Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Cognitive Disabilities, Neurodiversities

This program is appropriate for parents of children who are hearing or with hearing differences, cognitive disabilities such as autism, apraxia, Down Syndrome, or other neurodiversity. This program uses signs based on American Sign Language (ASL). It is not an ASL course. ASL is a rich and beautifully distinct language that has a different sentence structure and morphology than English. We encourage parents with children diagnosed as deaf to seek Deaf outreach early and to contact their local community college or state school for the Deaf or a Deaf advocacy center to learn ASL and become familiar with the unique culture of the Deaf community. 

 

We are in support of parents of Deaf children (PODC) who realize the importance of integrating sign language into their everyday lives as soon as possible. Learn more about the recent research regarding early language deprivation in the Deaf community in this interview with

 

We also recommend consulting with your pediatrician and speech therapist about any concerns you may have regarding possible speech delay or other medical issues.

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