Sign Language Is Best for Deaf Children. Researchers dispute value of speech acquisition through technology

How to teach deaf children language has been a controversial issue, especially with the advent of modern hearing technology.

In an post published in the December 2016 Social Service Review, a group of researchers, most of whom have hearing loss themselves, says that a “speech only” approach using technology is hurting many deaf children by preventing them from learning language in their first critical years, resulting in impaired brain development and inflicting lasting harm on their cognitive and psychosocial functioning.