An Entire Neighborhood Learned Sign Language So This Little Girl Could Talk to Them All

If this isn't a more perfect example of "Won't you be my neighbor?" we don't know what is.

By Erica Loop February 27, 2019

A toddler girl who is deaf just inspired an entire town in an amazingly beautiful way. Instead of simply smiling or walking away, residents on Islington Road in Newton, Massachusetts learned sign language to communicate with two-year-old Samantha Savitz.

When she’s out and about in her neighborhood, Samantha is seriously into socializing. Her father, Raphael, told the CBS Evening News, “She’s super engaging. She wants to chat-up with anybody.”

https://twitter.com/muslimiq/status/1097122368651186176?s=12

Even though a cutely conversational tot rarely presents a problem to passersby, communication with a such a young child who is deaf isn’t always easy. When her neighbors couldn’t answer the little girl or even ask her about her day, they decided to make a change—in themselves.

The two-year-old’s neighbors hired an American Sign Language (ASL) instructor and got to work, learning how to communicate with the toddler. Now the tot’s new neighborhood friends can stop and chat with the little girl, brightening her day and theirs.