Why Deaf Children Need ASL

BY TRACY STINE

Why ASL? Well, it may not surprise you to learn that more than 90% of deaf and hard of hearing children are born to hearing parents. But it may surprise you to learn that many of those parents will never learn sign language – a decision that will have a huge impact on the rest of their child’s life. 

Even if a parent has made the decision to get cochlear implants and plan to have English as their child’s primary language, it’s critical that deaf and hard of hearing children be given access to sign language right from the start. Here’s why:

• Deaf and hard of hearing CHILDREN
  who acquire ASL at a young age perform better academically, understand more English, and often have better skills for organizing, maintaining attention, and inhibiting impulses.
• Deaf and hard of hearing ADOLESCENTS
  who rated their communication with their families as poor reported more symptoms of depression.
• Deaf and hard of hearing ADULTS
  who lacked early language skills went on to have difficulties knowing social norms, developing work skills, understanding and exhibiting interpersonal and interaction skills, and some have difficulty living independently.

In addition to evidence from academic research, there is ample evidence from real life that children who grow up with both ASL and English can – and do – go on to be successful bilingual adults. The bottom line is that if hearing parents invest in learning and using ASL, they can provide a solid foundation for their child to learn, thrive, and succeed.

In my next article, we’ll discuss what barriers hearing parents face in learning ASL and how a Deaf role model can make a world of difference.