Should my HOH 4yo Learn ASL?

[faire_jour]

Wirelessly posted

Unfortunately, neither language is fully accessible to most deaf children -- without intervention. But both can be accessible, with intervention.

I am not talking about the availability. I am talking about when spoken English is being used with a deaf child, a portion of it will be accessible to the child but when ASL is signed to the deaf child, it is fully accessible.


When I talk about accessibility, I do not mean the availability of the language. I am talking about the receptive end of the language.

many deaf children, especially those with CIs, have access to all the sounds of spoken english.

 

[deafskeptic]

Practically speaking, if no one is signing, there is no receptive end of the language. It's not something the child can access.

ASL is not hard-wired into our deaf children. I wish it were, and my daughter had had a full year of developing ASL on her own in her crib while everyone spoke Mandarin around her in the orphanage, instead of playing catch-up in so many ways. And ASL would have been at your fingertips regardless of your academic environment -- haven't you written about it being inaccessible to you all those years?

Neither is English for either hearing or deaf. The difference is that hearing have full access to spoken English7/24 and deaf don't.

ASL can be accessiable to deaf IF the parents/schools provide that access. They may not learn it as fast as their child but it will be a big help to the deaf child.

 

[Dixie]

As a child that is profoundly deaf in one ear and HOH in the other, I say teach him ASL from the get go. There will be less frustration later on when oral communication breaks down, and believe me there will be times this happens. HAs and FM systems can only do so much. But of course I was mainstreamed with little to no support. Believe me I struggled.

 

[deafskeptic]

As a child that is profoundly deaf in one ear and HOH in the other, I say teach him ASL from the get go. There will be less frustration later on when oral communication breaks down, and believe me there will be times this happens. HAs and FM systems can only do so much. But of course I was mainstreamed with little to no support. Believe me I struggled.

Yep. Oral communication breakdowns are a given with the deaf and HOH.

 

[shel90]

Practically speaking, if no one is signing, there is no receptive end of the language. It's not something the child can access.

ASL is not hard-wired into our deaf children. I wish it were, and my daughter had had a full year of developing ASL on her own in her crib while everyone spoke Mandarin around her in the orphanage, instead of playing catch-up in so many ways. And ASL would have been at your fingertips regardless of your academic environment -- haven't you written about it being inaccessible to you all those years?

Seem like you are misunderstanding or not getting what I am saying.

Never mind. I have tried to explain this to many other hearing parents on this forum and was never successful except for with two.

 

[deafdyke]

here will be less frustration later on when oral communication breaks down, and believe me there will be times this happens. HAs and FM systems can only do so much

For those who may be lurking. The world is not a soundbooth, and even hoh kids very often get frustrated in the hearign world!

 

[deafbajagal]

I totally agree with Shel.

It doesn't matter how hard I tried, and believe me, I tried - I can never fully have access to spoken English when it is present. What I receptively understand is merely fancy guesswork.

ASL, however, is completely attainable. I had to re-learn ASL later in life, and during that time of re-learning, I wasn't truly understanding it...but it was there for me to receptively see it and interact with it in order to learn it. Hence it was accessible. I never got that with spoken English.

Like G says, many deaf kids are not exposed to ASL at home or do not have the opportunity to use, see, and learn ASL - they do not have accessibility to ASL...that's true. But Shel isn't talking about that kind of accessibility...she's saying when present, ASL is accessible as opposed to spoken English when it is present.

Hearing English phonemes and sounds and background noises along with them do not mean the child can access the spoken language. Even if the child has a CI, the spoken language isn't there 24/7. ASL can be.

 

[deafbajagal]

Why should a HH kid learn ASL? After all, we assume that the child can hear something...enough to be called HH instead of deaf. Even a child with MILD hearing loss (minimal hearing loss which is the same loss when a hearing person has when she has a stuffy nose, a common cold, or an ear infection) misses out a lot of details. I used to have a tape that when played, it was a recording of someone speaking but as if you were listening with MIL. I played this tape to parents, etc. Many say, "Wow...I can't understand everything. A lot is missing...etc. Then I explained..this is MINIMAL hearing loss. Imagine what moderate is. Severe. Profound. Many people were literally speechless.

Visual cues, especially with manual communication, can fill in those gaps. Why do we want to make someone's life harder. Why is it so important they hear and speak when it will NEVER be perfect, but almost. How can that be good enough?

 

[deafdyke]

ASL, however, is completely attainable. I had to re-learn ASL later in life, and during that time of re-learning, I wasn't truly understanding it...but it was there for me to receptively see it and interact with it in order to learn it. Hence it was accessible. I never got that with spoken English.

Like G says, many deaf kids are not exposed to ASL at home or do not have the opportunity to use, see, and learn ASL - they do not have accessibility to ASL...that's true. But Shel isn't talking about that kind of accessibility...she's saying when present, ASL is accessible as opposed to spoken English when it is present.

Hearing English phonemes and sounds and background noises along with them do not mean the child can access the spoken language. Even if the child has a CI, the spoken language isn't there 24/7. ASL can be.

Exactly. 100% understood in all conditions. The reason so many of us are anti oral ONLY, is b/c the world is not a soundbooth.

Why should a HH kid learn ASL? After all, we assume that the child can hear something...enough to be called HH instead of deaf.

Visual cues, especially with manual communication, can fill in those gaps. Why do we want to make someone's life harder. Why is it so important they hear and speak when it will NEVER be perfect, but almost. How can that be good enough?

Right on.
A HH kid should be able to function both with and without their hearing aids or CIs.
Almost all the time, those of us who are Hoh do get extensive speech and spoken language training. But we very rarely get ASL....and why? Isn't being bilingal a GOOD thing?

 

[GrendelQ]

Seem like you are misunderstanding or not getting what I am saying.

Never mind. I have tried to explain this to many other hearing parents on this forum and was never successful except for with two.

I think I do see what you are saying, But I think we are making different points, not arguing against one other. (although I think you want to argue with me )

You say that ASL -- if present -- is accessible to deaf children. Yes! I agree.

My point is that too often it is not present, and not made accessible to deaf children who might otherwise be receptive to it. It should be. It requires intervention to be made accessible.

Similarly, i sad that spoken English also requires intervention -- sufficient access to sound-- with which it can be accessible as well

 

[CSign]

A child who is deaf or HH even with their device's on, will most likely miss portions of what's being said. Or they might "hear" something, and in their mind they "heard" a word that they already knew that rhymes with what was said. That can lead to confusion, and it's important to check for comprehension when new words are being used.
When I know I am introducing a new word to my son, I ask him to repeat the word for me. I pay close attention to the sounds he's articulating.
One example is a few years ago I came home and my son said, "mom- have you seen Star Horse?"
I said, "ummm... No? Is it on Dora or Diego or something?"
"No mom, you know it's the one where they go like this..." and he proceeds to act out battling with a light saber.
"ohhh... Honey, you're talking about, 'Star Wars' not 'Star Horse.' and I showed him the difference with sign language. It was/is immediate comprehension that clarifies any misunderstandings.

I would strongly suggest you learn and use ASL with your child. One other option if you continue using spoken Engkish would be to learn Signing Exact English. SEE can be used to supplement the spoken language around him. Many of the signs in ASL and SEE are the same, but the syntax is different. SEE follows the rules of the English language.
I will mention though, that the Deaf community doesn't use SEE. It has been demonized to a certain extent, but it can be a vakuable tool in helping your child acquire English.
I would say that using sign language with your son will only have tremendous benefits for both him and you. It will ease the communication barriers that exist for a child that cannot access everything aurally.

 

[CSign]

Another example on the way home from soccer practice...

"Mom- did you see my friends and I cuddle?"
"Uh, no. What do you mean?"
"We all cuddled together and made our plan!"
"ooohhhh! Michael- the word is 'huddle.' you guys 'huddled together' to make your plan."

Again, the clarity was provided through the use of visual clues. Things like thus happen all the time with DHH children.

 

[deafbajagal]

Another example on the way home from soccer practice...

"Mom- did you see my friends and I cuddle?"
"Uh, no. What do you mean?"
"We all cuddled together and made our plan!"
"ooohhhh! Michael- the word is 'huddle.' you guys 'huddled together' to make your plan."

Again, the clarity was provided through the use of visual clues. Things like thus happen all the time with DHH children.

Excellent example.

 

[deafdyke]

Csign! TOTALLY!!!!! A hearing mom who GETS IT about ASL/Sign being a VERY useful tool even if the kid can hear well! That's why ASL and Deaf culture will not die out....it's a great SECOND language.