What goes through your mind when you see this picture?

What are your thoughts and feelings when you see this picture below? It's an old bumper sticker I have that's around over 35 years old. I scanned it last year for my laptop. I have two of these stickers in my storage box along with one button with the same phrase on it. You can see a picture of that button on the left side of my blog.

Now, is that phrase true today? Can deaf children, which could mean children with mild to profound hearing loss, learn how to talk? Was that phrase true 40 years ago as well? Or should deaf children be best not to be taught on learning how to speak early in their life such as 40 years ago? 30 years ago? 10 years ago? Today???

Look at Deaf Jeff's (aka The Terlinguan blogger) recent video of him talking (although there is no captioning which I'm sure has raised a lot of eyebrows but I give him mega kudos on talking though) about ABC's recent show on discrimination against deaf people, ironically so. He also used his voice in an earlier video back in November 2010 for his hearing family and that's fine as well.  Jeff is an example of that oral success. Just like mine, Tim Riker's, and many others.

Looking back what would have been the consequences of not getting that early opportunity on learning how to speak? Now, remember, it says that deaf children can learn to talk and it says nothing about the inclusion of signing nor does the phrase presume to say (especially today) that signing shouldn't be included, either. Regardless, what are you thinking when you read that bumper sticker?

$10,000 grant from Staples to help deaf/hh kids on early communication skills

The Staples Foundation for Learning (known for their Staples stores) was generous in giving a $10,000 grant to Lake Drive Foundation, a non-profit organization, to help with the early intervention for deaf/hh kids from birth to age three.

The Lake Drive Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports programs for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, has received a $10,000 grant from Staples Foundation for Learning (SFFL), a private foundation created by Staples, Inc. Funding from SFFL be used to support The Sound Start Program to give infants and toddlers with hearing loss the critical help they need from birth to age three to develop their communication skills during the optimal time for auditory learning.

Sound Start operates under the auspices of The Lake Drive Programs in Mountain Lakes, which offers New Jersey's most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth through high school graduation. The Lake Drive Programs provide services for more than 300 students who are deaf or hard of hearing. For more information about The Lake Drive Foundation visit www.lakedrivefoundation.org.

And here's an article about the latest study using a 50 month long longitudinal data that support the effectiveness of auditory-verbal therapy (AVT) for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The study matched children who were deaf or hard of hearing and using listening and spoken language with a control group of children who had typical hearing. Dornan and her team proceeded to conduct bench mark assessments for receptive, expressive, and total language, receptive vocabulary, and speech, and re-assessed at the 9-, 21-, 38- and 50-month mark. Over the last 12 months of the study, the team also assessed for reading and mathematics skills as well as self-esteem.

Results indicate that at the 50-month mark there were no significant differences between the children who are deaf or hard of hearing and the children with typical hearing. Speech perception improved significantly with moderate to high levels at the 50-month mark. Although the group was identified at a mean age of 22.29 months, much later than the current recommended age of 6 months, their language and speech attainments have been the same as the matched control (hearing) group. Reading, mathematics and self-esteem outcomes were also comparable for both groups over the last 12 months of the study period.


Dornan stated, “This study has provided a research model, utilizing a control group matched for language age, which could also be replicated across different languages, cultures, and countries and with different education approaches.” The researchers concluded that auditory-verbal therapy was effective for this group of children with hearing loss.

In short, AVT works.