5 Visual Language Tips for Parents with Deaf or Hard of Hearing Children

Every child benefits from visual cues in their home and school. For Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, they can be a key component of developing skills in written, verbal and signed languages.

If you’ve seen any of the Duke the Deaf Dog ASL picture books, you’d notice the special articles for parents and educators at the end of the children’s story. In Never Mind, Amy Willman, M.S., a Deaf ASL Instructor, explains the ASL translation of the English words “never mind.” In Farts Make Noise, she describes Etiquette in Deaf Communities.

For the recently released book, My Dawg Koa, Jennifer L. Cranston, M.Ed, a doctoral candidate from Gallaudet University shared resources about providing complete access to language for young children using visual language.

Visual Language Tips

Whether a child has mild or severe hearing differences, complete access to language is critical. This is especially important during the time when a child’s language develops naturally through simple exposure, which is from birth to age 5. After this optimal “window” of language acquisition, learning and internalizing language becomes much more difficult.  Children with differing levels of hearing may miss some information, aka language, when relying only on auditory input (what they hear) even with assistive technology, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. Have no fear – it is possible to remove the uncertainty and provide a complete language model. Make it crystal clear with visual language!

• New languages take years to learn ~ be patient with yourself! Provide visual access to your home language (and culture) while you learn sign language by learning to cue your native language. You are already proficient in it! That way, you won’t miss the critical “window” of language development.
• It is impossible to communicate in two languages at the same time, including attempting to speak English and sign ASL simultaneously. Signing and talking at the same time, known as SIM COM/simultaneous communication, provides only pieces of the signed language and spoken language. The goal is complete access, so focus on one language at a time in an interaction when modeling language. For example, you could sign it first, then cue the same message (with or without your voice). You could also do this in the opposite order, just don’t mix them. Since ASL and English are different languages, no need to sign word-for-word of the English.
• Languages are best modeled by native users. Enlist the help of Deaf individuals to expose children to proficient signed language models, especially while you are building your skills! Take advantage of the virtual world! Even if there are no local deaf native users of ASL, they can be accessed via your computer!
• Integrate language into everything you do by “narrating life”! Attach language to even the most mundane of routines. This “thinking aloud” provides amazing exposure to language. Ex: “It’s raining outside, so I need to remember to take our umbrella!” Just make sure the language is complete and accessible to them!
• Quality over Quickness! Remember, speed is not important – but complete language access is! When learning to cue your native language or learning to sign, you may feel frustrated by having to go slower in the beginning. Take solace in knowing you are providing access to whole language…not pieces!

Jennifer L Cranston has over two decades of experience working in the field of Deaf Education, having held a variety of positions, such as teacher of the deaf, ASL interpreter, cued language transliterator (CLT), as well as ASL Interpreter/CLT Supervisor and Deaf Program Specialist. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education from Flagler College, and an M.Ed. from George Mason University (GMU). She is currently a doctoral candidate at Gallaudet University. 

Jennifer has presented at professional conferences for twenty years and lives in the Northern Virginia area with her husband and three kids. She can often be found sporting a hoodie and surrounded by her two rescue doggos, Myla and Elsie. Myla hails all the way from the streets of Puerto Rico!

• www.valideaf.org
• jennifer.cranston@valideaf.org
• facebook.com/valideaforg
• instagram.com/valideaforg
• twitter.com/valideaf

Resources

• Sign language does not hinder speech development: https://www.gallaudet.edu/gallaudets-president-cordano-dispels-the-myths-of-language-acquisition/

• Language development in deaf and hard-of-hearing children: https://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/national-resources/info/info-to-go/language-and-communication.html

• More support for families: https://deafchildren.org/knowledge-center/asl-resources/sign-on/

• Free ASL lessons! https://www.gallaudet.edu/asl-connect/asl-for-free/

• ASL classes: https://deafchildren.org/knowledge-center/asl-resources/sign-on/

• Learning to cue:

Kelly Brakenhoff is the author of 15 books and a seasoned ASL interpreter. She splits her writing energy between two series: cozy mysteries set on a college campus and children’s books featuring Duke the Deaf Dog.

Parents, kids, and teachers love the children’s books and activity guides because they introduce ASL and the Deaf community through fun, engaging stories. And if you enjoy a smart female sleuth, want to learn more about Deaf culture, or have ever lived in a place where livestock outnumber people, the Cassandra Sato Mystery series will have you connecting the dots faster than a group project coming together the night before it’s due.

A proud mom to four adults, head of the dog-snuggling department, and grandma to a growing brood of perfectly behaved grandkids, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.