The Signing SLP

Presented today at the conference on supporting families in resource deserts and shared more about new program Play to Learn

We also tried something new with our presentation that felt really aligned with our values ✨ We presented simultaneously in ASL and spoken English 🤟🗣️

Cecily delivered the content in ASL while I presented in spoken English at the same time. Not direct translations, but fully aligned in meaning.

That meant our entire audience had original access to the message, not filtered through interpretation 🙌

Deafness + language deprivation?
Autism?
Both? 🤔

The answer can shape support, but many people don’t realize this is even a question that needs to be asked.

Children with impacted hearing plus language deprivation can show differences in communication and social connection that resemble autism. Not responding to a name, delayed language, or appearing socially disconnected are often reflections of limited access to language, not autism itself 💬 ❌

What makes this tricky is that there’s no single way to be autistic, and no single way to be Deaf. Both show up across a wide range of communication styles and social patterns, which means surface-level similarities can be misleading 🔄

Because of that overlap, autism is sometimes identified before deafness or language deprivation is fully understood. When hearing and language access aren’t centered, autism can become the default explanation 🔍

This is why it matters who is at the table. Deaf professionals bring perspectives that are often missing and help teams better understand access, language, and communication in ways that can change the direction of support. That perspective is just as essential when a Deaf child is also autistic ♾️

If a Deaf child has consistent access and these differences continue, it may be appropriate to consider autism as well. Recognizing that helps ensure supports are aligned with both language access and neurodevelopmental needs, rather than assuming one explains everything. 🧠 ♾️

Have you seen this misidentification happen in either direction, or struggled to get a Deaf autistic child appropriately identified as autistic? 🤔 💬

0.003%. 👀⚡️

That's the percentage of Speech Language Pathologists who report fluency in ASL.

(Oops correction to the original visual 🤦‍♀️ There's a reason I'm in language based field and not a math field)

I shared this statistic two years ago using data from ASHA’s 2021 multilingual report 📊. At the time, that was the most recent data available. We now have the 2024 multilingual service delivery report from American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the percentage is still the same.

Not because nothing happened, but because the total number of SLPs who responded increased 📈. About 100 more SLPs reported being bilingual in ASL compared to three years ago, and even with that increase, the field still lands at 0.003%.

To put that in perspective 👇
Only 3 out of every 1000 SLPs identify as Signing SLPs 🔍
Statistically, it's more likely to be struck by lightning ⚡️ than to randomly encounter an SLP who signs.

Let that sink in for a second. 🧠💥

When signing SLPs make up such a tiny slice of the field, language access for Deaf and hard of hearing kids is not something systems are built around. It becomes something families have to ask for, explain, and keep pushing for 💬 📣.

Zooming out a bit. 🔎 🌍

Only about 8 to 9% of SLPs identify as multilingual service providers at all 🗣️ 🌎. And there isn't any clear data on how many providers can support access across ASL, English, and another language 🤷‍♀️📉.

That matters because Deaf kids don't all grow up in monolingual English homes 🏠. Many sign at school and use another language at home or in their community. When those language realities aren't counted, they are rarely built into how services and access are planned 🧩.

When access isn't measured, it's not planned for. And when it's not planned for, families are often told to simplify or make do 😔.

Curious how this lands for you. 🤔
Does this match what you see where you work or with your family 👇 💬