Spoken language multilingualism in deaf children: Parental decision-making

Figures & data

Table 1. Deaf children.

Interviewee		Age of child at interview (Years; Months)	Child’s gender	Number of languages spoken	Degree of deafness	Type of deafness	Age at Diagnosis	Hearing Devices	Age at receiving HAs	Age at receiving CIs
1	Father	10;5	Female	3	Mild-Moderate	Sensorineural	3 months	HAs	5 months	N/A
2	Mother	9;8	Male	2	Severe-Profound	Sensorineural	3 days	CIs	15 days	6 months
3	Mother	8;11	Male	3	Profound (right ear) + Moderate-Severe (left ear)	ANSD	3 months	CIs	1 year	18 months (1st implant) + 84 months (2nd implant)
4	Mother	10;2	Male	2	Severe-Profound	Sensorineural	3 months	CIs	3 months	11 months
5	Mother	8;1	Male	2	Profound	Sensorineural	2 months	CIs	2 months	20 months
6	Mother	1;10	Male	3	Severe-Profound	Sensorineural	< 1 month	CIs	2 months	7 months
7	Mother	7;8	Female	2	Profound (right ear) + Severe-Profound (left ear)	Sensorineural	2 months	CIs	3 months	89 months

ANSD: Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder; HAs: hearing aids (bilateral); CIs:  cochlear implants (bilateral).

Table 2. Hearing children.

Interviewee		Age of child at interview (Years; Months)	Child’s gender	Number of languages spoken
1	Father	8;8	Male	2
2	Mother	8;9	Male	2
3	Mother	9;3	Female	3
4	Mother	4;1	Male	3
5	Mother	3;7	Female	2
6	Mother + Father	1;7	Female	2
7	Mother	12;3	Male	2

Table

Domain	Question
Parents’ views on multilingualism	• Why is it important for your child to be multilingual and speak more than one language?
The factors that influenced the parents’ decision-making process	• Before your child was born, had you already thought about the languages your family would use with your child? • Did you look for information on raising multilingual children, deaf or hearing, and if so, what information did you find? • Did you receive any advice from family and friends about raising your child to speak more than one language and if yes, did it influence your decision? • Did you receive any advice from professionals about raising your child to speak more than one language and if yes, did it influence your decision? • Do you feel your decision was supported by professionals and your family/friends, both when your child was a baby and since then?
The factors that influenced the parents’ decision-making process For parents of deaf children only	• Did these plans/decisions change at all when you found out your child was deaf? • Have you ever considered using a signed language either British Sign Language (BSL) or another signed language?