Compared 6-month-old hearing infants' responsiveness to infant-directed and adult-directed signing. Results replicated those found with deaf infants, namely that infants showed greater attentional and affective responsiveness to infant-directed sign than to adult-directed sign, suggesting that infants are prepared to detect sign motherese…

This reprinted article of a 1966 study found that 38 children with deafness who had learned to communicate manually before entrance to school were superior in reading, speech reading, and written language compared to 38 children with deafness who had not learned to communicate manually before school entrance. (CR)

Videotaped productions of isolated American Sign Language signs or sentences were presented at speeds of two to six times normal. Results indicated a breakdown in intelligibility at around 2.5 to 3 times the normal rate. Results are similar to those found for auditory reception of time-compressed speech suggesting a modality-independent limit to…

Critically examines the traditional notion of American Sign Language/English bilingualism. This model is contrasted with the "ASL/English as a spoken language" bilingual model in which the modality constraints facing the deaf child are presented as the fundamental issue for ASL/English bilingualism. Empirical and applied research supporting the…

This article describes the key features of a Montreal bilingual program for children with deafness. The underpinnings of the program are outlined and then special attention is given to the considerations for the use of Quebec Sign Language and French as it relates to developing literacy in children with deafness. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Teachers rated the functional use of cochlear implants in 51 students (ages 4-21) with hearing impairments. Students with a known etiology and rural address, who used sign language at home or school, were less likely than others to use the implant as a primary channel for receptive communication. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This study with 64 deaf employees working in either signing work groups or nonsigning workgroups found that employees' perceived empowerment was significantly higher in the signing work groups. Deaf associates in signing work groups experienced greater psychological stress and role conflicts, whereas deaf associates in nonsigning groups…

Describes a residential school classroom for deaf third graders. A critical school skill, the ability to engage in literacy activities, grows from the ability to exploit American Sign Language-based (ASL) literacy practices, which are indigenous to the culture of signing deaf people and critical for literacy learning when ASL is the medium of…

Describes a multisensory reading program for teaching beginning reading to general education students. The program's main feature is that students learn to read by seeing, hearing, saying, and signing words. Pretesting and posttesting of participating kindergartners indicated that signing greatly enhanced the ability of hearing students to retain…

Integrative motivation was found to correlate significantly with American Sign Language (ASL) proficiency for 115 hearing faculty and staff at a postsecondary program for deaf students. Instrumental motives, however, were perceived as less important. Higher achievement in ASL was also associated with a positive cultural attitude toward deaf…

Examines arguments that language comes from innate, abstract knowledge of universal grammar that signers use to create new grammatical features. (12 references) (CK)

This study seeks to understand American Sign Language (ASL) as heterogeneous communication and to use it as a model for developing in other modalities alternative heterogeneous communication systems with the same advantages. (26 references) (CK)

Acquisition of the location aspect of American Sign Language signs was examined in nine young hearing infants and toddlers of deaf parents. Sign locations, overall, were produced with 83.5% accuracy. Highly contrasting locations were acquired first. Location played a central role in young children's early sign language acquisition. (Author/DB)

A survey of 23 establishments found 16 were still very active in using the Makaton peer tutoring method and reported that the method had not only contributed to an increase in communication and the effectiveness of interactions, but had also resulted in increased self-esteem, confidence, and assertiveness. (Contains references.) (CR)

This study surveyed 46 professional sign language interpreters working in criminal justice settings and evaluated 22 cases to evaluate access issues for individuals with hearing impairments. Recommendations to increase the accessibility of interpreting services included providing ongoing awareness training to criminal justice personnel and…