In two experiments we investigated the relationship between the working memory skills of sign language interpreters and the quality of their interpretations. In Experiment 1, we found that scores on 3-back tasks with signs and words were not related to the quality of interpreted narratives. In Experiment 2, we found that memory span scores for…

This pilot study examines whether the increased virtual "mobility" of ASL users via videophone and video-relay services is contributing to the standardization of ASL. In addition, language attitudes are identified and suggested to be influencing the perception of correct versus incorrect standard forms. ASL users around the country have their own…

This research focuses on the relationship between deaf students in higher education who use sign language and need an interpreter to access course content. A sign language interpreter is a trained professional who translates between American Sign Language or another sign system and English. This phenomenological study draws from interviews with 10…

This qualitative multiple case study research project examines interpreter use for students who are Deaf in the public school system and juxtaposes it with interpreter use found in the work sector after the school-to-work (STW) transition. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Deafness professionals and 6 study participants who are Deaf, as well as…

This exploratory study examined student responses to an interactive theater performance about the experiences of deaf students in the hearing culture of higher education. The theoretical framework for the study synthesized sociological work by Zerubavel, Foucault, and Bourdieu on construction and maintenance of institutional boundaries separating…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has always had "individual" as part of its spirit and its letter. However, as a parent and an advocate who has attended many Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, Janet DesGeorges has discovered that getting to "individual" can sometimes be a challenge,…

The quality of interpretations produced by sign language interpreters was investigated. Twenty-five experienced interpreters were instructed to interpret narratives from (a) spoken Dutch to Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN), (b) spoken Dutch to Sign Supported Dutch (SSD), and (c) SLN to spoken Dutch. The quality of the interpreted narratives…

This biennial report contains information about the efforts and initiatives of education-based agencies, departments, and individuals in Minnesota who served students who were deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH) during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years. The report also summarizes the results for students who took the Minnesota Comprehensive…

Ideally, all students would experience direct, multidimensional communication in the K-12 setting. This experience is generally considered to be more efficient, effective, and empowering. Interpreted communication, because it involves a third party, tends to be more linear. This makes it critical that quality standards for interpreting services be…

In this article Megan Mathisen, a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing children at St. Anne Grade School in St. Anne, Illinois, describes her work with two boys in second grade and one boy in fifth grade who at the beginning of the school year had reading and language delays. After working with them, her second grade boys are now on grade level and…

An interpreter's role is to facilitate communication and convey all auditory and signed information so that both hearing and deaf individuals may fully interact. The common types of services provided by interpreters are: (1) American Sign Language (ASL) Interpretation--a visual-gestural language with its own linguistic features; (2) Sign Language…

The study examined the extent to which a highly qualified interpreter remained parallel with or diverged from the original classroom discourse in her interpreting for a 3rd-grade deaf student in science, social studies, and resource room. The interpreter's signed and verbalized expressions were compared to the class participants' expressions for…

The population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing is becoming more culturally and/or linguistically diverse. However, there is a paucity of practitioner literature and research available to professionals and families to guide decision making about daily practices with these students and their families. The study identified factors that…

Young disabled people continue to be under-represented throughout further and higher education settings. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's social theory of habitus, capital and field, this paper explores the practices of domination and oppression that have made it difficult for young people with visual impairments and hearing impairments to participate…

Deaf epistemology constitutes the nature and extent of the knowledge that deaf individuals acquire growing up in a society that relies primarily on audition to navigate life. Deafness creates beings who are more visually oriented compared to their auditorily oriented peers. How hearing individuals interact with deaf individuals shapes how deaf…