Few American Sign Language (ASL) assessments are readily available for educators to administer and score to document deaf students' skill levels and direct ASL instruction. Even fewer studies include deaf students with intellectual disabilities or document deaf students' ASL skills across time. The present study reports deaf school-aged students'…

This 1978 article presents general principles of sign selection, standardization and development, guidelines for sign selection, standardization, and development based on the American Sign Language lexicon, and a process for selection, evaluation, development, recording of vocabulary, signs, and fingerspelled words. The selection of…

The Educational Sign Skills Evaluation (ESSE) was developed to provide a means of identifying the dominant signing style of an individual and to provide feedback on areas of strength and areas in need of improvement. It provides an overall expressive skills rating as well as information on the type, level, and degree of understanding demonstrated…

This guide is designed to help teachers and parents help handicapped children to acquire the mechanics of language and develop ways of communicating with others. The text covers: (1) establishing objectives for language mastery; (2) birth and development of language; (3) contributions and limitations of the child's environmental context; (4)…

This text on teaching language to students with hearing impairments stresses the use of multiple language learning pathways to meet the individual needs of students. The introductory chapter looks at language issues in the context of history, instruction, technology, culture, and the law. Chapter 2, on language acquisition, discusses the nature of…

Experiences of Finnish adults with hearing impairments (n=186) and their views of Finnish society were studied, and methods of collecting data were compared. Study questions focused on knowledge about and satisfaction with Finnish society, participation in activities, and values and attitudes. Respondents who were deaf (n=77) and those who were…

The Cherokee County (Alabama) Curriculum Guide for Teachers of the Severely Handicapped focuses on four areas--elimination of maladaptive behavior, alternative forms of communication, developmental physical management, and special physical education/recreation. The section on maladaptive behavior reviews basic intervention strategies, categories…

The New Mexico School for the Deaf, Santa Fe, was awarded a five-year federal grant to improve language teaching practices of teachers working with children who are deaf by using current bilingual theories and pedagogical techniques, including "engaged learning" practices and educational technology. The project developed and refined the…