Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Maternal and Child Health Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02974-8 COMMENTARY Framing Sign Language as a Health Need in Canadian and International Policy Kristin Snoddon 1  · Jennifer Jackson Paul 2 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Although in Canada, hearing screening and early intervention are presented as a health need, we question whether young deaf and hard of hearing children’s access to language is adequately supported by public health and children’s services. The Ontario Infant Hearing Program has the stated mandate of supporting the language development of deaf and hard of hear- ing infants and young children. However, this program presents parents with early intervention service options involving either spoken or signed language, but not both together. This policy effectively restricts access to sign language learning for a majority of Ontario’s deaf children. Consequently, some deaf children suffer language deprivation and its deleterious effects on cognition and emotional development. In support of our arguments, we refer to Article 25 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Canada has signed and ratified. The CRPD supports recognition of deaf children’s right to sign language as a health need because language deprivation occurs in many children who are not offered sign language, and this is a permanent impairment imposed on top of hearing loss. We conclude that in Canada, health services for deaf children do not align with accessibility and human rights legislation, thus creating a policy gap that leaves deaf children vulnerable to additional impairment. Keywords Health policy · Sign language · Deaf children · Early intervention · United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Signifcance What is already known on this subject? In Canada, hearing screening and early intervention are presented as a health need, and public health and children’s services have the stated mandate of supporting the language development of deaf and hard of hearing infants and young children. Lan- guage deprivation occurs in many children who are not offered sign language. What this study adds? Health services present policy restrictions on sign language learning that leave deaf chil- dren vulnerable to additional impairment. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabili- ties supports recognition of deaf children’s right to sign lan- guage as a health need. Introduction In Canada, publicly funded infant hearing screening and early intervention programs aim to support the language development of deaf and hard of hearing infants and young children (Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Ser- vices 2018) However, by upholding restrictions on Ameri- can Sign Language (ASL) or Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) services for children who receive a cochlear implant (Snoddon 2008), such programs have often failed to ade- quately support learning of a first language. The Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services’ Infant Hearing Program (IHP) provides universal neona- tal hearing screening in hospitals and community settings, audiology assessments, and habilitation and monitoring for babies born with or at risk for hearing loss (Hyde 2005). The * Kristin Snoddon ksnoddon@ryerson.ca Jennifer Jackson Paul jennifer.anita@gmail.com 1 School of Early Childhood Studies, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada 2 P.O. Box 522, Harvard, IL 60033, USA