Introduces three papers (published in this issue) contrasting the development of gestures and sign language with spoken language in order to specify the nature of language plasticity (susceptibility to change) and robustness (invariance). Focuses on question of whether these are parallel systems or an integrated system with two forms of…

The gesture systems developed by 10 deaf children, each incapable of acquiring a conventional spoken language naturally and not exposed to a conventional manual language by their hearing parents, were compared and contrasted to both the speech and the gesture systems developed by three hearing children learning English. (Author/BE)

Introduce articles which were first presented at the Annual Forum for Ethnography in Education at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984. The articles try to analyze what happens in the education of the deaf, what is experienced by the different parties involved, and the impact of these experiences on deaf children. (SED)

Research is reviewed on the Makaton Vocabulary, a sign lexicon used with severely communicatively handicapped pupils. It is concluded that the lack of published teaching strategies tends to perpetuate an oversimplified teaching formula. (CL)

A summer in-home signing program augments signing courses and attempts to reach more families and more family members. Secondary and postsecondary deaf students live with families for brief periods, helping parents, other family members and neighbors develop signing skills. (Author/CL)

Describes a study that analyzed and described humorous productions of deaf children and the reaction of other deaf children to those productions. One finding was that primarily verbal humor was appreciated more by older children with hearing parents; humor characterized by sign complexity, by children with deaf parents. (SED)

Two methods (signs presented with or without accompanying verbal label) of training autistic children to use manual signs were compared. The efficacy of training in both treatment conditions was demonstrated but no clear differences in acquisition speed across conditions were apparent. (Author/CL)

A 13-year-old communicatively and intellectually delayed male was taught to use discriminatively each of two previously acquired augmentative systems that consisted of signing and direct select letter encoding. Procedures used resulted in the use of signs with signers and direct select encoding with nonsigners. (Author)

The author recounts the effects of aphorisms and slogans encouraging values of hard work and responsibility during his childhood and suggests that classrooms for emotionally disturbed pupils should contain signs and sayings to help promote positive attitudes and behavior, self-control, and motivation for teachers. (CL)

Presents a method to determine how signs in American Sign Language are recognized by signers. The method uses natural settings and avoids common artificialities found in prior work. A pilot study is described involving language research with Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins in which the method was successfully used. (SED)

Eighty-four sign glosses in the elementary-aged lexicon and 87 in the adolescent/adult lexicon for language-impaired severely mentally retarded individuals were examined for usefulness in terms of eight variables. Concept concreteness and word frequency were significantly represented for adolescent/adult lexicons but not for elementary lexicons.…

It often comes as a surprise to people that many deaf people refer to themselves as being members of Deaf culture. The American Deaf culture is a unique linguistic minority that uses American Sign Language (ASL) as its primary mode of communication. This tipsheet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication.

The 1849 edition of this textbook is a course in elementary surveying. All instruments needed for plotting and their uses have been described. Conventional signs adopted by the U.S. Topographical Bureau are provided. Surveying public lands and maritime navigation are covered.