By Samuel J. Supalla
Citation
Spellun, A., & Kushalnagar, P. (2018). Sign language for deaf infants: A key intervention for a
developmental emergency. Clinical Pediatrics, 57(14), 1613-1615.
A Typical Scenario for Deaf Children as Outlined by the Authors of this Article
Working at a specialized clinic for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) children, I participated in an
evaluation of a 7-year-old girl with a history of profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss. Despite
having received bilateral cochlear implants at 2 years old, our evaluation revealed significant
language delay. Her vocabulary was limited to a few single words, and she was not able to
communicate in full grammatical sentences. As part of her treatment, her parents had been instructed
by her team of medical providers to avoid any sign language as they suggested it would prevent her
from learning to speak. Instead, her parents were advised to be patient and allow her auditory
rehabilitation to maximize her language development alone. For this patient, the lack of early
introduction of accessible language may have contributed to her language delay. Unfortunately, this
patient’s experiences with language deprivation are not uncommon for D/HH children.
(4 ½ minutes long)
The Power of ASL
14
Summer 2019 – Issue 14