Below you will find the first anthology, a collection of the true stories on oral deaf education from various blogs and websites.  For this anthology, the focus is on the results of banning of natural sign language, which depriving deaf babies of cognitive abilities.  Granted, to develop cognitive ability is the most significant key to acquiring language.  In due course, each link will give you an insight to a true story.  

Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) as announced at the AG Bell Association for the Deaf website…(you need to paste this url address) http://agbellacademy.org/principal-auditory.htm

The principle #3 of 10 prohibits sign language and speech reading.

 Prohibiting natural sign language and speech reading does deprive the deaf babies of vital cognitive abilities for acquiring natural language.  The links below present the reasons why deaf babies must never be deprived of natural sign language. 

The Impact of Sign Language on the Cognitive Development of Deaf Children: The Case of Theories of Mind by Cyril Courtin – This scholarly article shows that signing deaf children of deaf signing parents consistently outperformed oral deaf children of hearing parents, signing children of hearing parents and hearing children of hearing parents, et cetera.

The Greatest Irony by Amy Cohen-Efron – This vlog presents two sides: hearing babies learning signs and deaf babies not allowed to sign.  

Who Will Speak Up for Deaf Children? by Adian Mack – This vlog features the video clips from the “Journey to Sound.”  The narrator in the “Journey to Sound” tells you that it is normal for parents to laugh out of joy while their babies bawled during the mapping test, suffering from the shock of shrills racing throughout inside their heads.  For the majority of deaf adults with cochlear implants who underwent the mapping test, this kind of practice is unacceptable.  Whenever a therapist is not sensitive during the mapping test, it is painful.

Two Cochlear Implants Stories by Hana – From a gathering she attended, Hana shares a story she learned about the two deaf girls with cochlear implants who performed contrarily. 

Two Boys With the Same Hearing Loss by Hana – This blog narrates the real life stories about the cousins who have the same hearing loss yet their cognitive abilities and language skills are so opposite, due to the decisions their parents made.

 Now that you have gone through the sources, you can see how prohibiting natural sign language undoubtedly deprives the deaf babies of vital cognitive abilities for acquiring language.  The deaf babies must never be deprived of natural sign language.  Lastly but not least, using natural sign language also enhances deaf babies to develop cognitive abilities, to acquire language, to speak, and to hear. 

Please visit Deaf Bilingual Coalition for more articles that are scholarly researched.

 Anthology II to be continued

This blog will have guest bloggers as well as an anthology of the true stories from other blogs and websites.  The ultimate purpose of the Oral Deaf Education Confidential blog is to educate the parents with babies who have hearing loss or are deaf, so they could be fully informed in order to make an unbiased decision for their children.

In addition, some successful students coming from the oral deaf education background who are now deaf adults.  They have been sharing their true stories: upon learning natural sign language, at the price of oralism, they realized how much they suffered the stunted emotional, social, and psychological developments.  Now that they are members of deaf community, they are much happier going back and forth between deaf community and society.