Language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing children

The first five years of a child's life is a critical time for cognitive development and the establishment of their native language.[8] This critical period deems the first few years of life as the period during which language develops. After this critical period of language acquisition, it remains exceedingly laborious and strenuous to master a native language.[9] Studies on infancy stroke and typical language development unveiled a critical, or sensitive, period for language acquisition.[10] Likewise, renowned researchers Elissa Newport and Rachel Mayberry support the existence of this critical stage in language development. Elissa Newport and Rachel Mayberry’s work revealed that deaf individuals who lack exposure to sign language at a young age fail to achieve full language proficiency as they develop.[11] Additionally, deaf individuals who acquired sign language after five years of age were not nearly as proficient as deaf individuals who were exposed to sign language from birth. Language deprivation influenced altered neural activation patterns in deaf individuals later exposed to sign language as compared to deaf individuals who received typical language development.[12] Inconsistencies in exposure to a natural language during this critical period of language acquisition could result in persistent symptoms, known as language deprivation syndrome.[13] Symptoms of language deprivation syndrome include language dysfluency (e.g., lack of fluency in native language), knowledge gaps about the world around them, abnormal thinking, mood and/or behavior disorders, academic, and literacy delays.[14]

The importance of early accessible communication with family and peers can be seen in the ‘dinner table syndrome'[15]—the experience of observing spoken conversations between other family members and not understanding these conversations. As statistics show, 90-95% of deaf children are born to hearing parents, thus, they may often experience this phenomena if their family does not use sign language.[16] A famous deaf artist, Susan Dupor, painted an art piece called "family dog” to represent this syndrome. This artwork candidly represents the feeling of isolation being deaf in an all hearing family. The feeling most resembles being the family pet, hence the name, “Family Dog.” This painting was designed to emphasize deaf family members’ perspectives with the blurred faces of the family metaphorically representing the difficulties of lip reading. In these situations, deaf children are unable to participate in the conversations without using a common language, such as a visual sign language.[17] Similarly, these experiences occur during societal social engagements where deaf individuals cannot communicate with other individuals through a spoken language. When hearing individuals share information with each other in a way that is not accessible to deaf individuals, the deaf individuals are not privy to these ‘incidental learning’ experiences. Incidental learning refers to any unprompted, unplanned, or unintended learning.[18] This type of learning occurs in everyday communication including emotional expression, navigating arguments, and managing triggers. Language deprivation syndrome coupled with the lack of these every day incidental learning experiences may impact mental health, physical health, and academic advancements.[19][20]

Mainstream education is the philosophy of integrating students requiring special education services into a general education classroom based on their skills. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates the specificities of this integration. IDEA protects students who are typically a part of the special education classroom by granting the right to enroll in the general education classroom. This applies to situations that may be in the best interest of these special education students. In terms of deaf students, deafness is considered a low-incidence disability. This translates to the possibility of one deaf child belonging to a classroom with other “hearing” children[21] and results in unique barriers. For example, students within the mainstream setting may not know sign language will serve as significant communication barriers for deaf students. These deaf students may use accommodations in their general classroom setting such as a sign language interpreters, communication access real-time translation (CART), or a FM system.

Deaf children without early access to signed language remain at risk for starting school unprepared for the rigors of academic learning.[22] One challenge for deaf children is not having the ability to use their natural language, simultaneously associate it to formal written language,[23] and blending these two forms of communication when partaking in social interactions. This is where an educational philosophy known as the Bilingual-bicultural (Bi-Bi) found in deaf schools can be beneficial for deaf students. Bi-Bi emphasizes that deaf children learn visually and education should be provided through a visual language. Bi-Bi supporters' argue because of the variability in cochlear implant and hearing aid outcomes, sign language access is crucial for preventing deaf and hard-of-hearing children from experiencing language deprivation.

This approach began to emerge in schools during the late 1980s in the United States, Denmark, and Sweden.[24] Congruently, in America, the ASL/English Bi- Bi is designed to facilitate academic success and provide education to deaf students by learning sign language, as a first language, followed by a written or spoken language (such as English) as their second language.[25][26] Furthermore, deaf schools offer exposure to Deaf culture—a unique facet not provided by mainstream and auditory-oral based education. Therefore, through the Bi-Bi approach, deaf students may master two cultures, both Deaf culture and hearing culture.