home the best I can and that means using technology a hundred percent of the time. But we don't benefit fully from using technology. We have to come up with creative solutions in order to make technology accessible to the DeafBlind community so it's been a transition.
DOUG: Yeah it definitely sounds like it. I know as a regional representative at the Helen Keller National Center that you have a lot of contact with other DeafBlind people that you service and I'm wondering in communicating with other people what stories you've heard or you know what other challenges some other people in the community are dealing with right now from communicating with them that you have heard.
RYAN: It's been a very varied experience. Some of the people that I work with it's great because they're very skilled using technology and some are not skilled at using technology and that's been quite a challenge. Some people because their vision loss is very recent haven't learned braille yet and that's how they would have been able to access technology, so we're a little bit stuck there. You know hopefully they have somebody who can support them at home, who can assist, whether that's a family member or you know sometimes a roommate or someone who can go over and be with them in that location. But before I was able to visit them, meet them one on one. Now that's not an option, we've got to come up with other solutions for it. Some DeafBlind people are not comfortable with using technology just because it's isolating. They prefer to talk to people in person. Sometimes it's, they may not have all the equipment they need because of financial or other reasons and that can be very isolating. So the technology that they're reliant on they may not be able to have access to. So I'm doing my best to support all the individuals that I work with but it's been a challenge because the experiences are so varied.
DOUG: On the topic of solutions that people have been finding, there was a story that was shared a lot this week in the DeafBlind community and beyond, a news story about a DeafBlind specialist in Kentucky named Kareem Miller who found a [indiscernible] and has been teaching one of her DeafBlind students through a glass window in front of that student's house. So I really loved that article and it's something we can share later with everyone who is going to watch this. Because it was such a great example of a really creative way to work with current circumstance.
RYAN: Yes. Absolutely. And that's a very unique example, too. But that's an example of the kind of approach that we're trying to come up with. You know, we're trying to come up with ways to still be in person without being physically close to one another. Like right now we're using Zoom to talk. That's an option for people who can access it and can see well enough to use it. There's also the chat feature in Zoom some people can use. Some people will benefit from that but some won't so each person needs to find the accommodation that suits them best. And like I mentioned some people are really uncomfortable using technology. Sometimes remote support is an option. You know for people that can remote into computers. That's a huge benefit if people have that available to them. But not everybody does. So we need to figure out ways to still stay in touch with each other without being physically close because obviously health and safety in the time of COVID‑19 is the most important thing. We don't want this virus to spread amongst us. Gloves and masks are recommended but you can't really support somebody with a glove and mask and even still you are supposed to be six feet away from them. So how to communicate without touching somebody who heavily relies on touch is the biggest question.
DOUG: You know you've mentioned that there are some people who aren't as tech savvy who rely on touch. I wonder if you have had conversations with DeafBlind individuals who are pretty much completely isolated right now being that they're not living with a family like you are and maybe aren't as tech savvy as you. Have you heard from anyone who is in that position right now.
RYAN: Yes, I have. I have an example of somebody who can't really communicate through braille because of certain neuropathy, has numbness in her finger tips so can't really feel a braille display because braille is a series of raised bumps that you feel in order to read. But if somebody doesn't have that feeling in their fingers then they can't read braille so they rely on tactile sign language but we can't do that because we're not allowed to be that close to each other right now. So she's inviting interpreters into her home, but you know it's very, very limited as far as getting access to and it's very unfortunate because every mode of communication is inaccessible because of physical distances required.
DOUG: So you are talking about interpreters coming into that individual's home. I'm wondering of the interpreters that you have been able to communicate with during this time particularly the interpreters that are tactile interpreters, have you had any discussions with them about their willingness or reluctance to continue to do their job at a time where them and everyone else is being advised to not be that close to people? Have you had those discussions with interpreters?
RYAN: The problem is that we don't have enough PPE. Interpreters don't have access to personal protective equipment that's required. There are some interpreters that are willing to go and support somebody who is DeafBlind. You know, they can gown up, glove up, put on a mask. But if that protective equipment is not available to them then they're putting themselves at much higher risk and because they can't get the equipment they're less willing to go so a lot of services and appointments have been put on hold for the time being so there are few options left for DeafBlind tactile sign language users.
DOUG: I'm going to take a quick paws for an interpreter switch and we'll pick up from there. And for those who will be watching this later and don't know what interpreter switch is, we have two interpreters joining us who are taking turns signing and voicing and it's customary for interpreters every 20 or so minutes to switch those roles so that is an explanation of what was happening there.
So Ryan to pick up on where we were, that was, yeah I can imagine that that's a very challenging position to be in for everyone involved. But you know, for obviously someone who relies on touch and is not able to get the same type of support and to be able to communicate in the way that that person is used to and then on the side of an interpreter who is also stuck in a tricky position to have to make the decision of abiding by the various rules that are being implemented right now as far as physical distancing but also wanting to service the community that really needs that service right now, so I can imagine that that's a very difficult position to be in. You know, I want to make mention of the op ed article that you wrote recently. There was an article in the Washington Post this past week very much about what we're talking about now which is the ways in which Coronavirus has affected the DeafBlind community, and I know that you wrote an op ed article in response to that and I would just like you to, what inspired you to write that and what are some of the things you talked about in that op ed?
RYAN: This is Ryan. Sure. The article that was in the Washington Post really emphasize connectedness. Now with this physical distancing it has really impacted connectedness because you're not allowed to be physically around other people but you are still able to maintain social connectedness. So we try to come up with different ways to communicate despite that. And I noticed in reading this article that I did agree that this connectedness is important. How the Coronavirus has impacted our world is drastic. And we're having to find other ways to communicate with the people around us. How can we maintain being connected? How can we still be present and not be overlooked and not be isolated? How do we maintain being connected in our communities? So I wrote my article to kind of come up with ways to, that you can have solutions in different situations that are current specifically in my life. You know, I know the author of that Washington Post and I both have similar parallels in our articles.
DOUG: Yeah and I think it's a really necessary topic to make more public to everyone else. You know, I think during these times it's easy to just kind of focus on one's own situation and how they're getting, how ones self is working through this time but I think it's valuable to hear how other communities and other people are dealing with this current time, and the specific challenges other people face because I think that understanding creates empathy and connection in a time where that's a really valuable thing. So I think it is really helpful to consider other people's experience during this. And I think in a way that does create connection. So I'm really glad that you were able to share your thoughts as well. I know they benefited from reading that. And that's something if your op ed is something that you would like to share you know, with our audience here just let me know and I would be happy to share that with other people as well.
RYAN: And this is Ryan. Absolutely. Please do.
DOUG: So we have about four minutes left in our conversation here. Again, sorry, it got cut a little bit short but I'm glad for the time we have had. You've said some really great things that I think people will find valuable. As we wind down here but still have time left, is there anything that you would like to share as we close out this conversation?
RYAN: This is Ryan. What our community is going through right now in terms of communication break down is understandable given the times. Many people are going through a lot of challenges right now and they're all understandable. We are working through it. We are making progress. We are being persistent and it's important to be persistent. We are finding solutions, finding different strategies to break down these barriers that we're encountering. This is a new experience for everybody, myself included. How we're approaching these topics and figure out how to navigate this if it was to occur again in the future. This experience is going to help to prepare us for what's down the road and that's important. That's really the key here.
DOUG: That's so well and such a great perspective. As we get adjusted to what's happening right now and really accept the reality of it, a really helpful thing is to also understand how we cannot just deal with what's happening right now but prepare better for the future like you just said so I think that's a really, really valuable way to frame what's happening right now and a really useful one so thank you for sharing that. Again as we approach closing out, if I were to ask you for the DeafBlind community that's going to be able to see this conversation if you could speak directly to them, what are some closing words you would like to say speaking directly to the DeafBlind community that you are not only a part of but also serve through the Helen Keller National Center.
RYAN: I would say we'll get through this. We'll be fine. We are all in this together.
DOUG: Well said, Ryan. Thank you. I hope we're able to have another conversation in the future when we work through some of the technical difficulties we have with the live stream. I'm sure we'll be able to solve that very shortly. So I hope you can join us again. I know where to find you at least for the time being. It will probably be sitting right there in that room because it doesn't seem like we're going anywhere quite yet but I would love to speak with you again in the near future. I also want to say as we close out here there's a lot more we want to share about what Helen Keller services and the branches of Helen Keller services in Helen Keller National Center and Helen Keller services for the blind are offering right now. You can go to HelenKeller.org and that will provide information in ways in which the organization is dealing with what's happening right now and having proactive approaches to helping the community that they serve. I know that they're offering various courses right now virtually and all of that information will be on the website so I encourage you to check out their website again, that's Helenkeller.org you will be able to access all branches of Helen Keller there. We were unfortunate not able to continue our Facebook live for this conversation but if you have any questions once we post this conversation, please feel free to reach out, send messages to our Facebook. We would love to hear from you. We will certainly figure out whatever technical difficulties happened this time around so next time we can bring you the live stream that we were hoping to bring you today without any glitches. So again, thank you so much Ryan for everything that you shared today. Thank you for everyone who watches this and we look forward to bringing you more episodes in the near future. As of right now the plan is to continue on Fridays. It's possible we might add other days as well but we will certainly be back soon and we're looking forward to it so thank you so much.