Deaf children with signing parents, nonnative signing deaf children, children from a hearing impaired unit, oral deaf children, and hearing controls were tested on theory of Mind (ToM) tasks and a British sign language receptive language test. Language ability correlated positively and significantly with ToM ability. Age underpinned the…

This study compared American Sign Language (ASL) abilities in 36 deaf adults who acquired ASL either in early childhood or in later childhood and who were born deaf or later lost their hearing. Subjects who acquired ASL as a second language after early childhood outperformed those who acquired it as a first language at the same age. (Author/DB)

This study investigated the ability of two groups of profoundly deaf students (N=40 and ages 8, 11, 14, and 17), using either oral or signed communication, to employ pragmatic skills required for effective face-to-face interactions. Notable differences in pragmatic skills were found between the groups and between deaf and normal hearing students.…

Study examined trends in the signing skills of parents of deaf children. Of 50 deaf individuals, 73 percent of deaf children (ages 4-18) reported their parents knew some sign language, whereas older individuals (ages 41-76) reported only 22 percent of their parents knew some sign language. Younger offspring rated their parents' signing skills…