Santa asks mum if she can ‘help’ Deaf son ‘with surgery’ in viral video

A Deaf boy from New Zealand who met Santa in a shopping centre has gone viral online, after Father Christmas asked his mum if there was “nothing you can do to help him with surgery”.

The video, which was first shared on Facebook by NZSL with Carter, shows the young boy sit on a stool and ask the Santa for a “gold Ironman” next month.

When the mum repeated what Carter signed, Santa replied: “Is there nothing you can do to help him with surgery? Nothing you can do to fix it?”

“No, no need for that […] No, there is nothing to fix, we have sign language,” Carter’s mother responded.

The clip was later reposted to Twitter, where it was described as “horrifying” and “embarrassing” by Deaf users and allies.

Dear Santas – this is what not to say when you meet a deaf child for the 1st time.https://t.co/zJBJbtNZaz pic.twitter.com/nhbeA2FhwC

— Tony Barlow 👐🏼🦻🏼 (@Saltbar) November 27, 2021

One tweeted: “Santa is on my naughty list this year. Glad the boy’s mother advocated with him, but geez.”

“It’s the hand – the shoo away, shush, shush hand – that gets me carrot,” replied another.

A third said: “A role model Mum, yes! A role model Santa, no! Glad she stood up and expressed the right words. Deaf awareness courses for all Santas please!”

Captioning the video on Facebook, NZSL with Carter wrote: “This is not the first time I’ve had to have this conversation with Santa. It’s awful having to answer these questions in front of Carter when we are there to talk about his Christmas wishlist!

“I kept up my smile but wanted to get of there as quick as possible.”

Photo: NZSL with Carter/Facebook.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.