When Estefani and Oscar (@thatdeaffamily), Deaf first generation Mexican-Americans, recently took their two children (their Deaf daughter, Everlyn, and Hard of Hearing son, Jabez) to Disneyland, they got the surprise of a lifetime. While saying hi to Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, he recognized that they were communicating with each other with American Sign Language (ASL).
To their delight, he stopped them and began to communicate in sign language. "Buzz Lightyear having a 'wait, they can sign?' moment đđ„°," she captioned the post.
In the video, Estefani is signing to her son Jabez. "Mom signing: he's a space explorer!" When Buzz Lightyear notices this, he asks Estefani, "Can he sign?!" with a gasp. She responds, "Yes!" and the two begin to have a conversation completely in ASL. Jabez says "hi" to Buzz, who signs to Jabez, "This is a rocket! Over there! That's me!" Jabez is in awe, and Buzz continues to chat with him, asking what his name is.
Jabez signs his name in letters (with some help from Estefani), and Buzz does the same. They exchange, "Nice to meet you!" to each other, before saying "I love you". Buzz gives Jabez a hug, and then gives Everlyn a high-five. He asks her if she can also sign, and they begin to have a conversation together. Buzz tells her, "You're beautiful!" Then he asks if the family would like to take a picture together.
The precious interaction got an emotional response from viewers. "Buzz was waiting for this moment his whole life âŠwell done Ranger đ„đ„," one wrote. Another commented, "This is so wonderful! You can see the joy in their faces, and in Buzzâs body language. Thank you for sharing. đ„°." And another added, "This man should have a raise for knowing sign language."
Their trip to Disney Land was filled with special and meaningful moments with Disney characters who knew how to sign, and they also shared the touching video with their followers. "Best Disney park moments for deaf and HOH kids with characters who sign!", they shared in the video.
In the video, it shows that Anna from Frozen interacts with Everlyn from a parade float when she signs to her, "Hello you! Hello family! I love you!" In another clip, Jabez and Everlyn are seen signing with Donald Duck. He says to them, "It's me! I'm Donald Duck!" Everlyn signs her name to him, and he responds, "Oh my, what a beautiful name!" Another clips shows Everlyn meeting Anna and Elsa from Frozen, and they are both able to sign to her as well.
And the mashup of sweet clips also impacted viewers. "Oh what a fabulous place. Those children must have been so happy to have been 100% included in all of the magic," one commented. Another added, "How incredibly heartwarming! Thank you Disney for finding ways so that everyone is included ⊠inclusion matters! â€ïžđ„č"
Estefani and Oscar have shared their journey as a Deaf family through their social media. They are first Deaf members in their families, their two children are also deaf and hard of hearing (HOH). They communicate with American Sign Language (ASL), and are raising awareness about the importance of learning sign language. And they have created accessories that combine American Sign Language (ASL) with Spanish words to support Spanish-speaking families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children.
Warm, chocolatey tones
Photo by Evan Wise on Unsplash
Representative photo by Sebastian Mark | 