Often people take communicating in their native languages for granted.
Do you remember acquiring your first language? Most of us do not.

This development occurs so early in life– from birth to age three. As one matures from a baby to a child, they accumulate new words, which are stockpiled in an ever expanding mental library.

Most of us may remember learning to read and write through school. However, the languages we use to talk, express, and think are innate.

The same cannot be said for Deaf children. Immediate access to their native language — sign language– is not simply given. 95 percent of deaf children are born to hearing families. Their access to sign language requires intent. This means sign language has to be learned, provided, and incorporated within a family unit. For a visual child, sign language is the pathway to developing foundations, healthy cognitive growth, and overall well-being. Yet in the United States, 88 percent of those hearing families do not sign.

https://www.ashoka.org/en-nrd/story/creating-signing-world