The purpose of the study is the attempt to present the empirical aspects of the issue of everyday learning of parenthood by physically disabled adult parents. The author describes the methodological principles and the organization of her own research. The article discusses the results of the ethnographic research concerning everyday learning of…

Recent research on signed as well as spoken language shows that the iconic features of the target language might play a role in language development. Here, we ask further whether different types of iconic depictions modulate children's preferences for certain types of sign-referent links during vocabulary development in sign language. Results from…

People with intellectual impairments are recognised as having communication difficulties and even people with mild intellectual impairments can be challenged by complex language and limited literacy. The focus of this paper is parents who have learning disabilities, outlining a novel approach to support them in stressful case conference…

Families with deaf parents and hearing children are often bilingual and bimodal, with both a spoken language and a signed one in regular use among family members. When interviewed, 13 American hearing adults with deaf parents reported widely varying language practices, sign language abilities, and social affiliations with Deaf and Hearing…

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to determine if a mother with mild developmental disabilities living in poverty was able to implement Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching (PMT) strategies. The strategies included following the child's lead, arranging the environment to increase opportunities for communication, imitating the…

Sixteen dyads comprised either of deaf toddlers and their deaf mothers or deaf toddlers and their hearing mothers were compared on the use and success of various means for establishing mutual attention for communication. Results suggested the deaf-deaf dyads experienced significantly more episodes of mutual attention because the deaf mothers were…

The signed and spoken language produced by 14 mothers (7 deaf and 7 hearing) to their 18-month-old deaf children was analyzed. Deaf mothers were more successful in presenting signed utterances with a salient context visible to their children. For both groups, visible and salient signed utterances were positively correlated with mothers' success in…

This study compared interactions in 18 families headed by either deaf or hearing parents with an eldest hearing child (aged 7 to 11). Transcripts of parent/child dyadic interactions during a vacation planning activity were analyzed. There were no significant differences between children in the two groups, though deaf parents demonstrated less…

A study involving 152 college students with deafness found students who had at least one parent with deafness and signed scored significantly higher on self-esteem measures than those with hearing parents who could or who could not sign. Overall, self-esteem scores for all respondents were high. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Offers hearing parents of deaf infants guidelines on communicating with their child based on changes that deaf mothers make in their signing when talking to their deaf baby. Guidelines focus on restricting language, sign repetition, dramatic expression, waiting for the child's attention, tapping to gain attention, and visual leading. (DB)

Semistructured interviews with 10 deaf and 10 hearing young adults found that instrumental writing occurred as frequently between deaf children and hearing parents as between deaf children and deaf parents. Deaf respondents did less personal or expressive writing than hearing peers. Implications for literacy instruction and further research are…

The Greenspan-Lieberman Observational System Revised was used to evaluate characteristics of dyadic interactions between 10 hearing mothers and hearing toddlers (HH), 10 deaf mothers and deaf toddlers (DD), and 10 hearing mothers and deaf toddlers (HD). Findings suggest that assessment instruments require some modifications and results must be…

The play and language behavior of mothers with (n=49) and without (n=49) specific reading disabilities was investigated during play with their 14-month-old children. Typically reading mothers produced significantly more symbolic play and language in play interactions with their children than did the mothers with reading disabilities. (Contains…

A study involving 17 Belgian children with hearing impairments and 33 parents, 10 with deafness, found that parents with deafness differed significantly from hearing parents in the use of a visual communication style adapted to the developmental communication needs and abilities related to the 18- to 24-month age period. (Contains references.)…

This article discusses the development of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for American Sign Language (ASL-CDI), a parent report that measures early sign production. Normative data from 69 children (8-36 months) with deafness and their parents with deafness found the development of the ASL-CDI has been successful. (Contains…