Sign Language… and ASD/DHH Students

Let me start off by saying that this is not intended as a debate, an argument, or a stance on right vs wrong. It is simply some observations, hopefully shared without bias (although I know that always creeps in and we can never truly avoid it).

I have read many articles and had the pleasure of working with many students who are both autistic (ASD) and deaf/hard of hearing (DHH). The combination of the two conditions pose a unique challenge for language acquisition and development. When a child has both autism and hearing loss it is not just an additive effect of two issues. Together they create a unique set of challenges for language learning which require, in my opinion, a multifaceted approach.

A frequent discussion both in the literature and in practice, is the use of sign language for autistic students. Specifically, though, I am talking about the use of sign with autistic deaf/hard of hearing students. A situation was recently shared with me regarding a non-verbal student who had been in a class with other DHH students where sign language was being used. The teachers felt that the student was not signing and so this was not the best placement. The student was then moved to a class with other ASD students. Here the teachers immediately noticed the student’s use of sign and they used it to communicate with him. While he was only using single signs at a time, these ‘one-word’ signs were helpful in allowing the student to express himself in a quick manner. The teachers continued to supplement the sign with other methods of communication. In one class, the signs appeared to be non-existent as compared to the other more fluent and expressive signing students, however in the other the signs were clearly evident and facilitated language.

This story was in my head recently as I was reading an article about teaching sign language to students with autism. The question of whether the students could learn to sign was discussed. What does ‘learn sign language’ mean? As educators, do we give up and not use sign language as a method of communication because our students are only using one sign at a time? Are two-sign phrases the cut-off? If our end game is communication then wouldn’t any and all be the optimal approach?