Blind and deaf dad watches son's soccer game in amazing way
Some dads can feel like super heroes to kids. When you're little you spend your whole life literally looking up to them. They're the strongest, smartest person you know at your tender age. It feels like it takes no effort at all for them to turn your excited body into an airplane rocketing through the sky, they always seem to have the answers to all of your questions and protect you when you're scared. Simply stated, dads can seem otherworldly to their children.
It's very rare that adults see dads of small children in the same light that their children do. But recently a dad watching his son's soccer game turned into a real life super hero to everyone that witnessed this incredible moment. Sure, watching a soccer game doesn't seem like much but Torbjörn Svensson has a rare condition called Usher's syndrome that has caused him to lose his hearing and sight.
This doesn't stop him from showing up for his son in the most typical dad ways, like watching his son play in a soccer game.
You may be wondering how on earth someone who is blind and deaf can "watch" his child play soccer, and the answer may surprise you. Svensson is able to "see" his son play with the help of his interpreter who uses haptic sign language. This is different from traditional sign language which is seen with the eye to interpret the meanings of the signs. According to Science Direct, "Haptic signs are conventional signals produced on a deafblind person's body providing contextualizing information about the environment where the interaction is taking place.
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Svensson uploaded a video to his Instagram account, which received over 2.2 million views. The video shows the proud dad looking down the soccer field as children run back and forth with the ball. But what makes this video different is Svensson has an interpreter behind him looking to be tapping him on his back at first but viewers quickly realize she's communicating in sign language. At one point the unnamed woman signals him to clap, which allows him to celebrate with the other excited spectators.
In front of the man you can see a white stick on the ground, which Svensson reveals in his caption that was translated from Swedish to English, that the stick is his white cane, a mobility device that blind people use to navigate the world around them.
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"Little fun detail: In front of my feet in the grass, my white stick lies across. The reason for that is that we have found that I move a little bit forward all the time when we use the signals. So when I start stomping on my stick, I know that it's time to start backing a little again. Otherwise, it will be pretty funny if the interpretation causes me to end up in the middle of the field during the game," Svensson shares.
The lecturer and dad explains that being able to participate in spectating at his son, Hugo's matches means a lot to him saying, "For me, being able to participate in Hugo's matches is priceless. Because I enjoy when I am there and get to proudly cheer on my son, and above all - Hugo has his dad in place and can share this experience. So participation is everything."
The video has people cheering on the dad's willingness to be involved with his child's sports even though he can't see the matches in a traditional way. Svensson says that it's important for him to continue to fight for his accommodations so he can continue to show up for Hugo.
The dad wanted to show what the services looked like so he had the interaction filmed, writing in the caption. "Wanted to get filmed today when Hugo's team (Höganäs BK) met the Klippan at Åbyvallen, and show how well it works when everything flaps. Those are social haptic signals the interpreter uses and shows on my back how the whole game is going on."
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While his son's team ultimately lost the game, everyone got to witness a dad putting on his cape to show up for his kid with someone writing, "At first I thought this was some kind of cool massage but then i realized she was detailing the entire game and placement of their child I love it! Every moment of it. This technique is BEAUTIFUL."
Another person can't get over how Svensson is following the game, "The fact his head moved to face the action is amazing! Great hand movements."
"Thank you for sharing and educating, this is incredibly important and concrete how we can engage people despite disabilities if only the right resources are given," someone writes.
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"This man had all the excuses to not show up but he’s still out here supporting his son during his game. More able-bodied people have given less attention to their children," one person remarks.
Just goes to show that showing up for your kids is one of the best gifts you can give them and surely Svensson will make sure he's at every game and activity humanly possible.