Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the introduction in several countries of universal neonatal hearing screening programs has changed the landscape of education for deaf children. Due to the increasing provision of early intervention services for children identified with hearing loss, public education for deaf children often starts…

This study investigates the personal communication memories and experiences of adult deaf people during their childhoods in their homes. In order to obtain relevant information in depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty four Cypriot deaf individuals between the ages of 19 to 54 years with different family and school…

In this article, the author shares the experiences of his wife, Cheryl, and his 5-year-old daughter, Rose, when they visited their local high school's child development class. Cheryl and Rose met with over a 100 teenagers teenagers in eight different classes to talk about their family, raising a child with Down syndrome, and their experiences with…

A review of problems with using such manual communication systems as cued speech, fingerspelling, Signed or Manual English, American Sign Language, and Pidgin Sign provides a rationale for using a combination of American Sign Language and Pidgin Sign and a few markers from Signed English for a Total Communication system. (CB)

Analysis of spontaneous storytelling samples of deaf 5- to 7-year-olds (N=15), all exposed to manually coded English for some time, differentially showed characteristics more consistent with either English or Sign Language in the language areas of explicit relations, mimed relations, incorporated relations, and English Functors. (CB)

Reports an 18-month longitudinal study of sign language acquisition in very young children of deaf parents. Results indicate that some revision of views on cognitive prerequisites for language is necessary. Implications for nonspeaking populations and for developmental theory are discussed. Reviews briefly sign language training programs for…

Discusses trends and future issues in the bilingual education of deaf children, including teacher learning and use of American Sign Language (ASL), the total communication approach, deaf teachers' use of ASL, the coding of English in signs, and signed English and ASL as complementary communication systems. (five references) (CB)

An approach that combines a signing or gestural component with an integrated approach to word learning--reading, listening, speaking, and writing--has been used successfully with mildly disabled children who demonstrate difficulty acquiring sight words through typical approaches. The seven-stage sequence of instruction is described. (CL)

The author reports on the use of British Sign Language in the United Kingdom and dispels some myths that surround the language. It is pointed out that there is a low level of interest in deaf people and their method of communication. Research needs in the area of sign language systems are briefly considered. (SB)

An examination of 20 manuals designed to teach sign communication to persons with severe communication impairment revealed over 850 words appearing in two or more manuals. These words are listed in alphabetical order with their frequency of occurrence. (Author)

Aims to determine whether graphical actions used in a military planning task with a map have symbolic properties that are similar to those of sign languages. Identifies a lexicon of the graphical actions that military planners use to refer to significance on a map during a planning assessment; the set of significance that the graphical actions…

Two recently published sign language dictionaries, presenting British Sign Language and Italian Sign Language, are reviewed. Both dictionaries result from the cooperation of deaf and hearing individuals and government and corporate sponsors. (two references) (VWL)

Dictionaries are listed by countries of origin of the sign languages of deaf people in 46 countries represented in the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) as well as international signs by the WFD and others. (JL)

Gives a brief history of sign language and the issue of integration versus assimilation of deaf people. Discusses ways to integrate deaf students in college courses. (SK)

This study investigated the preservation of second formant transition acoustic cues to intelligibility in speech produced during simultaneous communication (SC) from a locus equation perspective with 12 normal hearing, experienced sign language users. Results were consistent with previous research indicating that temporal alterations produced by…