Researchers at the University of Connecticut are revisiting a decades-long debate: should all deaf children learn sign language?
Children who are born deaf often exhibit learning deficits and underperform in school, UConn reports -- yet deaf children from signing families develop language, cognition and literacy on normal timetables.
"One widespread view is that learning deficits stem from lack of auditory experience. And, with the advent of universal newborn hearing screening and improved technologies such as cochlear implants – surgically implanted devices that provide access to sound – more and more deaf children are relying on spoken language from an early age."
But excluding sign language may be a risky approach.
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