Is Sign Language the Same in Other Countries?

No one form of sign language is universal. Different sign languages are used in different countries or regions. For example, British Sign Language (BSL) is a different language from ASL, and Americans who know ASL will not understand BSL.

How Do Most Children Learn ASL?

A Deaf child born to parents who are Deaf and who already use ASL will begin to acquire ASL as naturally as a hearing child picks up spoken language from hearing parents.  Deaf children, who grow up with ASL, meet and often surpass the linguistic milestones of hearing children.  Hearing parents who choose to learn sign language often learn it along with their child.

However, nine out of 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who hear. Approximately, 95% of these parents choose not to introduce sign language to their Deaf children. This is an alarming statistic but one that is very real. These Deaf children of Hearing parents typically grow up lacking all of the rich linguistic input afforded to their Hearing peers and Deaf peers born into signing families.