Greif86

My 10 week old daughter is deaf; She failed 5 tests in-hospital; 5 re-tests 2 weeks later; 10 tests at her first Audi appt, and 10 tests at he second Audi appt. All tests have yielded the same results, referred in both ears. The Audi finally said that it was not due to birth/fluids and it was time to move onwards. She has an appt with the Peid ENT on Friday, and then she will have the ABR and another test..I can't remember that one, only that it had SS in the abriviation. She does not respond to my voice, sound, noises, ...she only responds to vibrations, i.e. she can not handle the vibrating mode on her bouncer seat. The Audi suggested that I begin using ASL with her --as well as teaching my other two children, ages 3yrs and 16months. I have started using the milk sign when I nurse her. Am I supposed to be using more signs with her already? How does she understand this? How can I teach my older two..we have been working on it, and my 3yr old will sign thank you, more, all done, please when prompted but not on his own. My 16 month old does not do the sign, instead she says the word back to me : if I say & sign All Done, she just says Done, won't sign.

Deafness runs in my family, all females are deaf; I am the only partial (completely in my R and 75% in my left), my oldest daughter is the only perfect hearing female in many, many generations. I learned ASL when I was a child, but have not used it in so many years that it is like learning all over again (I can remember some of the basics, but thats about it). Am I supposed to speak when signing (to my older kids, as well as the baby)?

Also, I have wondered: if a baby cries, does that mean it is not mute? Or does that not matter?

Thanks so much for any help/insight you can give to me on this..

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HOH mom to a beautiful deaf girl

Deafness

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jillio

I would suggest not speaking and signing to the kids so that they learn to keep the 2 languages separate. Your older two have already gotten a foundation in spoken English and are therefore primed to learn ASL as a second language. The reason that your 16 month old is speaking in answer to you is that she connects language with speaking. She understands on some level that you are asking her to communicate, but because of her age, she hasn't yet connected that communication doesn't have to be spoken. If you keep the languages separate, by not speaking when you sign, she will grasp the concept that you are communicating to her in a different way, and begin to respond the same.

Using the sign for "milk" when you nurse your infant is an excellent beginning. I would also use the I love You sign when nursing her, as this is an intimate moment shared between the two of you. You might also start signing "brother" or "sister" when she is looking toward her siblings. Hearing infants are able to pick up these things peripherally just by being exposed to other family members speaking with each other. If you expose her to sign in the same way, she will pick up language in that mode without any delays. Just communicate with her and you other two children in sign consistently when she in around and you will be amazed at how much she will understand, even before she is able to use sign expressively. Anything that you would say to an infant when tending her or interacting with her should be signed for your deaf infant. In that way, she is able to internalize langauge.

I have to say I am impressed that your audi recommended that you start using sign with her. That is very unusual, but it is something more audis should be recommending. The aim is to prevent language delays, and the best way to do that is to expose her to communication through sign. Not
just when you are communicating directly with her, but in her presence so that she understands that this is the way that people get their ideas and their thoughts and wants known to others. Encourage your older children to sign with her as well.

My son, severe to profoundly deaf since birth, cried with sound as well. Most deaf children have nothing wrong with their voice mechanisms. They jsut do not use their voice to communicate because they get no feedback. But crying is involuntary, and the sound comes out without them making the effort. They aren't aware of making a sound when they cry, but neither do they have to consciously make the effort to make the sound. When speaking, one has to consciously make the effort to reproduce a sound that has been heard before.

I hope I have answered some of your questions. Welcome to AllDeaf. BTW, she is a beautiful baby!

Greif86

Thank you so much for your post, you really helped me understand things alot more than I have been.

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HOH mom to a beautiful deaf girl

banshe333

my experience was quite different, as I had to learn ASL with my children. (and continue to do so on a daily basis) in the beginning I spoke while I sign, but that was for my own benefit. either way, the key I have found is just plain old EXPOSURE!
it took my kids aprox. 2 years to begin to sign. we use sign at home, they use it at school, we have deaf friends. the more they see the faster they learn. i honestly wish I had known ASL before i began trying to teach my children... then I wouldn't have made that ever so popular "pizza" mistake so many hearing people make. hahaha!
good luck teacking your little one. she will pick it up in no time flat. you will see.

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jillio

You are very welcome. Feel free to ask me anything you like. BTW, I have a niece named "Addie" (short for Adeliane.)

Greif86

Neat! Our "Addie" is short for Addisyn

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HOH mom to a beautiful deaf girl

VamPyroX

Seeing you sign is like seeing your face. Babies learn their parents' faces before everyone else because they see their parents almost always. So, signing will also help her learn better too.

She may not understand it at first, but she will eventually learn... when the time comes. We don't know when the time will come, but it could be... anytime.

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deafdyke

Robyn,
Contact your state's School for the Deaf, as well as its NAD. Some branches of NAD have a program where a Deaf adult comes to your house and serves as a mentor to teach families of Deaf children Sign. You're eligable for extra help in learning Sign as your baby is Deaf.

Chase

Excellent, touching post, Vampy.

Reba

For South Carolina:

Early Intervention Program

deafdyke

Thank you Reba!
And Grief86, I highly highly reccomend hooking up with the School for the Deaf. Are you near the School? Maybe your girls could all attend the Deaf School!

~♥~Pinky~♥~

Of course, I will teach my kids to learn how to sign language with ASL. If I have a hearing child. I am still teach my child to learn sign language early before start speak. I like baby signing early and will develop to be smart kids. I don't want my children to be frustrate without communicate and not use sign language. If I have deaf or hoh child it will be great!