Abstract
Most Deaf children are born to hearing parents, who have little to no experience with Deaf people, their language, or their culture. These parents struggle with how to raise a Deaf infant who responds primarily to visual rather than auditory information. A program called Deaf Mentors was developed to connect these hearing families with a Deaf adult who is trained in how to effectively help parents learn visual strategies and if desired sign language to facilitate early language acquisition. This study, using a grounded theory methodology, investigated the perceptions of hearing families who had a Deaf Mentor. Results found that these Deaf Mentors helped families create a context that provided the Keys to a High Quality of Life for Deaf Children. Importantly, the program provided a new perspective that allowed families to understand that their Deaf child was different but not broken.
Highlights
When an infant is identified as Deaf or hard of hearing, professionals often recommend hearing technologies, such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, so that they can acquire spoken language
Most Deaf children are born to hearing parents, who have little to no experience with Deaf people, their language, or their culture
Guage at the point of being identified as Deaf, permits a Deaf child the opportunity to develop age-appropriate language. This access to a visual language is important because contrary to beliefs held by the medical and audiological communities (Nussbaun et al, 2004), using a sign language does not require that spoken language be excluded; the use of sign language and the development of spoken/written language can occur in parallel (Davidson, Lillo-Martin, & Pichler, 2014; Hassanzadeh, 2012; Humphries, et al, 2016; Klaudia, 2013; Rinaldi & Caselli, 2014; Swanwick & Watson, 2005)
Summary
When an infant is identified as Deaf or hard of hearing, professionals often recommend hearing technologies, such as digital hearing aids and cochlear implants, so that they can acquire spoken language. This access to a visual language is important because contrary to beliefs held by the medical and audiological communities (Nussbaun et al, 2004), using a sign language does not require that spoken language be excluded; the use of sign language and the development of spoken/written language can occur in parallel (Davidson, Lillo-Martin, & Pichler, 2014; Hassanzadeh, 2012; Humphries, et al, 2016; Klaudia, 2013; Rinaldi & Caselli, 2014; Swanwick & Watson, 2005)
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