KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
July 1, 2021
By Natalie Cook Clark
A Katy ISD Tompkins’s High School graduate debuts a children’s book hoping to show the “superpower” of being hearing impaired, making deaf children more like us than different.
Shay Abigail shows off her book, “My Name is Maya.” Photo credit: Shay Abigail.
Tompkins Grad Wants to Inspire
Katy’s Shay Abigail hopes to both inspire a and educate her readers about American Sign Language (ASL) through the fun story of her character, Maya, a deaf girl who treats her ability to communicate as a “superpower.”
It All Started at a Summer Camp
Shay was inspired when she worked at a local camp one summer and met a young girl who was deaf.
“I volunteered as a counselor at a camp for kids with disabilities,” says Abigail. “This is where I met a young camper who was deaf. I did not know sign language at the time. She inspired me to learn American Sign Language (ASL) and advocate for communication access.”
She took that inspiration and turned it into action and started learning ASL through books and videos.
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