Watch: President Obama Signs With Young Hearing-Impaired Man

A young hearing-impaired man wanted to speak with President Obama on the campaign trail in Maryland, and recorded this heart-warming video.

Via Distriction, which notes that both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama know sign language:

Stephon stood just a few feet away from Barack Obama. The president, busy shaking hands, looked right at him. “It was like he was waiting for me to say something,” he said later.

So the 26-year-old Prince George’s Community College student took his cue and spoke to President Obama in his first language: American Sign Language. “I am proud of you,” Stephon signed. The president, almost involuntary, instinctively, immediately signed back.

“Thank you,” Obama replied.

This is one of those moments that humanize the office of the presidency.

Born deaf, and justifiably proud, Stephon told us later he had no idea he’d be seated in the VIP section so close to the president and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at the March 15th event. But what a difference a seating assignment can make. “When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me,” Stephon said. “He was just a humble man.”

The Huffington Post, in, “Deaf Student ‘Speechless’ After Obama Responds To Him In Sign Language,” (the worst title of the day,) notes, “Another deaf student then signed to the president, ‘I love you.’ The president smiled back at her and shook her hand,” and adds:

This isn’t the first time President Obama has used sign language on the campaign trail. In 2008, several deaf bloggers noted that then-Senator Obama understood basic sign language after he signed to them.