2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
| Mythbusting in EHDI: Parental Beliefs About Language Development in Deaf Children
Mythbusting in EHDI: Parental Beliefs About Language Development in Deaf Children
Caregivers of deaf children play a critical role in supporting early language development yet there is no standardized method for sharing evidence based recommendations with families. Many caregivers receive contradictory or inaccurate information from professionals that is often rooted in misconceptions and historical bias (Humphries et al., 2024) . In particular, despite ongoing evidence for the benefits of early sign language exposure (Delcenserie et al., 2024; Goodwin & Lillo-Martin, 2023; Pontecorvo et al., 2023), caregivers continue to report being advised against using sign language with their deaf children.
An evaluation of the prevalence of these myths and their impact on parental decision- making is important to develop interventions that reduce their dissemination and to support professionals in sharing accurate information. To this aim, we will present findings from a study examining self-reported caregiver experience with myths related to language development in deaf children. We used a virtual platform to recruit and survey caregivers of deaf children who use thean app called ASL Bloom, an interactive mobile application designed to teach ASL. Caregivers were shown a list of advice statements they may have been given about their child’s language development and were asked to identify whether they had received that advice, the sources of the advice, and the degree to which they endorsed the information they were given. Preliminary results reveal that over one third of parents reported being told that learning sign language could hinder spoken language development and approximately half of those parents received this information from speech-language pathologists and a third from early interventionists. Throughout the presentation, we will highlight the ongoing need for evidence-based tools for delivering information to families regarding early language exposure for deaf children and share opportunities for professionals to incorporate up to date research into their work.
- List common misconceptions parents of deaf children are presented with about sign language and language development.
- Identify and explore the sources of these myths to leverage community partnerships for educational opportunities
- Develop strategies for improving the practice of delivering evidence-based recommendations to caregivers of deaf children
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Presenters/Authors
Erin Campbell
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Co-Author), Boston University, eecamp@bu.edu;
Erin Campbell is a Research Assistant Professor at the Boston University Deaf Center. She is a hearing researcher who studies early language input and acquisition among children who are deaf, blind, or DeafBlind. Her research spans spoken, signed, and tactile language and operates from the position that accessible language input is a human right.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Arielle Spellun
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, arielle.spellun@bmc.org;
Arielle H. Spellun MD is a hearing Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician at Boston Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Clinically, Dr. Spellun conducts developmental assessments and provides longitudinal care for children with developmental differences and disabilities with a special focus on caring for children who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and their families. Her research focuses on supporting DHH children and their families in the pediatric medical home and educating clinical providers on how to care for DHH children from a Deaf health equity perspective in order to improve linguistic and developmental outcomes.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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No relevant financial relationship exists.
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No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Endre Olsvik Elvestad
(Author,Co-Author), SignLab, endre@signlab.co;
Endre Elvestad is the founder and CEO of SignLab, a startup building a digital learning platform for sign languages. With a passion for enhancing communication and accessibility, Endre leads initiatives that foster inclusive environments and support language acquisition. Through innovative technology and community engagement, he aims to bridge gaps in learning and ensure that all families have access to essential language resources.
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Jennie Pyers
(Author,Co-Author), Wellesley College, jpyers@wellesley.edu;
Jennie Pyers is a Professor of Psychology at Wellesley College. She is a hearing child of deaf parents and is a native signer of ASL and speaker of English. She has spend 30 decades working on the relationship between language and cognition across the lifespan in deaf and hearing language users. She specifically examines the short term and long term cognitive impacts of language deprivation in deaf children.
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Naomi Caselli
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), Boston University, nkc@bu.edu;
Naomi Caselli is an Associate Professor of Deaf Education, co-director of the Deaf Center, and the director of the AI and Education initiative at Boston University. She is hearing, and her first languages are American Sign Language (ASL) and English. She leads a research team that works to make research on language—across education, computer science, linguistics, psychology, and medicine—inclusive of sign languages, and to ensure all deaf children have access to language.
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