Fall River Teen Gaining TikTok Fame Thanks to Positivity and Sign Language
Fall River's Amiah Rondon may be the next Charli D’Amelio thanks to her growing TikTok page, and the best part is that she is using positivity and acceptance to gain her following.
Amiah, 13, has been dealing with hearing loss since the age of six, and after teaching herself American Sign Language (ASL), she decided to use her TikTok platform to bring awareness to ASL and be a model of positivity and kindness for other teenagers.
Amiah decided to do what everyone else did during the pandemic, and that was committing to TikTok.
“She wanted to reach out to people and make connections with them,” said her mom, Amanda Rothwell. Rothwell administrates Amiah’s page and is amazed at how successful her daughter’s page has become in under two years.
“People just love her and her positivity,” Rothwell said.
During the pandemic, Amiah was simply being herself on TikTok, creating content that really resonated with other 13-year-olds. When she decided to open up about her hearing loss journey, that’s when things really took off.
“Amiah is a twin and was born prematurely,” Rothwell said. “We didn’t notice a problem with hearing loss until she was six when she was diagnosed with mild hearing loss and chronic ear infections.”
When she received bilateral ear tubes, Amiah’s hearing improved, but after having that surgery two more times, the improvements were short-lived, resulting in a referral for hearing aids around seven months ago.
“She still has problems,” Rothwell said. “The hearing aids are itchy, and they are kind of a nuisance for her.”
Maybe it was the itchy hearing aids or her desire to learn, but Amiah decided to teach herself American Sign Language to make communicating a little easier.
“It started with (signing) her name, and then she started doing TikTok videos with trending sounds,” Rothwell said.
With almost 26,000 followers and counting, Amiah Rondon has created a page where she can express herself fully and show the world that hearing loss doesn’t have to be a barrier.
@amiahrondon *draft from last night* IB: @catalenee❤️ I will be posting dance videos again I promise😂 #FreeFreeDance #fyp #ASL #foryoupageofficiall #signlanguage ♬ Like a Boy - Ciara
“She realized the language barrier and the lack of knowledge that people have about language barriers,” Rothwell said. “Hearing loss isn’t a disability to Amiah. She rises to the occasion. In a world where it’s so hard to fit in, she just says ‘I am who I am.’”
At school, Amiah isn’t “the girl with hearing aids.” Thanks to her growing TikTok page and her positive attitude, she gets to be “the famous girl from TikTok.”
“She’s always wanted to be famous,” Rothwell said. It sounds like she is well on her way.