‘It honestly felt surreal’: Boy who was born deaf talks to Disneyland character in sign language

ANAHEIM, Calif. - For Callie Foster and her family, trips to Disneyland are a regular tradition. But on a recent visit, something special happened.

Foster, 38, and her husband, Leo Silva, are raising their 3-year-old son, Luca, who was diagnosed as profoundly deaf when he was a baby.

Disneyland character signs with boy who was born deaf

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During a recent trip to "the happiest place on Earth," Luca met Jessie, the cowgirl character from the animated movie "Toy Story."

In a video, Luca walks up to Jessie and starts communicating using American Sign Language (ASL) – something he had only recently begun doing more confidently in public.

"When we walked up to Jessie, we really tried not to have expectations," Foster told FOX Local. "Luca ran right up to her and, for the first time on his own, initiated the interaction in sign language. He asked her what her name was."

But what surprised his parents was what happened next: Jessie signed back to him.

"Honestly, I was kind of in shock," she continued. I just felt so happy for Luca that he was getting to have that experience. I remember hearing a woman behind me say, ‘Look, she’s signing to him,’ as Jessie got down on his level… and it just felt like the world kind of froze for a second."

She added: "I was watching him stand there on his own, communicating, and I just felt so much pride. He was being met with so much love and inclusion without us having to ask for it. It honestly felt surreal."

In the past, Luca’s parents usually helped interpret, never expecting Disney characters to understand sign language. But this time, Luca communicated on his own – and Jessie met him right there.

"And you could just see Luca light up," Foster shared. "It wasn’t prompted, it wasn’t planned, it just happened. And it felt really natural and really meaningful all at the same time."

Luca’s family learns ASL

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But Luca’s journey with hearing hasn’t been simple. At six weeks old, he was diagnosed as profoundly deaf, and the family began considering hearing aids and possibly cochlear implants.

But by age two, his diagnosis changed, and further tests showed his hearing loss was actually mild to moderate, meaning cochlear implants were no longer an option. By then, however, his parents had already chosen a different path: they learned ASL.

The family chose to learn and use ASL early on, which they said has been foundational for his language development and communication.

Moment between Luca and Jessie goes viral

Why you should care:

The moment between Luca and Jessie was captured on video and shared online, where it touched thousands of people.

"I think in a world that can feel really heavy and chaotic, moments like this are such a reminder that there’s still so much good out there," she said. "It showed me that even the smallest gesture, like taking a moment to sign, can have such a big impact."

"And I think people are craving more of that… real, human connection," she added.

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She said if everyone learned sign language, the world would be a better place.

"Because moments like that don’t take much, but they can mean everything to someone. And if more of us did that in our everyday lives, I really believe the world would feel a lot more connected," she said.