>>161229, >>161230, >>161231, >>161232
Among the Wildflowers @deaflibertarian - Deaf children without cognitive disabilities can develop them when denied full access to language (note: speech is NOT language). In the United States, as many as 70% of deaf children are at risk of permanent cognitive impairment and lifelong language deficiencies due to organizations like the Alexander Graham Bell Association and Hands & Voices restricting access to American Sign Language.
It needs to be the law that every deaf child has full access to language, with American Sign Language recognized as an essential right. Deaf children can acquire spoken language skills later or alongside ASL, but they need full access to a complete language from the start. Spoken language alone is not sufficient because it relies on hearing, which cannot be fully accessed even with hearing aids or cochlear implants.
Without a fully accessible language, children risk cognitive, social, and academic delays. Visual languages like ASL provide complete linguistic access from the beginning, supporting healthy brain development and fully developed communication skills. American Sign Language is so much easier for deaf children to acquire and use than spoken language because it is fully visual. Unlike speech, which relies on hearing they may not access, ASL allows immediate, complete communication and supports natural language development from the start
Shockingly, only one in four families with deaf children use sign language, leaving most children without full access to a natural, visual language during critical developmental years.
Just because a deaf child can speak some words doesn’t mean they fully understand spoken language. True comprehension requires accessible language, spoken or signed. Most hearing children naturally pick up language through exposure (incidental learning), including learning sign language in some cases, while deaf children are often consistently denied access to a fully accessible language during critical early intervention years.
Research indicates that approximately 80% to 90% of language acquisition in hearing children occurs incidentally, through overhearing conversations and observing social interactions in their environment. This natural exposure facilitates the development of vocabulary, grammar, and social communication skills. Deaf children miss out on this natural learning process if they are require to "hear." Without early exposure to a complete language, they start school with limited vocabulary and understanding, impacting their cognitive, social, and academic development. They're already 5 years BEHIND on the very first day of school!
Something a deaf high school student told me a couple of weeks ago keeps replaying in my mind. He spoke with clear, understandable speech, yet he said:
"You know sign language? You are so lucky."
I asked him, "Why? Why am I lucky?"
He answered, "You get to be deaf."
Not every deaf person is the same. We all have different paths, and that deserves respect. Not every deaf person will choose to use ASL, and that’s perfectly fine. But every deaf child deserves the chance to learn it so they can build strong language skills and make informed choices about how they communicate.
American Sign Language is not "a tool." Nor should it be "optional." American Sign Language is a deaf child’s fundamental right.
https://x.com/deaflibertarian/status/1969458445033357642

Among the Wildflowers @deaflibertarian - John 16:33 (KJV):
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”