Before enrolling at River Valley, Charlie has virtually no ties to the Deaf community. She has a Deaf cousin on her father’s side but never knew him because he died in a car accident when she was a small child. Charlie “hadn’t met another deaf person since” (15). Finally being afforded the opportunity to be among her own community has a hugely positive impact on Charlie in practically every way. First, Charlie’s acquisition of a new language (ASL) gives her the boost she needs to socialize with her peers and forge meaningful friendships, as “with each successful social interaction, Charlie accrued new slivers of self-confidence” (172). This newfound self-assurance allows her to fade from being “the conversation’s focus to regular conversant,” allowing her “shoulders to relax” (173) and ultimately permitting her to become fully present in her social interactions. In time, the patient support she receives from her peers brings Charlie fully into the fold. No longer the butt of the joke, an experience to which she was accustomed at her old school, “River Valley […] made her hopeful” (252).

River Valley and the Deaf community at large prove to be a vital support network for many of Charlie’s peers.