This article centers on the implications of genetic developments (as a scientific and technological discipline) for those Deaf people who identify as a cultural and linguistic minority group and are concerned with the preservation and development of sign language and Deaf culture. We explore the impact of one particular legislative initiative that…

This paper investigates whether the semantic and phonological levels in speech production are specific to spoken languages or universal across modalities. We examined semantic and phonological effects during Catalan Signed Language (LSC: Llengua de Signes Catalana) production using an adaptation of the picture-word interference task: native and…

On July 18, 2010, the eve of the 21st International Congress on the Education of the Deaf (ICED 2010), the International Leaders Summit was held at the Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada. A total of 120 world leaders from 32 countries participated. Presenters, including students, led the conversation on current…

Research has shown that inclusion benefits children with disabilities and typical developing peers. Children with disabilities enrolled in inclusive settings were found to achieve better developmental outcomes than children with similar abilities enrolled in traditional special education settings (Hundert, Mahoney, Mundy, & Vernon, 1998), higher…

The fact that language teaching can be operationalized through computer-assisted language learning (CALL) has directed researchers' attention to the learning task, which, in this case, is considered to be the unit that demands analysis of the communicative processes in which the learner is involved while working with CALL. Research focuses on…

This case looks at an urban high school and the interaction among teachers and administrators regarding the issue of language use at the school. Specifically, the teacher involved challenges heteronormative language. The case is intended to spark critical self-reflection, reflection of institutional norms, analysis of ways in which the status quo…

Choosing a method of communication for a child with hearing loss is a complex process that must occur early to prevent developmental consequences. Research shows that parents' decisions are influenced by professionals; parental attitudes and knowledge also may be influential. The present study investigated additional influences on parents'…

To contribute to increasing the quality and quantity of communication between staff and adults with intellectual disabilities, training was undertaken to enhance the awareness and knowledge of signing as a method of communication. Multidisciplinary team members, residential and day centre staff were trained to use 20 core signs. Training methods…

The 1000 primary school students in this study included a minority population of nine deaf children. The underlying foundation of this mainstream environment allowed for accommodations, but only to the extent that the non-deaf majority was not overtly impacted. Explicit messages of equality and implicit notions of normal were often in conflict.…

Given the current lack of appropriate assessment tools for measuring deaf children's sign language skills, many test developers have used existing tests of other sign languages as templates to measure the sign language used by deaf people in their country. This article discusses factors that may influence the adaptation of assessment tests from…

Late-deafness means deafness that happened postlingually, any time after the development of speech and language in a person who has identified with hearing society through schooling, social connections, etc. Students who are late-deafened cannot understand speech without visual aids such as speechreading, sign language, and captioning (although…

This article investigated to what extent age, use of a cochlear implant, parental hearing status, and use of sign in the home determine language of instruction for profoundly deaf children. Categorical data from 8,325 profoundly deaf students from the 2008 Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children and Youth were analyzed using chi-square…

In this article we outline our previous implementations of multilingual multimedia dictionaries and discuss possibilities for adding new functionalities and expanding their coverage. Independently developed sign language dictionary resources are further explored and considered for inclusion in an integrated multilingual multimedia dictionary with…

Learning to read is a major obstacle for children who are deaf. The otherwise significant role of phonology is often limited as a result of hearing loss. However, semantic knowledge may facilitate reading comprehension. One important aspect of semantic knowledge concerns semantic categorization. In the present study, the quality of the semantic…

This paper presents the first ever group study of specific language impairment (SLI) in users of sign language. A group of 50 children were referred to the study by teachers and speech and language therapists. Individuals who fitted pre-determined criteria for SLI were then systematically assessed. Here, we describe in detail the performance of 13…