Opal and the Secret Code opens world to deaf community, fills an urgent need in classrooms!

Opal Fleming wanted everyone to know how American Sign Language became a well-known language today. She told her heartfelt story to the author’s sign languages classes time and time again. I promised Opal before she died that one day I would publish Opal’s powerful, enlightening story. That promise began to be fulfilled when the story was run  in Newspapers In Education nationwide and then publishing it on iBooks, Kindle and as a paperback edition on Amazon in the spring of 2022. Take a peek inside… https://www.amazon.com/OPAL-SE...format=4&depth=1

Why is this story so needed today?

“Deaf and hard of hearing children are isolated in their public schools, and often are the only students who use sign language or have no access to sign language at all,” said the Vermont Association for the Deaf in a statement.“Learning is severely limited when a student needs to watch an interpreter every day, and has no one to sign to or talk with.”

Opal & The Secret Code will be cherished and valued by the deaf and add to their true-to-life history as well as promote compassion and understanding in communities and classrooms and help to build a bridge between the deaf and hearing worlds.

Opal’s resilient spirit enabled her to overcome so much in her lifetime. She became a well educated, dignified person loved by so many. For 20 years she was a teacher’s aide at the North Carolina School for the Deaf. She died in 2003.

Review: Excellent story!

Opal & The Secret Code is an excellent story for all children and was well received by both teachers and students. The story was made available through the Media in Education online program. One teacher provided the following feedback to a survey question after the story ran online: “The students are interested in getting started writing and learning about others different than them and how to be a friend to those who are different.”— Tracy Hazen, Media in Education Administrator, The Kansas City Star, The Wichita Eagle, Belleville News, Democrat Lexington Herald-Leader, Fort Worth StarTelegram