Deaf Children Acquiring Language

 

Basic Information about Sign Language

 

• ASL is considered a sign language, while many other modes of signed communication are signed systems, rather than true languages.  Students often comprehend far more when it is signed in ASL rather than through an English sign system.

 

• Deaf children have more diverse worlds than most children in terms of language.They are constantly communicating with people whose first language is different from their own, and the people they communicate with likely possess varying levels of competency in sign language.

 

• Children must have good language models, both in sign language and in written communication.

 

• Access to sign language models, early childhood education, and support from extended family, as well as the community, are all key factors in a Deaf child’s developing language and literacy.

 

• It is imperative that Deaf children learn SOME FORM of language early in life.Sign language may be acquired as a second language and used fluently later in life if the children do not learn it as a first language as long as they are fluent in another language.  Multiple studies have shown that birth to three years old is the most critical time period to begin learning a language.Children who have not acquired a language by three years old often face significant language learning delays later in life.

 

• Deaf children can become fluent in sign language even if their parents are not fluent, as long as they are immersed in the language.

 

Teaching Sign Language

 

• Use visual strategies for gaining your Deaf child’s attention and maintain eye contact whenever you converse with them will build a framework for linguistic competence in their visual language system.

 

• Teach language and content together.Don’t “reinvent the wheel” when communicating with the Deaf child(ren).They still need the same guidance from parents as children who hear would.Strategize ways to teach reading and writing of printed English while also teaching them ideas.

 

• Don’t focus so much on the correct usage of the child’s most-used language.  Rather, focus on whether the child is gaining meaning from things observed in the world around him or her.

 

Learning from Peers

 

• Learning sign language as a first language (the first language learned and the language most used), as well as learning to read and write printed English, needs to occur among peers.Yes, it is important that parents and others who have more advanced language skills share their knowledge, but children will learn things from incidental, everyday interactions with each other that they cannot learn from those with language skills above their own.

 

• Play time allows children the opportunity to experiment with language.Dramas and other kinds of creative play can be particularly beneficial as a basis for this kind of development.Storytelling is also a component of developing language while playing.Children learn how to communicate effectively about ideas, events, etc. and how to maintain the attention of others while doing so when they are engaged in that kind of play.

 

Benefits of Learning to Sign

 

• Deaf children, like children who hear, need to have their questions about the world around them answered.This builds a stockpile of knowledge to draw from when learning to read and write.They need to have stories signed to them, as well, because it exposes them to new concepts and gives them more English literacy to draw from when learning to read and write themselves.

 

• A strong foundation in ASL helps children develop a positive identity, self-esteem, and social literacy.

 

• Hearing parents of Deaf children are statistically more likely to have many more conversations based on information rather than on abstract thought.Talk about abstract concepts with your Deaf child.

 

Ways to Help Your Child Learn Language

 

• Hearing parents of Deaf children are statistically more likely to have many more conversations based on information rather than on abstract thought.Talk about abstract concepts with your Deaf child.

 

• Shopping provides the opportunity to label objects, categorize, talk about routines, make observations, ask for the child’s opinion, ask the child to make inferences, ask the child to explain his or her reason for wanting something, and talk with him or her in general.

 

• Helping Deaf Babies/Young Children Acquire Language

  • Use touch and facial expressions and touch to show love

  • Respond to the baby’s eye gaze and visual cues

  • Use touch to engage with a baby while at play, and begin signing about the things the baby was interested in once the baby has looked at you.

  • Start using short sentences once the baby has begun to understand short sentences.Reference objects you sign about by tapping several times throughout.Repetition of the language is key.

 

• Helping Older Deaf Children Acquire Language

  • Seek out natural opportunities for conversation.

  • Ask more complex questions about things the child is interested in.

  • Be a positive language model.

  • Encourage expression of thoughts, ideas, preferences, and desires.