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EDMONTON
For Aboriginal children and their families living outside of urban centres, deafness can seem like an insurmountable problem. The lack of resources in many Native communities and the lack of understanding of how to access what services are available, can leave many families feeling overwhelmed and isolated.
In Edmonton, the Alberta School for the Deaf plays an important role in help deaf Native children and their communications barriers.
Caroline Yellowhorn, the school's Native liaison officer, explains that because very few people in the Aboriginal community now how to sign, deaf children often have a difficult time communicating within their own communities.
"Many students come to school with very little language. Once here we teach them American Sign Language and once they get it, they really flourish," she says.
For many students the newfound ability to communicate through sign language allows them to develop the kind of social and interpersonal skills that the hearing community often takes for granted.
"As hearing people, we pick up social skills through interaction with one another. But if you're the only deaf person in your whole community, you have no one to interact with and you don't pick it up," explains Yellowhorn.
Being able to communicate through sign...