The Language of Connection

Over at Pipecleaner Dreams, Ashley's Mom shares a recent experience while dining out with her daughter who is deaf blind:

I decided to take the kids out to lunch at one of their favorite places, the River City Diner. It’s a restaurant that strives to be like the diners of old, and for the most part, it succeeds. The menu is filled with diner staples such as meatloaf, mac and cheese, and breakfast any time of day. The walls are decorated with 1950’s replica memorabilia, and doo-wop music plays from the jukebox. So, it didn’t surprise me at all when the waitress greeted us with a ‘Hey, Sweeties.” What did surprise me was what happened next.

The waitress signed to Ashley. She signed ‘good morning, how are you today, Beautiful?’ She asked all of us what we would like to drink, and signed the same thing to Ashley. When she returned with our drinks, she asked me if she could show Ashley that her water was now on the table. I responded ‘Yes’, and the waitress gently took Ashley’s hand and put it around her water glass. Ashley signed ‘Thank you’, and without missing a beat, the waitress asked for our orders. When she got to Ashley, she signed, “What would you like to eat?” Ashley signed ‘Macaroni and cheese.” The waitress then left, and I sat speechless.

Kudos to that waitress who took the time to connect with Ashley using her language and being sensitive to her needs.  

Whenever my family is out and about, we'll often encounter a salesperson or waiter who knows a few signs or happens to be fluent.  I'm always fascinated by their personal journey with learning sign language and I never hesitate to ask how they learned it.

"My aunt (or other friend/relative) is deaf."

"I took a sign class at the local church/college/community center."

"I grew up in/near a school with deaf/hard of hearing children."

"I taught myself from a book/video."

No matter the skill level, I always appreciate it when someone reaches out and connects with me or my family using sign.  I spend 24/7/365 of my time communicating with people with hearing in the normal range-- constantly lipreading-- and it just feels great when they reach out and connect with me using a visual language.