Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) Conference was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on June 27-30, 2008 exposing the significance of American Sign Language in Deaf babies and children.  DBC is a fast growing non profit organization that advocates the use of ASL at the earliest possible time to prevent language delays.  DBC emphasized the importance of ASL’s visual spatial cues to ignite a child’s fluency with other languages, such as English, and demonstrated the difficulties during early development years if reliance on auditory and verbal communication was the only option for Deaf children.  DBC reinforces bilingual teachings of ASL and English for educators to adopt as a critical component to a Deaf child’s language development.

On the other side of the coin, A.G. Bell hosted a conference in the same city, encouraging participants to adopt auditory verbal communication with a strong emphasis on cochlear implants limiting the need for the use of ASL.  A.G. Bell does not take the position that auditory verbal communication should override the teachings of ASL but it is not a preferable method of intervention. 

Both conferences issued each organization’s position about reliance on visual and hearing communication as opposed to mastering ASL for the Deaf child’s growth, challenging the realities of fullness of a personal identity.  This hotly debated issue is geared to examine parents’ reliance on auditory cues for language development when in reality research has shown decreased social, language and identity valuation in Deaf children.  DBC fully endorses the teaching of ASL and English to strengthen a child’s intellect and language capabilities as a primary means of communication and having access to a full, wholesome life. 

Check out the Youtube links below for the ASL version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmg2kKCk0PA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiWTdGCw4TY&feature=related

http://eyepoetically.blogspot.com/2008/07/perspective-of-ag-bell-interview.html

For more perspectives, check out Youtube "Deaf Bilingual Coalitiion"