Waitresses Sing Happy Birthday To Deaf Boy In Sign Language After Learning On Youtube

A heartwarming video has emerged showing the moment a kind pair of waitresses learned how to sing 'happy birthday' in sign language to a hearing-impaired four-year-old boy.

There are some occasions when people in customer service roles take it upon themselves to go above and beyond the simple tasks in their job description - and this is definitely one such case.

In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Octavius Mitchell Jr had been taken for dinner at the Texas Roadhouse by his mother and uncle to celebrate his fourth birthday, according to WTVF-TV.

One of the waitresses who was working that night, Kathryn Marasco, said she had spotted mother Shatika Dixon signing to her young son.

"I'm sitting there and I'm watching from a distance, and the mom is signing to the little boy which is when I noticed he had his hearing aids," she said.

Shatika Montreishiya

So she approached her colleague Brandie White, who was enrolled on a speech-language pathology and audiology class at Middle Tennessee State University, and asked if she knew how to say 'happy birthday' in sign language.

They quickly took to the Internet to find out how to do it and give the young boy a special birthday message.

Kathryn said: "She comes up to me and says, 'Kat, I found a YouTube video of how to sign happy birthday.'"

She said they sat down together and it took them just 'two seconds' to learn it.

A video of the touching moment they signed to the boy then went viral on social media.

News Channel 5

Octavius's mother Shatika said she was extremely grateful to the pair for their special treatment of her son.

She said: "Everybody thinks we're crazy when we're out talking and we're signing.

"So it's really important to me that someone noticed that and picked up on that and made that special just for him, my baby."

She added that it's the first time her son had communicated in sign language with anyone other than herself and his teacher.

Waitress Brandie was humble about her actions, saying it was just part of her job: "As a server I want you to be able to come in, I want to be like, 'Oh this is my home. I belong here.'"

Topics: Awesome, Feels, US News

Nathan Standley

Nathan Standley is a freelance journalist and LADBible contributor. He graduated from Durham University with a degree in Anthropology before going on to do a Master’s degree in Journalism at the University of Sheffield. He also writes articles for The Versed and is the Cultural Editor of The Common Sense Network.