Download The Evaluation Report – Psichological

Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
Dušan Kuhar: Psychological evaluation
Theimportanceof sign communication in child's development
Modern developmental psychology argues that the most important component of the
child's complex development is his or her emotional development, which is the
foundation for his or her cognitive, social and linguistic development. Emotional
development, as well as social development, is predominantly formed in social
relations “with important others", usually the mother. Also significant are the
relationships between the child and parents, between the parents, among the family
members, among the child and educators, and between the child and his or her
peers. Good quality communication is necessary for a good relationship.
This means that the best foundation for the entire development of the child is that
s/he is happy, loved, accepted "such as s/he is", relaxed in communication etc. It is
important that s/he understands the environment and is understood, and that s/he
does the things that s/he enjoys, etc.
Therefore, I believe that for most children, especially for children with special needs
(deaf, hard of hearing, children with autism spectrum disorders or speech and
language disorders) it is important to start to communicate with others as soon as
possible and in a relaxed way, so that they don’t waste the most valuable years
without communication, without the parents guessing what the child wants, and the
children experiencing frustration because their parents do not understand. As visual
communication is needed for good communication, it is very important to promote
sign communication as well.
I strongly agree with the thought oftheauthorMahshie:
"Allowthechildren to be only children, allow their parents to be only parents, and allow
the teachers to be only teachers!"
To allow all children, especially children with special needs, to be only children
means that they aregiven a comfortable and relaxed childhood, where they can
communicate and learnin a natural way. To allow this means not to require from them
too demanding and pointless efforts and tasks at the age when they need the same
activities as other children: communication, exploration and play. Anything else would
be similar to forcing a child into competitive sport where some would thrive, whereas
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
others would become bitterly disappointed. It takes certain preparation, maturity and
interest to be able to start taking in and receiving instruction. Children with special
needs have the right to lead a normal, full social life.
Very often I come upon the reminder on “every lost moment " in relation to children
with special needs. Yet, this is dangerous because too much motivation leads to
overburdening the child, which leads to distress and emotional problems.
Unfortunately, we have seen quite a few such cases. It is therefore necessary to
keep the sound mind. Children do have special needs, but they also have the same
needs as their peers and these should not be deprived.
I’ve read the following comparison:
It takes many years of hard work for a family to build a wonderful new home.
However, we must pay attention that during the construction of the house we do not
forget about our family, partner, children, because it could easily happen that while
we were zealously building a beautiful house, we neglected and lost ourfamily.
Excessive focus on the child's deficits can lead to ignoring other areas, such as the
psychosocial needs of the child.
We must allow the parents to be just parents in the traditional parental role. We must
help them to establish the best possible communication with the child as soon as
possible,to be relaxed with him, to enjoy together, to laugh, and not to worry that they
will be left alone. We shouldn’t force them into the roles of therapists and teachers.
We must never worsen their feelings of guilt by saying: "If you practice with the child,
s/he will thrive, s/he will be able to speak etc.", meaning: "It is your fault if the child
doesn’t progress, as you haven’t done enough."
If we compare the development of language in hearing children living in hearing
environment, and in deaf children who are immersed in sign language from birth, we
see that they go through similar stages of language development, but at different
speedof progress from level to level. Both begin with non-verbal communication
(facial expressions, body language, eye contact, gestures, etc.) and then gradually
switch to spoken language or. speech (the hearing) or sign language (the deaf). The
difference is in the deaf and hearing children who live in sign language environment
from birth, who start producing gestures or using signs with their hands as early as
from 6 months of age when they begin to communicate intentionally with the
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
environment. During this period, both children are already able to use their first signs,
to point with fingers andsimilar (PrinzandPrinz 1979). The first words in hearing
children are uttered much later, only in the second year of life, which is at least half a
year later. Children are able to use their hands for meaningful gestures much earlier
than they are able to control their speech organs. Linguists like William
Stokoebelievethatsign communication is a "significantly older process thanspeech"
(William Stokoe 1978). Early research on the development of language ignored the
importance of gestures in language development. Today we know that gestures
(signs) are very important for early social interactions with adults, and that all children
use gestures to communicate their needs and interests. Gestures are being
developed and used alongside speech also later in life.
Therefore, if during this period (the second half of the first year of life) we encourage
sign communication in all children, we enable them for better communication with
the environment and we assure them well-being, the feelings of acceptance, security,
and diminish misunderstanding and frustration. Some studies have reported that the
children who use sign communication master a larger vocabulary of signs in the first
two years than the usual (hearing) children’s vocabulary of spoken words (Ackerman
1990). Manyauthors (Marschark 2012) reportedthat early learning of sign
communication has a positive impact on the learning of speech and other cognitive
functions.
Many hearing people are afraid of sign communication. They believe it will slow down
or even inhibit speech development. In particular, these fears are still present in the
education of deaf children. Experts who advise against sign communication in deaf
children see them only as “the ear” that functions and is stimulated. However,
children are not just "ears", not just "speech", not just "listening"; they are a lot more:
"the heart that feels," "the brain that remembers," "the eyes that are wondering" etc.
However, there still remain false myths about the development of sign language.
Some false myths about the language of deafchildren (Marschark 2012):
• "Sign languages are a primitive form of communication that is appropriate for the
children who have failed the oral method “. The truth is that sign languages fully
support the development and education of deaf children and that these languages
are equivalent to spoken languages.
• "Learning sign language inhibits the learning of speech." For this claim there is no
scientific proof. Learning sign language often even encourages the learning of
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
speech in deaf children.
• "Every deaf child can learn to speak." This view does not take account of deaf
children who have less capacity for speech. The speech of some deaf people ishard
to understand if you are not accustomed to it.
• "Early detection and help in the first 6 months allow deaf children normal language
development." Even with early detection and help deaf children are found in the
bottom 25% of normal language development scales of their hearing peers.
• "Deaf children with cochlear implants develop normal speech and language '. Many
develop speech and language, but rarely as good as their hearing peers.
• "Children with cochlear implants should not learn sign language." There is no
evidence that learning sign language is harmful. But there is evidence that learning
sign language leads to better educational and social outcomes.
• "Hard-of-hearing children develop language and learning skills similar to
theirhearing peers." Even children with minimal hearing loss often lag behind in the
field of language and learning achievements.
However, studies around the world prove just the opposite, namely that sign
communication promotes the development of speech. These studies most often
research deaf and hard of hearing children, and argue that there is no evidence that
the early use of sign language in deaf children inhibitsspeechdevelopment
(Marschark 1998, RonnieWilbur).
• In 1989, York University’s Department of Education (Toronto) and the Boston
University Center for the Study of Communication and Deafness produced a
literature review of sign language and the language of the majority, the impact on
school and academic success andon social development(Israelite, Ewoldt,
Hoffmaister1989 ). The report shows evidence of three decades that deaf children
who use sign language from an early age, haveage-appropriate cognitive, language
and social development levels, and that learning sign language as the first language
promotes the learning of the majority language.
• The research of bilingualism proves that the first and second languages are
complementary, not exclusive (Mahshine 1995).
• Research in psychology and education proves that visually and verbally presented
information is better understood and remembered than the information that isgiven
onlyverbally or visually (Marschack 2012).
Early learning of sign language does not compromise the learning of written or
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
spoken language, on the contrary, it even encourages it (Hakuta 1990). In many
studies, deaf children of deaf parents who used sign language from birth achieved
equal or better results compared with deaf children of hearing parents in the fields of
speech and learning. The first language is also a good predictor for the development
of a second language, because it serves as the foundation. Deaf children of deaf
parents have full access to language from birth. Research shows that their language
development is the same, if not faster (at least initially), than in deaf children of
hearing parents.
Theories do not support the view that the two languages are located inseparate
areas of the brain; but there is a common foundation that supports both languages.
The evidence for this are the deaf children of deaf parents who achieve better
academic and social results on all levels of schooling, and who are four times more
likely to make it through to the university than deaf children of hearing parents.
The famous linguist from the Universityof Stockholm IngerAhlgrensaysthat: "Experts
no longer believe that sign language is a threat to the normal development of the
deaf child, but that it is the best guarantee for it." (Ahlgren 1989)
CONCLUSIONS
I believe that we should not be afraid of sign communication and that we can use it
with any child. Sign communication will have a positive impact on cognitive
development, language development, socialization and education. The latest
research of language development encourages this approach.
I believe that the progress of children should be seen not only through his or her
progress of speech and language, but also through important psychosocial
components of development. Do they understand the environment and are they
understood? Do these children have friends? How do they feel? Can they have
relaxed interactions with their environment?
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Project number:
510622-LPP-1-2010-1-SI-COMENIUS-CMP
LITERATURE
Marschack, M., Psychological Development of Deaf Children, Oxford University
Press 1993.
Lynas, S. W., Communication options and the education ofdeafchildren,
WhurrPublishers: London 1994.
Heiling, Kerstin, TheDevelopmentofDeafChildren, Signum: Hamburg 1995.
Mahshie, EducatingDeafChildren Bilingually, Gallaudet University Press: Washington
DC 1995.
Kuhar, D., Dopustimo gluhim otrokom, da so samo otroci in njihovim staršem, da so
samo starši, Cogito, Zavod za gluhe in naglušne Ljubljana: Ljubljana (Slovenia) 2001.
Kuhar, D., Znakovni jezik, da ali ne? Posvet o PV, Center za sluh in govor Maribor:
Maribor (Slovenia).
Stewart D., Clarke B., LiteracyandyourDeafChild, GallaudetUniversityPress:
Washington DC 2003.
Marschack M., Hauser P., Deaf cognition, Oxford University Press 2008.
Marschack M., Hauser P., How Deaf children learn, Oxford University Press 2012.
ThisprojecthasbeenfundedwithsupportfromtheEuropeanCommission.
Thispublication [communication] reflectstheviewsonlyoftheauthor,
andtheCommissioncannotbeheldresponsibleforanyusewhichmaybemadeoftheinformationcontainedtherein.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the
author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.