When Sam Found Language

I will never forget the day that I met Sam. He came into my room cautiously and sat quietly. I greeted him and he smiled tentatively in return. Sam came to me like most of my other students—severely language deprived. He was 8 years old, with bilateral cochlear implants, unable to speak, sign, read or write. Although he was a typical child developmentally and cognitively, he used tantrums to communicate. I asked him how he was doing. He smiled again. I pointed to myself and signed my sign name. "Kim." Then I pointed to him and gestured for him to introduce himself. "Eh," he said. "How old are you?" I signed. He stared at me. I signed, "You. Age?" Another blank stare. I tried again: "Seven? Eight? Nine?" Sam squinted, confused. I wrote the numbers down, gesturing for h...

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