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Teenager praised for video in which she helps blind and deaf man on plane communicate using sign language

Teenager praised for video in which she helps blind and deaf man on plane communicate using sign language

A 15-year-old has shot to internet fame for a remarkable act of kindness during a flight.

Clara Daly was traveling with her mother Jane from Boston to Los Angeles on an Alaska Airlines flight earlier this week. During the six-hour flight, which included a layover in Oregon, Clara volunteered her skills in sign language to help a blind and deaf man by forming letters with her fingers while he "read" them with his hands.

A flight attendant asked on the plane's speaker whether anyone knew sign language. Clara, who has been studying American Sign Language communication techniques and says she has "always been fascinated by sign language", immediately volunteered.

Tim Cook, a blind and deaf man who was on his way to Portland after visiting his sister in Boston, required an interpreter to communicate. Clara used finger spelling to help him do so.

During their conversation, the teenager learned about Cook's past as a salesman, and he asked her about her life. She said:

We talked about our family in Massachusetts and he asked me about my plans for my future.

Clara's generosity didn't go unnoticed. A passenger named Lynette Scribner took a photo of one of the moments Clara was communicating with Cook and shared it on Facebook. The post has been shared nearly 500,000 times.

Clara, who lives in Calabasas, California, says the reaction on social media has been "overwhelmingly lovely".

I hope this helps other people realise that in the world we are living in, it is everyone's duty to help each other out, no matter what.

​TB: CNN

More: This is what it's like to live with an invisible disability

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