How Well are Young Deaf Children in Early Intervention Doing on their Language Acquisition? An Assessment View
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.103.14090Abstract
Little is known about the earliest language acquisition of deaf children who have a variety of different experiences. Cochlear implants tend to be implanted between six months to 12 months and often become active around 18 months. In addition, Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) tend to evaluate articulation rather than language acquisition. In terms of evaluating sign language, there are few normed assessments developed explicitly for this modality. Therefore, a joint research project was established with an early intervention program and Lamar University's Deaf Studies and Deaf Education department to evaluate the earliest language milestones acquired by deaf children between birth and five years of age. The project used language assessments developed for parents and teachers in both American Sign Language (ASL) and English, with norms derived from native users of each language. All languages reported as used by the family were assessed. Results found that most families selected spoken language and those results varied across participants. It was found that younger children using spoken language were more likely to demonstrate age-typical language acquisition when compared to older children. As more linguistic complexity developed, older children using spoken language tended to show delays. Future research suggests investigating bidirectional interactions between children, their families, and the broader systems with which the deaf child interacts. Doing so would create a further understanding of the child’s language acquisition and help families understand how to determine if their child’s language acquisition is progressing in a typical manner.
References
Allen, T. E., & Morere, D. A. (2020). Early visual language skills affect the trajectory of literacy gains over a threeyear period of time for preschool aged Deaf children who experience signing in the home. PLoS ONE, 15(2), 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229591
Benedict, R., & Stecker, E. (2011). Early intervention: The missing link. ASLized. Journal of American Sign Language and Literature, 1. https://youtu.be/DYWWXy0wy2w
Bosworth, R. G., Hwang, S. O. & Corina, D. P. (2022). Visual attention for linguistic and non-linguistic body actions in non-signing and native signing children. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.951057
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Ecological systems theory (1992). In U. Bronfenbrenner (Ed.), Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development (pp. 106-173). Sage Publications Ltd.
Caselli, N., Pyers, J., & Lieberman, A. M. (2021). Deaf children of hearing parents have age-level vocabulary growth when exposed to American Sign Language by 6 months of age. The Journal of Pediatrics, 232, 229-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.01.029
Christiansen, J. B. (2014). Fifteen cochlear implant stories. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(4), 560–574. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-1632
Clark, M. D., Baker, S., & Simms, L. (2020a). A culture of assessment: A bioecological systems approach for early and continuous assessment of deaf infants and children. Psychology in the Schools, 57(3), 443-458. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22313
Clark, M. D., Cue, K. R., Delgado, N. J., Greene-Woods, A. N., & Wolsey, J. L. A. (2020b). Early intervention protocols: Proposing a default bimodal bilingual approach for deaf children. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 24(11), 1339-1344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03005-2
Clark, M. D., & Greene, A., Alofi, A., Sides, M., Buchanan, B., Hauschildt, S., Alford, A., Courson, F., & Venable, T. (2021). The Spoken Language Checklist: A user-friendly normed language acquisition checklist. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 26(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enaa043 Clinical Research Education Library (CREd Library). (2022). Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: The Evolution of a Public Health Revolution. https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2014/03/universal-newborn-hearingscreening-the-evolution-of-a-public-health-revolution/
Cue, K. R. (2020). Hegemonic deaf and hearing cultures in the United States: A deaf ecological systems perspective [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Lamar University.
Cupples, L., Ching, T. Y., Crowe, K., Seeto, M., Leigh, G., Street, L., Day, J., Marnane, V., & Thomson, J. (2014). Outcomes of 3-year-old children with hearing loss and different types of additional disabilities. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(1), 20-39. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent039
Davidson, K., Lillo-Martin, D., & Chen Pichler, D. (2014). Spoken English language development in native signing children with cochlear implants. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(2), 238-250. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent045
Eleweke, C. J., & Rodda, M. (2000). Factors contributing to parents' selection of a communication mode to use with their deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf, 145(4), 375-383. https://doi.org/10.1353/aad.2012.0087
Emmorey, K., Bellugi, U., Friederici, A., & Horn, P. (1995). Effects of age of acquisition on grammatical sensitivity: Evidence from on-line and off-line tasks. Applied Psycholinguistics, 16(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400006391
Goldstein, G., & Bebko, J. M. (2003). The profile of multiple language proficiencies: A measure for evaluating language samples of deaf children. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 8(4), 452–463. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/eng027
Gottlieb, G. (2007). Probabilistic epigenesis. Developmental Science, 10(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00556.x
Greene-Woods, A. N. (2020). Is spoken language truly accessible? An investigation on the spoken language development in Deaf and Hard of Hearing children (Publication No. 28088530). [Doctoral dissertation, Lamar University-Beaumont]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
Hall, W. C. (2017). What you don’t know can hurt you: The risk of language deprivation by impairing sign language development in deaf children. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 21(5), 961-965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-017-2287-y 114
Hall, M. L., & Dills, S. (2020). The limits of “communication mode” as a construct. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 25(4), 383-397. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enaa009
Hall, M. L., Hall, W. C., & Caselli, N. K. (2019). Deaf children need language, not (just) speech. First Language, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723719834102
Hamilton, B., & Clark, M. D. (2020). The deaf mentor program: Benefits to families. Psychology, 11(5), 713-736. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2020.115049
Hassanzadeh, S. (2012). Outcomes of cochlear implantation in deaf children of deaf parents: Comparative study. Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 126(10), 989-994. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022215112001909
Hermans, D., Knoors, H., & Verhoeven, L. (2010). Assessment of sign language development: The case of deaf children in the Netherlands. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 15(2), 107-119. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enp030
Hernandez, B., Allen, T. E., & Morere, D. A. (2023). ASL developmental trends among deaf children, ages birth to five. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 28(1), 7–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enac036
Higgins, J. A., Famularo, L., Cawthorn, S. W., Kurz, C. A., Reis, J. E., & Moeres, L. M. (2016). Development of American Sign Language guidelines for K-12 academic assessments. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 21(4), 383-393.https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enw051
Holcomb, T. K. (2013). Introduction to American deaf culture. Oxford University Press.
Houston, D. M., & Bergeson, T. R. (2014). Hearing versus listening: Attention to speech and its role in language acquisition in deaf infants with cochlear implants. Lingua, 139, 10-25. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.lingua.2013.08.001
Humphries, T., Kushalnagar, P., Mathur, G., Napoli, D. J., Padden, C., Rathmann, C., & Smith, S. R. (2012). Language acquisition for deaf children: Reducing the harms of zero tolerance to the use of alternative approaches. Harm Reduction Journal, 9(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7517-9-16
Humphries, T., Kushalnagar, P., Mathur, G., Napoli, D. J., Padden, C., Rathmann, C., & Smith, S. (2016). Language choices for deaf infants: Advice for parents regarding sign languages. Clinical Pediatrics, 55(6), 513-517. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922815616891
Humphries, T., Mathur, G., Napoli, D. J., Padden, C., & Rathmann, C. (2022). Deaf children need rich language input from the start: Support in advising parents. Children, 9(11), 1609. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9111609
Hutchins, E. (2010). Cognitive ecology. Topics in Cognitive Science, 2(4), 705-715. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-8765.2010.01089.x
Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH). (2007). Position statement: Principles and guidelines for early hearing detection and intervention programs. Pediatrics, 120(4), 898–921. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2007-
Kuhl, P. K. (2004). Early language acquisition: Cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(11), 831-843. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1533
Kuhl, P., & Rivera-Gaxiola, M. (2008). Neural substrates of language acquisition. Annual Review of Neuroscience., 31(1), 511-534. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.30.051606.094321
Lieberman, A. M., Hatrak, M., & Mayberry, R. I. (2014). Learning to look for language: Development of joint attention in young deaf children. Language Learning and Development, 10(1), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2012.760381
Lillo-Martin, D. C., Gale, E., & Chen Pichler, D. (2021). Family ASL: An early start to equitable education for deaf children. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, https://doi.org/10.1177/02711214211031307
Mayberry, R. I., Del Giudice, A. A., & Lieberman, A. M. (2011). Reading achievement in relation to phonological coding and awareness in deaf readers: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 16(2), 164-188. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enq049
Meier, R. P. (2005). The form of early signs: Explaining signing children’s articulatory development. In B. Schick, M. Marschark, & P. E. Spencer (Eds.), Advances in the sign-language development of deaf children: Perspectives on deafness (pp.202–230). Oxford Academic. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195180947.003.0009
Mounty, J. L., Pucci, C. T., & Harmon, K. C. (2014). How deaf American Sign Language/English bilingual children become proficient readers: An emic perspective. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 19(3), 333-346. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ent050
Napoli, D. J., Mellon, N. K., Niparko, J. K., Rathmann, C., Mathur, G., Humphries, T., Handley, T., Scrambler, S., & Lantos, J. D. (2015). Should all deaf children learn sign language? Pediatrics, 136(1), 170-176. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.HJ.0000480888.40462.9b
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, National Technical Resource Center (EHDI NTRC). (n.d.). Early Hearing Detection and Intervention System. The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM). https://www.infanthearing.org/components/Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, National Technical Resource Center (EHDI NTRC). (n.d.). EHDI Legislation: Overview. The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM). https://www.infanthearing.org/legislation/
Newport, E. L. (1990). Maturational constraints on language learning. Cognitive Science, 14(1), 11-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/0364-0213(90)90024-Q
Pénicaud, S., Klein, D., Zatorre, R. J., Chen, J. K., Witcher, P., Hyde, K., & Mayberry, R. I. (2013). Structural brain changes linked to delayed first language acquisition in congenitally deaf individuals. Neuroimage, 66, 42-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.09.076
Pisoni, D. B., Conway, C. M., Kronenberger, W. G., Horn, D. L., Karpicke, J., & Henning, S. C. (2008). Efficacy and effectiveness of cochlear implants in deaf children. In M. Marschark & P. C. Hauser (Eds.), Deaf cognition: Foundations and outcomes (pp. 52-101). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195368673.003.0003
Schaeffner, S., & Philipp, A. M. (2020). Modality-specific effects in bilingual language perception. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 32(1), 27-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2019.1698584
Simms, L., Baker, S., & Clark, M. D. (2013). The Standardized Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist for signing children. Sign Language Studies, 14(1), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1353/sls.2013.0029
Singleton, J. L., & Newport, E. L. (2004). When learners surpass their models: The acquisition of American Sign Language from inconsistent input. Cognitive Psychology, 49(4), 370-407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2004.05.001
Vihman, M. M., Nakai, S., & DePaolis, R. A. (2006). Getting the rhythm right: A cross-linguistic study of segmental duration in babbling and first words. In L. Goldstein, D. Whalen, & C. Best (Eds.), Laboratory Phonology 8: Phonology and phonetics (pp. 341-366). Mouton de Gruyter.
Yoshinaga-Itano, C. (2014, March). Universal newborn hearing screening: The evolution of a public health revolution [PowerPoint presentation]. The Implementation Science Summit: Integrating Research into Practice in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Carlsbad, California. https://academy.pubs.asha.org/2014/03/universal-newborn-hearing-screening-the-evolution-of-apublic-health-revolution/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 M. Diane Clark, Megan B. Wimberly, Danielle Goyette, Holly V. Metcalf, Ernest C. Willman, Ashley Greene, Nicholas J. Norman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
