About Us
Empowering Deaf Children and Their Families Through Sign Language
Sign & Thrive exists to prevent language deprivation in Deaf children by equipping parents and guardians with the tools, education, and encouragement needed to give their children full access to language during the most critical years of life. Together with organizations like Language 1st, Beginnings, and other service providers for the Deaf, and guided by our Christian faith, we serve families with compassion, excellence, and love, reflecting Christ in both word and action.
Our Passion
We have over 25 years of experience working with Deaf adults impacted by language deprivation. This has motivated us to establish Sign & Thrive to address the urgent need for children to receive language during the most critical development age. We envision a world where every Deaf child is fully known, fully loved, and fully able to thrive—never limited by lack of language or support. Sign & Thrive dreams of communities where families are empowered early, Deaf children grow with confidence and connection, and language deprivation becomes a thing of the past. We serve with professional skill, lived experience, and deep empathy.
Our
Story
Our Background
The mission/ministry Blended Fellowship was established in the year 2000. Its mission is to bring the Gospel to both Deaf and Hearing. The challenges faced by several of our Deaf adult members, sometimes manifesting as what we understand now to be cognitive or developmental delays, were observed and supported through life coaching and financial aid. It was in the 2010s that a clearer understanding emerged, identifying these difficulties as consequences of language deprivation, a condition resulting from insufficient language input during the critical developmental period before the age of five, which can have lasting effects throughout an individual's life. This growing awareness was further amplified by a teacher of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, who became a Co-Founder of Sign & Thrive, highlighting the critical issue of Deaf students entering school with little to no language. This severely impacted their academic progress. In response to this urgent need, the Blended Bridges program was established in 2012, focusing on immersing Deaf children in an American Sign Language (ASL) environment and integrating academic support to build a strong linguistic and educational foundation.
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Along with our ASL camp, we are promoting the need for parents of Deaf/HOH babies to use sign language to prevent the risk of language deprivation. For latest updates on our programs, click here.
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