Language Development in One Preschool Deaf Child

In a classroom of preschool deaf children, language development proceeds slowly and is based on clear communication, frequent repetitions, basic sentences, and an environment which stimulates and rewards communication attempts. The majority of children go home after school to a situation devoid of true symbolic communication, no matter how loving and well-intentioned the family is. Children whose parents sign to them demonstrate an obvious superiority in lanugage skills, as shown in records kept in the classroom. The records are kept primarily to provide reinforcement and guidance for the teacher, however, distinctions are clear concerning the home communication environment. The following study resulted from a 2¼-year record of one child's utterances which showed a growth in language skills and concepts that argues favorably for the use of Total Communication and Signed English in the home and school.