A Commentary on Bimodal Bilingual Early Intervention for Children with Hearing Loss: Some Unresolved Issues

Advocates of bimodal bilingual (Bi-Bi) early intervention argue that both visual and auditory communication systems reflect optimal family and educational interactions for teachers, families, and their young children with hearing loss. The primary objective of this commentary is to highlight semantic variations noted in theoretical, ideological, and research papers pertaining to bimodal bilingual education. Until the terminology used across research studies considered to support bimodal bilingualism are clearly defined, differentiated, and used consistently, readers may be confused and findings mitigated. Ideally, decision-making that pertains to how children with hearing loss communicate should be based on evidence. It is important that each early intervention option be accompanied by unequivocal research outcomes. Given that there is insufficient evidence to conclusively support one ideology over another, opportunities for future directions are noted.