Why does American Sign Language become a first language for many deaf people?
Parents are often the source of a child’s early acquisition of language. A deaf child who is born to deaf parents who already use American Sign Language will begin to acquire American Sign Language as naturally as a hearing child picks up spoken language from hearing parents. However, language is acquired differently by a deaf child with hearing parents who have no prior experience with American Sign Language. Some hearing parents choose to introduce sign language to their deaf children. Hearing parents who choose to learn sign language often learn it along with their child. Nine out of every ten children who are born deaf are born to parents who hear. Other communication models, based in spoken English, exist apart from American Sign Language, including oral, auditory-verbal, and cued speech. As with any language, interaction with other children and adults is also a significant factor in acquisition. Why emphasize early language learning? Parents should introduce deaf children to lang
