[The very young deaf child and his body: the relationship between the body with development of cognition, language, motor skills].

The child does not learn to speak, but appropriates speech and language. We, the professionals, set up artificial scenes, moving one or another of their parts, in order to put the child-in appropriate conditions or to induce one behaviour rather than another. It is through interactions between grown-up and baby that natural processes of language appropriation and though development fall into place. The different areas of child development are not partitioned, and interactions can be observed between motor, cognitive and linguistic development. The child's motor or psychomotor behaviour may sometimes be the expression of well-being, of feeling unwell, of a request, of a desire. Even with the average child, it is not always easy to decode these signals. With the deaf child, adults are sometimes so concerned with linguistics and audition that motor expressions tend to be assigned a lesser role. However, by observing the child as a whole, our actions can become more adequate and better targeted.