Hearing impaired father wells up with pride as 4-year-old daughter orders food for him at drive-thru

Growing up with parents who have disabilities isn't easy for anyone and kids in such households grow up faster as they have more responsibilities at a young age. Zach and Courtney's young daughter Madison is one such child, and her life is often seen in posts on the family's Instagram account @oursignedworld. While the mom Courtney and daughter Madison are able-bodied, the father Zach is hearing impaired. In a popular video that gained over 9 million views on Instagram, Zach and Madison are seen at a drive-thru.

In the clip, Madison can be seen ordering for herself even though she is only 4 years old. The caption of the video clarified how Madison was only ordering for herself and how Zach usually places his orders. "As a Deaf person, I usually type out my order on my phone and show it at the window when I go through the drive-thru. But honestly, it doesn’t always go smoothly. However, Madison wanted to try ordering for herself this time, so I let her—and she loved it! She felt so proud of herself and like such a big girl," the caption read.

As the father-daughter duo reach the intercom to place the order, Madison speaks loud and clear for a small portion of Mac and cheese. Then she requests for a spoon as well. Throughout this whole process, Zach continues to communicate with his daughter using sign language to figure out what she ordered and how much it cost. The worker taking Madison's order asks if she wants anything else and when Madison is done ordering, she signals her dad to drive to the next window to get the food. Since Zach is deaf he didn't realize when the woman at the drive-thru stopped speaking. Madison used sign language to tell him that she had finished ordering.

When they reach the next window to get the food, the man handing over the meal to Zach wonders if the little girl is the one who placed the order. Madison confirms that her dad is deaf so she is ordering. Zach appreciates his daughter for making her first successful drive-thru order before they pay $5.79 for the meal and drive away. The people in the comment section appreciated how Zach and Courtney taught their daughter sign language and encouraged her to build social skills and become self-reliant.

@lenoreeronel wrote, "I think this is an amazing opportunity for her to build self-confidence and social skills and get real-life practice for things she will have to do independently later on." @patriciab_in_la commented, "Honestly I’m 49 years old (and hearing) and I get anxiety ordering at drive-thrus. Madison did amazing! I’d like to have her order for me next time." @worl_dsocole shared, "I’m learning ASL right now, only for the purpose of being able to speak to random strangers. I’m a people person and I love talking." @_prettaymarie added, "One thing about kids that came from us? They are gonna ADVOCATE for us! I love this. I’m not deaf but I see firsthand how my son and daughter have my back in public."

You can follow @oursignedworld on Instagram for more videos on family and disability awareness.