This study examined young children's hand usage when they produced American Sign Language signs and while they played, in order to determine their hand preference in early signing and to compare their hand use in signing with their hand preference in other, nonlinguistic, motor actions. Subjects were 24 young children (from the age of 12 months or…

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…

Examines the course of young children's acquisition of the sign language formational aspects of location, handshape, and movement. Nine children and their sign-using parents participated in the study. One child was deaf; the other children were reported as having normal hearing. In seven families, both parents were deaf, and in the other two…

Hand preference during signing was examined longitudinally in nine very young children with deaf parents. These children generally showed a distinct and persistent hand preference in their signing, beginning with the production of their first signs. (14 references) (VWL)

This study examined 40 deaf and 20 hearing adolescent students' free recall of visually presented words varied systematically with respect of signability (i.e., words that could be expressed by a single sign) and visual imagery. Results underline the importance of sign language in the memory and recall of deaf persons. (Author/PN)

The linguistic abilities, cognitive abilities, and educational achievements of the deaf are reviewed. Results indicated the deaf are not intellectually deficient, and that many can communicate effectively in sign language. (CS)

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…

Studied across a 16-month period, young children of deaf parents showed accelerated early language development, on the average producing their first recognizable sign at 8.5 months, their tenth sign at 13.2 months, and their first sign combination at 17.0 months. Findings are inconsistent with previously reported patterns of synchrony between…

Acquisition of the location aspect of American Sign Language signs was examined in nine young hearing infants and toddlers of deaf parents. Sign locations, overall, were produced with 83.5% accuracy. Highly contrasting locations were acquired first. Location played a central role in young children's early sign language acquisition. (Author/DB)

The relationship between sign language rehearsal and written free recall was examined by having deaf college students rehearse the sign language equivalents of printed English words. Studies of both immediate and delayed memory suggested that word recall increased as a function of total rehearsal frequency and frequency of appearance in rehearsal…

Examined longitudinally the handshape aspect of American Sign Language signs in young children of deaf parents. Parents demonstrated on videotape how the children formed the different signs. Findings reveal that four basic handshapes predominated in early sign production, and that the part of the hand involved in contacting a sign's location often…