I am not talking about speech here.
Cheri- I can see what you are saying, if you are referring to acquiring/learning language through speech only. However, learning the language of your family for a deaf child, imo, is no harder than learning a form of sign (language). I am a cuer of English. I found cueing through my personal experience with the Deaf community, deaf education system, interpreter programs, rehabilitation institutions and the medical system. Cued Speech can/does give a deaf child from a hearing family access to their families language. Myself, I consider this a fabulous gift of early intervention. It is a visual form of, it is kenesthetic and can be auditory, of course depending on the level of hearing loss. As with ASL from a fluent deaf signer, the child can/does recieve and aquire/learn their families language from people who are fluent in that language.
As with any successful aquisition of language, there must be consistency, accuracy and dedication.
I respectfully disagree, It isn't about the family, it's about the deaf child. Tell me why a deaf child is forced to learn the family's language? This is a very difficult task. It's like telling a handicapped child to walk because the whole family walks. They should find a better and more effective way to communicate even if the hearing parents/family have to learn a whole new language. The difference between a hearing and a deaf child is that spoken and signed languages use dfferent modalities. In the case of the hearing children, they use their hearing mode. In the case of deaf children, they use the visual or seeing mode. So, You cannot expect a deaf child to learn the family's language. It sounds unfair in my opinion.
Cheri- I can see what you are saying, if you are referring to acquiring/learning language through speech only. However, learning the language of your family for a deaf child, imo, is no harder than learning a form of sign (language). I am a cuer of English. I found cueing through my personal experience with the Deaf community, deaf education system, interpreter programs, rehabilitation institutions and the medical system. Cued Speech can/does give a deaf child from a hearing family access to their families language. Myself, I consider this a fabulous gift of early intervention. It is a visual form of, it is kenesthetic and can be auditory, of course depending on the level of hearing loss. As with ASL from a fluent deaf signer, the child can/does recieve and aquire/learn their families language from people who are fluent in that language.
As with any successful aquisition of language, there must be consistency, accuracy and dedication.