My 6-year-old son is autistic and usually played alone during recess. Then one day, he came home excited about a new friend named Bea who had taught him a “secret language.” Curious, I asked his teacher, who told me Bea was actually Beatrice, a 7-year-old girl from the school’s Deaf program.

The teacher explained that they first met while sitting under the playground slide. Beatrice avoided the busy playground because it was visually overwhelming, while my son stayed there because the noise was too much for him. After quietly watching each other for several days, Beatrice signed “hello,” and my son happily copied her.

Their friendship quickly grew, and the school arranged a weekly sign language tutor. Soon, my son was signing more than he had ever spoken, learning words like “good morning,” “friend,” “lunch,” “quiet,” “mom,” “happy,” and “please don’t leave.” Through sign language, he found a new way to connect with the world.

When I finally saw them together through the classroom window, their bond was unmistakable. Later, I met Beatrice’s mother, who was crying tears of joy because her daughter—who had been the only deaf child in her grade for two years—had signed that morning that she finally had a best friend.