Irish Sign Language (ISL) and Lamh (the Irish word for ‘hand’) are both manual languages with distinct similarities and differences. ISL is used by about 1,077 individuals in Ireland, mainly the signing deaf community, and is not a formally-recognised language. Lamh, a signing system for children and adults with intellectual disability and communication needs, is
Deaf children don’t absorb spoken vocabulary or language as their hearing peers do. Instead, their parents, guardians and/or carers are responsible for this early learning. Spoken language acquisition at an early age is crucial for deaf infants with digital hearing-devices, especially in Irish households where both parents can work outside the home. Talk During Your Daily
Communication is a major decision for parents of deaf children, as it will shape their child’s life and prospects from an early age, with implications for their education and working life. Here’s a communication options chart with all the options and their commitments for families to review. Printing the chart to discuss with your family and others may help
Explaining hearing-devices to children (a deaf child, siblings, family, friends or peers) can be a challenge in making sure everyone understands the facts. Concept books are great for explaining to all children the specific frustrations and issues deaf children can experience. Understanding is increased, with the deaf child realising others are in their position, and hearing children
On March 23, 2008, Newstalk FM featured IDK in its Change-Makers series. Note: Caroline has since had two cochlear implants, which make her speech clearer now. Newstalk’s Louise Williams spoke with the founder of IDK, Caroline Carswell. Here is the full conversation. C: Caroline Carswell and L: Louise Williams C: ‘My name is Caroline Carswell and I’ve been
Deafness isn’t the tragedy that it was, at one time. With sustained early intervention and hearing-devices from birth to age three, a baby or child who is deaf achieves a good quality of life with their own personal milestones. However, if deafness is diagnosed at a late stage (after the child is 2.5 years of
Speech is a priceless gift. Especially when it has to be acquired through intensive speech therapy, language lessons and hours of pronunciation practice. Babies with a hearing impairment aren’t able to absorb and replicate the speech heard in their environment, as their hearing peers do. Help is needed, but the huge effort is rewarded with
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