Parents of Deaf Children: Communication Challenges & Adapting to New Methods

Introduction

Regardless of the type of communication parents adopt with their child, whether sign language, oral language or a mixture of both, they face challenges replacing the learned habits of communication with new methods (White, & Cooper, 2017). The adaptation process leads to disrupted interactions, which strains the children and parents alike while also affecting the duties of the parents.

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Why is Communication a Central Issue?

For parents of deaf children, the communication between the parent and the child is an essential issue since parents must learn on ways of actively communicating with their children. The centrality of communication in the parent-child relationship of deaf children is because of interconnected factors. For example, some parents regard sign language as a temporary measure until a child receives implantation or their hearing aid makes them learn the language (Napoli et al., 2015). In some situations, changing to oral communication is a possibility. The lack of communication is so apparent to the extent that the child starts becoming frustrated.

Give the Pros and Cons of using Sign Language.

Sign language allows the deaf to promptly and efficiently communicate with others. Most deaf people use combinations of lip-reading, written communication, and sign language in their daily duties. Additionally, sign language helps in child development over the first three years. After three years, language acquisition becomes challenging for a child as the brain matures. Sign language gives these children the chance of acquiring skills in this vital period. However, sign language is disadvantageous as it requires using hands in making gestures, which is a problem for people not using their hands such as those affected with Parkinson's disease (Napoli et al., 2015). Also, sign language has its unique grammatical structure, culture, and history, which makes the shift to writing a challenge.

Give the Pros and Cons of Oral/Aural Communication

Verbal communication consumes less time, with the speaker not having to refer to a specific text or book. Through verbal communication, the parent and child are closer to each other in terms of ideas and individual personality (White & Cooper, 2017). However, verbal communication is very unreliable in relaying information since messages can be distorted or exaggerated.

References

White, K. R., & Cooper, L. Z. (2017). Opportunities and shared decision-making to help children who are deaf to communicate. Pediatrics, 140(1), e20171287. Retrieved from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/140/1/e20171287.full.pdf

Napoli, D. J., Mellon, N. K., Niparko, J. K., Rathmann, C., Mathur, G., Humphries, T., ... & Lantos, J. D. (2015). Should all deaf children learn sign language?. Pediatrics, 136(1), 170-176. Retrieved from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/1/170