Travelers who are deaf or hard of hearing may experience challenges different than those whose hearing isn’t impaired. But one Huntsville TSA agent is closing the gap with personal attention.

Kayla Lowery-Busick, a TSA officer stationed at the Huntsville International Airport, takes special care to make American Sign Language communication available for deaf travelers. Lowery-Busick uses ASL to make sure deaf passengers have access to all the information they need for a successful flight.

It started about two weeks after the Decatur native became a TSA officer in Huntsville.

“We do have one passenger that flies out frequently and he works at the Arsenal,” she said. “So I saw him first. And he kind of, you know, kind of gave a funny look.”

At that point, Lowery-Busick made a sign with her hand and her ear. “I said, ‘Are you deaf?’,” she said. “I just asked him in sign language.…

“And he said ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Oh, well, hey.’ And he said, ‘Nobody has ever signed here before. Where did you come from?’”

She said people who are deaf recognize the very simple sign. Those who don’t just think she’s scratching her ear.

Lowery-Busick sees that passenger now all the time. But that was just the beginning.

“When I started working for TSA, I truly did not realize how much I was going to use ASL on the checkpoint,” Lowery-Busick said in a TSA press release. “I speak with deaf passengers at least twice a month. That interaction is as important as the more than 7,000 other passengers we screen weekly.”

The agency recently took note of Lowery-Busick’s two year anniversary on the job and highlighted her particular service to the deaf community.

“We take for granted the ability to interact with others in our own language, but significant barriers to communicating in sign language deprive many deaf people of enjoying even these basic interactions,” said Alabama TSA Federal Security Director Tara Corse. “The screening process itself can be stressful, so to add additional challenges may make it even more difficult. Kayla’s skill provides individuals with on-time critical information to help alleviate any stress they may have and offers inclusive support.”

Lowery-Busick is especially qualified to provide the ASL interactions: ASL is her first language. Although she is not deaf or hearing impaired, she is the daughter of parents who were both born deaf and she grew up using ASL to communicate.

“I started speaking, of course, about at two – the normal age, because my grandmothers were very involved in my life, because they helped my parent with different things,” she said. “And then, when I got to be old enough, I kind of took on the interpreter role… So when I was big enough to stand up in a car seat, I was ordering at the drive thru at five years old. So whatever my parents needed, I was the voice at home.”

That background gives Lowery-Busick a special insight into the needs of those who are deaf.

“They are my people, and I am always overjoyed to see someone using ASL,” she said. “I am even more excited when a deaf passenger has a positive interaction with TSA and has more confidence in their abilities to navigate the screening process.”

The impact she’s having at the airport hasn’t gone unnoticed among her colleagues. When Lowery-Busick spoke in ASL to a group of deaf students flying out of Huntsville after a stint at Space Camp, TSA Explosives Training Officer Justin Jewett was watching.

He was amazed as Lowery-Busick helped the group of students through the screening process. It made a notable difference – even though the group had an interpreter with them.

“Communication barriers tend to be an obstacle during screening operations, but Kayla’s engagement with the group was impressive,” Jewett said. “She quite literally contributed to a positive experience and more effective screening. Kayla has embraced her family experience and applied it to her current position, and I believe TSA is better for it.”

Programs like Space Camp bring to Huntsville young people, ages 9 to 18, from all 50 states, U.S. territories and more than 150 foreign countries, many of whom are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, have limited vision or other disabilities, Corse said.

“These groups provide our officers opportunities to interact with and assist with screening that is much different than our typical passengers,” Corse noted in the TSA release. “I am proud of the diligence and care our officers show these young visitors. Kayla is a big part of ensuring we are successful with communicating at the checkpoint. Her skills are a blessing to HSV and TSA. She establishes a positive screening experience for the children and creates an environment of trust and compassion.”

Lowery-Busick said that other TSA officers alert her to deaf travelers. “They always give me a heads up so I can help that passenger, if necessary,” Lowery-Busick said, noting that officers frequently fill in for each other so those with special skills – language proficiency for instance – can provide specialized help to those who can benefit from them. “I have great coworkers that will always stand in my place for me so that I can help somebody and we do that for one another,” Lowery-Busick said.

“More often than not, the screening process is smooth, but I still reach out to them to introduce myself and have a normal interaction with them just like I would with any other passenger. They are so grateful, and it makes me so happy that they feel included in their own experience.”

Still, she pointed out, while deaf passengers appreciate knowing someone speaks the same language, it’s not that they actually need a significant amount of additional help.

“Deaf people are very aware of their surroundings, so they follow what the people around them are doing and really don’t have any major issues,” she said. “Deaf passengers have mentally prepared themselves to navigate screening using whatever means available – passing notes, body language, etc.

“Like with any other language barriers, the interaction becomes less verbal and more physical with body language, gestures and facial expressions. When I speak with them in ASL, they are pleasantly surprised to have what to them is a normal conversation in a place where that doesn’t happen very often.”

That said, some experts do recommend that deaf and hard of hearing travelers plan ahead – and communicate what they need to officials at airports.

“A member of the deaf community who is planning to fly should arrive early to the airport to let the airline know about his or her deafness,” according to deafwebsites.com. “The crew of an airplane will be better able to help a deaf person with any needs if they are fully aware of the situation.

“For instance, a member of the deaf community may need to have the flight attendant’s safety instructions translated to him or her. Of course, if the deaf individual is talented at reading lips then he or she may not need assistance in that area.”

Corse noted that the ASL interpretation Lowery-Busick offers is an extension of the TSA Cares program, which the press release said “offers screening assistance to travelers who need it.”

“TSA Cares is a formal program. People that need special accommodations can let us know. People that travel that have disabilities, or maybe disabled children or you know, just kind of need a little bit of extra help going through security or whatever,” Lowery-Busick said.

“They can please, please, please go online to TSA Cares and they can put in a request and tell us what their flight number is, approximately what time they’re coming through and there will be a representative there to help them specifically. They set aside that time to specifically help that passenger every step through the process. It’s a great, great program.”

For additional information about the best way to relieve any concerns during the screening passengers can always consult the TSA officer and visit https://www.tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures

As noted at www.healthyhearing.com, the 1986 Air Carrier Access Act offers specific benefits for those with hearing loss. Their bulleted list:

● Information and reservations services must be accessible

● Information at airports must be accessible after self-identification as having hearing loss

● Television at airports must have captions turned on

● Communication on commercial aircraft must be effective after self-identification as having hearing loss

● Service animals are permitted

Healthyhearing.com also points out that deaf or hard of hearing travelers, “have the right to indicate your need for special services when booking your flight, either online or over the phone… to request disability seating and preboarding… .to the same level of communication with airline staff as the other passengers.”

Lowery-Busick offers her own recommendations – to fellow TSA officers, in the agency press release.

“Deaf people are people; they just communicate differently. What officers need to know is that an interaction with a deaf person is just like an interaction with any other person. Help them understand the screening process, make them aware of what you’re going to do as far as pat-downs or property searches and do that in a respectful way,” she said.

“If you have someone who speaks ASL, by all means get them to help. But you can also use a pen and paper to write it down. Above all, be kind.”