Commenting on perceptual similarities between objects stands out as an important linguistic achievement, one that may pave the way towards noticing and commenting on more abstract relational commonalities between objects. To explore whether having a conventional linguistic system is necessary for children to comment on different types of…

Fifteen deaf elementary-age children were observed in free play, and their interactions were videotaped. Differences were noted in the interaction and communication skills of children with early sign language experience and orally trained deaf children with late sign language experience. (CL)

In the present study, language development of Dutch children with a cochlear implant (CI) in a bilingual educational setting and Flemish children with a CI in a dominantly monolingual educational setting is compared. In addition, we compared the development of spoken language with the development of sign language in Dutch children. Eighteen…

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.…

Language tests were administered by videotape to 27 deaf children taught to sign English. The tests, one in manual English (ME) and the other in American Sign Language (ASL) each included twelve grammatical distinctions: two aspects of adjectival modification (opposition and ordering), two types of pluralization (is/are and indicative in ME, dual…

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…

This brief paper reports on a study of learning disabilities in students with deafness. The study attempted to first determine to what extent deficiencies in communication skills affect the screening of deaf students for learning disabilities and, second, to describe the phenomenon of learning disability in students with deafness. The research…