Provided are suggestions for selecting and implementing a sign language system with multiply handicapped deaf children and adults, based on a program at the Stone Belt Center (Bloomington, Indiana). Discussed are reasons for deciding to use sign language with the multiply handicapped deaf, nine different sign language systems, guidelines for…

There are today some 5,000 languages and dialects in use throughout the world; in most instances, intercommunication among them ranges from difficult to impossible. This sourcebook of graphic symbols was compiled as a first step toward a basic means of communication through a system of universally recognizable symbols. The sourcebook is limited to…

To assess competency in American Sign Language (ASL) and manually coded English (MCE), 219 National Technical Institute for the Deaf students, judged to be skilled signers, viewed videotaped stories, one in ASL and one in MCE, followed by true/false questions in the same language as the story. (Author/PHR)

Describes the obstacles facing hearing-impaired people as they attempt to learn to write and suggests ways to implement a college program to bridge the gap between natural Sign Language and English. (DD)

The article elaborates on the assumption that since sign languages are received and initially processed by the visual system, then the rules for the formation of signs of a sign language would be constrained by the limits of the visual system. (Author/NCR)

In three experiments, deaf children, aged 6 years 10 months to 15 years 5 months, were presented with continuous lists of items; for each item, they indicated whether it had appeared before on the list. The findings showed consistently strong semantic effects on word memory of young deaf children. (Author/MV)

American Sign Language is chiefly untaught and nonstandardized. The Communicative Skills Program of the National Association of the Deaf aims to provide sign language classes for hearing personnel and to increase interpreting services. Programs, funding and aims of the Program are outlined. A government sign language planning agency is proposed.…

The Communication Committee of the South African National Council for the Deaf is currently developing an artificial sign language which could be used with all of the country's ethnolinguistic groups. Guidelines and constraints for developing such an artificial language are outlined. (CB)

The systematic confounding and belittling of deaf people's language systems have negatively affected their language and learning skills. Deaf individuals must recognize this form of oppression and their own personal power by taking control of research and study in this field. (CB)

In a study of sign language interpretive skills, data provided evidence of a definite relationship between lag time and miscue occurrence. As the degree of temporal synchrony between the sign language message and the target language interpretation increased, so did the frequency of miscues. (CB)

Studied across a 16-month period, young children of deaf parents showed accelerated early language development, on the average producing their first recognizable sign at 8.5 months, their tenth sign at 13.2 months, and their first sign combination at 17.0 months. Findings are inconsistent with previously reported patterns of synchrony between…

Concludes that finger spelling and signing are alternative strategies that teachers might find useful with children who are experiencing some difficulty in spelling. (FL)

Systematic sampling was done of signing between five home-reared chimpanzees who had had 4-7 years of complete immersion in integrating their signing interaction into their nonverbal communication. Eight-eight percent of all signs reported fell into the social categories of reassurance, social interaction, and play. (SL)

Thirty-five deaf children with hearing parents were tested for cheremic perception. Deaf children using sign language, like hearing children using spoken language, have more difficulty discriminating between lexical items that form minimal pairs in their language than between items that differ more. (SL)