It’s 1880 in a beautiful lecture hall in Milan. Deaf children are lined up on display to a conference of teachers from all over Europe. They are debating how best they should be taught – with speech or sign. When the Italian delegate presents profoundly deaf children who can speak clearly, the impact is like a conjuror playing to an enrapt crowd. The audience is enthralled and ‘the oral method’ sweeps the classrooms of Europe like a contagion.
It’s now widely thought that these children were actually hard of hearing, but the smoke and mirrors had a powerful effect and 145 years later, Milan’s legacy is still betraying young deaf children with a pernicious and persistent concept: – that sign language hurts speech acquisition, that speech is the only measure of success and that deaf children will just ‘catch up’.
The Science is clear:
Science can now settle this debate. Language acquisition is at it’s most active from birth, and by age just 2 certain phonological centres are already starting to close. According to Bencie Woll at UCLs Deafness Cognition and Language Project ‘‘For a [deaf] child who, even in the context of early intervention, does not acquire a spoken language, the danger is that they will never have native-like mastery of any’. For deaf children who cannot easily access speech, syntax and phonetic perception can be permanently injured as brain plasticity solidifies into the architecture of toddlerhood.
Access to language is a human right but ‘Language deprivation syndrome’ is sadly not yet consigned to history. That’s why GDA is stepping in to support new parents and carers of deaf children from day one.
An Individual Approach:
For some deaf children, a speech only route can work, for others it is a route to under achievement, even with cochlear implants. We know that deaf children achieve, on average, two grades lower at GCSE, yet deafness itself is not a learning disability.
Accommodating the highly individual needs of deaf children is a challenge for authorities. Currently, neonatal hearing tests set in motion a nationwide machine that provides hearing aids and cochlear implants including oral speech therapy but there is no equivalent machinery to provide visual language as a gateway language.
DCALs 2019 research shows that, far from damaging speech, early exposure to accessible sign-language can actually improve it. Research from Manchester University in 2024 shows this is also true for those with cochlear implants. The key, is access to communication tools and a language-rich environment from birth and this is why parents need to be empowered with the resources they need to find the right path for their child.
Informed choice:
For many, a diagnosis of deafness brings shock, confusion, and fear. The future they imagined for their child suddenly shifts. That’s why GDA steps in to offer peer support, expert guidance, and a safe space to explore communication tools.
Our baby group and family programme, helps parents access experts in the field, communication support, deaf role models and vital peer networks.
It can make a difference to deaf children from day one, impacting lifelong trajectories; and that’s why we need your help.
The need for a community response:
There is no statutory support for parents and carers to learn sign language, despite a fluid, bilingual approach being recommended by experts. The financial barrier doesn’t just restrict choice, it restricts opportunity and puts a cap on many deaf children’s future potential.
Our baby and children’s groups are where the change begins—with gentle, deaf-tailored sensory play, family fun, and connection. Beth, who leads the baby group and is deaf herself, says “It’s important that this is a safe space, a space of discovery where babies can explore and parents can meet each other.”
Shannon runs GDA’s 0 – 8 group which has collective adventures such as riding trips, cookery workshops or mini-beast encounters. She says it’s important that it sits within GDA as ‘a social group, a resource base and also a gateway to GDAs 360 deaf provision’.
This includes everything from hearing aid maintenance to sign language and Deaf awareness training for schools.
Research as far back as 2001 (Oxford) has shown Deaf children facing inclusion barriers in mainstream schools. That’s why GDA’s pioneering Nxt Gen has won an Active Impact award for it’s programme that aims to reduce social isolation and enrich self-esteem for deaf teens. These groups connect our services right from birth through to young adulthood. We are taking a far sighted approach to improve long term trajectories.
The future needs you:
The religion of ‘pure oralism’ is now debunked. The data is in, and it’s time to have faith in our ability to tackle the future, right now. We now have the definitive answer in flexible bilingualism. We now need your support to continue to build a centre of excellence for deaf children right here in Gloucestershire and we now need to act to stop the long shadow of Milan impacting modern children.
You can sponsor a family to learn sign language and be the change. You can help us finance our supportive mother and baby group, you can donate to our children’s peer club Dalmations or raise funds within your organisation to help your team build purpose. We are also looking for partners who want to effect long-term change.
The results of your support won’t be available this year, they will be apparent in 5, 10 or 15 years time. Only by taking the long view will these deaf children become adults who know we have stepped in to give them a chance at their best possible future.
Help us re-write history at partnerships@gda.org.uk or visit GDA | Support a Deaf Charity | Gloucestershire
