This paper presents findings from a study on the use of sign supported Norwegian (SSN) in two individuals with Cri du chat syndrome (CCS). The study gives a first account of some selected aspects of production and intelligibility of SSN in CCS. Possible deviance in manual parameters, in particular inter- and/or intra-subject variation in the use…

We first review the mirror-system hypothesis on the evolution of the language-ready brain, stressing the important role of imitation and protosign in providing the scaffolding for protospeech. We then assess the role of social interaction and non-specific knowledge of language in the emergence of new sign languages in deaf communities (focusing on…

Evaluation of the ability of 12 hearing children (3-year-olds) to use iconic cues to comprehend signs indicated that resemblance of signs to their referents did not enable subjects to decipher the meaning of most signs. Results were applied to use of adapted assessment instruments with young hearing impaired children. (DB)

The learning of a list of 20 Blissymbols and comparable American Sign Language signs by 121 nonhandicapped undergraduate psychology students was compared. Blissymbols were learned significantly faster than manual signs, particularly in early learning trials. Results are discussed in terms of the memory requirements of the two systems. (Author/JDD)

Students who are deaf or hard of hearing (n=231) used the Language Background Questionnaire (LBQ) to self assess their sign language and spoken communication skills. Formal independent estimates of these skills were also conducted. Comparison of results indicates a high degree of congruence between the self and formal assessments, which…