Two-year-old Samantha Savitz has a hearing problem. Living within a community where there are no other 1 people around, her neighbors found a way to make her feel 2 and included.
Samantha lives in Islington Road in Newton, Massachusetts. She loves to talk to anyone who knows 3 language, but not everyone in the neighborhood knows how to communicate with her.
"She's easy-going. She wants to talk with anybody." said her father, Raphael.
"Her whole personality changes when people can 4 with her," said her mother, Glenda. It makes Samantha a little 5 when people can't interact with her.
6, Samantha wanted to play with her neighbors badly. Whenever they see her on a walk or in her yard，the little girl tries to be 7. But they are frustrated because they don't know how to talk to her.
"All of us would 8 to talk to her, but we don't know what to say." said one neighbor. "Basic conversation that one would have with a 9 ," said another.
"Asking her about her day," said a third.
"And make her feel that she is part of the neighborhood," said another neighbor.
"Just be her friend," another neighbor added.
It is clear that the neighbors all 10 to be there for Samantha as her friend. But they would need to 11 American Sign Language. It might be hard to believe for some—that a whole neighborhood would learn ASL just 12 a little 2-year-old girl — but this particular community did just that.
On their own, Samantha's neighbors gathered and 13 an instructor. Now, they all participate in an American Sign Language class.
The 14 says that this is a remarkable thing because some parents of deaf children don't even bother to learn sign language. "But here Samantha has a full 15 that are signing in my class and communicating with her, and it is a beautiful story," he said.
Her parents have no words to express their 16 for what the community did for Samantha. Glenda finds the act "shocking and beautiful", 17 Raphael feels "so fortunate" that their daughter is receiving so much love.
In fact, the couple is already seeing some 18 in their daughter. During ASL classes, the first thing that Samantha says to her neighbors is "friend". "We are sure that this energetic girl is 19 , now that she has friends around who 20 the same language as her. Thank this neighborhood in Islington Road for showing us the most important part of being a community." The instructor said.
