EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021
(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)
3/18/2018 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Understanding Language Deprivation: The Bad and the Ugly | Mineral D/E
Understanding Language Deprivation: The Bad and the Ugly
The term “language deprivation” has been applied to deaf children and used to describe lack of language exposure during the early language learning years. Language deprivation is very real and needs to be carefully examined in the shared pursuit of better providing the necessary language access for deaf children. When a deaf child has not been afforded sufficient language exposure and/or instruction, s/he is referred to as “language deprived.” There exists much controversy among parents of deaf children, deaf persons themselves, and professionals who provide services to children diagnosed with hearing loss regarding the most effective means of providing language exposure and ultimately acquiring language. Deaf children are born into the ideological battlefield of two main camps: those who believe that all deaf children should learn ASL as a part of their native language & culture and others who believe that all deaf children should be provided an opportunity to learn spoken language to prepare themselves for a society where the majority use spoken language.
This presentation will address the decisions parents have to make for their children during their children’s very early years. Data and information about children born to hearing parent versus those born to deaf parents will be explored. Specific information about the challenges related to providing choices with objective explanations, explaining the issue of hearing parents using sign language, and discussing the lack of providers either in spoken language or sign language will be included.
This presentation will provide information about how deaf children acquire language and the complications associated with these children learning a language, ASL or English. It is important to note that 95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents and as such, hearing parents of deaf children often find themselves in a novel situation when their deaf children are born. For many hearing individuals, their ideological notion of normalcy involves being able to hear and speak; thus, hearing parents have usually favored oral languages in the home and community, which presents a challenging linguistic environment for deaf infants if communication is not accessible. While English may be the language hearing parents use and the language with which they are most familiar, they may still not be able to make spoken English accessible to the deaf child. At the same time, when
hearing parents choose sign language for their children they may still find themselves in a predicament because it may take years before they become proficient enough to provide a language rich environment using ASL. In both cases, it can be said that the child is language deprived.
We currently have a systems problem, because there does not currently exist a means of providing all children with hearing loss, in all geographic locations, with the resources necessary to develop language. Parents are lacking resources, Early Intervention programs are lacking skilled providers, and school-age programs are not addressing the language needs of children with hearing loss.
All parents need to be provided with accurate information that is comprehensive and unbiased about different communication modes and the services and programs available to meet the needs of deaf children . Resources for gaining such information will be explained. Ample time for questions, comments, and discussion will be provided.
It is the intent of the presenters to discuss these topics in a respectful manner and to facilitate a discussion with participants while providing a safe place for participants to ask questions and make comments.
- Participants will be able to list resources available to parents of children with hearing loss.
- Participants will be able to describe the challenges of providing language services to children with hearing loss.
- Participants will be able to accurately explain the term “language deprivation.”
Presentation:
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Handouts:
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Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Judy Schlesinger
(), The Moog Center for Deaf Education, jschlesinger@moogcenter.org;
Judy has been in the field of deaf education for more than 25 year. She has worked as a supervisor of other teachers, has extensive experience working with student teachers, has lectured for graduate courses, and is an experienced teacher in the field of Early Intervention. In addition to teaching in the Family School program at the Moog Center where she provides direct service to children, helping them to develop spoken language skills, Judy has also taught in the preschool and in the primary department working to enhance the students' academic skills. She works with families, helping parents develop strategies and techniques for teaching their children with hearing loss to talk. Judy participates in the Moog Center for Deaf Education Teleschool program and provides services to families via the internet. Judy has extensive experience serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing who present with secondary complicating factors.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
Thomas Horejes
(), Gallaudet University, thomas.horejes@gallaudet.edu;
Dr. Thomas Horejes received his PhD in Justice Studies at Arizona State University and is currently Gallaudet University’s Associate Provost of Student Success & Academic Quality. Prior to his position at Gallaudet, he was former Executive Director of DEAF, Inc.— based in St. Louis—that provides advocacy and interpreting services to the deaf/hard of hearing community. During his role, he collaborated with Moog Center for the Deaf on a successful program to empower parents to understand language choices for their child. He has numerous publications, including a book entitled, Social Constructions of Deafness: Examining Deaf Languacultures in Education. He is also former professor of sociology at Gallaudet University.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -