Approximately 3 or 4 of every 1,000 infants have some degree of hearing loss. Of these most lag behind their peers with typical hearing in development of language. One study reported that, during 15 months of intensive speech instruction, a 30-48 month old deaf child was able to learn one word a month compared with their hearing peer who spontaneously learn from 60-120 words a month. Deaf children whose language is very delayed may show learning patterns similar to younger hearing children, not due to deafness per se, but due instead to a significantly delayed rate of language growth. Often they graduate from high school with a third grade reading level. This impoverished language development compounds as they grow older and may affect quality of life in later years.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In a supportive environment like Sanket Foundation’s, a deaf and hard of hearing individual can thrive.