EIGHTEEN months ago, sweet-faced Rachael Hunter was terrorising the tiny Queensland desert town of Birdsville.

Deaf almost since birth, her frustration at her inability to communicate spilled over into behavioural problems.

Workers at the Wirrarri tourism centre shuddered when she showed up, driving away the customers who might have braved theBirdsville Track but couldn’t handle Rachael at full scream.

The local school had all but given up because she used to hide under houses until classes were finished for the day.

Today, Rachael, 8, can not only communicate through sign language, she has confounded experts by learning to speak. And most of her classmates, not to mention most of the town of Birdsville, can now also sign.

Aged two, Rachael went on a 3000km round trip to Brisbane for hearing aids. But the cost of a return airfare is $900 — a lot of money when the family breadwinner is a ringer on a cattle property. There was no chance she could return for check-ups or speech training, and her frustration grew.

“She certainly had a behaviour problem,” says Birdsville police officer-in-charge, Senior Constable Doug Ensor. “She was just totally frustrated because she couldn’t communicate with anyone.”

Then Monique Pfingst came to run the one-teacher Birdsville State School. She decided that since Rachael could not speak to her schoolmates, they would have to learn to speak to her.

She and husband Anthony, a special teacher’s aide, taught themselves sign language from a book. Then they set about changing thelives of Rachael and the 17 other children in the school.

“Now Grades One, Two and Three are all signers and by the time she’s in Grade Seven, at this rate, we will have a whole school that is signing and speaking,” Ms Pfingst said.

Rachael is helped by a Queensland Education teacher in hearing improvement services, Ron Townsend, who visits from Longreach, 700km away, two or three times a term.

“For someone who is severe to profoundly deaf, Rachael’s speech is amazing,” Mr Townsend said. “Yet before she learned signing she simply didn’t speak.”

Having got the children signing, the next step was to take on the town. With the Parents and Citizens Association, Ms Pfingst organised adult signing classes for Birdsville’s 120 residents. Now just about everyone from the policeman to the postmistress can sign.

“For me it’s been like learning a second language and it’s been a big challenge,” said Senior Constable Ensor.

The children, including his daughter Brianna, 6, are much better than the adults.

Rachael’s mother Elley, 29, who has five children, said the program had been a great help. “With her getting older she is able to understand more. The signing will help her later in life.”

And in helping Rachael, her fellow students have helped themselves. “Signing has given all of the kids improved reading and comprehension,” Ms Pfingst said.