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Hearing parents learning sign language: a call for systemic changes
Jos Ritmeester1, Beyza Sümer2, Marije Boonstra3
1Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
|January 23, 2026
Summary
Most deaf children have hearing parents who lack sign language skills, risking language deprivation. Learning sign language early supports development and hearing parents need unbiased guidance and better course options.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Developmental Psychology
- Audiology
Background:
- Most deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children (90-95%) are born to hearing parents without prior sign language knowledge.
- This situation poses a significant risk of language deprivation for DHH children, impacting their language, cognitive, and social-emotional development.
- Existing research indicates that early sign language exposure benefits DHH children's development without impeding spoken language acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the experiences of hearing parents learning sign language.
- To identify barriers and facilitators in parental sign language acquisition.
- To advocate for systemic changes to improve support for hearing parents of DHH children.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative review of existing literature on hearing parents' experiences with sign language learning.
- Analysis of current support systems and course structures for parental sign language education.
- Identification of common challenges faced by parents in acquiring sign language proficiency.
Main Results:
- Hearing parents often face discouragement from professionals and restrictive support systems when attempting to learn sign language.
- While some countries offer insurance-covered courses, these can be medically framed and limit parental choice.
- Limited availability of advanced courses and materials focusing on vocabulary over sentence structure hinder parents' progress.
Conclusions:
- Systemic changes are needed to provide unbiased professional guidance and include Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (DHH) role models.
- Enhancing parental choice in sign language courses and adopting a socio-cultural perspective on sign language are crucial.
- Addressing these issues can mitigate language deprivation risks and support the holistic development of DHH children.
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