Signing Santa provides opportunity for deaf children to connect with others in community

A very special Christmas party was held on Dec. 9 at Sip & Spin in Greenville. This Christmas party was much like any other party held this time of year, with Santa Claus as the guest of honor, his helpers and lots of kids. What made the party special was that all those in attendance were members of the Deaf community in Muhlenberg County.

Signing Santa Night introduced deaf children to deaf adults. Some of the kids have never been exposed to adults who speak the same language they do, which is American Sign Language. Many are members of a social group that meets several times a month at Sip & Spin.

This was not a school sponsored event, yet the school plays a huge part in it. All of the kids are students in Muhlenberg County Public Schools. Most of the students are enrolled at Muhlenberg South Elementary School in Beechmont, with one attending Muhlenberg North Middle School in Powderly.

Santa Claus, who is also known as James Kemp, is a deaf civil servant who has been employed by the United States Postal Service for more than 30 years. He is presently the postmaster at the Greenville office. Kemp took it upon himself to help organize this party, knowing most of the kids had never had the opportunity to meet a deaf adult.

“With the national average level of education in the Deaf community being fourth grade, we push our kids to excel in school,” said Kelly Gann, teacher of the deaf students at MSES. “Muhlenberg is special, in so much as they have put in place a program that’s designed to help our kids succeed. We have a team that works with our kids. We not only encourage our kids to do well but to excel in their education. They are not handicapped, they are just deaf, an obstacle that can be overcome.”

Gann said these students participate in the same activities as ourhearing kids do. “They read and write, they participate in spelling bees, they add, they subtract, all at the same rate their hearing classmates do. They have the rations their classmates do. We even have a student who wants to be a nurse, and one a teacher. All professions that can easily be achieved.”

Tracking the number of people who are deaf or hard of hearing in the community is difficult, and the number of deaf and hard of hearing individuals here is hard to know, Gann said.

The current generation of this community may be unknown, but the up-and-coming generation of the Deaf community may not be. They may be nurses, teachers, postal workers and yes, maybe even President of the United States. They will be anything they desire to be. They will just be deaf, an obstacle to overcome.

The Deaf Social Club meets on Wednesdays at around 3:30 or 4 p.m. at Sip & Spin in Greenville. Some members are deaf, but not all. Everyone uses sign language to chat and visit.