19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
3/09/2020 | 3:15 PM - 3:45 PM | Language Deprivation and Deaf Mental Health | Empire A
Language Deprivation and Deaf Mental Health
Lack of language, visual or spoken, can have a severe impact on a child’s development. Through the use of research, statistics and data, we hope to illustrate that communication is key. As a guidance counselor and clinical counselor, we have witnessed many Deaf children experience higher rates of trauma and mental health issues as a result of language deprivation. We have also seen children' survive language deprivation and move further in their life journeys - the key is the window of opportunity we have to give the brain what it needs to thrive. We hope to bring the discussion of mental health to the table when considering the early intervention of Deaf and hard of hearing children and how we can best meet their needs.
The existence of one – time-sensitive – language acquisition window means a strong possibility of permanent brain changes when spoken language is not fully accessible to the deaf child and sign language exposure is delayed, as is often standard practice (Hall, 2018). Young Deaf and hard of hearing children continue to experience delayed cognitive and language development in early childhood that lead to academic difficulties and underperformance when they begin schooling. Despite the good intentions of government, schools, and professionals, this condition persists, resulting in significant under-education and underemployment for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. The effects of early language deprivation or limited exposure to language due to not having sufficient access to spoken language or sign language are often so severe as to result in serious health, education and quality of life issues for these children (NAD, 2019).
- Audience members will leave with an understanding of the importance of early language acquisition and the brain.
- Audience members will learn appropriate language developmental milestones for ages 0-3.
- Audience members will explore research regarding language deprivation, trauma and challenging behavior to find the link between language acquisition and mental health.
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Presenters/Authors
Dr. Leala Holcomb
(), California School for the Deaf, Fremont, lealaholcomb@gmail.com;
Leala currently holds two positions as the postdoctoral research associate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the family outreach educator at California School for the Deaf, Fremont. Leala's family is composed of a mixture of deaf and hearing members. They enjoy exploring creative solutions to maximize inclusion and develop meaningful relationships with each other.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Tiffany Wilson
(), California School for the Deaf, twilson@csdf-cde.ca.gov;
Tiffany currently works in early childhood education at California School for the Deaf, Fremont. She also provides private practice counseling and focuses much of her clinical work in the areas of autism, trauma-informed therapy and the LGBT community. At CSD, her position provides behavior support, social emotional learning and counseling to students 0-7 years of age. She also provides family support groups, workshops/trainings for both staff and parents as well as being the liaison between CSD and outside services providers.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.