While most kids would gladly tell Santa what they want for Christmas, 3-year-old Mali Phoenix Williams-Cody had a difficult time communicating her wish to the Santa Claus at Cleveland Centre shopping mall because she has speech problems which make her struggle in communicating with others.
Mali has been to the shopping mall several times but the first time she had the opportunity to have a picture taken with the jolly Santa Claus turned into a heartwarming, magical moment. When Santa tried talking with Mali, she appeared unresponsive.
Sensing that there was more to the situation than meets the eye, the Santa Claus asked Mali’s parents about it and was told about her speech problems. He then asked whether the child could do sign language. When he was told that Mali could actually communicate with sign language, he began to sign to her whether she wanted a doll.
The next moments were so touching as Mali warmly “chatted” with this wonderful old man about the gifts she wanted for Christmas.
While many of us are so jaded about Santa Claus and the Christmas season, this old man minds us that we should enjoy the spirit of the season and to think of the welfare of the little kids. Yes, Santa may not be real but it is nice to feel reminded that this is the season of giving and of love…
Watch Mali’s encounter with the kind Santa who knows how to sign in this video:
Sign Language
Sign language is a type of language that uses the hands and body for manual communication. This is often used by people who have hearing and/or speech problems but could also be used for other purposes.
To date, there are about 137 sign languages in the world but there are also different “home signs”, the type of sign language invented by families who were not educated to any of a formal sign language.