If you haven’t already, you should notice that your baby is being a lot more responsive to noise and sound around him. He should turn his head towards your vacuum, hair dryer, puree mixer, and even his name when you call him. At this stage of his infanthood, his hearing is very important in the development of his communication skills. He should be babbling much more and should be trying to “talk” to you.
Try to encourage him to babble as much as possible by talking to him. Repeat the words or sounds that he is making. He’ll think you’re talking to him. Try to have him listen to lots of different sounds and noise and tell him what they are. It will help him associate the sound/noise with to the item making the sound/noise. Also, continue to use repetitive sentences or words so he can understand what they mean when you say them.
Since hearing is critical to your infant’s speech development, make sure you check with your pediatrician if your infant:
- does not repond to loud noise
- responds to only some sounds
- does not giggle or laugh out loud by his 6th month
- does not babble in a variety of tones and sounds by the 8th month
If caught early, these problems can be treated successfully and will have little impact on speech development.
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March 2nd, 2008 at 10:19 am
Just FYI:
It is ‘normal’ for babies born Deaf not to respond to noises; rather, they respond to facial expression and vibrations. Deaf babies do ‘babble’, they smile and laugh, and they respond to what they see around them.
If you think your baby is Deaf, contact your local/city/state school for the Deaf, or Deaf/Hard of Hearing facility to get support and information about Sign Language, Deaf History, and a culture that is as fascinating and deep as is our own.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
I agree that it’s perfectly normal that babies can be born “deaf” but the article appears to be geared towards an infant at 7 months. If your baby is not responding to noise at 7 months, you should bring your baby in for a checkup. He may be in fact Deaf but it could also mean that your baby could have other problems as well, such as Autism.
March 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 am
This statement:
“…At this stage of his infanthood, his hearing is very important in the development of his communication skills…”, leads me to believe that it is not autism that is the main concern. My response was to point out what is ‘normal’ for a Deaf child.
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
It seems that the article’s main focus is on speech development and how not being able to hear can hinder his communication skills rather than focusing on the child being deaf. I had only mentioned autism because some children can not process sound, that although they may “hear” the sound, they do not respond to it. It was the first example that came to my mind. The writer could be addressing any many issues.
But I certainly do not have much experience with special needs children and do not know what types of behaviors are symptoms of what types of “special needs.”
It is interesting that you mentioned Deafness, however. I wonder how a Deaf child can relate objects to words (sign language) without being able to hear it. As you mentioned, it is fascinating.
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:32 pm
To answer your question:
“…I wonder how a Deaf child can relate objects to words (sign language) without being able to hear it. As you mentioned, it is fascinating.”
A Deaf learns language by being around users of Sign Language, and by being shown objects, a ball for example, and then shown the sign for the object.
Actually, learning the signs is fairly easy; learning to read, however, can be an arduous task for a Deaf child.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Duh! Don’t know why I didn’t think of that. It’s just the same way as teaching a child who isn’t Deaf. Point at Dad and keep calling him Dad. Point at Mom and keep calling her mom. And so forth.