Executive Summary

Children who are deaf and hard of hearing have historically been deprived of language and access to many programs and services. 95% of Deaf children are born to hearing parents who struggle to communicate with their child.

Parents are unfamiliar with Early Visual Communication strategies and do not use sign language, meaning parents do not engage with their children in play and communication and miss out on opportunities for the child to build complex language and ideas. This results in language deprivation for Deaf children which has a devastating lifetime impact on them academically, socially, and healthwise.

When hearing parents are given support, resources, and mentoring, they become motivated to use signing and visual communication. Motion Light Lab and SKI-HI Institute are partnering to combine their expertise and resources in order to scale up their programs. They also plan to carry out an awareness campaign to help families develop healthy communication and play with their children who are deaf and hard of hearing. These resources benefit ALL children, deaf and hearing.

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