Evidence shows that the first component of media literacy to develop in children is media sign literacy (MSL), an ability that focuses on the understanding and correct use of the signs and symbol systems that organize different media. Previous research has shown that MSL is a significant predictor of learning from media. In this study, we…

Purpose: Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children's language development and delays are well documented, yet less is known about their delays in theory of mind (ToM) development. Importantly, conversational-communicative experiences, language competence, and teacher/parent influences loom large. The present study examined ToM development and the…

This review addresses the question of how early access to sign language influences the development of deaf children with cochlear implants (CIs) by examining the literature surrounding the topic across the domains of spoken/written language development, cognitive development, and sociocultural development. Although research in the realm of…

Guided by two perspectives, one theoretical, and the other, methodological, we assume that social interactions provide organizing principles for transforming natural human growth into cultural development. From birth onward, the healthy child is primed to be "in transaction" with their caregivers, their surroundings, co-constructing the…

Previous studies suggest that age of acquisition affects the outcomes of learning, especially at the morphosyntactic level. Unknown is how syntactic development is affected by increased cognitive maturity and delayed language onset. The current paper studied the early syntactic development of adolescent first language learners by examining word…

In U.S. deaf education, disablement results from a normative interpretation of disability in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. However, Vygotsky's "Fundamentals of Defectology" (1993) allows educators to view current deaf education pedagogical practices through a sociocultural-constructivist lens and reject the current…

Purpose: Deaf children are frequently reported to be at risk for difficulties in executive function (EF); however, the literature is divided over whether these difficulties are the result of deafness itself or of delays/deficits in language that often co-occur with deafness. The purpose of this study is to discriminate these hypotheses by…

The purpose of this literature review is to present the arguments in support of conceptualizing deaf children as 'English Learners', to explore the educational implications of such conceptualizations, and to suggest directions for future inquiry. Three ways of interpreting the label 'English Learner' in relationship to deaf children are explored:…

In recent years, researchers have turned their attention to the cognitive impact of bilingualism, and the benefits of using two languages have become increasingly apparent. Children raised in bilingual families exhibit stronger awareness of the style and tone of language, stronger cognitive development, and higher levels of reading skill than…

Language acquisition involves learning not only grammatical rules and a lexicon but also what people are intending to convey with their utterances: the semantic/pragmatic component of language. In this article we separate the contributions of linguistic development and cognitive maturity to the acquisition of the semantic/pragmatic component of…

Baby sign language is advocated to improve children's communication development. However, the evidence to support the advantages of baby sign has been inconclusive. A systematic review was undertaken to summarize and appraise the research related to the effectiveness of symbolic gestures for typically developing, hearing infants with hearing…

This article describes the case of a deaf native signer of American Sign Language (ASL) with a specific language impairment (SLI). School records documented normal cognitive development but atypical language development. Data include school records; interviews with the child, his mother, and school professionals; ASL and English evaluations; and a…

Support for baby signing (BS) with hearing infants tends to converge toward three camps or positions. Those who advocate BS to advance infant language, literacy, behavioral, and cognitive development rely heavily on anecdotal evidence and social media to support their claims. Those who advocate BS as an introduction to another language, such as…

Although Baby Sign is gaining in popularity, there is a scarcity of research supporting its use. The research that has been conducted is conflicting. In the current study, nine families with children ranging in age from six months to two years and five months participated in a baby sign workshop. A pre--post-test design was used to assess the…

A brief review is provided of recent research on the impact of early visual language exposure on a variety of developmental outcomes, including literacy, cognition, and social adjustment. This body of work points to the great importance of giving young deaf children early exposure to a visual language as a critical precursor to the acquisition of…