“Daddy, I love you.”

One of our Instructors shared this incredible story about Jeffrey Wright, a high school science teacher who used sign language to connect with his son who was born with a condition that prevents him from speaking. Each year, Jeffrey delivers a lecture about his son as a way of talking to his students about the meaning of life. Read the excerpt from the New York Times article below or watch this video filmed by one of Jeff’s former students. We like how when Jeff asks Adam to make the sign for “music,” he signs Signing Time! 🙂 We think you’ll be inspired by this amazing father.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bSu_Snlbsw&version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0]

Mr. Wright starts his lecture by talking about the hopes and dreams he had for Adam and his daughter, Abbie, now 15. He recalls the day Adam was born, and the sadness he felt when he learned of his condition.

“All those dreams about ever watching my son knock a home run over the fence went away,” he tells the class. “The whole thing about where the universe came from? I didn’t care. … I started asking myself, what was the point of it?”

All that changed one day when Mr. Wright saw Abbie, about 4 at the time, playing with dolls on the floor next to Adam. At that moment he realized that his son could see and play — that the little boy had an inner life. He and his wife, Nancy, began teaching Adam simple sign language. One day, his son signed “I love you.”

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