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Early Intervention > Importance

Last Modified: 09/15/2026

Importance of Early Communication and Communication Options

American Sign Language (ASL)

• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
• Handspeak
• Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Language and Literacy

Listening and Spoken Language Development

• Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center
• Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center—Spoken Language

Cued Speech

• National Cued Speech Association
• CuedSpeech.com

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National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
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As a research center at Utah State University, NCHAM is supported by funds from the Utah State Legislature as well as various private, state, and federal entities. From 2001 - 2024 NCHAM served as the National Technical Resource Center for all state-based Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs in the United States. NCHAM is committed to promoting respectful dialogue about how to improve services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Materials, presentations, and other activities disseminated by NCHAM represent many different views and opinions by stakeholders interested in improving services and outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Developers, authors, and presenters of those materials and activities are responsible for the views and content of their material and no endorsement by NCHAM, USU, or any of our funders is implied or expressed.