Saudi Arabian Sign Language (SASL) is indigenous to Saudi Arabia and is used throughout the kingdom by Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) people, their families and friends, educators, interpreters, and allies. In Saudi Arabia, most people are not aware that sign languages are full and complete languages; therefore, SASL is a natural language that…

In undergraduate sign language interpreter education in the United States, scholars have observed a lack of standardization among programs of the same academic level and called for greater definition of the differences between academic levels. This study sought to quantify programs' degree of standardization within and differentiation between…

Recent research shows that deaf signers show increased behavioral and neural sensitivity to certain types of movement, such as biological motion, human actions, and signing avatars. However, other work suggests that in deaf signers exposed to signed language before age five, the mirror mechanism has minimal involvement during the perception of…

Language deprivation occurs because the majority of Deaf students are not born into homes where sign language is used and/or are not taught or not allowed to use sign language, the only language that is readily accessible to them. Instead, they are forced to use less effective communication techniques. When Deaf child who has experienced this…

This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) focused on the experiences and beliefs of teachers of the deaf about bilingual American Sign Language (ASL) and English education and their teacher preparation programs. It was grounded on situated learning theory, specifically on the principles of legitimate peripheral learning theory (Lave…

Maritime Sign Language (MSL) emerged in the easternmost provinces in Canada with origins traced as far back as to the Weald, a region in Southeastern England. Therefore, British sign language is a root language that led to the creation of MSL. This type of language emersion is known as a Deaf community sign language, which occurs when Deaf people…

Storytelling is a feature of communication that provides a platform for sharing ideas, knowledge, emotions, and experiences. Deaf students who do not have access to fluent signers outside of the school setting have difficulty mastering the art of storytelling unless they are provided with opportunities to tell their stories at school. A multiple…

Infants are born highly sensitive to the natural patterns found in languages. They use their perceptual sensitivity to acquire detailed information about the structure of languages in their environment. To date, most studies of infant perception and early language acquisition have investigated spoken/auditory languages and hearing infants (e.g.…

Implemented in 1998, the original intention of the California Newborn Hearing Screening Program (NHSP) was to provide Deaf babies early language opportunities so they can be successful academically. However, 20 years after the inception of the NHSP, Deaf children continue to be the lowest-performing group of students in public schools. One reason…

The present study describes how deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hh) children who primarily use listening/spoken English (oral d/hh) solve one-step arithmetic story problems. Past research examined the story problem-solving of hearing children (Carpenter et al., 2015) and d/hh children who used age-appropriate American Sign Language (signing d/hh;…

The influence of sign language comprehension on reading has been well-documented in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary-aged deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HOH) children and adults. There is limited research into the predictive nature of sign language comprehension on literacy outcomes in D/HOH children in preschool and early elementary school,…

Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) is a thriving national sign language used by tens of thousands of signers in Kenya, and which emerged out of two deaf schools in western Kenya in the early 1960s. In this thesis, I provide a thorough description and analysis of the basic phonological components of the KSL lexicon used in the southwestern region of Kenya…

Deaf and hard of hearing (D/hh) students face academic challenges in the post-secondary setting due to low literacy skills and academic barriers. However, despite these challenges, little attention has been focused on mainstream faculty who teach D/hh students. This study investigated perceptions of mainstream faculty at the post-secondary level…

What is the value of a predominantly signing Deaf University such as Gallaudet University for an oral deaf or hard-of-hearing non-signing student who grew up in the mainstreamed or inclusive educational settings? This study sought to explore the experiences of ten non-signing oral deaf and hard-of-hearing university students as they integrated,…

The acquisition of vocabulary is an important aspect of young children's development that may impact their later literacy skills (National Reading Panel, 2000; Cunningham & Stanovitch, 1997). Deaf children who are American Sign Language users, however, often have smaller vocabularies and lower literacy levels than their hearing peers…