10 hearing difficulties and communication
Language makes learning and community possible
Carmen and the other deaf young people in Nicaragua proved to the
world that sign language is a natural and complete language that
develops in a community. As with any other language, to use sign
language you need a group of people to use it with.
As Carmen and other children developed the Nicaraguan sign language
and their communication skills, they also developed abilities to describe
things, solve problems, and make their feelings, needs, and ideas known.
Sign language not only gave the children a way to communicate, it
helped them develop their ability to think.
Sign language lets me speak with others,
learn about the world, and say what I think.
I am no longer alone, feeling frustrated, or
confused. Sign language — my language —
lets me be a part of a community.
Accepting differences can bring people together
Deaf people are different in the
way they understand and use
language to communicate and
express themselves. Rather than
pretending that differences do
not exist, it is wiser to accept
Do not turn
away — I am
not ashamed.
I am proud to
be deaf!
the differences and use them to
bring people together. Many hearing people say that
deaf people have helped them become ‘warmer’ and
more expressive in how they relate to others.
One of the reasons the Nicaraguan children
developed such a complete language is there
were many children using it. They could do this
because the people of Nicaragua decided to put
more of their resources into education. They
started an educational reform movement that
created a strong school system for all children —
including children who were deaf or could not
hear well.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)