Materials written by T. H. Gallaudet on the subject of sign language and communication are reviewed that indicate that some of his ideas regarding the use of sign language in teaching deaf students may have been partially misunderstood. (Author/SW)

R. Conrad's position that the use of forms of manual communication in the education of deaf students is highly effective and desirable is supported; however, a reinterpretation of his work is offered to provide a more solid theoretical base and to indicate judicious and appropriate strategies in educational practice. (Author/SW)

Social studies should help children answer the question: Why do people act the way they do? Ways in which elementary teachers can help children see a connection between the personal events in their own lives, inner feelings and senses, and the world beyond the classroom are described. (RM)

Examines the similarities between British Sign Language and West Indian Creole, both in their social development and structural similarity. Pertinent educational implications are discussed. (EKN)

Research is reviewed on criteria for selecting signing as an augmentative communication mode (including learner's age and functioning level, and need for a portable system) and for selecting initial signs for severely handicapped students (including the sign's representational level and functionality). (CL)

The Deafsign Project began as a microcomputer approach using screen graphics to visually depict the handsigns of the alphabet and evolved into signs used for words and phrases. The program features drills on the alphabet and word use and includes a graded test. (CL)

The article describes a strategy used to teach sign communication to severely handicapped students in the classroom. It recommends that the speech-language pathologist adopt a consultant role in service delivery. (Author)

Obstacles confronting deaf students in language development are considered. American Sign Language is distinguished from English in terms of grammar, inflection and syntax, and context. The impact of deafness on language acquisition and cognitive development is examined. The importance of auditory feedback and verbal reinforcement is emphasized.…

Presents study designed to determine whether interruption in the use of the manual encoding modality would retard learning in prelingually deaf subjects. One group of students used finger spelling and finger numeration in learning eight pairs of number-word combinations while the other group used no manual encoding. Results show groups using…

Reports an interview with two teachers who provide instruction in sign language to 3- to 6-year-old children attending the Otter Creek School in Vermont. Children at the school use sign language while singing and to converse at snack times. (Author/RH)

Describes recent technological developments which are making libraries increasingly accessible to the deaf and hearing impaired. (LLS)

Describes the reading in sign language of 25 stories by four young deaf readers. Suggests that the reading processes of the deaf closely resemble those of hearing readers. (AEA)

Conclusions from a national survey of communication methods used by 195 deaf-blind students included that children with moderate and moderate-severe vision losses prefer visually presented gestures and IQ had little effect on choice of methods. (Author)

Twelve nonverbal, hearing, retarded children (4 to 8 years old) were matched and then randomly assigned to sign language training, speech training, and placebo groups. The findings were interpreted as indicating that some nonverbal retarded children will benefit more from sign language than speech training. (Author)

Suggestions of writers such as A. Holland and M. Lahey and L. Bloom are examined regarding their appropriateness for visual-manual communication and are applied to approximately 50 signs most frequently taught to retarded and autistic persons to aid in lexicon planning. Additional signs are proposed for extending this basic list. (Author/DLS)