An 11-year-old deaf schoolgirl "struggling" with the lockdown has been inspired to help other children like her.
Mum Lyndsey Hignett, originally from West Derby, said her daughter was having a noticeably tough time after the UK was ordered to stay inside on March 23.
Lucy was diagnosed profoundly deaf aged two and uses British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with her family and friends.
But since lockdown, mum Lyndsey said her "usually happy and positive girl" was missing her deaf friends and resources online were not always directly accessible for Lucy.
The mum-of-two said: "Even during this short amount of time of lockdown, we have seen a change in Lucy.
"Our usually happy and positive girl is noticeably struggling.
"She has a family who love her very much, we can all sign, I’m a teacher of the deaf so can more than competently support her with her work and her school are in contact as much as possible.
"But she is missing school, being around her deaf friends and social groups.
"She is worrying about starting secondary school without any transition and also mourning the potential loss of the final term of her primary school career, not to mention year 6 prom and end of year activities.
"Resources online aren't always directly accessible. Lucy is brilliant at maths but sometimes literacy can be difficult and I have to sign for her."
The family, now living in Warrington, said they were aware deaf children and adults are more likely to suffer from mental health issues due to things like isolation and communication barriers.
Lyndsey added: "Deaf children and adults are statistically more likely to suffer some sort of mental health issues at some point in their lives due to isolation, communication barriers, bullying and being disabled by society, for example, by not providing subtitles for cinema and not having name displays in health care when patient is due to be seen.
"With this recent lockdown, deaf people will experience this all the more with much more isolation but also not having accessible support such as reasonable adjustments not being put in place to call for services like school vouchers."
The teacher said her daughter wanted to help other deaf children who might not have a support network like herself despite having a hard time herself.
Lucy is now raising money for The National Deaf Children's Society by chopping off a huge chunk of her hair.
The 11-year-old is cutting 30cm of her hair, which in turn will be donated to the Little Princess Trust for children who have lost their hair through illness or treatment.
On their JustGiving page, Lyndsey wrote that the goal for donations is high because it's a "very important cause to support deaf children through difficult times and enable them to achieve what they want."
Lyndsey said: "My girl truly has a heart of gold, even when she is having a hard time herself."
To donate to Lucy's JustGiving page, please click here.
