2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
| Map the Gap: Analyzing ASL and Spoken English Language Growth Rates for DHH Children
Map the Gap: Analyzing ASL and Spoken English Language Growth Rates for DHH Children
INTRODUCTION
Language needs appear in American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English for many deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children to varying degrees and with different trajectories. We analyze the degree to which DHH children are making progress towards achieving age-expected language milestones for ASL and/or English and the influence of attaining Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) benchmarks.
METHODS
DHH children from the Kansas Language Assessment Program–DHH who use ASL (n=51; mean age=48 months) and/or spoken English (n=69; mean age=45 months) participated. Participants vary in hearing levels, hearing technology use, and educational settings. Growth rates were calculated by dividing the change in mastered language age level in months on the ASL/English Language Milestones by the months between administrations (ASL mean=11.7 months; English mean=14.7 months).
RESULTS
For ASL, 16% of participants exhibited a growth rate above 1 (narrowing the gap), 47% increased their mastered language level but did not narrow the gap, 33% did not increase their mastered language age, and 4% showed a decrease in language level between administrations.
For spoken English, 7% of participants exhibited a growth rate above 1, 61% increased their mastered language level but did not narrow the gap, and 32% did not increase their mastered language age between administrations.
To evaluate the influence of EHDI benchmarks attainment, we conduct analyses analogous to those above for children who: met 1-2-3 benchmarks, met 1-3-6 benchmarks, and did not meet 1-3-6 benchmarks.
DISCUSSION
For ASL and spoken English, the majority of DHH children increased their language skills but did not “narrow the gap” relative to peers with typical hearing. Additional analyses aim to evaluate possible reasons for variation in language growth rates, including attainment of EHDI benchmarks, to identify ways to improve progress.
- Explain how to use the ASL/English Language Milestones measure to measure language growth.
- Describe different patterns of language development that can be captured from multiple administrations of the ASL/English Language Milestones measure.
- Apply research findings regarding ASL and spoken English growth to serving deaf and hard of hearing children.
Presentation:
3545975_18348TashaAnslyn.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Tasha Anslyn
(Primary Presenter,Author), Vanderbilt University, tasha.l.anslyn@vanderbilt.edu;
Tasha Anslyn completed her undergraduate degrees in Communication Sciences & Disorders and Neuroscience at The University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a graduate student in the Speech-Language Pathology program at Vanderbilt University, participating in the Pediatric Hearing Loss specialty track. At UT Austin, she worked with Dr. Liberty Hamilton and Dr. Garret Kurteff in the NeuroComm Labs, analyzing neuroimaging data of speech production and processing. She currently works with Dr. Jena McDaniel at Vanderbilt’s CLIMB lab, focusing on language development of deaf and hard of hearing children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Angie Walker
(Author,Co-Author), Kansas School for the Deaf, awalker@kssdb.org;
Angie Walker is the project manager for Project GLASS: Growth of Language & Access – Signed and Spoken at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She previously served as coordinator of the Kansas School for the Deaf Language Assessment Program-Deaf/Hard of Hearing (LAP-DHH) and continues to provide support for the program. Ms. Walker received her Master of Education degree from Lewis and Clark College in 1998, and she is licensed by the State of Kansas as a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing and reading specialist. She has worked in deaf education since 1998 and as an educational diagnostician since 2004.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Julie Bustos
(Author,Co-Author), Kansas School for the Deaf, jbustos@kssdb.org;
Julie Bustos received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Fort Hays State University and her M.S. in Deaf Education from the National Technical Institute of the Deaf. She started as a Language Assessment Program-Deaf and Hard of Hearing (LAP-DHH) specialist in 2023 after working in education for thirteen years and then became the LAP-DHH coordinator in 2024. As the LAP-DHH coordinator she is responsible for coordinating the evaluation, collection, and dissemination of aggregated data to key stakeholders as well as providing training and guidance to LAP-DHH specialists.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Jena McDaniel
(Author,Co-Author), Vanderbilt University, jena.mcdaniel@vumc.org;
Jena McDaniel, PhD, CCC-SLP is an assistant professor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences and director of the Child Language Intervention and Best practices (CLIMB) Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Her research interests include language intervention effectiveness and efficiency for deaf and hard of hearing children and children with autism spectrum disorder. She earned her PhD from Vanderbilt University and then completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Kansas. She previously worked at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, including serving on their specialized teams for deaf and hard of hearing children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -