In Tegan McCall’s apartment complex in Manchester, New Hampshire, the fire alarms were sounding. The halls began flooding with firefighters ready to check out the problem.
The fire alarms were going off on three of the floors. To get to those floors, the emergency workers had to pass by Tegan’s apartment where he lives with his mom, Amy.
At the time, Tegan was standing in the doorway of their apartment, watching the firefighters walk past. He was interested in what they were doing.
Meet the Firefighter, Mike
Most of them continued walking by and didn’t say a word to Tegan. They did have the blaring alarms to tend to, of course.
But one firefighter stopped by Tegan’s door for a second.
Amy later shared that Tegan has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal so these types of situations can be difficult for him. Luckily, the firefighter took a moment to acknowledge the young boy.
This firefighter was Lt. Mike Rheault. The main reason he stopped is that he was raised by deaf parents.
When he approached Tegan, something was familiar about him. He noticed that the child was reading his lips.
Mike quickly recognized that this was one of the ways that Tegan could communicate. He was able to see what other people were saying.
Reaching Out
Amy caught their interaction on video. Right before she started recording it, Mike asked her if Tegan knew American Sign Language.
He asked this because he himself knew some American Sign Language. He used his hands to sign to Tegan and they were able to have a brief conversation.
Mike began to sign his own name and watched Tegan sign his name too. Then, he decided to teach Tegan a new word to add to his American Sign Language vocabulary.
He showed Tegan how to sign the word fireman. Tegan got to practice it too.
Then, Mike had to get to work. He high-fived Tegan and then walked up the stairs. As the firefighter walked away, Tegan saluted him and Mike saluted Tegan in return.
Tegan seemed absolutely overjoyed that he had this opportunity to talk to a fireman. It’s likely that this happiness also came from the firefighter speaking his language too.
A Big Thank You!
In her Twitter post, Amy shows her appreciation and thanks the firefighter. She knows how much this meant to her son!
Luckily, the alarms were not a huge emergency, so Mike had the time to talk to Tegan. It was definitely worth it!
Too often, children with special needs are not noticed and not acknowledged. By having this interaction, Tegan’s life was changed for the better.
After this happened, Amy spoke out about how reaching out and taking the time to communicate can mean so much, especially to a child who may already feel socially isolated because of communication limitations.
She saw how impactful this was for her young son. She knows that interactions like this can change the lives of children with special needs.
It’s definitely important that heroes, like firefighters, take the time to know those in their community. It’s even more important if those community members have special needs or difficulty communicating through speech.
Mike is certainly a great firefighter and a great example too. Thank you for acknowledging Tegan and making that connection!
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https://twitter.com/amyjomccall/status/1091154033853767682
