Denise Colcord
April 30, 2017
Hearing VS Deaf Babies and Toddlers
When discussing the use of American Sign Language (ASL) with babies and
toddlers, there are two conflicting schools of thought. One school of thought
encourages the use of ASL as an additional means of communication for hearing
and deaf babies and toddlers, while the opposing side discourages the use of ASL
for deaf babies and toddlers. If sign language can provide beneficial language
skills, promote language development, and provide the opportunity for children
to be bilingual than why are all parents, of all children, not being encouraged
to utilize it?
Teaching your hearing babies and toddlers sign language only gained its
popularity in the 2000s, and is now recognized as a parenting technique. The
idea of using sign language with babies and toddlers was discovered much earlier
than this. In the 1800s William Dwight Whitney made the initial observation that
"children of deaf parents are routinely communicating through sign language at
six months to a year before children in hearing families" (History of Baby Sign
Language). Whitney's research also found that learning sign language did not
hinder these children; in fact children in deaf families were meeting
developmental milestones for their language development as expected. At this
point the discovery didn't go any further. It wasn't until the 1980s where Dr.
Joseph Garcia began to research this topic and then began to teach the parents
of hearing infants. This was only to be followed by Linda Acredolo and Susan
Goodwyn in the 1990s to further develop the research and unlock the benefits to
using sign language with hearing infants (History of Baby Sign Language). What
started as a hypothesis among educators developed into this strategy to be able
to communicate with babies and toddlers earlier than before.
Through research, there have been multiple benefits discovered regarding the use
of sign language with hearing babies and toddlers. With using routine and
consistently practicing with your child, signs can be learned as early as six
months. Being able to communicate at such a young age brought on many benefits
to both the parents and children. Babies and toddlers who learn sign language
gain a sense of confidence, improved self-esteem, are able to navigate strong
emotions, aiding in overall, speech development (Collingwood, 2016).
I am able to speak to this through firsthand experience. I began signing with my
daughter, who is hearing, right from the beginning. I witnessed her reproducing
signs at six months of age. She began talking earlier than her peers and would
continue to build her vocabulary both verbally and through signing. At 18 months
she was considered ‘advanced' in her language skills. Now at 21 months she is
forming sentences and learning signs faster. If we are observing these skills
and the research confirms the findings, why is teaching sign language to deaf
babies and toddlers discouraged?
Teaching sign language to deaf babies and toddlers is a controversial topic.
There are organizations that discourage against teaching ASL to deaf babies and
toddlers and others who see it as a necessity. The Alexander Graham Bell
Association of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a well-known organization, is
amongst those who would discourage teaching ASL to deaf infants. Their mission
statement is to "help families, health care providers and education
professionals understand childhood hearing loss and the importance of early
diagnosis and intervention." However, the techniques used to achieve this
mission include "[emphasizing] spoken language" this would be achieved by
"teaching communication methods like lip reading, learning to speak…and using
cochlear implant technology" (Ringo, 2013). This approach does not work for
everyone. To the deaf parents of a deaf child, this is exciting and an
opportunity to pass down their primary language and culture. To the hearing
parents of a deaf child, the initial emotion may be fear. They don't know ASL,
it is a foreign language, and they are bombarded with information regarding
hearing aids, cochlear implants, and the names of speech therapists. They want
to do what's right for their child but are not given all the information that
they need. They need to hear that their child will not be at a disadvantage if
they learn sign language, and there is the opportunity for them to be bilingual.
Deaf babies and toddlers will not be at a disadvantage with their language development if they learn sign language. "Deaf infants exposed to sign language hit all of the same developmental milestones as hearing children" (Schupner Congdon, 2016). During the time frame of birth through age three, the brain is geared for language development, and it does not discriminate against a spoken or a signed language. Teaching a deaf child to sign will set them up for success with furthering their literacy skills. It will develop their language, vocabulary, and reading skills. This in turn will allow the child to be bilingual with ASL and English.
When deaf babies and toddlers are introduced to and taught ASL it opens up the
world of bilingualism. As the child grows and develops further language skills
they will be able to sign, read and print English. "The bilingualism of the deaf
child will involve the sign language used by the Deaf community and the oral
language used by the hearing majority" (Grosjean, 2001). The deaf child has a
great opportunity to become bilingual. The results will vary from child to
child, but they all have the right to access these skills. Every parent, deaf or
hearing, should give their child the ability to become fluent in two languages;
whether it be ASL and oral English, or ASL and written English.
Sign language can provide beneficial language skills, promote language
development, and provide the opportunity to be bilingual. Both hearing and deaf
babies and toddlers receive benefits from using sign language; from being able
to communicate to building vocabularies and additional language skills. Both
hearing and deaf babies and toddlers meet developmental milestones for language
development when taught ASL. If hearing and deaf babies and toddlers are
continuously taught ASL they have the opportunity to be bilingual. If we are
seeing that the benefits are the same, and the language development is achieved,
then why is it still being discouraged to teach deaf babies and toddlers sign
language? It shouldn't be, it should be encouraged, just as it is encouraged
with their hearing peers.
Resources
Collingwood, J. (2016). Teaching your baby sign language can benefit
both of you. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from Psych Central: https://psychcentral.com/lib/teaching-your-baby-sign-language-can-benefit-both-of-you/
Grosjean, F. (2001). The right of the deaf child to grow up bilingual.
Retrieved April 30, 2017, from http://www.francoisgrosjean.ch/English_Anglais.pdf
History of Baby Sign Language. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2017, from Baby Sign
Language : http://www.babysignlanguage.com/basics/history/
Ringo, A. (2013, August 9). Understanding Deafness: Not everyone wants
to be 'fixed' . Retrieved April 28, 2017, from The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/08/understanding-deafness-not-everyone-wants-to-be-fixed/278527/
Schupner Congdon, T. (2016, May 4). Revolutionizing the science of
learning. Retrieved April 28, 2017, from Gallaudet University: Visual Language
and Visual Learning :
http://vl2.gallaudet.edu/news/headlines/vl2-revolutionizing-science-learning/
Notes:
Notes: