Easmith5

A commonly held belief is that long-term use of sign language impedes the development of spoken language ability in Deaf and Hard of Hearing children as well as reading comprehension. This misconception consistent with the pathological view of deafness often leads medical professionals to recommend parents to implant their children, as it is believed that sign language is not advantageous and will interfere with the acquisition of spoken language. Some studies have concluded that this is the case. Contrasting this, other studies have found that sign language exposure does in fact facilitate the development of spoken language Deaf children of Deaf parents who had exposure to sign language from birth outperformed their Deaf peers who were born to hearing parents in measures of speech intelligibility following cochlear implantation. The findings demonstrate the advantageous role that sign language, and early linguistic exposure in general, plays in the development of spoken language.

Role of environment:

As stated by Mayberry (1998), the critical period of language acquisition is defined as birth to age five. During this time, it is essential that children are given as much language exposure as possible from a native signer. Approximately 90% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents, which means the most accessible language to them is not readily available in the home . Therefore, giving Deaf children the opportunity to learn and acquire language naturally with the modeling of a native signer will increase their skills and comprehension tremendously. Whether a child is planning to receive speech and spoken language support or not, research shows that acquiring American Sign Language as a first language during the critical period provides the child with an accessible opportunity for language, and results in stronger cognitive and academic success.

Having exposure to language models is an important aspect of language acquisition. Surrounding Deaf children with fluent signing, Deaf adults to provide language modeling for young children, supports language foundation from birth. Children also improve their signing skills through positive peer interactions, in which they share a common language in both a social and academic setting . Surrounding Deaf children with other Deaf children allows them to effectively communicate their thoughts, ideas, and feelings, and strengthens language development in an accessible language.

Jaxanderson (talk) 00:53, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

References for language acquisition: - Lexical Development of Deaf Children Acquiring Signed Languages - Diane Anderson (2005)

- Spoken English Language Development in Native Signing Children with Cochlear Implants - Davidson, Lillo-Martin, Pichler (2013)

- What you don't know can hurt you: The Risk of Language Deprivation by Impairing Sign Language Development in Deaf Children - Hall (2017)

- Acquisition of Syntax in Signed Languages - Lillo-Martin & Pichler (2005)

- The Acquisition of Spatial Construction in American Sign Language and English - Martin, Sera (2006)

- When timing is everything: Age of First-Language Acquisition Effects on Second-Language Learning - Mayberry (2007)

- The Form of Early Signs: Explaining Signing Children's Articulatory Development - Meier (2006)

- Learning to Fingerspell Twice: Young Signing Childrens Acquisition of Fingerspelling Jaxanderson (talk) 00:03, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

/Users/alisoncosta/Desktop/Hoffmeister_Acquiring English through Print.pdf A14costa (talk) 00:07, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

- GOODHART, WENDY. "MORPHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY, ASL, AND THE ACQUISITION OF SIGN LANGUAGE IN DEAF CHILDREN." Order No. 8414722 Boston University, 1984. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 27 Feb. 2018. Ooakin (talk) 13:34, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Need to do:

-CHANGE THE TITLE

-Organize articles into topics/themes

-Divide up articles/topics

-Decide which topics from the original article to keep/delete

-Evaluate article for biases

-Decide to include (bibi ed? Communication systems v. language, L1 and L2 language acquisition) Easmith5 (talk) 00:14, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Introduction Language Acquisition is defined as the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate (Lemetyinen, 2012). In the United States two out of every 1,000 babies are born Deaf or Hard of Hearing (CDC, 2003). Since Deaf and Hard of Hearing babies do not have access to a spoken language at birth, choosing a language option becomes a crucial decision in a short period of time. All babies and children need access to a language in order for language acquisition to occur. This type of language acquisition can vary depending on which option of communication is chosen. Today, there is a variety of choices parents, doctors, pathologists, and families can turn to, in order to ensure their child has access to communication and language. Some of these options include: spoken languages, signed languages, signed systems like sim-coming and Manually Coded english (MCE). There are also options to receive assistive devices to enhance hearing like hearing aids, Cochlear Implants (CIs), and microphone technologies that can assist Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their access to language and the process of acquisition. A14costa (talk) 16:44, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

Speech & Oral Communication Options

Spoken language is one communication option for Deaf children. It is important to note that speech and spoken language is a modality. For Deaf children who use spoken language as their primary mode of communication, they often use assistive listening systems or auditory devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. Hearing aids are electronic devices that are worn behind or in the ears and amplify sounds. The hearing aid has three parts, a microphone, an amplifier and a speaker. Sounds are received by the microphones which are then sent to the amplifier as electrical signals. Then, the amplifier sends the sounds to the ear through the speaker, increasing the power of the sounds or amplifying the sound. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is surgically implanted into the cochlea, the inner part of the ear which converts sound to neural signals, bypassing damaged hair cells within the cochlear, which are the receiving points for hearing that send the electrical signals through the auditory nerve to the brain, resulting in sound. The cochlear implant, once surgically implanted, receives signals from an external device worn behind the ear and stimulate the auditory nerve directly, circumventing the hair cells that are involved in typical auditory neural processing. Using hearing aids and cochlear implants does not restore normal hearing, however.

Literature is mixed in terms of the effectiveness of an oral approach to language development for Deaf children, as well as the effectiveness of auditory devices for supporting spoken language development. Often, the dilemma that parents of Deaf children face is whether or not to choose an oral approach or a bilingual approach, sign language and written or oral language. A common misconception regarding spoken language development is that long-term use of sign language impedes the development of spoken language ability in Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, and that using sign language is not at all advantageous.  Therefore, many parents choose to focus on spoken language while excluding sign language altogether. Many other studies have, however, found that sign language exposure does in fact facilitate the development of spoken language in Deaf children using cochlear implants. In multiple studies, Deaf children of Deaf parents who had exposure to sign language from birth outperformed their Deaf peers who were born to hearing parents in measures of speech intelligibility following cochlear implantation. ~~~~ Easmith5 (talk) 02:20, 18 March 2018 (UTC)

Signed Systems

There are different variations of manually signed systems that are used as a visual mode of communication like Manually Coded English (MCE), Seeing Essential English (S.E.E. 1), and Signed Exact English (S.E.E. 2). These systems are used to represent a visual form of English for deaf children. They are made up of manual signs and some borrowed signs from ASL that copy the grammar and overall structure of English. All variations are systems that have a 1:1 ratio of a manual sign and an English word. These signed systems are not considered a legitimate language like ASL, despite their use of borrowed signs from ASL.

Cued Speech is a manual system that consists of eight distinct handshapes that are produced in four placements around the chin following different mouth movements. Cued Speech is used to visually differentiate similar phonemes in a spoken language.

Fingerspelling is a manual representation of the letters in the alphabet that consists of a string of different handshapes to form individual words of a spoken language. AmyTai (talk) 03:32, 18 March 2018 (UTC)

American Sign Language (ASL)

America sign Language (ASL) is a form of language expression adapted by the deaf population in the United States. ASL play an integral role in language acquisition of Deaf children for it is an accessible language to all deaf children regardless of their modality preference. Deaf children of deaf parents typically grow up in a sign language rich environment and acquisition of a first language happen naturally. Deaf children of hearing parents however generally acquire sign language post critical period and even then it might not be a naturally signed language. Research have emphasized the importance of early exposure to sign language. For instance, deaf children who have the benefit of early signed language exposure were able to develop the necessary foundation for future language outcomes. On the other hand, deaf adults who acquire ASL later in life never achieved full mastery in any language. Ooakin (talk) 15:29, 18 March 2018 (UTC)

Conclusion/Final Thought

There is commonly held misbelief that Deaf children are always behind in terms of language acquistion as compared to their hearing peers, but this is not true. Research shows that Deaf children can be equal acquistion to their hearing peers as long as they have this access during the critical period, as previously discussed. Mayberry (1998) states that this critical period of acquiring a language is birth to five years old, meaning that all children should have continous access to a formal and natural language by this point; if not, the risk of language delay is great. There is a variety of options to ensure that Deaf children have access to language acquistion. As previously discussed, some of these options include a bilingual approach to language, such as ASL and oral communication like English, while there is also the option to use devices like Cochlear Implants and hearing aids. Another common myth is that learning a signed language like ASL negatively effects one's chances at becoming fluent in an oral and written language like English. Again, there is no evidence that proves this to be true. What is known however, is that no matter which language option that is chosen for a Deaf child, that individual needs a language model who is fluent in that particular language. This allows the child to have constant access to the proper way to communicate using that language. When this happens, Deaf children have an equal opportunity to acquire not only literacy skills, but language as a whole. A14costa (talk) 17:33, 18 March 2018 (UTC)