D/deaf children of Deaf parents reportedly begin learning finger-spelling as young as thirteen months old, but deaf children born to hearing, nonsigning parents lack natural access to the native (spoken) language of their families, often exhibiting later language development. Forty-four deaf adults participated in a fingerspelling test of…

This paper discusses the issue of oral versus sign language in educating people who are deaf, focusing on Hungary, which currently emphasizes oralism and discourages the use of Hungarian Sign Language. Teachers of people who are hearing impaired are trained to use the acoustic channel and view signing as an obstacle to the integration of deaf…

One film widely recommended as an instructional resource for communication courses is "Children of a Lesser God," the 1986 movie starring Marlee Matlin and William Hurt. In this film, which can serve as a case study, James Leeds, a talented young teacher in a school for the deaf, falls in love with Sarah Norman, a graduate of the school…

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…

Gallaudet College provides education for preschool age through adult hearing impaired persons. Because of the lack of clear and continuous communication during their developing years, students who come to the school have not learned the English language well and have had communication problems most of their lives. To address these problems,…