These kindergarteners surprised their school's deaf custodian by signing the entire 'Happy Birthday' song.
A big group of kindergartners doing anything in unison tends to be sweet, but this video takes the cake.
A school community is made up of much more than just students and teachers. From lunch servers to janitors, people who help keep schools running smoothly are important. And they can have a much bigger impact on kids than we often acknowledge.
The students and faculty at Hickerson Elementary School in Tennessee have a special relationship with their custodian, Anthony James. The joyful janitor known as "Mr. James" has been with the Coffee County School District since 1991, and had been working at Hickerson for 15 years. Those who know him describe him as "sweet," "selfless," and "always smiling."
For his 60th birthday, the kindergarteners sung—and signed—the Happy Birthday song for Mr. James.
Mr. James is hearing impaired. So kindergarten classes taught by Mrs. Allyssa Hartsfield and Mrs. Amy Hershman learned how to sign the words to the Happy Birthday song to surprise him. And surprise him they did.
The school shared the video on Facebook, and people are loving it:
Our Kindergarten classes learned how to sign Happy Birthday for Mr. James' birthday today. He was so surprised! 💛🖤💛🖤
Posted by Hickerson Elementary on Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Teaching kids to honor differences and appreciate every member of a community is a beautiful thing.
The video has struck a chord with alumni of Coffee County Schools and people everywhere. As the alumni sharing their memories of Mr. James in the Facebook comments attest, the dedicated custodian is simply receiving a dose of the joy and kindness he has spent decades spreading himself. It's clear that the love between Mr. James and the students in that community is mutual.
But the clip also shows how a simple gesture can mean so much to someone who communicates in a different way. The reaction of Mr. James to the students' surprise couldn't be more delightful, and those kids have now learned first-hand what a difference learning someone's language can make. What a wonderful gift to give someone who has given so much to so many kids for so long.
Happy Birthday to you, Mr. James!
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."