“Because of these masks there is no way for me to communicate with anyone who doesn’t know sign language,” said Patricia. That is because, in American Sign Language, the facial movements and expressions are the grammar of the language. Communicating with a deaf person while wearing masksPatricia says don’t avoid communicating with a deaf person. If you encounter a deaf person it’s really great to just act it out,” said Patricia, “When in doubt, act it out if you don’t know how to communicate with a deaf person. “Deaf people don’t usually have a very good understanding of written English because English is not our first language,” said Patricia.