CALABASAS, CA (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) – A California teenager who knows American Sign Language stepped up to help a blind and deaf man feel more comfortable during their flight.
Clara Daly, 15, and her mother, Jane Daly, were flying home Monday from Massachusetts when an Alaska Airlines flight attendant asked over the intercom if anyone knew ASL.
The 15-year-old had been studying sign language for less than a year, but she still volunteered to help another passenger, named Tim Cook, who is blind and deaf and was traveling alone on the flight.
"They thought that he might need something, and they weren't sure how to communicate," Clara said.
Clara signed each individual letter in every word, also known as fingerspelling, into Cook’s hands so he could feel them.
Cook told Clara he would like a water and asked how much time was left in the flight, the 15-year-old said.
Then, Cook asked for Clara again.
"He didn't need anything. He was just lonely and wanted to talk,” Clara said.
The two talked for the last hour of the flight.
"I was thinking, 'Wow, this is really cool. I hope I don't spell anything wrong,'” the 15-year-old said.
Clara says she started learning sign language about a year ago because she is dyslexic.
"English is already a hard language for me,” she said. "I saw sign language as a way to communicate without having to read and write."
The teenager’s parents say they could not be prouder of their daughter, and Jane Daly even posted about the flight on Facebook.
The story has gone viral, but Clara says she thinks it’s strange it’s gotten so much attention.
"Doing something like that is just what anyone would have done,” the 15-year-old said.
The teenager says she wants to be a senator one day, and when she’s giving speeches to the crowds, she plans to sign them as well.
Clara’s father, Bill Daly, says in addition to sign language, people can also learn an important lesson from the 15-year-old.
"Open yourself up [and] be there for others,” Bill Daly said.
Copyright 2018 KCAL, KCBS, Jane Daly, Lynette Scribner/Facebook via CNN. All rights reserved.
