Children Congratulate Deaf Janitor in Sign Language, They Learn It’s His First Greeting Ever – Story of the Day

Lyle grew up in a children’s shelter and later had a complicated adult life until he started working as a janitor at another shelter. He loved being around kids, and everything changed for him when someone new came to work and taught the kids something special.

Lyle was born deaf, and he had no memories of his parents. He grew up in a children’s shelter, and sadly, no one wanted to adopt a kid like him. Additionally, the shelter didn’t have any employees who could communicate with him, but he tried to learn things independently.

He read and was great at it. Lyle started to carry a notepad and pencil always to communicate with people. Only in adulthood did he learn about sign language, and his whole world opened up. Sadly, things were still hard for him.

Lyle had no support system or family, and it was complicated to get jobs as a hard-of-hearing person. But the universe smiled upon him as he found a wanted ad on the paper. A children’s shelter needed a janitor, and he applied for the job immediately.

Lyle expressed as best he could about growing up in a shelter and how his disability would not affect his cleaning, and luckily, the director of that shelter gave him a chance. This place was way nicer than the group home he had grown up in.

It was in a fancier neighborhood and received donations from many rich people in the area, so the children had access to more education, opportunities, and activities. They were also a bit religious, but Lyle didn’t mind that because he loved seeing their happy faces.

They often came to talk to him while he was cleaning up. He read their lips as best he could and pointed at or drew things on his pad. They laughed and joked with him. Overall, it was a dream job, even if it would never make him a millionaire, although he still felt somewhat lonely.

But his whole world changed when they hired a new woman as a teacher for the kids. Her name was Aminah, and she was the most beautiful woman Lyle had ever seen. But the best part is that she caught on quickly that he couldn’t hear anything and started using sign language immediately.

It was the first time someone had used it so quickly in his life.

“Where did you learn sign language?” he asked her, using his hands.

“My dad was born deaf, and he taught me from early on. He’s also a big part of the deaf community here in Charleston,” Aminah revealed. Lyle had no idea that their town in South Carolina had such a community. But why would he? He didn’t have family or anyone to teach him that truly.

“That’s fantastic. What does that community do?”