200-7355 Canada Way Burnaby, BC, V3N 4Z6 604.525.6056 v 604.525.9390 tty 604.525.7307 fax www.deafchildren.bc.ca charitable reg. # 119267706 RR0001 Language Rights of Deaf Children Thank you for the invitation to make submissions on the re-establishment of a Human Rights Commission in British Columbia. In response to that invitation, we will first provide you with the background of our agency and the way in which the Agency s work is intricately connected with the human rights of the population it serves. We will then outline our perspective on the importance of a Human Rights Commission to support and strengthen that work. Finally, we will provide some concrete examples of the way in which a Human Rights Commission can respond to the challenges faced by our Agency in its support and advocacy for the language rights of deaf children. The History and Work of the Deaf Children s Society of BC Established in 1981, the Deaf Children s Society of BC (DCS) is a non-profit charitable agency that provides programs and services to deaf, hard of hearing and cochlear-implanted children, from birth to age 5, and their families. Previously a hospital-based program, DCS evolved from the need of families to provide their deaf children with access to a visual first language, American Sign Language (ASL) from an early age. For 36 years, DCS has been providing families of deaf children with home- and community-based sign language instruction, support and services. Early-years education has long been a core service, and DCS has the only licensed ASL-based preschool program in the Province of BC. Deaf Children s Society is the only early intervention agency for deaf and hard of hearing children in BC that represents the cultural and linguistic values of the Deaf community. Founded by a Deaf man, DCS has always had Executive Directors who are Deaf or are uniquely connected to the Deaf community. Every effort is made to hire Deaf signing professionals to provide services to the client base, to ensure that families have access to Deaf role models for their children, exposure to the unique linguistic environment of the Deaf community, and opportunities to immerse their deaf children in a visuallanguage rich environment that fosters healthy social-emotional relationships, life-long friendships, and full access to language development. It has long been the belief of the Deaf Children s Society that a deaf child is a child first and this means that the opportunities that hearing children have should be available for deaf children as well: to have access to language from birth with which to express themselves and to engage with others their families, friends and the community. 1
Language is a human right. For children who are deaf from birth, sign language is still the best and most accessible language. As a service agency for deaf children DCS notes the following: not all children who have hearing aids or cochlear implants benefit from them; auditory access to spoken language is often not consistent; without exposure to sign language, language development delays are still common in deaf children from birth to age 5 and beyond; language deprivation in the early years cannot be remedied when deaf children are older; and the impact of language deprivation has life-long consequences for deaf children and impacts their educational advancement, employment opportunities, community belonging, and relationships Visual language is a deaf child s right. Families who have deaf or hard of hearing children and who have chosen ASL for communicating with their children have a right to receive instruction from those who are native speakers of ASL. Having to learn a new language to ensure one s child can acquire language seems like a daunting prospect, but it is a necessary reality. Direct ASL instruction for families is currently financially supported by the Province for one hour per week. This is insufficient for parents and caregivers to develop the fluency and skill needed for their child to benefit from it. Hearing children are constantly exposed to language; for deaf children, consistent and deliberate exposure to ASL is necessary for language to be acquired. Language development, from infancy onward, occurs at such a rapid pace that deaf children who have little or no access to sign language in the early years may: have poorly formed relationships with family members exhibit behavioural challenges take longer to connect appropriately with peers experience unnecessary cognitive delays Being part of one s family is a human right. The Deaf Children s Society exists to ensure deaf children from birth to age 5 who need sign language to communicate, learn, grow and live life to its fullest can do so just like their hearing peers do with spoken language. The challenges for DCS to do this are both systemic and economic: ASL is still considered an option for deaf children, not a right recognized by law and fully supported by the Provincial government Medical intervention does not solve language acquisition challenges, though surgeries are fully funded 2
One hour or less of sign language instruction per week is insufficient for families to acquire the ASL foundation skills and fluency needed to communicate with their deaf infants and toddlers Kindergarten readiness is often delayed for deaf signing children due to: o Delayed exposure to ASL o Insufficient family signing skills o Lack of qualified Human Resources to support the families: ASL instructors ASL-fluent licensed Early Childhood Educators o Insufficient preschool programs with signing ECEs, 1:1 workers and other early childhood professionals Insufficient government funding for programs and services in deaf and hard of hearing early intervention Role of the Re-Established Human Rights Commission In Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General) [1997] 3 SCR 624, the Supreme Court of Canada found that the failure to provide sign language interpreters to deaf patients in a hospital setting was a violation of the equality rights found in s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In Moore v. BC, [2012] SCC 61, the Supreme Court of Canada found that students with disabilities are entitled to receive the accommodation measures they need to access and benefit from the service of public education. Both of these decisions speak to the importance of full participation in society, and both support the central importance of DCS programs and services. However, without a proactive body that is established to ensure that human rights are promoted and enforced, legal pronouncements like these have little value to the lived experience of deaf children. Section 3(a) of the Human Rights Code provides that one of the purposes of the Code is to foster a society in British Columbia in which there are no impediments to full and free participation in the economic, social, political and cultural life of British Columbia. Section 3(b) outlines another purpose: to promote a climate of understanding and mutual respect where all are equal in dignity and rights. As outlined above, there are currently many impediments to the full and free participation of the Deaf in the economic, social, political and cultural life of British Columbia. Similarly, the current situation is not conducive to the equal dignity and rights of the Deaf. The role of the re-established Commission should focus on these purposes of the Code. The question is, how a re-established Human Rights Commission can address these purposes. It is not sufficient that a Commission provide information and education to the public. Although this role is certainly important, it is equally important that the Commission play a proactive role in studying and monitoring the manner in which government policy around the provision and funding of services to groups such as deaf children either promotes or impedes full participation in the life of the Province. 3
Concrete Issues that can be addressed In the context of the work of the DCS, the BC Human Rights Commission must consider how early years experiences impact the children of this Province. In matters of human rights it is important to consider equity as well as equality. For example, while it may be suggested that deaf children in mainstream programs have access to education equal to their hearing peers, without signing peers, EAs and teachers, they experience more isolation than access. Providing meaningful access requires a body that is monitoring and encouraging public investment in programs that address these goals at a number of levels. For example, at DCS, program service professionals must sign; Deaf signing role models are needed to guide children and parents; and where possible, programs must duplicate in a visually accessible way services that are readily available for hearing children and their families. DCS cannot provide services for deaf children in an equitable way without ASL fluent employees. Finding human resources to provide services is not possible without an investment in ASL instruction and instructors at higher levels, for various professionals: educators, social workers, interpreters, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and others who may come in contact with Deaf community members of various ages. In the end, the lack of signing professionals serving the early-years deaf population leads to language deprivation that hinders the Deaf community s educational and career success. Language access equals greater life success, and nowhere is this more true that in the lives of the Deaf. Deaf children born to Deaf signing parents match their hearing peers for language acquisition from birth onward, for they have direct exposure to visual language from birth. For hearing parents to provide this level of access to their deaf child from birth requires the Province to invest in the Deaf community and its signing members, who are the best advisors, consultants and guides on what it means to live as Deaf people. The Deaf community is full of stories of challenge and survival, of being excluded from their own family gatherings even when they are physically present, of bearing the onus for communication in their own family and the community, of working constantly to be heard at levels of education and government that will listen and respond in constructive, active ways. The Parliamentary Secretary s Terms of Reference note that it is essential that the Commission is proactive and forward thinking, gearing towards achieving results and creating an environment that encourages and supports a commitment to human rights accountability in our communities. Further, the Terms of Reference state that the Commission will work to expose, challenge and end widespread entrenched structures and systems of discrimination. In the context of the Deaf community, ending entrenched structures and systems of discrimination and creating an environment that supports a commitment to human rights accountability would include providing the Commission with a mandate to examine carefully how the government views the Deaf 4
(and other equity seeking groups) in this province. What investments are being made in Deaf people? Newborn hearing screening in the Province of BC is the best in Canada. The Ministry of Education is introducing a new American Sign Language curriculum for grades 5 to 12, but there are few qualified or recognized as qualified instructors to teach it. There is definitely a human rights gap between birth services and life-long support. Further, Government actions are not in alignment with realities facing Deaf people. The Ministry of Children and Family Development has chosen to allow a community agency to determine how early intervention funding will be provided to agencies like DCS. The Deaf Children s Society has a long history of representing the linguistic rights of deaf children, of ensuring that they are seen as whole beings who, by birth right, have an immediate acceptance into a community that globally has a unique bond and need for visual language that transcends nationality, race, class, gender and socioeconomic status. Current management of deaf and hard of hearing early intervention funding does not align with the needs of a very unique community and this agency, Deaf Children s Society, which supports it. The funding is not fair or respectful of the cultural and linguistic heritage that deaf children are entitled to claim. Investment in the Deaf community and its members must begin at birth. It is not enough to provide basic intervention services. In order to ensure the equal dignity and rights of this community, the Province must realize that investment in a low incidence, high-risk population is most effectively and efficiently done in the early years. Such an investment will generate literate, happy Deaf community members who give back to future families and their deaf children. Investment now works best for all members of the Deaf community the little ones and their families who learn from the older ones. Employment opportunities are increased, a community and its language are preserved, access is greater, social and community partnerships are enhanced, and the aspirational purposes of the Human Rights Code will come closer to being fully realized. Respectfully submitted, Janice Springford, M.Ed., M.A. Executive Director Deaf Children s Society of BC On behalf of: Board of Directors Deaf Children s Society of BC 5