Is there a known speech delay for children with deaf mothers?

[mangolassi]

Firstly, I want to say we're not in the UK and don't have access to the usual kind of check ups, etc.

I'm getting a bit worried about dp's nephew. He's 2.10, and doesn't speak much at all. Was very impressed when he said bye bye to me the other day, first time ever. He lives with his mother, who's profoundly deaf, and his grandparents who are both hearing. Mother never learnt to lipread, and the family have their own sign. Nephew doesn't verbalise much, is noticeably quieter than his 1 y o sister. Does make eye contact, points, is interested in things. Just very very quiet.

So what level of speech, at what age, is a cause for concern? Is there a known speech delay associated with having a non-hearing parent, and if so how long? I can't help comparing with dd (my only, who's just 2 and quite far ahead), but I think boys are often slower than girls with language anyway?

Oh, meant to say, one thing that made me think was seeing dd sign to him the other day, same as she would for his mum. I've never seen her do that for anyone else. But he responds if you call his name, follows instructions etc. The whole family was on the lookout for signs that he might have hearing problems and don't think so.

You are right to be concerned.

I had a university friend in my early 20s whose parents were both profoundly deaf. He and his sister had both been put with a CM all day from birth paid for by social services to ensure that they would learn to speak properly - and both did. It is very important for babies to be spoken to right from the beginning.

no idea as no experience, but was struck by 2 things
you say he has a younger sister who talks a lot more, right?
Do his non-deaf grandparents not talk to him? Could you speak to them and voice oyur concerns /encourage them to talk as much as possible to him? Does he go to a playgroup or such like and have contact with other adults & kids? Even tho not in UK, do you not have access to (albeit different) developmental checks & medical support?

Hope someone who knows what they're talking about can come along and help soon

Oh, and maybe post this in SN, you might get noticed more/reach your target audience

surely the grandparents speak to him? definitely sounds like this lad is very behind with his speech. At the late end of 2 as a bare minimum you would expect lots of 2 word phrases - get car/want juice/help me/need book etc, and to be able to pick out a big object from a little object etc. Definitely sounds like this kid could do with seeing a speech therapist, have a hearing test, and possibly have a check up with a paediatrician.

Grandparents do speak to him, he has as much attention as his younger sister (probably had more while he was the only child). His younger sister is just 1, she's not really using words yet but a lot of noises and he's much quieter.

He has a few words, but they're words not phrases - mama, eat, that sort of thing.

well if that child was in Uk the first thing that would be done when he was born would be a hearing test, given the history. I can;t believe they haven;t done that?

If the grandparents are hearing and live with your nephew then there is no reason for him to develop a language delay. But yes, 2 years 10 months is late to talk but it may not be because his mother is deaf. If he was only with the mother then a speech delay may be expected - oten hearing children of deaf parents parents have limited vocabulary knowledge and it's extra important for them to go to playgroup etc to mix with other kids and hearing adults.

Presumably he signs to his mother? maybe his sign language vocab is appropriate for his age?

Are his granparents/mother worried?

Problems with the local hospital would fill a whole other thread, no he hasn't had a hearing test to my knowledge. There is a hospital it might be worth taking him to - but it's 6 hours' drive away.

He signs to his mother, I have no idea what his sign vocab is like though.

I'll look into making an appointment at the hospital. Is there such a thing as a checklist of speech development that I could get hold of, to see exactly where he is? What questions should I be asking to figure out where he is in his development? It's so far away, I'd like to go with as much info as possible to make it as useful as possible.

Roughly, he should have many single words and be joining them in little sentences of 2 or 3 words by now. But, he may be doing this in sign language, in which case spoken English is a second language for him and there would no concern as such, but he should get as much contact with other hearing people to maximise hie spoken language development.

what total rubbish. my dd is perfectly fine with a deaf mother. never shuts up.

Redrosette" the op is not saying that there is concern for all children of deaf children. She is saying that could" there be a concern with this particular one.
In some situations (eg bilingual families) there is a precidence of normal children speaking later-but catching up fairly quickly once they've started to speak. I assumed that was what she was wondering.

Op, by the sound of it, he is behind. It could be that he also has hearing issues (was it congenital with your sil, or accident/illness?) if it is genetic. It could be that the family have got into the habit of signing when sil is around and speaking less. If they are speaking less-it may be with you around they speak more than usual-then naturally he will talk less, but I would expect him to catch up fairly easily when going to school/preschool.

I know with my ds, who has hearing issues relating to glue ear, when his hearing is bad, he reverts to signing and doesn't speak. It's often the first sign of a burst ear drum, in him.

You say your dn understands you? As in respond correctly if you ask him to put his shoes on, put his drink on the table, come with you. To really test his hearing, try doing it so he can't see your mouth. I discovered how much my ds was lipreading when he was about 4yo. I thought it was just a cute little quirk that he liked to pat my cheek when he was talking to me. Turned out he was turning my face to him so he could lipread.

If he understands, and follows instructions, my instincts would say that he'll catch up. If he doesn't seem to understand without facing you/imitating your dd etc. then the first thing would be to test his hearing. But it sounds like that's fine.

If he'll go to preschool soon then I wouldn't worry too much. If he's got a few years to go before he goes to that sort of thing, could you take him once a week, or suggest something they could go to with him where they'll be speaking to him more. It's hard to do much without sounding like you're interfering, it may come better from dp rather than you. You don't want to sound like you're comparing him to your dd and saying she's much better. It doesn't come across in your op like that, but I can imaging how it could sound to a sil who may already be worrying about such things.

He signs to his mother, I have no idea what his sign vocab is like though.

A six month old who is signed to will have about 200 signs, a 2 year old wil have more and be able to use the correct grammer (in sign).

I know a few deaf people, I also have friends who are BSL / English interpreters. They have all taught their children sign from birth. In the case of the hearing interpreters, this has been alongside English, for the deaf parents they have ensured that grandparents, aunts, friends have taught them English.

I once met a deaf friend in the supermarket, her 3 year old was in the seat bit in the trolly, we started signing to each other and the little one started to voice what we were signing - interpreting for me - so cute.

There can be a slight delay if the child is exposed to one language more than another, but this happens in families who practise OPOL - with the child favoring one language.

I agree with DeWe about asking him to do things, if he doesn't understand then maybe a trip to hospital for a test. If he can hear and understand then maybe at the moment he just doesn't want to speak. Our hands develop quicker than our voices, a new baby gan grip but cannot say a word. A baby can sign before they can speak.

It is also quite normal for CODAs (Child of deaf adults) to not know what hearing is when they are small. They assume everyone can sign because everyon in their world does.

The forrest bookshop stores books on anythign deaf and to do with deafness

www.forestbooks.com/

A Journey into the Deaf-World is worth a read, although it is american and a couple of years out of date. Ask your library.

In Silence: Growing Up Hearing In A Deaf World Ruth Sidranksy - I've not read this, but it might give you an idea of wheat your nephew and niece are experiencing.

I know this is a zombie thread but, as a hearing child of deaf parents I'd like to point out that much of what has been said here is rubbish! BSL is a language in its own right and if the child is expressing himself well in BSL then there is no reason to be concerned. Why not ask his mother? Yes children of deaf parents may speak later, but it all comes right in the end.

Tales of children being sent to childminders paid for by social services are either an extreme exaggeration or very outdated.

I also think the idea of the OP making a hospital appointment for the child off her own back, without consulting the mother is wholly inappropriate and very patronising.