Texas Roadhouse hires deaf server and shows a great way to accommodate people with disabilities

Living with disabilities in today's world isn't easy. Especially since much of the world refuses to make accommodations catering to humankind's spectrum of needs and abilities. Understanding this, a Texas Roadhouse came up with a simple but ingenious method to accommodate a server who is deaf. A picture uploaded Reddit by user @DetectiveBennett shows a printed sheet of instructions handed out to patrons when being served by the deaf individual. "Howdy! My name is Mario. I'm deaf. I will be taking care of you today. To communicate with me, feel free to use a dry-erase marker on the menu or speak slowly so I can read your lips," the laminated message reads. "With the marker, you can circle what you want to order and mark out any topping(s) you don't want. You can also write on the menu or whiteboard anything else you would like to add or need from me. Thank you for your patience and I hope you have a Legendary experience."

The picture was captioned, "San Angelo Texas Roadhouse hires deaf server. What a great way to accommodate those with disabilities. Go support Mario if you’re in the area!" The post racked up about 105,000 upvotes and 1600 comments within just 16 hours of being uploaded. People on the internet loved the way the restaurant accommodated the server. A comment read, "Yay!! It’s really nice to see customers being asked to make accommodations for a deaf waiter. I'd also recommend Crepe Crazy in Austin, since their entire staff is deaf or HOH, and your order by either pointing and gesturing or using ASL."

Another Reddit user wrote, "If I lived in San Antonio I would 100% take my kids here to show them how amazing people with disabilities can be and we would make a fun night of it and eat those amazing buttered rolls and I'd leave a huge tip."

Another said, "Texas Roadhouse has (at least in my neck of the woods) a record for caring for their employees. During the lockdown not only were they serving takeout meals but also steaks and burgers so you could cook at home. I thought it was a wonderful way to keep people employed. So I would hope management would quickly shut down a Karen."

In another heartwarming story, a school teacher named Kari Maskelony taught her students sign language to communicate with the school's food nutrition service worker, Leisa Duckwall. The students learned basic pleasantries to communicate with her. Before learning how to sign, the students would point at what they wanted in the cafeteria and say yes or no. 

Maskelony's crash course on sign language began with teaching the students what they would need to know to engage with Duckwall. They started with learning the main courses and sign language terms for chicken, fish, and other common school cafeteria food.

They then learned how to sign letters. When Maskelony's efforts caught the attention of school principal Janet Wright Davis, he thought it would be a great idea for the whole school to learn sign language. Now the morning announcements are delivered through video monitors in classrooms at Nansemond Parkway Elementary. 

Duckwall said, "Not only is it great for the kids because they can learn a new skill that they can carry with them and actually use with other people that they meet, but I think it (is) great because equal inclusivity and equal access are so important."