Meet Steven! He is a pharmacy technician student at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Steven is well into the process of learning sign language so that he can better serve the deaf and hard of hearing community. He was inspired to learn sign language as a new pharmacy technician about three years ago when he had the opportunity to work with a deaf boy who was adopted by a hearing family. The boy’s biological family could not provide the support he needed as a deaf person, and for the first 11 years of his life, the boy had no language.Â
Steven had read about language deprivation and how isolating it could be, especially if a child does not have access to language development. However, when he faced the real-life facts of this situation, he was taken aback and was eager to do what he could to make a difference in this child’s life.Â
The adopted family had the means to provide this boy with what he needed and decided when they adopted him that they were all going to learn sign language. Steven spent the next year assisting this boy and his new family by providing resources and helping them to learn sign language! Now the boy has a language and can communicate with his loved ones… and they can communicate back!Â
When Steven is not studying or at his pharmacy technician internship at the local pharmacy, you can find him volunteering at various health fairs and advocating for the deaf and hard of hearing community! We’re proud to have you as a part of the Tallo community, Steven!Â
To learn more about Steven and watch his sign language skills in action, check out our Instagram post!
