Language and Communication Access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

When working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing, it is important to understand the diverse language and communication practices of students. For many deaf and hard of hearing children, having a hearing loss can impact their  ability to learn and develop language, which in the absence of early intervention strategies, may result in communication and language delays.

This VDEI e-learning module provides learners with an overview of the different language and communication strategies used by deaf and hard of hearing children, including Auslan, fingerspelling, spoken language and bilingualism. Participants will learn about the relationship between language acquisition and literacy development and the associated impacts on deaf and hard of hearing learners. The module will also provide an overview of other communication access supports, including interpreting, translation, and captioning, which can be employed in education settings to improve deaf and hard of hearing children’s access to language and communication. 

VDEI recommend the use of Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari (Macintosh users only) as the preferred web browsers to seamlessly access this learning.

After completing this module, participants will be able to:

• describe the diverse language and communication options for deaf and hard of hearing children
• explain the impact of deafness on language acquisition and literacy development in deaf and hard of hearing children
• describe the types of language and communication access supports available to deaf and hard of hearing children

This On-Demand presentation is delivered in spoken English with captioning.