Since 2023, within the first few weeks of December each year, the American Sign Language (ASL) Club plans a Christmas-themed event for deaf children who attend Shallowford Falls Elementary School. The event centers around holiday-esque activities, complete with a visit from Santa Claus. ASL Club remains dedicated to raising money for the deaf community year-round, but Signing Santa, without a doubt, has grown to earn the title of the club’s favorite event, compared to their bake sale or book drives.
The occasion began with the ASL Club signing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” for around 30 young students. Afterwards, the ASL interpreters and teachers separated students into compact groups of five or six to move through various stations, which vary from a visit with Santa Claus and a gift bag, candy cane ring toss, pipe-cleaner snowflakes, cookie decorating, lunch, snowball toss game and a reindeer toss. Lisa Teschke, the ASL Club sponsor, assigns each NC student a station to promote communication between ASL students and the kids. Every student received proper training on using ASL to communicate, and this event allowed him or her the chance to test their ASL skills with deaf individuals.
“The purpose of the whole event is equal access to language and exposure to ASL for the high schoolers. My favorite part, though, is watching the high schoolers and children interact. There is so much beauty in that. I am giving these kids something I never had. The whole concept is to give each side exposure, and I love to see it every year. It builds so many memories,” Teschke said.
After around 20 minutes, the students rotated through stations. Lunch consisted of a choice of four different juices and an unlimited amount of pizza slices. Once every group had attended each station, everybody moved to the front of the freshman cafeteria while Santa read and Teschke interpreted a classic Christmas story to ensure that every child could enjoy the story.
At the end of the story, an exciting dance party wrapped up the day. The party included a Christmas-themed playlist from YouTube, as all volunteers danced with the children. The day ended with a photo session, including ASL Club members, the kids, interpreters and teachers.
On the surface, this event appears like an average elementary school Christmas party, but Signing Santa’s impact extends beyond that. Deaf children, unfortunately, face copious amounts of adversity in the U.S. From the lack of interpreters to social stigmas, living as a deaf child in America proves uneasy. Special occasions like Signing Santa, where children do not fear social stigmas or signing to a person who does not understand his or her words, provide a life-changing experience for him or her. For children with disabilities, regular activities can prove difficult, which became the motivation for Teschke and ASL Club members to work hard at hosting Signing Santa each year.
“Signing Santa started because of Teschke not being able to experience Santa at the mall as a kid because of her deafness. A lot of other people experience this, which became her inspiration for Signing Santa. It creates a sense of hope for elementary-aged students because they get to communicate with other people and do not have to fear that language barrier,” magnet junior ASL Club president Izzy Gleason said.
