Sign language delays in deaf 3- to 5-year-olds with deaf parents

Research has demonstrated that deaf children of deaf signing parents (DOD) are afforded developmental advantages. This can be misconstrued as indicating that no DOD children exhibit early language delays (ELDs) because of their early access to a visual language. Little research has studied this presumption. In this study, we examine 174 ratings of DOD 3- to 5-year-old children, for whom signing in the home was indicated, using archival data from the online database of the Visual Communication and Sign Language Checklist. Our goals were to (1) examine the incidence of ELDs in a cohort of DOD children; (2) compare alternative scaling strategies for identifying ELD children; (3) explore patterns among behavioral ratings with a view toward developing a greater understanding of the types of language behaviors that may lie at the root of language delays; and (4) suggest recommendations for parents and professionals working with language-delayed DOD children. The results indicated that a significant number of ratings suggested ELDs, with a subset significantly delayed. These children likely require further evaluation. Among the less delayed group, ASL skills, rather than communication or cognition, were seen as the major concern, suggesting that even DOD children may require support developing linguistically accurate ASL. Overall, these findings support the need for early and ongoing evaluation of visual language skills in young DOD children.