Describes a preschool class for handicapped children in which speech development is fostered through use of manual signing in combination with spoken language. (SB)

The study compared signed and spoken English in hearing-impaired children (N=50) of hearing-impaired parents (HIP) with another group of hearing-impaired children (N=50) of hearing parents (HP). At ages seven and eight, HIP children demonstrated a significant linguistic advantage in both their spoken and signed English over HP children. (Author/DB)

Gestural cueing may be used successfully with children who do not require exposure to a sign or total communication approach. Emphasizing cueing in both the training and generalization phases of language learning, this article discusses specific learning activities, the effect of motor components on language, and procedures for using gestural…

The study attempted to determine whether children and adults perceive different amounts of translucency in signs drawn from early sign teaching lexicons and representing three different semantic classes. Results indicate that four- and seven-year-old children and adults perceive signs representing action as more translucent than signs representing…

The paper describes the development of Signed Target Phoneme (STP) Therapy, using the hand shapes of the Americal Manual Alphabet to cue phonemes. Adding STP to traditional therapy methods with a five-year-old boy diagnosed as having developmental apraxia of speech revealed a positive relationship between application of STP procedures and a more…

An 11-year-old nonverbal boy diagnosed autistic was trained to communicate wants and needs with manual signs. Sign training in the corner of the classroom had no effect on generalization or maladaptive responses, while training in the natural setting was functionally related both to use of signs across the school day and dramatic reductions in…

Reports on a study of the acquisition of fingerspelling, a manual system for representing the alphabet, by young deaf children whose first language is American Sign Language. Describes the system of fingerspelling and its use in the American deaf community and discusses the interaction of fingerspelling and signed language. (SED)

Presents a list of classifiers in American Sign Language and describes a study of their semantic characteristics. Classifiers are defined as certain hand shapes in particular orientations that stand for certain semantic features of noun arguments and which may substitute for particular nouns in various semantic environments, thereby functioning as…

The mother of a four-year-old with Down's syndrome describes how sign language instruction helped not only to increase his manual expression but his oral speech as well. (CL)

Fifteen mildly retarded fifth and sixth graders were trained to tutor their nonhandicapped peers in sign language. Parent and peer reaction was positive, and the retarded students learned to become tutors. (CL)

Signs selected from lists used in studies with mentally retarded and autistic children and previously rated for visual iconicity were presented tactilely to 13 blind adults and adolescents. Visual and tactile ratings were found to be very similar across blind, deaf, and hearing-sighted adults and hearing-sighted children. (Author/CL)

Six profoundly mentally retarded adults were trained to use 10 signs. Two Ss learned all signs with 100% accuracy without verbal prompting; four Ss learned seven to eight signs, varying with stimulus cue and setting. It was suggested that the four Ss may not have possessed adequate cognitive ability. (CL)

A systematic sign language (Paget system) offering a grammatical means of expression is discussed. Application of the system at a school for the blind is provided. (CD)

Criticism of Manually Coded English (MCE) with deaf children is examined in terms of its classification as a language, its inadequate rate of information flow, and its inexact use. Research on MCE is reviewed, and it is suggested that MCE systems are not being used to their best advantage. (CL)

A program to involve institutional staff in developing manual sign language skills with six profoundly retarded persons was evaluated. Results indicated that all participating residents learned to communicate with signing during structured interactions on their living unit and the skills maintained during follow-up assessments ranging from 39 to…