Signing and the Brain: The Importance of Early Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

Language skills are developed as one is exposed to auditory input from birth to adolescence. However, a majority of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals do not receive adequate—or appropriate—guidance from their parents at an early age. Since the brain develops significantly during the early years of childhood, children need robust and persistent instruction to develop the ability to recognize language. DHH children who lack the ability to perceive audio and spoken language, the universal language format, have poor outcomes in the future. In fact, hearing-disabled Americans are more likely to be unemployed, imprisoned, or have poor physical health. This paper will discuss the obstacles DHH people face in society as well as introduce a program to improve the standard of living for the deaf community. It will focus on preventative methods, most importantly, the adoption of a visual language, to protect DHH children from facing major neurological issues that would intrude on their ability to communicate with others fluently.