Deafness and Autism “The rate of autism in children with hearing loss is higher than hearing children. Hearing loss in children with autism is ten times higher than the general public and is often overlooked” (Williams). Autism is a developmental disorder that usually affects a child’s/ persons social skills, including communicating with people and participating in social relationships. Autism also affects sensory perception, because of this children/ people with autism try to avoid situations in which triggers a sensory overload. Deafness is commonly associated with autism, though unfortunately goes unnoticed because the behavior becomes a distraction and mask for any hearing loss or deafness in autistic children. Because deafness in autistic
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The Gallaudet Research Institute is one institutes that are doing research on this topic. “Their data showed that during the 2009-2010 school years the number of children with hearing loss and receiving services for autism was 1 in 59. That is nearly twice the rate of hearing children with autism that is 1 in 110” (Williams). Studies have shown that autism and deafness occur more frequently together than that of hearing children with autism or deaf children with out autism. It has been shown that children who are deaf get diagnosed a year later with autism then children who are hearing. Children who are deaf usually get diagnosed with autism around the age of four where hearing children usually get diagnosed with autism around the age of three. This is due to the fact that at this moment there are currently no tools that can be used to test deaf children with autism. The “gold standard” for testing children with autism actually states that it does not work for children who are deaf. How are we supposed to help our children if we don't have the proper tools to do …show more content…
Sign language is considered a picture language and because it is so visual using sign language stimulates parts of their brain that are inactive due to the breakdown of spoken language. It is that stimulation that makes sign language act like a bridge for children with autism. “If visual skills are essential to the deaf child, and visual skills and visual languages are essential to the child with autism, then the communication needs of the child who is deaf and has autism would appear to be best served visually” ( Sign language acts as a visual aid for these children which helps them relate to the words better and help them to get their points across more efficiently. Bridging the gap of communication can help children with autism share their needs and wants, that alone reduces the amount of tantrums and anxiety that those children feel when their needs aren't met. Another great benefit to teaching children with autism sign language is that the signs help the children associate gestures with meaning, they begin to have more expressive language skills when using sign and that is a building block for social interaction. It is widely misinformed that teaching nonverbal children sign language will cause their children never to develop verbal speech, which in fact is the exact opposite. “Sign language supports development of cognitive structures that are
The Gallaudet Research Institute is one institutes that are doing research on this topic. “Their data showed that during the 2009-2010 school years the number of children with hearing loss and receiving services for autism was 1 in 59. That is nearly twice the rate of hearing children with autism that is 1 in 110” (Williams). Studies have shown that autism and deafness occur more frequently together than that of hearing children with autism or deaf children with out autism. It has been shown that children who are deaf get diagnosed a year later with autism then children who are hearing. Children who are deaf usually get diagnosed with autism around the age of four where hearing children usually get diagnosed with autism around the age of three. This is due to the fact that at this moment there are currently no tools that can be used to test deaf children with autism. The “gold standard” for testing children with autism actually states that it does not work for children who are deaf. How are we supposed to help our children if we don't have the proper tools to do …show more content…
Sign language is considered a picture language and because it is so visual using sign language stimulates parts of their brain that are inactive due to the breakdown of spoken language. It is that stimulation that makes sign language act like a bridge for children with autism. “If visual skills are essential to the deaf child, and visual skills and visual languages are essential to the child with autism, then the communication needs of the child who is deaf and has autism would appear to be best served visually” ( Sign language acts as a visual aid for these children which helps them relate to the words better and help them to get their points across more efficiently. Bridging the gap of communication can help children with autism share their needs and wants, that alone reduces the amount of tantrums and anxiety that those children feel when their needs aren't met. Another great benefit to teaching children with autism sign language is that the signs help the children associate gestures with meaning, they begin to have more expressive language skills when using sign and that is a building block for social interaction. It is widely misinformed that teaching nonverbal children sign language will cause their children never to develop verbal speech, which in fact is the exact opposite. “Sign language supports development of cognitive structures that are