Research has demonstrated that deaf children of deaf signing parents (DOD) are afforded developmental advantages. This can be misconstrued as indicating that no DOD children exhibit early language delays (ELDs) because of their early access to a visual language. Little research has studied this presumption. In this study, we examine 174 ratings of…

This article analyzes the construction of sign names in an emerging sign language from Mexico, the Yucatec Maya Sign Language (YMSL). Data comes from elicited interviews as well as natural interactions collected by the authors and signers from two different villages, Chicán and Nohkop. Despite YMSL being an isolate language, sign name construction…

Since its publication in 2013, the Visual Communication and Sign Language (VCSL) Checklist has been widely utilized to assess the development of early American Sign Language skills of deaf children from birth to age 5. However, little research has been published using the results of VCSL assessments. Notably, no psychometric analyses have been…

Deficits in the systems inherent to the field of ASL-English interpreting have resulted in gaps and barriers that impact novice interpreter practitioners. As a potential mitigating factor, research has shown the importance of developing confidence and self-efficacy in novice interpreters. Due to time and curricular restraints, the current system…

Research literature and community narratives both emphasize the importance of self-determination in the lives of deaf youth. This paper describes the development, initial validation, and potential applications of a translated measure of self-determination for deaf youth, the SDI:SR ASL Translation (SDI:SR ASL). A sample of 3,309 young people who…

Deaf children of hearing parents (DOH) are at risk for early language delays (ELD) due to environmental and etiological factors, compounding the previously reported higher incidence of ELD in deaf children of deaf parents (DOD) compared to the general population. Archival data from the online database of the Visual Communication and Sign Language…

This study investigated the effects of visual and kinaesthetic instructional cues separately and in combination on the learning of motor skills by individuals with deafness. In addition, whether the mastery level of sign language would affect motor skill learning was also investigated. The task was dart throwing. The sample consisted of 69…

Experience with a visual-spatial language may influence certain cognitive processes (Keehner and Gathercole 2007). Spatial ability is an important cognitive skill (Linn and Petersen 1985). Some research has found that deaf signers outperform hearing nonsigners on certain spatial tasks (e.g., Emmorey, Kosslyn, and Bellugi 1993) and that hearing…

Forty-four elementary grade teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students were surveyed about how they taught writing and their beliefs about writing. Beliefs about writing included their self-efficacy to teach writing, attitude toward writing, and epistemological beliefs about writing. These teachers from fifteen different states in the United…

Forty-four elementary grade teachers of deaf and hard of hearing students were surveyed about how they taught writing and their beliefs about writing. Beliefs about writing included their self-efficacy to teach writing, attitude towards writing, and epistemological beliefs about writing. These teachers from 15 different states in the United States…

One of the most important achievements individuals accomplish is the development of a first language. However, many students who are deaf who use sign language to communicate struggle to become fluent in sign. One factor that hinders their language development is the fact that most of the adults they interact with do not sign well. The purpose of…

Background: This study examined whether Motivational Interviewing (MI) follow-up calls improved the extent to which a specific therapeutic technique (Key Word Sign) presented in training was retained and implemented by staff supporting people with an intellectual disability.Method: Thirty-eight residential support workers who attended Key Word…

Full participation is one of the general principles in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) for enabling the enjoyment of human rights. This concept cuts across all issues in the Convention, and is a specific obligation of states/parties that have ratified the Convention document. Other general principles…