Kind-hearted neighbours of a deaf schoolgirl learned sign language so that she could go trick-or-treating for the first time. Six-year-old Ada Hawkes, who was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 18 months, uses British Sign Language (BSL) as her primary language.
In previous years, she has longed to join in Halloween festivities with her mum, Tilly, but communication barriers have made it challenging. For the deaf community, Halloween can be tricky because darkness and masks make lip reading and interaction harder, reports the Mirror.
But this year, the local community came together to make her Halloween dream come true, allowing her to go. Tilly collaborated with Cadbury Fingers and the National Deaf Children’s Society to encourage neighbours to learn basic BSL phrases for Halloween, fostering inclusivity for those with hearing impairments.
Their efforts have been successful as 60 per cent of households in Ada’s Worcester neighborhood started learning BSL to help her enjoy her first trick-or-treating experience. Each household received a special package to learn Halloween-themed BSL phrases like “trick or treat” and “you look spooky.”
Participating neighbours display signs in their windows showing they’re learning BSL – and expert sign language instructors have visited to support their progress in time for Halloween.
Tilly, who runs Learning.Adas.Language, shared: “We haven’t taken Ada trick-or-treating before because we worried about communication barriers. Knowing our street now knows a little BSL, we’re so excited for her first trick-or-treating experience. Seeing her neighbors communicate with her in BSL will be incredibly special.”
This initiative aligns with recent research among 2,000 adults, revealing that 59 percent have never used BSL, and 67 percent would find it challenging to communicate with a deaf person, with 71 percent not even confident enough to say hello. Additionally, a survey of 400 deaf individuals showed that one in four have never gone trick-or-treating, with 43 percent feeling they missed out as a result.
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