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By Moses Tlamama
 As part of ongoing campaign to create maximum awareness on COVID-19 and the challenges posed by the pandemic, Speech and Audiology Department at Jubilee Hospital is urging the community to be considerate to the patients with hearing impairment.
 Under the theme: "the effect of COVID-19 on communication", the team has explored how restrictions such as wearing of masks and social distancing affect those who rely more on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions and lip reading to make out verbal messages.
 Chief speech therapist and audiologist at the hospital, Tshepo Malele said that social distancing implies that people with communication difficulties cannot lean closer to hear the speaker and the message.  And as a result they tend to avoid interaction leading to feelings of isolation.
"As speech and hearing community we advocate for those with communication challenges.  To those who are sharing COVID-19 messages, we plead for patience, rephrasing if you're not heard, speaking as clear as possible and speaking louder to make sure that message is understood.
"Emphasis on non-verbal communication such as pointing or sign language accompanying verbal utterances can go a long way in ensuring that messages are received by all." he added.
This week, dieticians at the hospital also created awareness on their work and how staff members as well as the community at large can access their services.