Students learn the sign language of the deaf as a tactile aid designed to help them spell phonetically and to motivate their interest in spelling and grammar. Generally at least a year below grade level in reading, this process helps them to renew their self concept and become more sensitive to all handicaps. (Author/RK)

The paper considers the problem of inflectional grammar in signed communication from the viewpoint of the educational advantages for the deaf child of two contending systems: grapheme modified signing and systematically inflected signing. (CL)

Although most societies view deaf people as inferior to hearing people and often actively discriminate against deaf individuals and groups, the 3,000 hearing people on Providence Island come closer to an equal acceptance and treatment of deaf people than do those in other societies that have been studied. (Author/HP)

Signed English was successfully used to teach language to four totally nonverbal, severely mentally retarded adolescents. (DB)

Four nonverbal autistic boys (ages 11-16) were successfully taught sign language action-object phrases following an intervention composed of prompting, fading, stimulus rotation, and differential reinforcement. The skill generalized to new situations. (Author/DB)

The article describes a four-week summer course in which an eight-year-old prelingually deaf boy helped undergraduate students learn sign language and the students helped him learn English print word/phrase equivalents. (DB)

No significant differences were found between average reading ages of 14 hearing impaired students learning via the oral method (group 1) and 20 hearing impaired students learning via a sign system (group 2). Group 2 Ss wrote fewer words and shorter sentences but their sentences were more grammatically mature and more often correct. (CL)

Analyzes the ways writing is used among the deaf and between deaf and hearing communicators by four groups; deaf adults who sign, families in which parents are hearing and at least one child is deaf, families in which parents are deaf and children are hearing or deaf, and deaf and hearing schoolteachers. (SED)

Seeks to determine how consistently a sample of hearing mothers using simultaneous communication to their deaf children signed what they said. Data indicate that the difficulty of simulaneously signing and saying the message predisposes the mothers toward inconsistent simplification in the signed input which may or may not be helpful for language…

Describes a study in which two nonspeech communication systems were evaluated with respect to their efficacy for use with profoundly retarded nonspeech children. Results show that 53 profoundly retarded children who have failed to acquire expressive linguistic skills can succeed with some alternative nonspeech symbol systems, especially with…

Presents a framework for representing hand signs in American Sign Language which can account for surface data in a way that explains underlying properties of sign structure. This model preserves the structural and functional importance of location, movement, and hand configuration and reveals special properties of the hand tier. (Author/SED)

Complying with regulations that require tactile signs to assist disabled persons is not as onerous as it seems. An intelligently developed signage system will reduce the amount of staff time needed to assist disabled people, most of whom prefer to find their own way. (TE)

Examines the two-finger extension as a hand shape in sign language by analyzing data on 10 different sign languages. The analysis shows that a theory of marking can be developed for sign languages along the same lines as those used for spoken languages--only the particular physiology is different. (SED)

Describes the growth of Seeing Essential English (SEE) and suggests that the use of SEE in several school districts is responsible for students' high scores on two tests of English understanding. Advises further research to gauge the contribution of SEE. (EKN)

A survey of 790 community and junior colleges on the availability of sign language classes and interpreter training revealed that 373 (four percent) offer sign language classes with an annual enrollment of over 30,000 students. Interpreter training is offered at 54 colleges with a total enrollment of more than 2,100 students. (Author/CL)