Early Intervention with Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Two Languages and Two Cultures

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Early Intervention with Children who are Deaf and
Hard of Hearing Two Languages and Two Cultures

• Susan R. Easterbrooks
• Georgia State University
• Spring, 2002

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One does not have to be in the deaf/hard of
hearing arena long to be faced with the need to
address two cultures and two languages.

• English speakers and the hearing culture
• ASL users and the Deaf culture
• There are many similarities and many differences.
• We must come to grips with our feelings about the
  Deaf culture if we are to be successful in
  meeting the needs of all children with hearing
  loss.

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Verbal Communication

• English forms of expression
• Speech (sound)
• Print
• English signs
• Concepts
• Experiential base
• Incidental learning
• Words
• Grammar

• ASL forms of expression
• ASL
• Gestures
• Body language
• Print
• Concepts
• Experiential base
• Incidental learning
• Words
• Grammar

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Non-Verbal Communication

• Silence
• Kinesics
• Bodily movements such as headshake or gesture
• Proxemics
• Personal space
• Haptics
• Touching behaviors

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Values

• Individualism independence vs. group welfare
  dependence
• Directness vs. indirectness
• Change as positive/natural vs. valuation of
  stability, tradition and continuity

• Time as precious commodity vs. human interaction
• Competition vs. cooperation
• Equality/fairness vs. hierarchy, rank status

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• No matter what our communication style or our
  value system, asl or english, all babies develop
  through similar stages.

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What is Typical Communication Development?

• All Babies (whether speaking or signing) will
• Use Gestures
• Make Vocal Signals
• Communicate Behaviorally
• All of these serve a pragmatic function.

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Gestural Communication

• Pointing to something
• Holds up what he wants

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Vocal Signals

• Crying
• Babbling
• Cooing
• Gurgling

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Crying May Indicate

• Boredom
• Feeling alone
• Hungry
• Wet
• Tired

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Behavioral Communication

• Trying to open cabinet
• Reach for an object
• Avoid unpleasant situation
• Attention getting

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• All babies engage in these same behaviors. It is
  our responsibility to help parents see these
  behaviors as attempts at communication and to
  help them to take advantage of the information a
  child is trying to give so that comprehensible
  messages may be presented to the child for his
  information uptake.
• We will look at the similarities and differences
  between ASL and English development in greater
  detail tomorrow.
• But first technology.