Final answer:
Deaf children often utilize American Sign Language (ASL) and gestures, with the decision on their education being influenced by parental perspectives on verbalization, lip-reading, and ASL within the context of deaf culture.
Step-by-step explanation:
Deaf children use both American Sign Language (ASL) and gestures compared to hearing nonsigners. When considering the educational path for a deaf child, parents face the decision between mainstream schools with a focus on verbalization and lip-reading or specialized schools emphasizing ASL and deaf culture. Parents may approach this decision differently depending on their familiarity with deaf culture and their personal views on communication and integration for the deaf community. It should be noted that ASL and spoken languages are processed in different brain areas, and some theories suggest teaching both can enhance cognitive reinforcement and recall. A child's language development begins even before birth, and newborns demonstrate preferences for sounds and sights in synchrony with language.