In a Reponse to Paula's Questions

Since DBC made a very long response to Paula, we feel that it may be worth posting since it gives out more supporting research links to these questions that some parents may have in mind. We want you to keep an open mind to see the benefits of raising your Deaf child(ren) in a bilingual environment. Thank you for reading!

Paula said:

You said, "...it is important not to overlook that the bilingual children tend to retain better cognitive skills and have advanced academic skills." Where is the proof of this statement? Can you direct me to a published, unbiased research study?

You also said, "Deaf babies have been deprived of accessible natural language exposure..." which doesn't make sense. When have babies been deprived? Parents who teach their babies to listen and speak are not depriving them of anything. They are giving them access and understanding of the things they hear and the ability to communicate with anyone they choose. ASL can be taught at any time, spoken language cannot as the window of opportunity is before the child is 5 years old.

I'm not saying that parents should choose one or the other, that is for THEM to decide. Not you, not me, not anyone else.

Paula,

Thank you for your interest and inquiring about the DBC's mission. We are more than happy to share you the research studies.

There are a lot more research studies on bilingual issues found in books (i.e. Mahshie) and journals (i.e. Journal of Deaf Studies and Education). Feel free to go to the library and surf the net to do some readings to learn more about bilingual studies.

As for now, we can start with the provided resource links found in the right column. One of the links that you can click on the link that allows you to download the article on "The Impact of Sign Language on the Cognitive Development of Deaf Children" written by Cyril Courtin.

We would like to share you another link that stated:

"In those instances where the child's hearing loss is mild enough that both languages can be learned through natural processes of interaction (rather than training), the effects of this early bilingualism are not considered a threat to the child's development of spoken or signed language but rather a positive factor in the child's overall development (Preisler, 1983, 1990). Cummins and Swain (1986) cite numerous studies conducted since the early 1960s reporting that bilingual children function at a significantly higher level than monolingual children on various measures of cognitive abilities. In a similar vein, Daniels (1993) found that hearing children whose first language was Sign Language had English skills superior to their monolingual peers. In other words, exposing a hard of hearing child to Sign Language early is not considered to be risky or detrimental (Ahlström, in press; Preisler, 1983, 1990). Rather, for those hard of hearing children who do have enough access to the spoken signal to acquire speech naturally, the benefits of early bilingualism in the spoken language of the home and the signed language of the Deaf community are considered to be an asset for the child."


As you can see, there are more than several researchers finding the benefits of early bilingualism since it is not conducted by the same researcher.

DBC knows that Deaf babies are not receiving information 100% if they are limited to spoken English. Most of the hearing babies are not able to use correct speech from birth to 24 months and it has been recommended for them to sign where they are able to better express their thoughts. It doesn't make sense to expect Deaf babies to speak and listen without signs especially that they don't have complete hearing. The "window of opportunity" to enable speech and auditory skills is not a natural way for Deaf babies to learn since they are learning "skills" whereas "the window of opportunity" is to acquire an accessible, natural language, ASL, that is, which is much more crucial for language development. Learning ASL later has bad effects as well, although not apparently as bad as speech. The current trend to educate deaf children bilingually—with the use of American Sign Language—has opened new possibilities for developing spoken English.

Please see the link:

"According to Barbara Haskins, M.D., an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Virginia, language deprivation definitely affects cognitive function. Dr. Haskins is a specialist in treating deaf patients on the deaf ward of Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virgina. There is a window of opportunity to acquire language. If that window is missed, individuals tend to display cognitive defects later in life. Many of her patients were raised by hearing parents in rural areas who only communicated orally or in simple gestures. In an article in Psychiatric News she explained, "My patients only saw talking heads and moving lips, which did not stimulate the left side of the brain that sets up rules for language and thought." (3)

and the link about how ASL helps develop spoken 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."

When you said, "I'm not saying that parents should choose one or the other, that is for THEM to decide. Not you, not me, not anyone else." We already mentioned that in our letter that it is the choice of the parents to decide if her son is to grow up without using natural sign language. However, we cannot leave the parents in the dark if they are not getting the full picture. As a part of the Deaf Community, it is our responsibility to educate what is the best for the Deaf child. We don't believe in directing the parents to make ONE choice or another since we are offering the whole package by including both languages that are much more beneficial to Deaf babies/children.

Best,

DBC