_________________________________________________
Ananova
:
Two
Year Old Uses Sign Language to Help Her Deaf Mom Plans To Give Lessons
To SuperMarket Staff
COUNTY DURHAM -
- A
two-year-old who uses sign language to help her deaf mother has been
invited to give lessons to staff at a supermarket.
Asda
has asked Diana Graham to give a series of sign language tutorials to
workers at the Stanley branch in County Durham.
The
store 'employed' Diana after spotting her signing to her mum in the
clothing department.
Asda
hopes her lessons will enable staff to help other deaf customers with
their shopping.
Diana
could use the hand signals even before she could talk. She spoke her
first words at six months but by then she had already learned to say
'Mummy' in sign language.
She
chats to her mum, Susan, 36, in sign language, telling her when the
phone rings and if someone knocks at the door of their home in Stanley.
Mrs
Graham has been deaf since birth through a hereditary disease which
has also affected other members of her family.
The
store has also nominated Diana as their 'local hero' for her achievements.
She
is due to give the first tutorial tomorrow.
RELATED
STORY
A
two-year-old girl has mastered sign language to become her deaf mother's
ears after learning her first signals at just five months old.
Diana Graham is
now fluent, having learned some signals to express emotions even before
she could talk.
She now joins in
family conversations with her single mother Susan and chats to her in
sign language.
Diana even tells
her when the phone rings or if someone is knocking at the door of their
home in the County Durham village of Stanley.
Mrs Graham, 36,
has been deaf since birth through a hereditary disease which has also
affected other members of her family.
Such is Diana's
understanding of the system that her mother reads story books to her
using sign language.
While learning signing,
the toddler complemented her use of words by learning the alphabet while
watching TV's Countdown with her grandfather.
The youngster's
achievement has been highlighted by her grandparents Betty and Peter,
who are expert signers and who watched as Diana learned the system during
the past 18 months.
Betty, who lives
nearby in the Craghead area of County Durham, said: "I learned
to sign when I was a toddler because my parents were also deaf but Diana
is just incredible.
"She started
signing at about five months and now has an extensive vocabulary and
can chat away in sign language. She is so far advanced for her age."
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