15-year-old girl uses sign language to help deaf and blind man on flight to Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. – A 15-year-old girl’s knowledge of American sign language made one man’s cross-country flight from Boston to Portland a lot more enjoyable this week.

Jane Daly and her 15-year-old daughter Clara were supposed to fly from Boston to Los Angeles, but their original flight was canceled. Instead, they were rerouted with a connection in Portland.

Their change in itinerary was another man’s stroke of luck.

Tim Cook is deafblind and was on the same flight as the Dalys.

While on board, the flight attendants needed help communicating with Cook. So, they called over the intercom and asked if anyone on the plane knew sign language.

“I pressed the call button,” Clara said. “And then she came and she was like said, ‘So we have a passenger on the plane who’s blind and deaf, so do you know how to finger spell?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I totally know how to finger spell.”

Clara answered the call and came to Cook’s aide. She’s been studying American sign language for the last year.

In an interview after the flight, Cook said, “Communication with Clara was good I went from bad mood to good mood really fast.”

Clara’s act of kindness is going viral after another passenger posted a photo of her signing with Cook on Facebook.

Cook said he hopes others might be inspired to learn more about deafblind.

“I would encourage them to be comfortable touching, because many people are not comfortable,” he said.

Clara said the reaction on social media is overwhelmingly lovely. She hopes others realize it’s our duty to help each other out, no matter what.