Deafness and Mental Health: Indigenous Sign Languages and its implication on Indigenous Population in Canada and Australia
Presenters: Rodney Adams, Paula Wesley
Language Deprivation Syndrome is a chronic problem underestimated and misunderstood by professionals working within deaf and indigenous fields. The use of Indigenous Sign languages on both continents were very much a ‘part of we are’ traditionally and yet there has been very little focus on its relevance in combatting the widespread prominence of Language Deprivation Syndrome. With so many Indigenous children with hearing loss on both continents the debilitating effects of limited language imput needs to be urgently addressed.