This historical article from 1887 describes the communication limitations faced by individuals with deafness, argues that sign language does not lead to clannishness among people with deafness, and discusses the benefits of sign language in allowing such individuals free and unconstrained social intercourse. (CR)

Describes fingerspelling as it is used within the American deaf community and the development of fingerspelling skills in deaf (and hearing) children, suggesting that fingerspelling is largely discounted despite its potential for linkage to English orthography and literacy development. Strategies for increasing the use of fingerspelling by…

Provides a list of teacher-training programs to prepare educators for teaching children with hearing impairments, a list of programs of advanced study for professional specialists, and programs for training interpreters of sign language. Programs are listed by state. (CR)

Examines the theoretical models and arguments in the debate concerning possible relationships between natural sign language proficiency and English literacy. It presents findings of a study with 155 school-aged deaf children that supported such a connection. (DB)

Two studies explored linguistic development in sign and speech of 10 youth (ages 12-16) with severe intellectual impairments who used manual signs (Makaton vocabulary) for communication. Analysis of semantic relations, lexical development, and word order suggested the children's language had not developed beyond mean length of utterance stage 1.…

The ability to attribute false beliefs by 155 deaf children (ages 5 and 8) grouped by communication mode and parental hearing status was compared to that of 39 hearing children (ages 4 to 6). Effective representational abilities were demonstrated by deaf children of deaf parents, whereas those with hearing parents appeared delayed, with…

Analysis of interviews with 41 service providers (20 deaf, 21 hearing) who worked together at three British organizations found deaf and hearing individuals had differing perspectives on the integrated working experience and the use of sign language in the work setting. Deaf/hearing relations were perceived as largely person-centered by deaf…

Describes how two teachers taught English Sign Language to 29 children (age 3) in a regular education preschool program which included 2 children with hearing impairments. When compared to 25 children who were not taught signing, the children who had been taught signing had significantly higher receptive vocabulary scores and were clearly superior…

Impressed by Marilyn Daniels' research on the educational benefits of signing for hearing children, a New Jersey early childhood education center trained its staff in sign language as a teaching tool. Students enthusiastically incorporated sign language into their activities as they increased word recognition and vocabulary growth. (MLH)

Deaf children with signing parents, nonnative signing deaf children, children from a hearing impaired unit, oral deaf children, and hearing controls were tested on theory of Mind (ToM) tasks and a British sign language receptive language test. Language ability correlated positively and significantly with ToM ability. Age underpinned the…

This article uses the framework of demand-control theory to examine the occupation of sign language interpreting. It discusses the environmental, interpersonal, and intrapersonal demands that impinge on the interpreter's decision latitude and notes the prevalence of cumulative trauma disorders, turnover, and burnout in the interpreting profession.…

The acquisition of movement skills in American Sign Language was examined longitudinally in young children, one deaf and eight hearing, of deaf parents. Although production accuracy did not improve over the 5 to 14 months of the study's duration, the number and complexity of movements produced by the children did increase. Contacting action was…

Discussed a social survey on communication among deaf people who had no formal schooling. Participants were deaf individuals who lived in the Okinawa Islands of Japan. Reveals many elderly deaf people had no formal education, no access to conventional sign languages during childhood, and no contact with a Deaf community. Despite this, most…

Discusses the relationship between the terms psycholinguistics and applied linguistics, and in the process explores key issues in multilingual processing, such as the structure of the bilingual lexicon, language choice in production and perception, and the language mode. (Author/VWL)

Studies of American Sign language including functional magnetic resonance imaging of deaf signers confirms the importance of left hemisphere structures in signed language, but also the contributions of right hemisphere regions to sign language processing. A case study involving cortical stimulation mapping in a deaf signer provides evidence for…