President Cordano advocates for sign language from birth

President Cordano has written a thoughtful article, Connecting Visually through Sign Language and Dreams for a Post-Covid World, in the Concordia Language Villages WorldView blog.  she writes that humanity thrives on connection, and at the core of that connection is language. She then says that while many deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind people experienced communication challenges during the pandemic, there is hope for the future. She suggested that we imagine our world if we reversed our ideas about language and hearing loss. “As I shared in an interview that appeared in Medium, what would it be like if we, instead, started to teach all babies sign language and written and spoken language (as they are able), mapping visual language in the brain forever with all the benefits? When a person loses their hearing later in life, they will already be able to pick up sign language again, as will others around them, and switch back and forth between languages as desired. We eliminate the isolation that comes with the experience of hearing loss, especially as we age. We strengthen belonging for everyone in our communities—mask or no mask.” Read the full article at this link.