Deaf Children of Hearing Parents Have Age-Level Vocabulary Growth When Exposed to American Sign Language by 6 Months of Age.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine whether children who are deaf or hard of hearing who have hearing parents can develop age-level vocabulary skills when they have early exposure to a sign language.

Study design

This cross-sectional study of vocabulary size included 78 children who are deaf or hard of hearing between 8 and 68 months of age who were learning American Sign Language (ASL) and had hearing parents. Children who were exposed to ASL before 6 months of age or between 6 and 36 months of age were compared with a reference sample of 104 deaf and hard of hearing children who have parents who are deaf and sign.

Results

Deaf and hard of hearing children with hearing parents who were exposed to ASL in the first 6 months of life had age-expected receptive and expressive vocabulary

SUBMITTER: Caselli N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8085057 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature