| "I |
s he still talking?"
This was the first question posed by my student's former speech-language
therapist. "He" was Jeremy, (name has been changed for privacy) a
10-year-old boy with a progressive hearing loss. Jeremy had previously
been enrolled in public school where he developed good articulation
skills, however his English language development was delayed. After
enrolling at Delaware School for the Deaf, Jeremy quickly learned sign.
His spoken English skills continued to improve as well. His former speech
therapist was simply expressing a common misconception—that children
exposed to American Sign Language will not develop or continue to use
their spoken English.
In my experience, the opposite is true. The current trend to educate deaf
children bilingually—with the use of American Sign Language—has
opened new possibilities for developing spoken English. By appreciating
the cultural identity of deaf children and using their natural linguistic
strengths, a speech-language therapist can foster a communicative process
that leads to the development of spoken and written English. In fact, the
experience of many speech-language therapists in such environments has
been that when deaf children develop a solid language base in American
Sign Language, teaching spoken communication is easier.
Speech or Signs
Competing Views
Traditionally, if parents wanted their child to develop speech, they were
told not to use sign language. After several years of training and
exposure to spoken English, children who did not succeed in understanding
and communicating through speech were introduced to sign language as a
"back-up method of instruction." Linguistic research with its emphasis on
the importance of early exposure to language has revealed the potentially
devastating nature of this system. The deaf child who struggles to acquire
English auditorially may spend his or her first critical years
inadequately exposed to language. As a result, some children--whether or
not they develop speech skills--attain only a surface level of language,
what Cummins (1980) refers to as "basic interpersonal communicative skills
(BICS)." These children are in danger of never acquiring a deeper level of
competency, "cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP)," the level
of language that supports critical thinking skills and is necessary for
them to achieve success in school and in later life (Barnum, 1984).
![[photo of speech lessons]](http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/products/perspectives/nov-dec97/graphics/bws1.JPG) |
| Above Speech lessons focus on spoken
English rather than simultaneous communication. Right Keeping the
languages separate enables deaf children to function like other bilingual
children. | ![[partial photo of speech lessons]](http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/products/perspectives/nov-dec97/graphics/bws2.JPG)
|
With deaf children, the auditory mode
provides only partial
access to language while the visual mode provides full access. Almost all
children--given access--can acquire a full language on schedule through
the visual mode. This early competence supports the acquisition of other
modes of communication, including spoken. However despite the increased
use of sign language in the education of deaf children (American Annals of
the Deaf, 1997), there is still a widespread and inaccurate belief that
children who sign will not learn to speak, especially if the signs are
presented through American Sign Language and not one of the invented
English-based sign systems. As more schools begin to incorporate American
Sign Language into the classroom, it is apparent that the teaching of
spoken English can and should be incorporated as well. Spoken English can
become part of the each child's overall communication system.
Factors Influencing
Spoken Language
There are many complex and interrelated factors that influence how and how
well a deaf child will develop spoken language. These factors include:
- Amount of residual hearing
- Benefit received from amplification
- Consistency of hearing aid use
- Family support
- Attitude of child and family
- Language competency
- Intelligence
Perhaps the most important factors are those related to the child's innate
biological potential. A child who has no access to an auditory model of
English and is unable to use auditory feedback has little potential to
develop spoken English skills. Another important factor is the child's own
interest which, of course, is also affected by the child's access to the
language. In some ways, learning to speak for deaf children can be
compared to learning a sport or a musical skill. Parents may want their
child to develop skills in these areas but if the child has no interest,
the likelihood of developing significant interest and skills is minimal.
Family support is vital, too, not only for speech and language development
but for the child's emotional and mental development. A family that
accepts the deaf child and respects the child's needs will help that child
reach his or her maximum potential (Henderson & Henderson, 1991). When a
child is allowed to learn a language that comes easily on a timely
schedule and the family understands a deaf child's visual needs,
self-esteem and concentration can be greatly improved. Increased
self-esteem may also contribute to the child's motivation in learning to
talk.
Intelligence alone is not a good indicator of a child's ability to develop
spoken English skills, however a bright child may be able to make more
sense of the distorted signal that he or she receives. Young children are
naturally inquisitive, and those whose language and cognitive development
are supported early tend to view speech as just another interesting thing
to learn; their understanding of the goal increases as they see the
potential applications in their later lives.
It is often difficult to determine at an early age how much potential each
child has to develop spoken language skills. Some children whose hearing
loss does not bar auditory access to English will develop their skills in
ways similar to their hearing peers. Other students have the potential to
be taught these skills. All children have the goal and potential of
achieving communicative competence.
Following the Lead
One Child at a Time
There are no concrete and objective tests that determine how skilled a
child will become in spoken language. Although a child's hearing can be
measured and documented on an audiogram, it is important to note that an
audiogram often does not reflect a child's functional abilities (Cramer
and Erber, 1974). The audiogram is limited to measuring how well a child
hears pure tones and yields no information about how well a child
comprehends spoken language within a communicative context. I have seen
children with moderate losses have less success in speaking than children
with severe losses. Different children respond differently to
amplification. A hearing loss does not just weaken the auditory signal, it
distorts it as well (Plump, 1978). A student once told me--with more than
a hint of sarcasm--that he liked his new FM system because it made the
buzzing much louder.
![[photo of therapsit with a student]](http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/products/perspectives/nov-dec97/graphics/bettiws.GIF)
Therefore when determining children's potential, it is important to follow
the child's lead--to let the child help us determine his or her natural
ability and orientation (Mahshie, 1995, 1997). If children are exposed to
American Sign Language and spoken English at an early age, they have the
opportunity to develop both languages to their utmost individual
potential. Exposed to language that is visual and auditory, signed and
spoken, the deaf child receives the benefit of a complete visual language
and the advantage of early auditory input.
Teaching In Class
One Language at a Time
It is important to remember that American Sign Language and English, as
atwo distinct languages, be presented separately. This makes it possible
to expose all children to both languages at an early age and enables those
who can develop spoken language skills to begin to do so. Keeping the
languages separate also helps the teacher or therapist determine exactly
how much information the child is receiving through auditory means.
Children with a solid language base can be taught aspects of spoken
English more easily than children without a language base. This may be
partly why deaf children of deaf parents often demonstrate a significant
linguistic advantage in spoken English over deaf children of hearing
parents (Geers & Schick, 1988). In our preschool, students are exposed to
ASL in the classroom and spoken English during individual and small group
speech and language sessions; the spoken English is presented in
comprehensible contexts, surrounded by activity so that the children
understand what is happening at all times.
From my experience, students who are able to produce spoken English
without signing are better communicators than students who attempt to
speak and sign at the same time. Keeping the languages separate enables
deaf children to function like other bilingual children; they make
appropriate decisions regarding the mode of communication in a given
situation. Also, speech sessions that focus on spoken English rather than
simultaneous communication allow the child to practice speech in a more
realistic communication environment, with the goal of communicating with
typical mainstream Americans--who do not know sign. The teacher can more
accurately judge the child's speech production without signed cues, and
the child begins to see when his or her speech is being understood and
when it is not. This enables the child to realistically assess his or her
own abilities and contribute to competence by helping students know when
they need to develop alternative strategies. Thus exposing children to
both American Sign Language and English on a separate and equal basis
insures application of sound pedagogical and linguistic principles--and I
have seen its success with my own students.
Gravey delivered a paper on this topic at the Conference of American
Instructors of the Deaf, Hartford, Connecticut, 1997. Those seeking more
information may be interested in her working paper, currently under
development at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, in Washington,
DC.
References
Cummins, J. (1991). Empowering minority students: a framework for
intervention. Language Issues in Literacy and
Bilingualism/Multiculturalism Education.
Geers, A. E. & Schick, B. (1988). Acquisition of spoken and signed English
by hearing-impaired children of hearing-impaired or hearing parents.
Journal of Speech and Hearing, 53, 132-143.
Henderson, D. & Hershott, A. (1991). ASL and the family system.
American Annals of the Deaf, 136, 132-143.
Lennenberg, E. H. (1967). Biological foundations of language. New
York: John Wiley & Sons.
Mahshie, S. (1995). Educating Deaf Children Bilingually.
Washington, DC: Pre-College National Mission Programs.
Pettito, L. & Bellugi, U. (1988). Spatial cognition and brain
organization. Clues from the acquisition of a language in space. In J.
Stiles-
Davis, M. Kritchevsky, and U. Bellugi (Ed.) Spatial cognition: Brain
bases and development, Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Plomp, R. Auditory handicap of hearing impairment and the limited benefit
of hearing aids. Journal of Acoustical Society of America, 63,
533-549.
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