2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/05/2019 | 9:40 AM - 10:05 AM | Bilingualism and the Brain: Key Findings in the Science of Early Learning | Heathrow A/B
Bilingualism and the Brain: Key Findings in the Science of Early Learning
Deaf children hold a unique place in the world of bilinguals in that over 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents (NAD, 2018). Learning two languages presents developmental cognitive advantages to later language learning in comparison to learning one language alone (Baker, 2006). Early brain wiring appears to be different between monolinguals and bilinguals within the first year of life, emphasizing the importance of high quality interactions and input from the start. This presentation will focus on how those early bilingual linguistic experiences impact later language use in the academic setting. More specifically, bilingualism and cognitive growth within the deaf and hard of hearing brain. American Sign Language (ASL) is classified as a language and widely accepted as such. Even though ASL uses a visual modality, it contains the same grammatical structures you would see in any spoken or written language. Both signed and spoken languages develop on approximately the same timetable, and are processed in the same way. (Newport & Meier, 1985; Meier & Newport, 1990; Petitto & Marentette, 1991; Mayberry 2011). We will explore how these everyday experiences between caregivers and children contain critical ingredients for developing these foundational skills. Examples include how infants are born learning (Meltzoff & Moore, 1977, 1983) and babies babble (both manually and vocally) more when caregivers respond to them. We will explore how infants respond to infant direct visual and spoken communication, and how children learn language best while watching and listening to a responsive social partner. Lastly, we will explore how access to a bilingual environment in the first year predicts language outcomes at 24- and 30-months of age, and may even link to reading readiness at age five, for the deaf and hard of hearing child (Kuhl et al., 3002; Goldstein et al. 2005; Lebedeva et al. 2010).
- Define Bilingualism as it applies to the deaf and hard of hearing infant/child
- Investigate current research and science related to bilingualism and pose queries for further research regarding early visual language acquisition in relation to bilingual brain development and the cognitive benefits of early exposure to accessible language modalities for the deaf and hard of hearing child
- Application of key findings to direct services and educational practices in the home visiting and preschool environment
Presentation:
18878_10503LindsayKlarman.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
18878_10503AnnaDodd.docx
Presenters/Authors
Anna Dodd
(), Hearing Speech and Deaf Center, adodd@hsdc.org;
Anna was born and raised in the state of Montana. She received her undergraduate degree in social work from the University of Montana and invested two semesters of post-baccalaureate studies in speech-language pathology before settling into her Master's in Deaf Education at Utah State University.
Her current work in early support for deaf and hard of hearing infants and toddlers includes completion of the American Sign Language/English Bilingual Professional Development training summer of 2018 and continuous collaborative work across deaf education philosophies to facilitate partnerships in support of the unique learning needs and abilities of the deaf and hard of hearing children and their families in the tri-county metropolitan area of Seattle, Washington.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Lindsay Klarman
(), Hearing Speech and Deaf Center, lklarman@hsdc.org;
Hearing, Speech & Deaf Center appointed Lindsay Klarman as Executive Director in 2014 after an extensive search. Formerly an Outreach & Education Specialist at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences (I-LABS), Lindsay conducted research at UW for 13 years in developmental cognitive science, as well as speech and hearing sciences. She is also a certified sign language interpreter, has a Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University, and serves on numerous nonprofit boards.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -