Friendship beyond physical impairment

Xuanxuan (a child with hearing impairment) and Tiantian are classmates in kindergarten and good friends. They study, live and play together every day.

In kindergarten, the two help each other. Xuanxuan is a kid with hearing impairment and Tiantian always reminds Xuanxuan to say thank you to the teacher when the teacher gives out snacks. When the teacher calls Xuanxuan’s name but she does not get it, Tiantian would tell her to respond. On the other hand, Xuanxuan is good at taking care of others. She always helps Tiantian put his chair ready before class and help him find his cup before drinking water.

In class, the two are active study partners, too. Especially when it comes to the sign language class, Xuanxuan soon turns into a teacher for Tiantian. Having Tiantian by her side in the lesson, Xuanxuan always appears happier and livelier than she attends classes on her own.

In Tiantian’s eyes, Xuanxuan is no different from other children, and Xuanxuan herself doesn’t feel she is special either. This is the greatest benefit of early inclusive education for children with and without hearing-impairment – to make kids accept and learn from each other in the early daily life of kindergarten and to display the kids’ innocent nature to promote inclusive education.