User:Arbottoms/Language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing children

Language Deprivation occurs when a child does not receive language exposure during the critical early years of life. Language development is severely delayed due to the lack of key stimulation and socialization. This has been observed in such well known cases as Genie, Kaspar Hauser, Anna, and Isabelle as well as cases of feral children such as Victor. Similar results can be more frequently be seen in Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children.

Language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing children similarly occurs when sufficient language exposure does not occur within the first few years, or critical period of development. This is common with Deaf and Hard of Hearing children as they cannot access the world around them to some degree through auditory means as their hearing counterparts do. These children often arrive to school, whether preschool or kindergarten age, with significant language delays that can greatly impact the rest of their educational career. Accommodations and specialized methods of instruction are required to meet their unique needs.

Video: LEAD-K

Lack of awareness
More than 90% of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children are born to hearing parents, parents who are often unfamiliar with deafness and are unsure with how to proceed down the right path for their child. Many doctors and early intervention specialists have little experience with children with hearing loss and are not trained in best practices for their development.

Access to language
Children normally will be exposed to language at a young age. The critical period of language development occurs from birth and continues to age 5. During this period, the child develops language in structure such as syntax, social and brain development. Throughout a normal day, hearing children continually receive input from TV, radio, surrounding conversations, narration of events throughout their day. Through these avenues they receive information about language structure, how we use language to interact with one another and many other vital cognitive and social processes. When a child is not exposed to language early, the child will develop delays. This is often the case among Deaf and Hard of Hearing children because this population has limited access to language. Deaf children should be exposed to language at birth/early age to avoid language delays.

Early intervention services that provide sign to DHH children result in those children achieving language early. Early access to language provides a foundation for developing and acquiring other languages regardless of modality. DHH children who attend early intervention programs have been found to have a higher fluency in language up to age five.

Educational placements
DHH children often arrive to kindergarten at age 5 already significantly behind their hearing peers (in vocabulary development, social interactions, and other cognitive processes). Ineffective approaches can inhibit their access to formal instruction in school and further delay their development. Due to hearing loss, they cannot access language in the same way as their hearing peers yet hearing approaches have historically been used. These approaches often assume that English is their L1 (First language) and that these L1 foundations in English are already strong, having been set from birth to age 5. Educational placements designed for hearing students often prove to be unsuccessful for DHH students. There are four educational placements for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children: a deaf school, mainstream general education classroom, self-contained classrooms in public schools, and a co-enrollment classroom that contain both deaf and hearing children who use sign language and spoken language to learn.

Bilingual approaches

 * Approaches that use foundations in American Sign Language (ASL) to develop proficient reading and writing skills in English. Bilingual programs can also address the needs of those students who may be able to access spoken language as well. When ASL functions as the child's first language, it helps support second language acquisition. Research done in bilingual fields show that if a child is fluent in a second language, it is due to the proficiency of a first language.

LEAD-K

 * LEAD-K stands for Language Equality & Acquisition for Deaf Kids. The LEAD-K initiative is striving to end language deprivation by promoting equal access to language, and putting new laws in place to ensure that Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children arrive to school kindergarten-ready. The main goal of LEAD-K is to promote a foundation for English literacy within Deaf and Hard of Hearing children. Often times, Deaf and Hard of Hearing children are arriving to Kindergarten without adequate language skills in both American Sign Language and/or English. LEAD-K is aiming to get students ready for Kindergarten regardless of the language they use. LEAD-K believes this will help reduce the effects of language deprivation. This bill has already been passed in California, Kansas and Hawaii within the United States.