Naslov
The benefit of early exposure to sign language

Autori
Pribanić, Ljubica ; Milković, Marina

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, stručni

Skup
Second European Congress of Early Prevention in Children with Verbal Communication Dissorders, 26.-29.9. 2008. Sofia, Bugarska

Mjesto i datum
Sofija, Bugarska, 26.09.2008. - 29.09.2008

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Nije recenziran

Ključne riječi
sign language; cultural approach; (Deaf/hearing) mother - infant communication

Sažetak
Early diagnosis and intervention are now recognized as undeniable rights of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families. To this end ASLHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) recommended the creation of appropriate early intervention programs oriented towards the family, programs that provide a choice of communication options. The deaf child’ s family must have the opportunity to socialize with deaf children and deaf adults. The deaf child’ s family must also have access to all the information on the general development of their child, and to special information on hearing impairment, communication options and linguistic development of the deaf child. The critical period hypothesis for language acquisition proposes that the outcome of language acquisition is not uniform over the lifespan but rather is best during early childhood. Deaf children exposed to sign language watch their language from birth just like hearing children listen to their language from birth. Individuals who learned sign language from birth performed better on linguistic and memory tasks than individuals who did not start learning sign language until after puberty. The old prejudice that the deaf child must learn the spoken language at a very young age, and that sign language can wait because it can be easily learned by any person at any age, cannot be maintained anymore. The cultural approach to deafness emphasizes three necessary components in the development of a deaf child: 1)stimulating early communication using natural sign language within the family and interacting with the Deaf community, thereby creating the foundations of language on the basis of sophisticated symbolic signed communication ; 2) bilingual / bicultural education and 3) ensuring deaf persons’ rights to enjoy the services of high quality interpreters throughout their education from kindergarten to university. This new view of the phenomenology of deafness means that the environment needs to be changed in order to meet the deaf person’ s needs, not the contrary. Sign language gives parents the possibility to communicate with their children in the same way as parents talking to their hearing children communicate about everyday issues. This is the way that deaf children develop age-appropriate psychosocial skills. Sign language also makes it possible for the deaf children to communicate with deaf adults. It is important for deaf children because of identification with the Deaf community as a linguistic minority. Sign language makes it possible for deaf children to receive age-appropriate education on the same level as their hearing peers.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Pedagogija

POVEZANOST RADA