Communication is a basic human interaction that plays an important role in social and intellectual development of a child. An interview was conducted to gain an understanding of one family and their interactions with their child who is hearing impaired. This study will explore many facets of communication and interaction with the individual. The following summarizes the results of the interview the interview.
The child is a 15-year old male, born in Kazakhstan. He was in an orphanage until the age of 3 ½ years old. He was diagnosed with bilateral sensorial neural hearing loss at the age of 3. The parents knew of the diagnosis prior to adoption. He is profoundly deaf and communicates using ASL. He has a functional reading level of approximately 7th grade. He attends a public high school and is in the 9th grade. His instruction is in English and he has an ASL interpreter with him at all times. He has no cognitive impairments. There are no other children in the family.
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"Parents and Families (“An Insider’s Perspective”)".
Interaction and Communication
Interaction and communication with this individual a complex set of circumstances. First, English is not his birth language. When he came to the United States, he was already past the early language acquisition stages. Among children born deaf who are taught ASL early on, certain milestones are expected at certain stages. These are similar to language milestones in hearing children (Boggs, 2003). They learn by watching their caregivers speak and sign. It is not known if this individual went through these milestones at a normal rate or what form of communication was attempted in these early developmental stages.
The caregiver indicates that prior to adoption he had no form of communication at all. Instruction in ASL began as soon as he got home. It proceeded in a similar fashion to a hearing child. The caregivers would point to an object and make the sign, rather than saying the word. He quickly developed age appropriate language skills. This indicates that although the neurological pathways were not utilized, they were in place and he was developmentally ready to learn.
Interactions with the individual are accomplished using ASL. He also communicates with hearing persons in the home using ASL. In is able to communicate at a level as to allow participation in all family activities. All members of the family learned ASL to facilitate communication. All interactions and interests are age appropriate and no different from peers, other than he uses ASL. The caregivers attend regular meetings to monitor academic progress. Subjects in English and that require extensive reading is a challenge. English class, social studies and science readings are challenging. He often receives extra time for assignment completion to cope with this challenge. Being deaf presents challenges with English communication. One of the biggest challenges is finding an interpreter for all situations.
His need for an interpreter has given the parents an opportunity to be involved in his extracurricular activities. The parent felt that this has brought them closer as a family. Much of the family’s time is spent taking care of his needs and attending activities with him. The caregivers do not feel that his disability will prevent him from reaching any goals that he develops. He has ambitions to go to college and become a mechanical engineer. He is encouraged to pursue this goal.
The transition from home to the post-secondary environment can be challenging for any young adult. To prepare him for these challenges, he is given responsibilities at home. He participates in Boy Scouts and JROTC to hone leadership abilities. He is also on the high school robotics team. The caregivers have worked to assure that he has all the skill necessary to succeed. The caregivers have afforded the individual the opportunity to enjoy and experience many of the same experiences as his peers.
Analysis
Language acquisition among hearing and deaf children depends on interaction with adults. However, few differences exist in language acquisition among children who are deaf and those who are hearing. Both depend on quality interaction with adults to gain these important skills (Briggle, 2005). It is likely that any language impairment was due to a lack of quality interaction with adults, rather than being deaf. The parents had some catching up to do as soon as the individual was adopted. His progress and success thus far is likely due to their quick early intervention and intense early instruction.
This is an example of an individual whose success is dependent more on experiences before school age. Early language development plays a key role in literacy (Briggle, 2005). This individual’s primary challenge is in literacy. The parent’s indicate that he did not communicate in any manner in the orphanage. This early lack of communication is likely connected to his current literacy challenges. He is working to overcome these challenges. Enrichment activities will help to improve his self-confidence in his ability to overcome his weaknesses and pursue his goals.
This case highlights the importance of early intervention among the hearing impaired and in children with other language related disabilities. Early language development is closely tied to later success in literacy. This case also highlights that with intense early intervention as quickly as possible, the individual can experience a life similar to that of his or her peers, only they will speak ASL. The educational system needs to place an emphasis on community engagement by providing children language development activities prior to school age. They need to work with the community to host programs that focus on young children who are beginning to develop their language skills. This will set them up for literacy success later, regardless of their disability.
- Boggs, L. (2003). Speech and ASL Developmental Milestones. Language Acquisition. Retrieved from http://lifeprint.com/asl101/pages-layout/languagedevelopment.htm/
- Briggle, S. (2005). Language and Literacy Development in Children Who Are Deaf or Hearing Impaired. Kappa Delta Pi Record. 42, 68-71.
