People

Deaf 2-Year-Old Moves Into Neighborhood, But Her Parents Could Not Ignore Their Neighbors’ Meeting

It always nerve-racking to move into a new neighborhood. Rafael and Glenda could have never seen something like this coming.

Sylvia

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This is the best thing ever!

Just after turning 2 years old, Samantha Savitz has proven to people around her as well as her parents that she was no typical toddler. Although she is unfortunately deaf, her disability never stopped her from growing up to be a very voracious and active communicator thanks to another language. Her parents praised her can-do attitude, remarking that she simply loves to interact with anyone she meets, especially those who knew how to effectively communicate via sign language.

Unfortunately for Samantha, living in the neighbourhood in Newton, Massachusetts, had never led to proper sign language conversations. No one knew how to talk to Samantha in that way. Whenever her neighbours would spot Samantha, they would struggle to say anything in sign language.
Therefore, Samantha’s neighbours got together to do something incredible as a supportive community. A sign language instructor, Rhys McGovern, was hired to provide them with an immersive course in American Sign Language – which more than 20 people attending each week!

“This is remarkable because a lot of times, even the parents of deaf children don’t bother to learn sign language. But here, Sam has a full community that’s signing and communicating with her and her family – it is a beautiful story,” remarked McGovern.

This piece of news has touched the hearts of many worldwide, and it is truly a touching sight to see. After all, a whole community of neighbors who are willing to do anything to communicate with your child is a great rarity – any parent would love it too!