The manual teaches SignFont, a written form of sign language. Following a brief introduction, the first of three major sections describes the SignFont alphabet, structured according to the parts of every sign that is written (handshape, action area, location, movement). The second section discusses in greater detail how the SignFont characters are…

This article discusses the use of sign language to facilitate language development of children with developmental disabilities mainstreamed into the early childhood setting. It discusses the benefits of using sign language, presents a rationale for its use, and provides instructional guidelines and resources. (JDD)

Games which help hearing-impaired students develop language skills include the barrier game (students help others to arrange items in the same order as theirs); hiding game (students determine objects' hiding places by asking questions); describing game (students describe objects as others draw them); and telephone game (a message is passed…

The study assessed the use of Blissymbols in the spoken and signed language development of 10 school-aged (mean age 11.5 years) children with developmental dysphasia of whom four also were mildly retarded. The students' expressive abilities in signed and spoken words were initially assessed before the Bliss teaching began, and then again after 1…

An instructional prereading using American Sign Language (ASL) was effective in improving the ability of 7 prelingually deaf children (ages 11 and 12) to understand and retell a story after reading it in print. A six-step procedure for using the ASL technique is explained. Other applications of the technique and its appropriateness for public…

Thirty-five students (age 5-21) with mental retardation completed a 10-lesson curriculum on verbal and signed vocabulary acquisition. Therapist only and therapist plus video methods resulted in higher spoken and manual sign production of targeted items compared to the video only method. Receptive vocabulary was not improved. (Author/JDD)

The book summarizes the current state of knowledge concerning language development in children with Down Syndrome (DS). The first chapter reviews language development in normal children, noting such stages as gestures, first sounds, development of understanding, first spoken words, and the two-word stage. The next chapter examines language skills…

The project evaluated the effectiveness of using Total Communication (simultaneous use of sign language and speech) with six infants with Down syndrome as a means of fostering communication while verbal skills and articulatory proficiency develop. Each child was seen within the home environment every second week through 24 months of age and once a…

The third of five volumes (and the second of the four curriculum guides) of Project Teach 'n' Reach, a program to help regular classroom teachers teach nondisabled students about disabilities, deals with communication handicaps. The curriculum addresses the following issues under the topic of hearing impairments: anatomical structures of the ear,…