Originally Posted by deafbajagal

not sure i agree with that...there is a difference. Every deaf child needs language therapy, regardless of which language is being chosen to be used as the child's primary language. Ideally, if the child is using asl, she will be exposed to english bilingually as much as possible. Using exclusively asl only, especially during the early stages of language development, makes me very uneasy.

Language immersion applies to either asl or spoken english. If i hadn't been immersed in spoken english, then i would not have learned to speak and write english at the level that i do. The key to immersion is making sure the child has access to the language as much as possible. Kids who are successful at being oral usually thrive from a home environment that makes the spoken language accessible to them in one way or another.

This is exactly why i do not always say that asl is the ideal language for a deaf child of hearing parents. How can a deaf child be truly immerged in asl if the parents haven't even learned it yet? Therapy simply provides tools, strategies, and practice. immersion means the language is accessible most of the time, if not always.

my daughter, who is unilaterally deaf, does not like to sign even though my husband and i use signed english at home. She is exposed to both signed english and asl often. But she rather use spoken english. And that's fine by me. For whatever reason, that's her preferred mode of communication. each child is wired differently.