An inspirational video of a video call between a daughter and her hard-of-hearing mother has gone viral, with over 3.4 million views on TikTok.
In the video, user Louise May video-calls her mother to tell her the happy news that she has passed her sign-language course.
“Guess what I just got a text today…I passed my BSL [British Sign Language] Level 3,” she signs, to which her mother clasps her hands to her mouth and starts clapping. “Ah I’m so excited,” she signs as she starts to cry with happiness.
“You proud?” asks Louise May. “I’m so proud look I’ve got goosebumps. Louise May goes on to say she’s looking forward to starting the Level 6 course in September: “Have Level 3 now which is A-Level equivalent, next Level 6 which is degree level.” “It’s expensive?” asks her mother. “Yes I need to save up,” replies Louise May. “Maybe TikTok help raise money again like before, so I can post on Facebook Louise got results she passed Level 3 yay.”
Mother and daughter sign language. Stock Image. During the Renaissance period (approx. 1300 – 1600) new attitudes towards deafness were formed and a primitive sign language was invented.
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Come A Long Way
The slow journey to understanding and accepting deafness in society can be traced as far back as Aristotle, who lived between 384 and 322 BC, and believed that learning only happened through the ears, and therefore deaf people were unable to be taught anything. It wasn’t until the Renaissance (1300-1600) that Aristotle’s false claims began to be challenged.
Italian mathematician Geronimo Cardano is thought to have been one of the first to see that learning does not require hearing, using written words to educate his deaf son. Spanish monk Pedro Ponce de Leon had great success teaching his deaf children using a primitive sign language built on the signs that the monks used to communicate during vows of silence, paving the way for today’s sign languages. Native Americans also used hand gestures to communicate with other tribes and to trade with the Europeans.
Next Steps
Louise May commented on her video: “If you want to support my level 6, there’s a new feature on TikTok called TIPS—It’s highlighted in red under my bio. Thank you sm [so much]” which received 3,445 likes. Many users were moved by the video, with one user saying: “This made me cry how lovely to see how pleased she is.” Another agreed: “This made me cry, I’m so happy for you!! Xx”.
One person said the video has motivated her saying, “I’ve been struggling at uni and was tempted to drop BSL. This was my sign not to,” to which Louise May replied, “Where there’s a will there’s a way bestie. Don’t pressure yourself, practice makes perfect xx”.
Source: https://www.newsweek.com/tears-sign-language-daughter-deaf-mother-exam-bsl-1733142