Guidelines are offered to schools and communities for developing activities of a yearly Deaf Awareness Week. Topics covered should include general information about deafness; common myths and misunderstandings; information about sign languages; technologies available to deaf people; interpreting; and interaction among deaf and hearing students.…

A special set of skills is essential for interpreting for mainstreamed deaf preschool students. Eleven issues in clarifying the job of the preschool interpreter are discussed, such as whether hearing children should learn to sign and how to encourage communication among hearing and deaf children. (JDD)

Videotapes of simultaneous communication users were analyzed by three sign language professionals. Successful simultaneous communication was characterized by clear lip movement, fingerspelling of ambiguous signs, eye contact, communication of mood and attitude, modality match, and grammatical facial expression. Matching the semantically…

A discussion of the use of sign language interpreters for deaf college students looks at the interpreter's role, classroom organization, pacing of speech, testing, and class discussion. Teachers are encouraged to use the interpreter's presence and expertise as an opportunity to reassess and enhance classroom communication dynamics. (MSE)

A "Signability Index" is presented for sign language interpretation of children's books. The index is based on such variables as reading rate, sentence length, quantity of text used to express thoughts, word imagery, and complexity and concreteness of passages. Suggested books for classroom reading are listed, categorized by six levels of…

This report is intended to stimulate initiatives on the part of governmental, professional, and consumer organizations and institutions that prepare educational interpreters who work with deaf students. Following an introductory chapter on the development of educational interpreting for deaf students, other chapters discuss: (1) job titles and…

Words in English often have multiple meanings, causing concepts to be paired with incorrect signs when working with deaf students, such as the concept of "made up" meaning either "invented" or "decided." A method called "sentence chains" is recommended as a drill to learn to link concepts with their appropriate signs. (JDD)

Four hearing-impaired students were mainstreamed into an English class of normally hearing students. Classroom communication progressed from sign interpreting, to sign interpreting along with a real-time graphic display (RTGD) of words spoken by teacher or students, to RTGD alone. Student reactions to the mainstreaming experience and to the…

A description is provided of the development, students, program offerings, personnel, and funding of LaGuardia Community College's (LCC) Continuing Education Programs for Deaf Adults (PDA). First, introductory material describes the postsecondary educational options available to deaf adults, and highlights the community college's emerging role as…

This manual is designed to familiarize adult basic education (ABE) teachers with the special needs of deaf individuals and strategies for integrating deaf students into ABE classes. The manual is prefaced with a brief discussion of the Comprehensive Program for the Deaf of the Columbus Speech and Hearing Center in Columbus, Ohio. The following…

The proceedings include, after the keynote address by E.M. Childers and the conference agenda, the following papers: "An Additional Handicap: Visual Perceptual Learning Disabilities of Deaf Children" (Vivienne Ratner); "Minimum Competency Testing" (Carl Williams); "Transitional Planning for Hearing Impaired Students in the Mainstream" (Helen…

This document contains vocational education program course standards (curriculum frameworks and student performance standards) for exploratory courses, practical arts courses, and job preparatory programs offered at the secondary and postsecondary level as part of the public service education component of Florida's comprehensive vocational…