Saudi Arabian Sign Language (SASL) is indigenous to Saudi Arabia and is used throughout the kingdom by Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people, their families and friends, educators, interpreters, and allies. In Saudi Arabia, most people are not aware that sign languages are full and complete languages; therefore, SASL is a natural language that…

For some deaf people, sign language is the preferred language, the one in which they feel most comfortable. However, there are very few assessment tools developed or adapted for sign languages. The aim of this study was to translate and adapt in Italian Sign Language (LIS) the Italian version of the Youth Quality of Life Instrument--Deaf and Hard…

Although research of bilingualism in a single aural-oral linguistic mode is common, this has yet to be extended to visual-gestural modes of language use. This is a significant research gap, as deaf people and signed languages are agentic forces that contribute to a diverse global linguistic and sociocultural landscape. In this article, we present…

Purpose: Caregivers of deaf/hard of hearing infants are faced with challenging decisions regarding their child's communication method. The purpose of the current research note is to characterize the advice that caregivers receive and value as well as the factors that influence caregivers' decision making. Method: The current study enrolled 105…

An empirical estimate of how many deaf and hard-of-hearing persons use sign language in the USA was obtained a half-century ago, but no study has measured how many people sign regardless of deafness. This study estimated the number of deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing adult signers. Concatenation of the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys…

Research on language in mathematics education is largely dominated by a 'normalcy' of spoken languages. This modal hegemony does not only affect a whole group of learners in failing to provide access that is epistemologically equitable--those using sign language as their preferred mode for mathematical discourse--it also obscures our view on the…

All parents of deaf or hard of hearing children face challenges as they strive to provide an environment rich in language for their child. For parents on active duty in the military, however, perhaps this challenge is most acute. Faced with decisions about their child's medical or educational needs, military families must act despite geographic…

In undergraduate sign language interpreter education in the United States, scholars have observed a lack of standardization among programs of the same academic level and called for greater definition of the differences between academic levels. This study sought to quantify programs' degree of standardization within and differentiation between…

Deaf professionals, whom we term Deaf Language Specialists (DLS), are frequently employed to work with children and young people who have difficulties learning sign language, but there are few accounts of this work in the literature. Through questionnaires and focus groups, 23 DLSs described their work in this area. Deductive thematic analysis was…

Some studies have concluded that sign language hinders spoken language development for deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children even though sign language exposure could protect DHH children from experiencing language deprivation. Furthermore, this research has rarely considered the bilingualism of children learning a signed and a spoken language.…

Videos, generally a fun and effective teaching tool, can be a source of stress for students who are deaf or hard of hearing--especially when shown in classrooms in which a handful of deaf or hard of hearing students find themselves surrounded by students who hear. In fact, for deaf and hard of hearing students, video watching may be a source of…

The first step in engaging deaf and hard of hearing children in language-rich environments is getting their attention. Hearing teachers intuitively raise their voices as they enter their classes to get students' attention; Deaf teachers intuitively wait for the students to look at them. Deaf sign language teachers report that when hearing students…

This study addressed the role and responsibilities of sign language interpreters in the deaf society in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We investigated the possible differences in the roles and responsibilities among certified and uncertified sign language interpreters for the Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) in the KSA, how the roles of the sign…

This paper proposes a new system to translate an Arabic Sign Language (ArSL). The system consists of two sub-systems: the first, Speech to ArSL translation Subsystem. This sub-system is mainly based on the speech recognition engine. The second is ArSL to speech translation subsystem to translate the images of signs into speech, mainly based on…

Purpose: The development of vocabulary size in deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) children and adolescents can be delayed compared to their peers due to lack of access to early language input. Complementary vocabulary interventions are reported in the literature. Our aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention methods for their vocabulary…