I missed “The Silent Child,” a British film about deaf girl who learns rudiments of communication from a social worker, when it was released in 2018. I am glad that I have seen it now, and I suspect that many Dear Readers of Special Education Today will happily recall that they did not miss it or will be glad to learn. of it now.
According to the Web site for The Silent Child,
The Silent Child film centres around a profoundly deaf four year old girl named Libby who is born into a middle class family and lives in a world of silence until a caring social worker teaches her the gift of communication.
When fresh faced social worker, Joanne turns up we see Libby transform. This once withdrawn four year old suddenly feels connected to the world and over a short period of time Joanne and Libby’s relationship blossoms.
That is about all there is to it…except that the film is so expertly done that it also weaves in many other matters that we folks concerned with disabilities will immediately find relevant. There’s some (not-so-pleasant) parent-child relations, a bit of debate about oralism vs. sign language, instances of behavior issues, and more. And, warming for my heart, there is the fact that Libby, the deaf child, is played by Maisie Sly, a deaf child.
We will have doubts about some things. It is a bit heavy handed in places. The film moves very rapidly. Libby learns signs almost miraculously. All it takes is a little love and such. But it has lots (and lots) of strengths. Watch it…share with others.
It’s not just about Deafness. It’s not just about signing. It’s not just about a young woman who teaches a child. It’s not just about a deaf actor. It’s not just about love. It’s about taking care of our kids.
The Silent Child won many awards (see the IMDB entry and the movie’s Web site). It is a short (i.e., ~20 minutes) and it is available on YouTube.
