I've always wondered how a child could learn sign language if they are deaf. I could understand a child or even an adult knowing sign language if they studied it before they became deaf but what about children that were born deaf? How did they learn sign language if they grew up not being able to hear? It must be difficult to teach someone like that.
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Deaf children learn sign language the exact same way hearing children learn spoken language.
Hearing children learn spoken language by hearing and interacting with those around them.
Deaf children learn signing language by seeing and interacting with those around them.
The process is almost exactly the same. The only difference is that sign can be acquired sooner and much faster then spoken languages.
I know a 5th generation Deaf 22 month old – he has more language then any hearing children his age. He also knows all the letters of the alphabet in English and can read about 8 words. His first words were at 5 months of age.