oral and sign language development in deaf babies and toddlers

SLIDE 12

schools social role in a deaf persons life

This is the testimony of one person about going to a
school for the deaf:
‘I didn’t know that there were other people like me until
I got here [to school]. […] I thought everyone in the
world would rather talk to someone else, someone
hearing.’
(Solomon, 2014, p. 50)
(This was Lexington, largest school for the deaf in NY
State)

deaf children, on average, achieve low language and academic attainments. why?

‘Early exposure to sign language leads to normal
language development’➔ ‘Hearing loss per se could not
explain the developmental and educational challenges
observed among deaf children from hearing families’.
(Marschark, 2002, pp.26, 4)

language attainment and critical age

In L1, as in L2, age is important.
▪ Many deaf signers first get exposed to sign in school
▪ Many parents leave children in oral programmes
despite them not developing good language
▪ ‘[O]nly among deaf signers do we find individuals who
are otherwise intact and were lovingly cared for as
children but nonetheless acquired little or no language
in early childhood’
(Mayberry, 2010, p. 284)

what is our background for children with hearing loss

>90% of deaf children (or children with hearing loss: HL)
are born to households with typically hearing parents
(Gallaudet Research Institute, in Nittrouer, 2010).
• Two types of hearing enhancement available: hearing aids
(HA) amplify sound, cochlear implants (CI) transform sound
‘into electrical impulses delivered to the cochlear nerve’
(Humphries et al., 2016, p. 513). Age of implantation +
activation varies. Mostly after age 1. Youngest ca. 7 mos(?)
(Culbertson et al., 2022)
• Children with HA: better unaided hearing than those with CI
(Nittrouer, 2010)

the impact of cochlear implants

CIs have improved prognosis for children with hearing
loss (HL).
• Children with CI: Better V and C production after 2-3
years of implant, comparable to children with mild HL.
(Schauwers, Gillis, and Govaerts, 2005)
● Children implanted before age 9 months may develop
auditory skills similar to those of NH children, e.g.:
respond to name in quiet, respond to everyday
requests without context, have ability to conduct a
conversation of several turns with a familiar adult, etc.
Culbertson et al. (2022)