Routledge The Resilience of Language - Deaf Children & Language Development

This groundbreaking study explores how deaf children create gesture-based communication systems without exposure to spoken or sign language, revealing fundamental truths about how all children acquire language naturally. The research follows congenitally deaf children who, despite hearing parents and oral education settings, independently develop gestural communication that mirrors the structure and function of established languages. By examining these children's spontaneous language creation, the book demonstrates that language development is an innate human capacity that transcends sensory modality. Published by Routledge and Psychology Press, this work bridges developmental psychology and linguistics, offering parents, educators, and researchers crucial insights into how children's minds are fundamentally wired for language learning. The findings challenge conventional understanding of language acquisition and provide evidence-based perspectives on deaf children's cognitive abilities and communication potential.