Deafinitely Communicating

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Deafinitely Communicating

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Speech pathology private practice primarily serving Deaf/Hard of Hearing children and their families using a bilingual American Sign Language/English approach to support communication and overall development.

12/01/2025

Last month, I experienced two firsts - speaking at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s () Centennial Convention and serving as a panelist at .

While I am still taking time to reflect on both of these events and my recent time in D.C., I want to share some of the highlights and a few takeaways. I also want to express immense gratitude to each of you for the ways that you have and continue to support me, this work, and ultimately families of deaf and hard of hearing children, the professionals who work with them, and most importantly, the deaf community. Thank you 🫶🏾

Takeaways:
1️⃣ Do it afraid. When I was initially contacted about speaking at ASHA, I was both honored and terrified. I am grateful that I did not allow fear or imposter syndrome stop me from saying yes.
2️⃣ Connect, build community, and have courage. Prioritize people, lead with love, and be brave enough to take risks and obey God. It may seem simple, but the impact is profound.
3️⃣ Be grateful. In all things, GIVE THANKS! (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Every season won’t always feel good and it won’t always make sense to say ‘Thank you’, but do it anyway. Strive to live with an attitude of gratitude. It makes a difference ❤️

11/16/2025

Retelling events requires so many skills: vocabulary, memory, sequencing, grammar, and confidence. When these aren’t fully developed yet, kids give the simplest answer they can. (I see you nodding your head 😏)

Every time you model language (no matter what that language is), look at photos together, or talk/sign through daily routines, you’re building the skills your child needs to tell their own stories.

What may seem like little, insignificant moments of connection can lead to big communication growth! Keeping planting those seeds and seizing those moments to connect. 🌱

[ID: A clip art light bulb is centered above the text, 'Kids talk about what they can name, remember, and retell'. In smaller text, 'It's not at easy as it seems...'. A picture of a group of children playing with blocks is left justified. The Deafinitely Communicating logo ( waving hand inside of a black chat bubble) is bottom right justified.]

11/15/2025

By a show of hands (in the comments), how many of you have had this EXACT conversation with your student(s) and/or your own child(ren)? 🙋🏾‍♀️

⚠️ Following a break from school (weekend, holiday, extended time off) children who have speech/language delays may report that they did ‘nothing’ during their time away from school, not because it’s true, but because they don’t have the language to express what they did.

When a Deaf or hard-of-hearing child answers, “Nothing”, when someone asks about their weekend/day, it is nothing always because they didn’t do anything, but because the words/signs aren’t stored yet.

✨ Kids talk about what they can name, remember, and retell.

We've provided a few tips to get you started, but here are a few more:
💬 Narrate your day in ASL/English as it happens
💬 Take pictures during activities and review them together
💬 Use simple sentence starters: “I saw…”, “I played…”, “I ate…”
💬 Practice sharing one thing at the end of each day

What have you found beneficial in helping to expand conversations such as these? Share your thoughts/experiences in the comments. 👇🏾👇🏾

ID in comments.

11/13/2025

Have you been participating in the discussion? Today is the final session of the ML2×ECHO series and we are excited to hear from the incredible 😍

Session Info-
Session 6 features “Redefine Success: Center Language, Culture, and Belonging in Your Practice” with Dr. Julie Rems-Smario, from 9:30-10:30 am PT / 12:30-1:30 pm ET.

Join us and learn about opportunities to participate directly or indirectly in Cohort 2, which will begin in January 2026.

The series is open to healthcare professionals and students in medicine/ healthcare tracks (e.g., ENTs, audiologist, screeners, pediatricians, EI providers, SLPs, social workers, NICU staff, and anyone working in EHDI pathways.

Image description:
Flyer with heading ‘Empowering Healthcare Providers to Optimize Language Development in Deaf Infants and Young Children.’ Includes program details: six weekly Zoom sessions from October 9 to November 13, 2025, and illustrated image of a child signing “bear”. Logos of Motion Light Lab and Project ECHO appear at bottom.

11/11/2025

Connection.
Community.
Culture.

It matters ❤️

10/28/2025

Being born deaf does not put a deaf child at a disadvantage, nor does it automatically mean that language delays should be expected. Deaf children are born with brains fully prepared to acquire language! It's true. The challenge occurs when the language they are exposed to is unable to be fully perceived and absorbed by their brains.

So... what does this mean?
‼️It means that it is important for professionals to understand the importance of accessible language for deaf children and make recommendations that support cognitive development. And yes, even deaf children who utilize hearing technology (hearing aids, CIs, BAHAs) and/or have some residual hearing can experience inadequate language exposure.

‼️It means that it is critical for professionals and parents to understand that sound ≠ language. Access to sound does not mean full access to language.

‼️It means that it is critical to understand that speech ≠ language. Language is brain food. It's the priority!

🤔What are your thoughts on this quote? Do you agree/disagree?
💭⬇ Let's chat in the comments.

Read more about this quote, language deprivation, and its impact on Deaf Mental Health here --> Glickman, N. & Hall, W. 2019. Language Deprivation and Deaf Mental Health. Routledge.

[ID: A clip art image of a strong, vibrant brain and a weak, tired, and confused brain are centered above the text, 'A deaf child can be born with a brain fully prepared to acquire language yet be inadequately exposed to a language the brain can fully perceive and internalize. Bottom left: Citation: Glickman, N. & Hall, W. 2019. Language Deprivation and Deaf Mental Health. Routledge. Bottom right: Deafinitely Communicating logo (waving hand inside of a black chat bubble).]

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10/24/2025

Language deprivation is 100% preventable. Here are a few tips to ensure that your deaf child has full access to language as early as possible.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

[ID: A carousel of 7 images.
Image 1: 5 Simple ways to prevent language deprivation. Parents/Caregivers
Image 2: If you don’t already know sign language at the time of identification as deaf/hard of hearing, start learning.
Image 3: Sign early. Sign often. Use the signs you know. Learn what you don’t.
Image 4: Use hearing technology AND sign language. To ensure full access to language while your child is learning to make sense of sound, sign!
Image 5: Sign during daily routines.

Sample wake up script:
Good morning! It’s *insert your role*.
You woke up today.
I’m happy to see you.
How are you feeling? *insert emotions*
I love you!

Image 6: Notice what your child notices and talk about it to the best of your ability.
A family member? An animal? A sound? A toy? Help them make connections to their surroundings.

Image 7: Hi! I'm Germaine, an ASL-fluent speech-language pathologist passionate about supporting families, empowering Deaf children, and advocating alongside the Deaf community. An image of Germaine, a Black female with butterfly locs is bottom left justified. Germaine wears a yellow top and a bright smile. To her right the text 'Follow for more!' appears with the icons for save, comment, like, and share.']

10/23/2025

Families and caregivers of deaf children rely heavily on the advice and opinions of professionals when making decisions. For this reason, it is crucial that we as professionals take the time to first educate ourselves, then educate and empower families.

Every caregiver of a deaf child should know:
1. What language deprivation is,
2. How it can be prevented, and
3. How early access to signed language impacts their child's future

💬 What are your thoughts on this?
👉🏾 How do you educate families about language deprivation?

Share this post to help raise awareness!

[ID: A bold header, 'Professionals' is highlighted in yellow orange. Below, the text, play a crucial role in preventing and reducing language deprivation in deaf children by making sure families receive the guidance and support they need to foster
early LANGUAGE access.]

10/22/2025

Language, hearing, and speech are not the same. Only one has significant impact on cognitive development. Can you guess which one? Drop your answer in the comments!

ID: A yellow and red caution clip art icon. Text: Language is not synonymous with hearing and speech.

10/21/2025

While deaf children are learning to make sense of sound, they should have complete access to LANGUAGE. This is a thought we share often here because of the risk of language deprivation when language learning hinges solely on a child's auditory access.

Remember, there is more than one way for language to get to the brain of a deaf child; however, not all pathways are fully accessible and provide complete linguistic information. The brain has no preference in HOW it acquires language (spoken, signed, tactile), it just NEEDS LANGUAGE (not to be confused with sound) in order to grow and develop appropriately.

Share your questions about and/or experiences with language deprivation in the comments. Let's raise awareness and learn from one another.

↗️ Share the slide you want others to know.

Image descriptions are in the comments.

10/20/2025

When it comes to deaf children, LANGUAGE MUST BE THE PRIORITY! It is vital that we ensure that deaf children have consistent exposure and access to language that their brains can fully perceive and make sense of. The consequences of language deprivation are serious and can be lifelong.

Let's talk about it-
🧐 Have you heard of language deprivation?
🧐 Do you have questions about language deprivation?
🧐 Have you worked with children who you suspect are language deprived?
🧐 What strategies do you actively use to ensure the deaf child(ren) in your life have full access to language?

Share your questions and/or experiences in the comments. Let's raise awareness and learn from one another.

↗️ Share the slide you want others to know.

Image descriptions are in the comments.

10/17/2025

Everyone has their reasons for either wanting to learn, learning, or used a signed language. What's yours?

My story began at McDonald's. This was where I met my first two Deaf young adults, working my first high school job. After learning how to communicate with them, I was determined to continue learning about the Deaf community and sign language. I continue to learn each and every day.

Share your story in the comments.
💬 What motivated you to start learning sign language?

[ID: A series of blue, yellow, coral, and tan question bubbles appear above the text, 'What motivated you to start learning sign language?']

Address

Gilbert, AZ
85234

Website

http://www.deafinitelycommunicating.com/

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